Smoke Grenade

Learn how to use smoke grenades effectively in Counter-Strike: Source to deny information, prevent pushes, and provide cover for your team. Master this essential tactical tool.

The smoke grenade in Counter-Strike: Source costs $300 and is available to both teams. When thrown and you come to a complete stop, it creates a medium-sized cloud of opaque white smoke that lasts for fifteen seconds. It's a super versatile tool, but most players use it for one of three main reasons.

Purpose 1: Deny Information

Since no one can see through smoke without pushing into it, enemies on the other side are effectively blind. This lets your team set up plays from behind the smoke. A classic example is on Dust II. The Terrorist side often throws a smoke at Mid Doors to block the Counter-Terrorist AWPers from getting an early look at B Site or Mid, denying them crucial intel.

Purpose 2: Prevent Pushes

Psychologically, pushing through smoke is a scary move because you can't see what's coming. Players have to assume someone could be waiting around a corner. Because of this, most players won't risk pushing through smoke and will either wait for it to clear or find another way around. It's rarely a safe play.

Purpose 3: Provide Cover

While smoke is more about concealment than true cover (you can still get shot through it), it prevents players from deliberately aiming at targets they can't see. Smoking off common camping spots can save you from unexpected deaths. For instance, on Mirage, Terrorist teams often smoke Sniper's Nest from their spawn to prevent AWP deaths when pushing Mid.

Interesting Mechanic: Smoke on Molotovs

Here's a cool trick: smoke grenades deploy instantly if they land on a Molotov. Even if the smoke wouldn't have deployed normally, the cloud goes up as soon as it hits the fire. You can use this on maps like Inferno with tight chokepoints. Throw a Molotov at the choke, and right before it burns out, toss a smoke onto the flames. This can really mess with enemies trying to push through.