Unlike many other FPS titles, the guns in Counter-Strike 2 are based upon guns present within reality. In this article, we’ll look at some of the origins and history of CS2 weapon names, as well as the CS2 weapon name etymology. 

Categories of CS2 weapons

The history of CS2 weapons is broad, but before we delve into some of the more interesting weapons, let’s first take a look at the different categories of weapons in CS2.

• Rifles: The rifles in Counter-Strike 2 are broken down into three categories, these are:
• Budget rifles: Cheaper rifles that are meant to be bought on eco or force-buy rounds.
• Assault rifles: Guns like the M4A4 or AK-47, big hitters for full-buy rounds.
• Sniper rifles: Scoped weapons that deal heavy damage but suffer from decreased mobility and lower fire rates.
• Light-machine guns: High damage but highly inaccurate rifles with large ammo capacity.
• Submachine guns: High mobility, high fire rate, low damage weapons that are perfect for eco-rounds.
• Shotguns: Shotguns have low ammo capacity and poor range, but are deadly when used in up close and personal scenarios.
• Pistols: The cheapest weapons in the game, they are best used as secondary weapons or in force-buy situations.

Counter-Strike weapons in real life

Now we’ll take a look at some Counter-Strike weapons in real life, discussing facts like when they were made, which nations have used them, and any other interesting facts about them.

AK-47

The AK-47 is one of the most iconic guns in both Counter-Strike and real life. Developed in the Soviet Union in 1945 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, it began to see service in 1948.

Known for its low production cost and reliability (just like in CS2) the AK-47 has become one of the most popular weapons in the world and has seen action almost every where in the world.

AWP

The AWP is one of the Counter-Strike guns that has a slightly different name in real life. Given a slightly more sexy name in game, ‘AWP’ is short for Accuracy International Arctic Warfare. 

First appearing as the L96A1 in 1982, the Arctic Warfare variant was brought into service in 1988. Since then, it has seen use by British police and armed forces units in both the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

M4A4 and M4A1-S

The M4A4 and M4A1-S are weapons that have been used by the USA since their introduction in 1994… well, sort of. In reality, they are known as the M4 Carbine, which is a shortened version of the M16A2 rifle.

The M4 variants have seen use by many armed forces around the globe and similarly to the AWP, saw action in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Counter-Strike weapon tier list

Now that you understand more about the history of CS2 weapons, let’s take a look at ranking those weapons in the game. For this purpose, we will be ignoring the value of skins in the game, as that shouldn’t affect whether you choose to use a gun or not.

• S-tier: 
• AK-47: The best rifle in the game, capable of one taps at all ranges.
• AWP: Expensive, but a game-changer.
• Desert Eagle: Pocket cannon, incredible damage for $700.

• A-tier:
• M4A4/M4A1-S: The best CT rifles.
• Galil: Incredible on force-buy rounds.
• Tec-9/Five SeveN: Perfect pistols for low-buy rounds.
• Mac-10/MP9: The two best SMGs for either side.

• B-tier: 
• P90: Very strong in CS2, but expensive and doesn’t have a high kill reward.
• FAMAS: Capable of getting kills, but costs more than the Galil and is worse.
• Scout: Good on force-buy rounds but limited versus the AWP. 
• XM1014: Very strong, but only when used in the right situations.

• C-tier:
• R8 Revolver: High damage but very inaccurate and worse than the Deagle.
• Glock-18/USP-S: Should only be used on pistol rounds.
• PP-Bizon: Too low damage.