YEKINDAR believes that the balance will change, and many players will replace the M4A1-S with the M4A4.
It feels like it [M4A1-S] is weaker now, and many players will switch it to M4A4 soon.Mareks YEKINDAR Galinskys
Also, the Liquid player talked about his choice of the rifle after the update.
In some positions, of course, where there was a four-shot kill advantage at any distance, this will affect my play style. But apart from that, it is a slight change in other hands. So it all depends on maps and the positions you play on.Mareks YEKINDAR Galinskys
What Was Done With the M4A1-S?
In the last update after IEM Rio Major 2022, Valve changed the competitive map pool and M4A1-S. As a result, the ranged damage multiplier has been reduced from 0.99 to 0.94. This seems like an insignificant change in numbers, but it changes a lot in practice.
Previously, the M4A1-S killed the enemy with four shots to the body at any distance. Now, the rifle kills the enemy at long distances with five hits.
What Has Changed In Practice?
The maximum distance at which the M4A1-S kills with four shots after the update has become extremely small: it is on the screenshot.
With this change, the M4A1-S becomes almost unplayable, for example, on the Mirage. Almost all CT positions on this map are designed for long-range firefights. Here are a few of them.
The same applies to Ancient, Anubis and some other maps.
Can the M4A1-S Be Used At All Now?
Oddly enough, yes. Entry fraggers and players in close positions will use a silencer rifle. Those performers will stick to those distances at which the M4A1-S kills with four shots. At the same time, for example, players on the B at the Mirage will use the M4A4.
Valve made an almost perfect solution, separating the functions of different M4s. So now both rifles are useful and not hanging as dead weight.
It will be possible to estimate already at the BLAST Premier World Final 2022: the first tournament on the new patch.
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