“When thrown, the decoy grenade emulates the sound of the most powerful weapon you are carrying, creating the illusion of additional supporting forces.”―Official description
Overview The Decoy Grenade in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the most affordable grenade, priced at just $50. Once thrown, it emits the sound of the player's most powerful weapon shortly after landing. Following the July 11, 2018 update, it appears as a grey dot on the radar of the team that threw it.
After about 15 seconds, the decoy grenade will detonate but, as of the July 23, 2020 update, will not harm teammates. However, enemies within a narrow radius can suffer around 5 points of damage at close range.
If the player has no firearm equipped, the Decoy Grenade mimics the starting pistol—either the Glock-18 for Terrorists or the P2000/USP-S for Counter-Terrorists.
Post the December 3, 2012 update, the decoy grenade’s model was altered to look like a flashbang, tricking opponents. The stripe color was changed to red to differentiate it.
Bots now react more consistently to the Decoy Grenade.
Gameplay Tactics
- Throw a decoy grenade near a smoke grenade to confuse enemies about player positions.
- Use a decoy after deploying a flashbang to exploit the enemy's momentary blindness.
- Snipers can use decoys to mislead opponents about their location, buying time to relocate or attack.
- Avoid early-round deployment as experienced players will likely ignore it, especially in areas where teammates have no vision.
- Place decoys in obscure spots such as corners, behind props, or on flat rooftops to maximize effectiveness.
- Due to its low cost, the decoy grenade is commonly bought in pistol rounds.
- If spotted mid-air, decoy grenades may cause enemies to momentarily back up, mistaking it for a flashbang, allowing an opportunity for attack.
- Unlike a flashbang, a decoy does not blind the player, allowing for immediate action.
- This tactic may fail against multiple opponents or experienced players who quickly identify the decoy.
- Bots are not fooled into thinking a decoy is a flashbang.
- In firefights, decoys can distract enemies, causing confusion between real players and decoy sounds.
- Coordinate with teammates to deploy multiple decoys, increasing the overall distraction.
- Decoys can help guard areas by misleading rotating enemies about ongoing combat.
- Avoid lingering near deployed decoys for too long.
- A double-bluff involves standing near a decoy in an ambush spot, as experienced players might ignore it, mistaking you for a decoy.
- Deploying a decoy on the bomb can potentially harm or kill a defuser with low health, delaying or preventing the defuse and possibly winning the round for Terrorists.
- Be aware that decoy grenades can inflict damage upon detonation.
Counter-tactics
- Decoy-generated enemy icons appear on the radar regardless of team vision, unlike real enemy icons, which require vision from at least one teammate. Stationary icons in unobservable areas are likely decoys.
Behind the Scenes
- Initially, the decoy grenade had its own model in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Beta before sharing the flashbang model with different textures.
- The decoy grenade’s texture labeled it as the "Mo. G-29 Grenade," meant for law enforcement, corrections, or military personnel trained in non-lethal tactics.
- Unused grenade physics kill icons in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive include one for the decoy grenade, resembling those in Team Fortress 2 or Portal.
- Before the July 11, 2018 update, the decoy grenade created an "enemy" icon on all players' radars, mimicking an additional player's presence.
Bugs
- Initially, there was no HUD kill icon for decoy grenade kills; only the player’s name appeared without an icon. This was fixed in an update, now displaying "<player> killed you with decoy".
- If equipped with USP-S or M4A1-S with a silencer and using a Decoy Grenade, the sound of the unsuppressed versions was used. This was corrected in the April 23, 2014 update.
