“The Negev is a beast that can keep the enemy at bay with its pin-point supressive fire, provided you have the luxury of time to gain control over it.” ―Official description
Overview
The Negev is a machine gun featured in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Counter-Strike 2. It is manufactured by the Israeli company Israel Military Industries. In the game, it is represented in the commando version with a shortened barrel and a foregrip instead of the standard bipod for improved mobility.
The Negev is available for purchase by both the terrorists and counter-terrorists. After the update on March 24, 2017, the weapon was temporarily removed from competitive play but was reintroduced on April 12, 2017.
This machine gun is equipped with a 150-round magazine, 50 more than the M249. It has a higher rate of fire and is significantly cheaper at $1700 (originally priced at $5700) compared to the M249 at $5200. Like the M249, it is heavy, has a long reload time, and possesses high penetration power.
The first 10 shots fired continuously from the Negev are extremely inaccurate, making it the most inaccurate weapon in the game when fired in bursts. However, after continuous firing, its unique recoil makes it very accurate, concentrating bullets above the crosshair with minimal movement, allowing precise shooting without much compensation. However, its movement spread is strong, and the player slows down while firing (the only weapon in the game with this property), complicating shooting on the move.
The primary tactic for using the Negev is suppressive fire to prevent enemies from advancing through chokepoints. In practice, many players prefer to pre-fire to catch enemies off guard, which is ineffective due to the movement penalty and high spread while moving.
Tactics
The Negev is designed as a defensive tool to prevent rushes and is best suited for counter-terrorists in bomb defusal mode and terrorists in hostage rescue mode. Defending a key area requires fewer players with sufficient suppressive fire.
After the first 15 shots, the Negev's recoil is virtually eliminated, and bullets concentrate in the upper right corner of the crosshair. Adjust your aim accordingly.
The firing sound, though distinctive, is quite quiet but changes in pitch if the user is moving, walking, or standing still. Against the Negev, be aware of when the user is moving while firing and flank them.
Having your entire team buy Negevs and armor can be a practical strategy. For the same cost as buying a single AK-47, you and your team can cover areas with a combined 4000 rounds per minute.
The large magazine capacity and extremely low price allow you to use the Negev in force-buy strategies with a smoke grenade. In areas like B tunnels on Dust 2, spray through the corridor to prevent rushes. Even though theoretically you could be killed easily, the suppression often intimidates most players.
If your team is smart, have one player buy armor and another drop them a Negev, while the rest of the counter-terrorists buy Five-SeveNs and push unoccupied areas. By the time the smoke clears, the counter-terrorists will have boxed in the terrorists and taken them down.
Switch to a sidearm or knife if you need to run, as the Negev has the highest movement speed penalty of all weapons.
Maintain awareness of your position and angles that snipers might use to quickly kill you.
A six-second reload for 150 rounds is not too long in practice, considering the payoff of zero-recoil, uninterrupted automatic fire.
Bugs
Oddly, while carrying a hostage, the player moves faster with the Negev. This also applies to the M249.
Trivia
- In early versions of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the player character held the Negev by the body with their left hand. After an update, the left hand holds the Negev by its foregrip.
- When the player runs out of reserve ammo, the draw animation changes, removing the cocking motion. Oddly, when there is still loaded ammunition, the ammo belt is absent during the draw animation but reappears when it ends.
- Before the April 12, 2017 update, the Negev had the highest rate of fire among all weapons in the Counter-Strike series, exceeding 1000 rounds per minute. Before Global Offensive, this title belonged to the P90 at 900 rounds per minute. The P90 once again holds the record as the Negev's rate of fire was lowered to 800 rounds per minute.
- The real-life Negev can adjust its rate of fire in the field, ranging from 850 to 1150 rounds per minute.
- Before an update, the Negev was the most expensive weapon in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at $5700. Then the price was reduced to $2000, and later to $1700, leaving the M249 as the most expensive weapon in the Counter-Strike series.
- Following the rework on April 12, 2017, the Negev earned the nickname "Laser Beam."
- The recoil mechanics added to the Negev in the March 24, 2017 update are similar to what was planned for the M60 during the development of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (Gearbox build).
- Before CS2, the Negev was the only weapon to undergo two sound changes.
Negev in numbers
- Alternate name(s) IDF Firestorm
- Price $1700
- Magazine capacity 150 / 300
- Firing mode(s) Automatic
- Rate of fire 800 RPM
- Used by Counter-Terrorist Terrorist
- Reload time 5.7 seconds
- Movement speed (units per second) 150 75 (Firing)
- Kill Award $300 (competitive) $150 (casual)
- Damage 35
- Recoil Control 20 / 26 (76%)
- Accurate Range 13 m
- Armor Penetration 71%
- Penetration Power 200
- Range Modifier 0.97
