Sprays are back in Counter-Strike, but they’ll cost you. The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Graffiti update was deployed last night, returning image sprays to the game for the first time since CS: Source. Rather than being images you can upload from your PC – with all the porn-based problems that comes with – they’re cosmetics in the same style as gun skins, dropping out of crates, rank ups and purchasable on the Steam store. So far, so 2016, but Valve have also put a further restriction on their use, each spray drop only giving 50 charges. Combined with the affect it could have on competitive play, the community isn’t happy.
For more on what was in the patch, check our dedicated CS:GO updates post.
It’s seen of a cash-grab by the already fairly flush Valve. While most are accepting of the removal of custom sprays via image files, for the reasons outlined above, and don’t mind them being implemented the same way as other cosmetics, the charge system is drawing serious ire. Gun skins don’t have a number of uses tied to them so folks don’t see why these should either, especially when the only ways to acquire them either involve spending cash or getting lucky with irregular free drops.
The implementation is also coming under fire, with sprays usable on competitive servers. The legendarily quickCS:GO subreddit is filled with examples of locations sprays can be placed that could trick players who have spent years and thousands of in-game hours memorising what maps look like and that when something’s out of place, it means there’s a player there. While this may seem minor to the average, more casual player, the tip of a finger looking like the top of a helmet poking over a box is one wasted shot, and one wasted shot usually leads to death.
Information on the exact workings of the system is in Valve’s FAQ. Chances are, we’ll see some sort of reply from them over the next week.