Ever since Valve made the decision to slightly reduce the price of the two scoped rifles in CSGO, those being the AUG and SG 553, there has been a debate raging on social media. The guns, described by some guides as ‘premium alternatives’ to the traditional AK and M4 staples we have grown used to, have drawn much ire from some sections of the community, who believe they must be changed for a variety of reasons.
Whether you agree with that or not, there is no doubt the meta of CS has shifted since that price change, and the most drastic alteration has been on the Counter-Terrorist side. While the SG 553 has seen some good use, too, it seems the appeal of the one-headshot AK47 is more enduring than the M4, and not everyone wants to see the latter gun die out. With that in mind, here some ideas to "fix" the CT-sided meta in CS, and return balance to the defensive forces in CSGO.
June 19th 2019: AUG nerfed in CSGO update
Raise the price of the AUG to $3,200
The AUG is better than the M4 in many situations, and at the moment it only costs $50 more to buy, meaning it is almost never a monetary decision. Moving the cost of the AUG up a tiny bit, in conjunction with the M4 price tweek below, would at least make it a solid choice between a flashbang, or a scope at times, and make players think a little longer about buying the Call of Duty gun.
It may be that eventually that even needs to go back to the $3,300 mark the gun was at prior to all the changes, which wouldn’t be a bad thing really. Now we’ve seen the power it offers in the right circumstances, you would still see the best use it when it was optimal and money allowed, although probably much less than we currently do.
Drop the price of the M4s to $3,000
It’s fair to say that people are starting to realise the M4 is not all that good, especially when compared with the AUG. At close ranges the AUG can kill in one headshot, and it gives you a big advantage at long range too, while the M4 needs two to the dome to put someone down regardless. Taking it lower than $3,000 might need to wait, but with the way the CT economy works, a $200 difference would make the M4 more attractive, as it would free up a bit more cash for utility.
We don’t want to turn the M4 into a better version of the Galil, of course, or some budget alternative, but if the stats of the gun are clearly worse than the Ak, AUG and SG 553, it makes sense it would cost less, too. Making too many changes at one time is risky, though, so expect this to occur after the Major, if at all.
Reduce AUG magazine size
Traditionally, the argument for the M4A1s only having 20 in the mag compared with the 30 the M4A4 enjoys was that it negated the advantage of having the silencer. For those who don’t know, the silenced guns don’t show tracers, meaning it is much harder to triangulate on the position of a player firing one. By the same logic, reducing the number of bullets in the AUG would make spray downs harder, and potentially fit better with the overall "feel" of the gun, being a longer-range, precision alternative to the loud proud M4A4.
This could come in conjunction with the long-awaited magazine buff to the M4A1s, but that would probably make the M4A4 even more defunct than some believe it to be now. The variety that already exists in the M4 ranks makes this the most complex thing to potentially balance, but it’s worth doing with players now willing to use whichever gun is right for the moment.
Ban whiny players from Twitter
If all else fails, you can take the dictatorial route and just ban dissidents from speaking publicly, which might seem harsh, but is actually very fair compared to how companies such as Riot and Blizzard have operated in the past. Much of the noise has come from players not currently on top, while teams like Astralis are happy to AUGment their game with scopes (I’m so sorry), meaning that you wouldn’t even lose much by doing so.
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