Decoy

Lore & Background

Introduced in CS:GO, the decoy grenade quickly became a staple for tactical misdirection, allowing players to fake their position or bait enemies into revealing themselves.

In Their Own Story

The round was 14-13, CT side, Inferno. Kojak crouched behind the banana-rack crate, his crosshair stitched to the long A angle. He'd heard the Decoy three minutes ago—a lazy, looping shuffle that had made his IGL swing and waste a full second of focus. Now, in the silence of the final round, the same sound crept up from the B-tunnel. Footsteps. Two, three, four. Then the soft *thump-thump* of a rifle cycling, like someone clearing a corner.

Kojak's finger tightened on the trigger. His teammate's voice crackled: "Decoy, I think—" Too late. He'd already committed. He swung, saw nothing, and the real Terrorist was already behind him, AWP round already loaded, already aimed at the back of his head. The Decoy hadn't killed him. The Decoy had made him believe he was safe, and that belief was the knife in the dark.

Reader's Guide

The source article does not provide a guide for using decoys in Counter-Strike.

Did You Know?

• The decoy grenade was first introduced in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and is not present in CS 1.6.
• The decoy grenade remains in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) and has not been removed.
• In CS:GO and CS2, the decoy grenade costs $400 and is available to both Counter-Terrorists and Terrorists.
• When thrown, the decoy emits fake footsteps and gunshot sounds to simulate a player's presence on the minimap and in audio.