How to Play the Mirage Map in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and CS2

It’s safe to say that the Mirage map in Counter-Strike is a staple at this point. It goes all the way back to the original Counter-Strike, which launched back in 2000, when it went by the name ‘de_cpl_strike’. When Counter-Strike: Source launched, the first official sequel in the series built in Valve’s eponymous engine, it got its name changed to ‘de_mirage’. That was tidied up to just ‘Mirage’ in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and the rest is history.

Along with Dust II, it’s easily one of the most recognisable maps in the series, with a square-based design and plenty of intricate corridors to snipe your enemies in. It takes place in an unnamed Middle Eastern town, and features two bomb zones that you can attack, or defend, depending on which team you’re on. 

In this guide, we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about the Mirage map in CS:GO or CS2. We’ll include a list of callouts, which you can use to help quickly pinpoint your location to friends, as well as tips and tricks to help you beat the map efficiently, no matter the team you’re on.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and CS2 Mirage Callouts

First, let’s take a look at a few Mirage callouts that you can use to flag your location to your team-mates quickly.

• Mid: The very middle of the map, featuring a direct line of sight for Sniper’s Nest (see below) and a staircase that your opponents can enter from.
• B: The location of bomb site ‘B’, where you can plant or defend depending on the team you’re on.
• A: The same as above, except it’s for bomb site ‘A’
• T Spawn: Where terrorists spawn from at the beginning of the round.
• CT Spawn: Where counter-terrorists spawn at the beginning of a round.
• Sniper’s Nest: You can view Mid quite easily from here if you’re a sniper.
• Market: A collection of stalls near B site that you can access via T Spawn.
• Palace: A regal building that provides a decent path to A from T Spawn.
• Jungle: You can conceal yourself here and monitor A from a safe distance.
• House: A house that provides a well-concealed route to T Spawn.

You can use the above, as well as more callouts you discover, to tell your locations where you are quickly. This lets them react to a change, including Ts or CTs approaching, planting a bomb, or even to flag an area that’s clear.

CS: GO and CS2 Mirage Map Tips and Tricks

It’s worth remembering that Mirage is a legacy map that’s been a part of the series for around 24 years now. As a result, you’re going to face players that know it inside and out, including all intricacies, perfect entry points, and even a good indication of where you’re going to attack or defend from. Bear that in mind if you’re a new player, and consider playing a map that isn’t quite so well-established.

If you’re determined to play it anyway, then we recommend heading on over to YouTube to watch gameplay videos of both terrorists and counter-terrorists playing the map. Make a note of choke points and figure out a reliable plan of attack. Seriously, the playerbase is so well-established at this point that you can learn so much from them.

Alternatively, you could join a match with bots while you’re learning the map. Again, make a note of what the AI does. It might not be quite as knowledgeable as the playerbase, but you can learn a lot from them. They’ll generally attack from similar angles as your real-life opponents, and use similar tactics.

If you play regularly with your friends, you could even do this process with them by booting AI into a multiplayer game as your opponents. A problem shared is a problem halved, after all.

The Key Locations on Mirage

Finally, let’s take a look at the key locations you need to know on the Mirage map.

T Spawn and CT Spawn are the first key locations, as they are where you and your opponents spawn. You need to know these inside and out, including paths to the bomb from both locations, and the likely areas that your opponents will attack from, and defend. This is crucial, as you can end a game super quickly if you know what you’re doing.

Secondly, the bomb sites themselves. You need to know the fastest and most well-concealed routes to both of them from either spawn. It’s also important to learn where your opponent might attack from, or the best places to defend. Counter-Strike moves super quickly, so you need to do so as well. Ideally, so fast that you don’t have to think about it.

Mid is the last significant location, as it sees the most foot traffic of all of the locations in Mirage. That’s by proxy of its location, which is right in the middle of the map. Players have spent many years figuring out the best parts of the map to snipe Mid from so they can take out opponents before they become a problem. It’s that important