Surf in Counter-Strike 2: a beginner's guide
What surf is, the two moves that matter and how to go from your first ramp to your first finished map on the CSEKIP servers.
Surf is one of the oldest community modes of Counter-Strike. There is no bomb and no enemy team: you slide along angled ramps, fly from one to the next and try to reach the end of the map as fast as possible. It looks impossible the first time. It is not, and this guide covers what you need for your first runs.
The only rule: never press W
On a ramp, speed comes from the slope and from your strafes, never from walking forward. Pressing W fights the physics of the ramp and drags you down. Keep your fingers on A and D only.
Staying on a ramp
A ramp is a slanted wall. To slide along it:
- Land on the ramp rather high, following its slope.
- Hold the strafe key on the side of the ramp: D if the ramp is on your right, A if it is on your left.
- Look ahead along the ramp and make small mouse movements. Big flicks make you fall off.
If you keep dropping to the bottom, you are probably pressing the wrong key or touching W. Go slowly: staying on the ramp matters more than speed at first.
Gaining speed in the air
Between ramps you fly, and this is where speed is won. Hold A while moving the mouse to the left, then D while moving it to the right, in one smooth motion. Keyboard and mouse have to change direction together: this is called strafe sync. Small, regular strafes work better than wide ones.
Choosing your maps
Surf maps are rated by tier, from easy to very hard. Start with tier 1 and 2 maps on the Surf Easy Tier server, then move to the Surf Mid / High Tier server once you finish them comfortably. On your profile, the list of maps left to finish can be sorted by tier, which makes it easy to pick the next one.
Many maps are split into stages, and some have bonus courses: short extra runs with their own leaderboard.
Learn from the best runs
When the server has a replay bot of the map record, spectate it: you see the route, where the fast players land and when they strafe. Copying a good line is the quickest way to improve.
Your first points
Every map you finish earns points on the Season 4 leaderboards, and records earn more. Sign in with Steam on the site to follow your progress, then see you on the ramps.
Written by CSEKIP team
