Here are 5 super handy Ancient Smoke Line-ups that can be used in CS2

Counter-Strike is back on the rise with the start of 2024. The player base has started the year with a new boost. The competitive season is well underway with events like the IEM Katowice 2024 almost here, BLAST Premier Spring Groups and eXTREMESLAND 2023 happening simultaneously. The hype amongst the community is at an all-time high and players are looking to improve their skills however they can. Especially because the open qualifiers for the Copenhagen Major are coming up, players have been working to improve aspects of their gameplay like utility usage.

Let’s look at 5 of the best smoke line-ups that we have compiled for Ancient that you can use during your competitive games.

Ancient Smoke Line-ups for CS2

Ancient is a map that players have mixed opinions about. There are those who love it and try to play it whenever they can, and then there are those who hate it to its core. Regardless of the dispute among the Counter-Strike community, Ancient remains to be one of the most iconic maps in recent times. It wasn’t very popular during its release on December 3, 2020, as a part of Operation Broken Fang. It slowly began its cling to the hearts of CS players after it was moved to the Active Duty map pool in May of 2021.

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Due to its simplistic layout, which is similar to maps like Dust II and Mirage, players who can maneuver the map properly and take gunfights in an advantageous spot will find the most success. Positioning and having a good game sense for taking fights are crucial. Considering the fact that there are tons of areas where players can position themselves and anchor, having good utility is vital. Good utility and smoke line-ups are the perfect counters to the sneaky hiding spots that defending players can take. Some of the line-ups that can work with this idea in mind are listed below.

Double Door to B-Short

Double Door is a great spot to throw nades into the B-Site. Most players tend to throw their line-ups from Ruins, but the problem there is that the spot is very far behind. Usually, players have to fall back very far behind to throw the smokes and flashbangs, this results in them falling behind the rest of the team while hitting the B-Site. Since Double Door is much closer and allows the players to throw nades into B from a safe spot, it is comparatively better than Ruins.

Even though B-Short is not a very sneaky place to be in, it is a deadly angle that is very difficult to clear while the entry is happening. It also gives the CT-sided players more options to throw counter-utility like smokes, molotovs and flashbangs that may work in denying entry. B-Short is also a prime spot for AWPers to play in if they are looking for an aggressive angle.

This line-up works perfectly fine and is similar to the one from Ruins. It covers the entirety of B-Short and denies any vision into the Site. The smoke also spreads very deep inside B-Short. Therefore, if anyone decides to push through the smoke then they will be exposed in the open, making it easy for any player entering the site to get the frag without any problem.

Double Door to Cave

Cave is an annoying position to deal with especially if the area isn’t smoked off or cleared. It is right outside the B-Site and allows anyone to see the entirety of the B-Site from there. They can throw utility to Main or even deny bombplant. Since there is a wall-bangable surface, it becomes very easy to get some chip damage from there without even exiting. Therefore, it is vital to clear out Cave or at the very least smoke it off for a safe bomb plant in the B-Site.

This line-up can be done from the same spot, right beside Double Door. As we said before, this position is much closer to the site and allows for the thrower to join the team faster while entering the site. Besides that, Double Door is very close to Cheetah, which is directly connected to Cave. After throwing the line-ups, pushing to Cave through Cheetah is a very good option as the player in Cave will be forced to fall back and head right toward Cheetah.

This Cave smoke’s best quality is how deep it lands. It is very hard to find a smoke for Cave that doesn’t stick outside and gives room to CT players. This may allow someone to sneak in and surprise the players on site. Besides this line-up works well with a few other ones like the Double Door to B-Short line-up we just mentioned.

Double Door to B-Long

Just like B-Short, B-Long is another very crucial area to cover while pushing the B-Site. The B-Long avenue is more of a passive anchoring spot compared to Short, but has a chance of being the primary spot for players who try to hold site with utility. Usually, one player, preferably an AWPer, holds from Short while the other chucks entry denying utility from Long. Besides, Long also has a small cubby area where the CT players can hide and kill the bomb carrier. Therefore it is vital to smoke off B-Long and clear the front cubby properly to eliminate the chance of anyone pushing from there.

This line-up from Double Door is perfect for the job. We have already established why Double Door is a great spot to throw line-ups for the B-Site from. Considering that the last two line-ups we talked about are thrown from the same spot, this one works well with the previous ones and is all you need for a full B-Site push. It falls deep inside and pushes back any CT player holding inside. If the player pushes out and hides behind the wall, they will have no cover as the smoke will expand into B-Long. Thus, the front will be easy to clear and take control of.

T-Spawn to Cave

Mid can be a very busy spot in the map of Ancient. Having early engagements between both sides early on, or late rotations and flanks through Mid are very common. If control of Mid remains unestablished, both sides will have to keep an eye on their flanks for someone sneaking up behind while they are trying to get into the site. For the T-side, the advantage while fighting Mid is the option to pincer Top Mid from both Lower Mid and Snake.

The problem for the Snake players is that they can get backstabbed from Cave, as Cave is a common place for B-Site defenders to play in and provides the fastest rotation from B to Mid. Therefore it is vital to block off the entrance of Cave to Mid before even thinking about a Mid push.

This smoke can be thrown right from T-Spawn, which means you can throw it immediately after the round starts and allow your team to hit Mid freely very fast. This is a major bonus, as CTs tend to exploit the late entry of the Terrorist side because of them having to take their time with slower line-ups before fighting. This denies the chance for anyone to aggressively walk out of Mid or get into a comfy angle and kill anyone who peeks at Mid.

Make sure you check out our other articles on Counter-Strike 2 to stay updated with the game and get all the latest strats.