TACO and coldzera detail Counter-Strike 2 concerns

Epitácio “TACO” de Melo and Marcelo “coldzera” David appeared on the Flow Podcast to discuss concerns about Counter-Strike 2. They addressed the hitbox and sub-tick systems and said they considered those features better in CS:GO.

The players discussed shots that may not register as expected. They explained that a hitbox is a box representing parts of a character model, including the legs, head, and chest; coldzera said the Counter-Strike 2 hitbox can be strange and mentioned cases involving a running player.

TACO also raised movement as an issue in Counter-Strike 2. He said the game has the potential to surpass CS:GO but has not done so yet, while describing CS:GO as requiring better positioning, grenade use, communication, and map understanding.

TACO said that players previously needed to be more intelligent in their approach because positioning, grenade use, communication and map understanding carried greater importance. This was presented as his comparison between the two versions rather than as a measurement of every match or player.

coldzera added that a hitbox may be ahead of the point where a player is shooting. He said this can affect exchanges of fire and headshots, and he described cases in which a running opponent can shoot while the hitbox appears to behave incorrectly.

The podcast appearance provides the primary account behind the criticism: the two players themselves explained what they dislike about the newer game. Their remarks also supply historical context through repeated comparisons with CS:GO, including how they assess shooting interactions, movement and positioning.

Hitboxes, sub-tick and movement were central to the discussion

TACO and coldzera began by discussing hitboxes and sub-tick. They said that, in their view, the chance of connecting a shot against a player model was higher in CS:GO. Their criticism of Counter-Strike 2 was tied to the interaction between the hitbox and the speed at which the model moves.

coldzera said that a player can sometimes fire without the shot being converted into a hit. He suggested that the hitbox may already be positioned ahead of the place being targeted. He connected that possibility to duels, attempts at headshots and encounters with opponents moving at speed.

The pair also described a change in how they believe combat situations are rewarded. They said Counter-Strike 2 benefits the player who appears while running on the other player’s screen. In their comparison, CS:GO instead favored the player who was better positioned.

TACO separately raised movement as an issue. He said the character movement still feels somewhat strange, very fast and as though it is sliding. At the same time, he said Counter-Strike 2 has the potential to become better than CS:GO, while adding that he does not believe it has reached that point yet.

• Hitbox and sub-tick: TACO and coldzera said they preferred the CS:GO experience and linked their Counter-Strike 2 concerns to missed or unregistered-looking shots during movement.
• Positioning and pace: the players said the current game favors someone entering the screen while running, while they viewed CS:GO as more favorable to better positioning.
• Movement: TACO said player movement feels unusually fast and still has a sliding quality.
• Cheating: both players identified the lack of control over cheaters as the main current Counter-Strike 2 problem.

The players’ comments did not stop at gameplay mechanics. They also identified cheating as the most serious current problem in Counter-Strike 2, placing that concern above the issues they described with hitboxes, sub-tick and movement.

Their explanation centered on Valve Anti-Cheat, known as VAC. TACO and coldzera said Valve does not use a highly invasive anti-cheat approach. They contrasted that position with Vanguard, the system they identified as being used by Valorant and described as highly invasive.

According to the pair, a less invasive system is easier to bypass. That is the specific relationship they gave for why they consider cheating to be insufficiently controlled, rather than a claim about a particular player, match or tournament.

TACO and coldzera call cheating the main current issue

TACO and coldzera said cheating is the biggest current problem in Counter-Strike 2. They criticized Valve’s anti-cheat situation and said VAC is not a very strong anti-cheat system.

The players said Valve does not want to install something that is highly invasive on a user’s computer. They used Valorant’s Vanguard as the comparison for a system they described as highly invasive.

Their criticism preserved a trade-off described in the conversation. In their view, an anti-cheat system that is less invasive is also easier to circumvent. The podcast discussion did not provide figures for cheating cases, details of particular cheats or results from specific anti-cheat actions.

Taken together, the comments separate two categories of concern. Hitboxes, sub-tick, movement and the value of positioning were discussed as gameplay issues, while cheating was presented by the players as the main current problem. TACO nevertheless said the newer game can eventually surpass CS:GO.

The Flow Podcast discussion recorded a detailed set of concerns from TACO and coldzera about Counter-Strike 2. Their comparison with CS:GO covered shot registration around moving models, the effect of speed in engagements, movement feel and the importance they assign to positioning.

Their strongest criticism concerned cheating and VAC, which they characterized as insufficiently effective because Valve does not pursue a highly invasive approach. Even with that criticism, TACO said Counter-Strike 2 has the potential to become better than CS:GO over time, while maintaining that it is not better yet.