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HOW TO PLAY CS:GO - RADAR COMMANDS GUIDE

Purely for the sake of the experiment, we asked a few players to send us some in-game screenshots to see what their HUD looks like. Analyzing the screenshots, we came to the conclusion that 9 out of 10 people either have their radars not configured at all or have them configured very poorly. This becomes even stranger because the ranks of these people have ranged from Legendary Eagle Master to The Global Elite, yet all of them used only CS:GO standard config.

This fact caught our attention, and we started to look at the screenshots sent by friends with lower ranks. And what would you think? They had absolutely the same situation. Practically everyone has a default radar configuration, on which you can not see a damn thing.

Let's make it clear: playing with friends you know well, you often find yourself in a situation when your teammates, even if they give you info, do it only after getting killed in the game because they can't simultaneously plant the bomb and talk. Or your teammate confuses the names and gives incorrect info, which only worsens the situation.

Proper CS:GO radar settings, on the other hand, allow you to see your location and the location of your allies, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Radar enables you to see the cones of vision of your teammates, so you know exactly where your bros are looking when they're explaining something to you. What's more, you'll even be able to see a bomb on the map if the enemy team drops it. And finally, the radar shows you the last location of your opponents if someone from your team has seen them. Thus, the radar is a useful tactical tool, mastering which you can wreak death and havoc on the battlefield.

So, let’s review the best radar settings in CS:GO for tuning your radar together, which will gain you a real competitive advantage.

CS:GO Radar Commands

Let's take a look at the most popular CS:GO map settings. Once you apply these CS:GO map commands, your performance as a player can increase significantly.

Adjust Your HUD Radar Scale

HUD Radar Scale

cl_hud_radar_scale

Min value — 0.8

Max value — 1.3

Suggested value — 1.3

This command is responsible for adjusting the HUD of the radar (i.e., its size). Since most players play at full HD 1920x1080 resolution, we suggest zooming it to the maximum value, which is 1.3. If you play at lower resolutions, try different values. The advice is that you need to be able to see everything on the radar clearly, but it shouldn't take half of your screen.

Increase the Map Area Visible on the Radar

Increase the Map Area Visible on the Radar

cl_radar_scale

Min value — 0.25

Max value — 1

Suggested value — 0.35

This is one of the CS:GO radar commands that most players set up incorrectly. The map area visible on the radar should be large, but the map detail should not be small, enabling you to determine the location of allies and enemies quickly. We suggest you choose the 0.35 value.

Rotate Your Radar

Rotate Your Radar

cl_radar_rotate

1 — enable

0 — disable

This command is responsible for the position of the radar as to your point of view. If enabled, the radar turns along with the character model. When disabled, the radar becomes static and always faces the north. Deciding whether binding the camera to your model is worth it purely depends on your taste.

Center Your Radar

Center Your Radar

cl_radar_always_centered

1 — enable

0 — disable.

Suggested value — 0

When enabled, your position will always be in the center of the radar. Why is this so bad? Because when you are on the edge of the map, centering your position devours a huge piece of information. Thus, if you want to see the whole map wherever you are, you should disable this option.

Scale the Icons on Your Radar

Scale the Icons on Your Radar

cl_radar_icon_scale_min

Min value — 0.4

Max value — 1

Suggested value — 0.7

This command is responsible for the size of icons of players and bombs displayed on the radar. Again, everything is quite individual, but the "standard" option is considered 0.7. With this value, the icons are neither too big nor too tiny, perfectly distinguishable at a cursory look.

Change of the Radar Style with Tab

Change of the Radar Style with Tab

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard

1 — enable

0 — disable

Suggested value — 0

One of the map commands in CS:GO that is "obligatory" is the command to turn off the change of the radar style when you open your scoreboard. Technically, all it should do is change the radar from round to square when you press Tab, but somehow, it resets most of the radar settings for the time you view the scoreboard. Therefore, you should disable this function.

See the Bomb on the Map

See the Bomb on the Map

cl_hud_bomb_under_radar

0 — disable

1 — enable 

Suggested value — 1

This command allows you to turn on the display of the bomb on the radar. It is on by default, and you have no reason to turn it off. However, if suddenly this feature is not working, turning it on via the command may help.

That's it! After you configure all these options with our guide, you'll get a radar that will give you all the necessary info about the situation on the battlefield at a glance.

How to Change Minimap Settings

Now, let's break down how to turn on the radar commands in CS:GO to ensure you're as comfortable as possible with your experience. There are a total of three ways to activate the map settings.

Through the Game Menu

The easiest way to change map settings is to do it directly in the game menu. 

  1. Open the game options.
  2. Find there the menu "Radar customization."
  3. Change any of the values.
Radar customization - in menu

However, it is not the most convenient way, as it is missing some options, and you will have a hard time copying the settings of, let's say, pro players.

Through the Console

There is an advanced and more complicated way to change the map settings, but the options to change the radar settings in this method are wider.

  1. Open the developer console by pressing the ` or ~ button.
  2. In the console that appears, enter one of the commands described in this article (or all of them, separated by semicolons).
  3. Press Enter.

Via an Autoexec File

If you want to customize the minimap and the game settings are not enough for you, but it seems tedious to enter commands every time, you just need to create an Autoexec file. All the settings will be automatically loaded each time you start the game.

  1. Open the config file with a text editor. If you can't find it, read our guide on how to find and create a config file.
  2. In the file, write all the necessary commands to customize the map.
  3. Save your changes.

If you didn't want to mess with the original config file and created a new one, for example, Autoexec.cfg, you need to take a few additional steps.

  1. Open your Steam and find Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in your Library.
  2. Right-click on CS:GO and choose Properties.
  3. Add +exec[the name of the file] to the Launch Options.
autoexec.cfg

Best CS:GO Radar Presets

There are two presets that most players with 1920x1080 resolution use. The first one, if you want to minimize your HUD to better see everything around you:

cl_hud_radar_scale 1.3;

cl_radar_scale 0.35;

cl_radar_rotate 1;

cl_radar_always_centered 0;

cl_radar_icon_scale_min 0.7;

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard 0;

Best CS:GO Radar Presets

However, these radar settings aren't suitable for everyone, as it might sometimes be hard to see every detail on the map. These are the second CS:GO best radar settings often used by players.

cl_radar_always_centered 0;

cl_radar_scale 0.3;

cl_hud_radar_scale 1.15;

cl_radar_icon_scale_min 1;

cl_radar_rotate 1;

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard 1;

Good CS:GO Radar Presets

The map here is bigger, with more visible icons, giving you a clear view of the whole battlefield.

How to Reset Radar Settings to Default?

What to do if you have changed the CS:GO minimap settings, but something went wrong? Do not despair because all changes can always be rolled back. Do not despair because all changes can always be rolled back. There is even a special button for this in the game settings. However, it will default all the options, not limiting the radar settings. 

Therefore, it's better to enter default commands into the console, and everything will be back to normal:

cl_radar_always_centered 1;

cl_radar_scale 0.7;

cl_hud_radar_scale 1;

cl_radar_icon_scale_min 0.6;

cl_radar_rotate 1;

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard 1;

FAQ

The default radar settings are as follows:

cl_radar_always_centered 1;

cl_radar_scale 0.7;

cl_hud_radar_scale 1;

cl_radar_icon_scale_min 0.6;

cl_radar_rotate 1;

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard 1;

In case your CS:GO radar went missing for some reason, you should at least try to enable it manually. You can do it in the game settings or enter the developer console command drawradar.

The CS:GO best map settings are those you personally feel comfortable playing with. However, here are the optimized settings most players choose:

cl_radar_always_centered 0;

cl_radar_scale 0.3;

cl_hud_radar_scale 1.15;

cl_radar_icon_scale_min 1;

cl_radar_rotate 1;

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard 1;

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