Strafe Commands Help & Examples

Strafe commands in CS:GO and CS2 can be useful for a number of things. Some experienced players use them to accurately prefire because it locks your mouse/crosshair from moving. So, when a player wants to clear an angle quickly, they can use the strafe command.

Strafe binds can also be useful for bhopping or long jumps. How? Well, strafing while moving in any CS game increases the player’s movement. This is also true when jumping. So, if you strafe while jumping, you’re increasing your speed which means you jump further, faster. The faster you move while jumping, the easier it is to bhop. 

Surfing is another place you can utilize strafe binds. Surfing usually requires accurate and consistent movement inputs, which is why a lot of surfers prefer using the strafe bind rather than using the default A or D key binds.

The +strafe command locks your mouse from moving the crosshair and instead, mouse movements cause your player character to strafe. However, typing +strafe and –strafe every time you want to enable and disable this feature, doesn’t make sense. So, you’ll need to bind it to a button.

To bind it, you will need to activate the developer console which you can do through the in-game settings. Head into Settings Menu – Game – Enable Developer Console and select Yes.

Now, let’s say you bind mouse button 5 with the +strafe command. Whenever you hold down mouse button 5 you can strafe left and right with the mouse and the crosshair will not move in any direction. Once you let go of the mouse button, your mouse movements will return to normal.

Here’s how you can bind this command to any button:

• bind mouse5 +strafe – you can replace “mouse5” with any other button on your mouse or keyboard. 

If you bound the wrong button to the strafing command, you can use the following command to unbind it:

• unbind mouse5 (or any other button you used)

Unfortunately, the +strafe and –strafe commands have been removed from Counter-Strike 2. This means players are unable to bind a button with this movement anymore. For that reason, the surfer and combat surfer community is slowly losing interest in the game. 

We hope that future CS2 updates will bring the +strafe command back into the game.

If this command ever comes back to CS2 in a future update or if you’re looking to play on private CS:GO servers then you should know how to effectively use your strafe binds.

Surfing With +Strafe

It’s no secret that most users of the +strafe command are surfers or combat surfers. This is because surfing in CS:GO, or rather, any CS requires a lot of strafing, so giving up the A and D key binds for easier and more accurate movements with the mouse makes sense. 

It’s less taxing on your hands, and you can do most of your surfing with the mouse without ever pressing a key on your keyboard.

So, if you want to start surfing with this feature, all you need to do is bind it to any mouse button. Usually, users prefer mouse button 4 or 5. With +strafe now bound, jump onto the surf ramp, hold down the button, and drag into the ramp. 

Let go of your new key bind when you want to readjust (move your crosshair) or jump off the ramp.

Prefiring With +Strafe

While a bit rare, some players are used to prefiring or clearing angles with the +strafe command. For most people, A or D probably works best, but if you want to try something new, or if you’re used to this kind of movement from older FPS or CS games, this might just help you get better at prefiring.

Let’s create a scenario. You’re on Dust 2 as a CT and want to peek mid, specifically suicide. Usually, there will be an AWP holding down mid, so a longer peek than usual and you’re dead. With the prefire strafe, you can set the height of your crosshair exactly where a player could be, hold your +strafe button, move the mouse to the right or left to strafe, shoot, and then continue into cover. 

This will keep your crosshair locked in place and potentially increase your one-tap accuracy in that long-range battle.

How To Bind The Strafe Command?

To bind the +strafe command in CS:GO or CS2, you need to open the console with the tilde “~” key, and type the following: “bind [any key or mouse button) +strafe”. After that, you can use your newly bound key to activate +strafe at any time.

Can You Use The CSGO Strafe Command In CS2?

No, you can’t use the +strafe command from CSGO in CS2. Valve decided to remove it and it hasn’t been returned to the developer console since.

Can You Use +Strafe In Ranked Games?

Yes, you can use the +strafe command in any ranked match including Premier, FaceIt, and Competitive Matchmaking.