What is peeker's advantage in CS2?

What is peeker's advantage in CS2?
Images via Valve

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

23rd Jan 2024 17:15

Peeker's advantage is one of the most important aspects of Counter-Strike 2 to learn about, as it can make or break any encounter you have with an enemy player.

In a game where one or two shots can define who wins a fight (and subsequently a round), having the advantage of time can really make the difference. It might not be a lot, but if you're looking to climb up the ranks then you'll definitely want to take advantage of it.

Peeker's advantage explained

Peeker's advantage in CS2 is when the player pushing an angle sees the enemy holding the angle before the holding player can see them due to the aggressive nature of the original player's push.

Example of a wide swing where peeker's advanatge would come into play in CS2
Click to enlarge

While the advantage will be less than a second overall, it can be extremely significant if your aim is good enough, as with a one-hit gun like the AK-47, all you need is just a single bullet.

You will often hear peeker's advantage referred to colloquially as a 'Ferrari peek' or 'Xantares peek', referencing both the famous car manufacturer and the Turkish professional player. These do indicate slightly different scenarios, with the latter often implementing a crouch, but they both hinge on the aggressing player seeing you sooner than you can see and react to them.

How to use peeker's advantage in CS2

Using peeker's advantage in CS2 is simple, as all you need to do is push up against a corner and aggressively swing wide into the angle onto an unsuspecting player. You'll want to make sure that you roughly know where a player might be through intel or general game sense, as it'll help you make the most of the small advantage you gain through the peek.

Peeker's advantage works as the server favours the 'active' player, while the static player holding the angle has to wait for the server to send the information to them. This is why you can often feel like you didn't even see the player that peeked you, as the peeker's advantage let them kill you before you could react.

Image of a wide peek on Mirage in CS2
Click to enlarge

Using a wide peek is especially strong in conjunction with peeker's advantage as players often aim right at the start of an angle, so moving beyond this and even integrating a crouch means that they have to spend more time readjusting their aim.

On the flip side, you can avoid falling victim to peeker's advantage by either holding an off angle or standing further away from an angle you're holding yourself. This will either mean that the player has to spend more time looking for you (if they even see you at all) or that your player model is 'smaller' and thus harder to hit.

Internet speed and ping obviously play a huge part in dealing with peeker's advantage too, as the longer it takes for the game to communicate with your client, the longer it takes for the game to show a player that has fast peeked you.

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If you're looking to master the peeker's advantage then definitely make sure that you're using one of the best pro player crosshair codes to improve your aim. For everything else though, head to our dedicated Counter-Strike homepage, as we've got the full knife commands list and the best grenade spots on Dust2.

Harry Boulton
About the author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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