The riot shield was probably the most divisive item ever added to Counter-Strike - and now it's back. New update Operation Riptide, out now, introduces the defensive item to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's casual mode, alongside major tweaks to Dust2, new missions, shorter matches, and private matchmaking queues.
Valve has just revealed the eleventh operation for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Operation Riptide. As is to be expected, there is a mountain of new stickers, skins, agents, and more for players to work towards earning over the next few months, but there are a few big gameplay and playlist changes dropping as well.
For starters, there have been some updates to playlists. Players can now finally host private Premier matches on Valve's own servers, and can invite friends to compete in these matches with queue codes. Seemingly as a result of recent debates around the length of matches in CS:GO, Valve has also added the option to play in shorter competitive matches. As well as the usual 30-round matches you can now also play 16-round, first-to-nine matches that Valves estimates will take around 25 minutes to complete.
In the gameplay department, there are a number of small but controversial changes on the way. Grenades can now be dropped for teammates like you can with weapons, which could see the development of a specific grenade-focused player role. There's always that one person in your team that knows all the good smokes, right?
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