Valve has released a brand new CS2 update, adding five community-made maps across different game modes. Despite the addition of the new CS2 maps, there is no sign of a fresh Operation coming to the game, which many thought would arrive alongside these maps.

MILLS AND THERA

Credit: Valve

For 5v5 game modes and Deathmatch, Valve has added Mills and Thera in the new CS2 update. Both are extremely popular workshop maps, and it’ll be exciting to see Thera in action in particular. Why, you might ask? Well, Thera is created by FMPONE, the creator of Cache. Thera was their outlet to get to grips with the Source 2 map-making tools before moving on to the Cache remake, so we’re excited to see how it actually plays in a competitive environment.

ASSEMBLY AND MEMENTO

Credit: Valve

For CS2 Wingman players, Valve has added Assembly and Memento. These two are some of the most polished CS2 Workshop maps, and absolutely deserve their shot in the full game. Both seem like they’d be a perfect way for players bored of the normal Wingman maps to get a fresh experience in-game, so we’ll be trying these out for sure.

POOL DAY

Credit: Valve

Pool Day is back! CS veterans might remember this from 1.6, and now, it’s playable in Arms Race matchmaking. Small but chaotic, Pool Day is an absolute blast, and was already regarded as one of the best CS2 Workshop maps. It might have been initially designed over 20 years ago, but it’s still as fun as ever in CS2.

COMPETITIVE MODE CHANGES AND MORE

Other changes include an overhaul to map-based skill groups. It now takes just two wins to earn a skill group in Competitive, and the current assigned groups have been redistributed. No longer will you face FACEIT level 10s in Silver 3!

On top of this, there’s a new MVP panel, as well as animated MVPs in Premier. Let’s see if Valve does anything further with this.

While it’s a shame that there’s no Operation in the new CS2 update, Valve has cooked with these maps. The full patch notes can be found below:

CS2 RELEASE NOTES FOR 6/25/2024

[ MAPS ]

• Added community maps Thera and Mills to Competitive, Casual, and Deathmatch map groups
• Added community maps Memento and Assembly to the Wingman map pool
• Added community map Pool Day to the Arms Race map pool

• Fixed c4 stuck spots

• Fixed c4 stuck spots, holes in the world, and non-solids causing problems

• Fixed c4 stuck spots and clipping

• Fixes for grenade collision and clipping

[ UI ]

• Updated the MVP panel in all game modes
• Added all-new animated MVP panels to Premier matches
• Added several new MVP conditions and adjusted prior MVP rules

[ GAMEPLAY ]

• In Competitive Matchmaking, per-map skill groups are now revealed after you earn two wins on a map.

[ VIDEO SETTINGS ]

• Settings Recommendations
  • Added a Settings Recommendation popup if your display’s refresh rate is set below its maximum at startup. Using your display’s highest refresh rate is generally recommended.
  • Added a Settings Recommendation popup if NVIDIA G-Sync support is detected but not enabled at startup. Using G-Sync is generally recommended if your system supports it.
  • Added a Settings Recommendation popup if NVIDIA G-Sync is enabled but not V-Sync and/or NVIDIA Reflex. It is generally recommended to enable all three settings together when they are available. Note that applying these settings will limit your frame rate to your display’s refresh rate or slightly lower, which is usually the smoothest-looking and lowest input latency settings combination. See https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/418E-7A04-B0DA-9032 for technical details.
• Removed “Main Menu Background Scenery” and “Item Inspect Background Scenery” settings from the Video Settings page. These settings are still available on the Main Menu and in the Item Inspect screens respectively.
• The “Refresh Rate” setting now shows your display’s current refresh rate in Windowed and Fullscreen Windowed modes.
• Removed the “Laptop Power Savings” setting which has never actually been configurable in CS2.
• Added a “Frame Pacing” section to the Advanced Video settings page.
• Added an “NVIDIA G-Sync” row to the Frame Pacing section which tells you whether or not G-Sync is active with your current display settings. This row may be hidden if you’re using the Vulkan renderer or if you’re not using an NVIDIA graphics card.
• Added “Maximum FPS In Game” and “Maximum FPS In Menus” sliders to the Frame Pacing section. These control the fps_max and fps_max_ui convars respectively.
• Increased the default “Maximum FPS In Menus” setting from 120 FPS to 200 FPS.
• The Advanced Video visual preview now uses the “In Game” maximum FPS instead of the “In Menus” maximum.