“The pricy G3SG1 lowers movement speed considerably but compensates with a higher rate of fire than other sniper rifles.”
―Official description
The G3SG/1, or D3/AU-1, as it was previously known, is a sniper rifle featured in the Counter-Strike series.
Overview
The G3SG/1 is a powerful semi-automatic sniper rifle available exclusively to the Terrorists. The G3SG/1 is an "accurized" variant of the famous G3 battle rifle developed by Heckler & Koch. The "SG" in its name stands for Scharfschützengewehr, or "sharpshooting rifle". During production, H&K will often pick the out the G3 rifles with the lowest spread from the production line, modify them, and then rebrand the rifle as the G3SG/1. Thus in real life, the G3SG/1 retains G3's automatic fire and can switch from full-auto to semi-auto and safe by flipping a 3-position fire selector at its side. In-game, the G3SG/1 can only fire in semi-auto mode.
Alongside with the SIG SG550 and the SCAR-20, they are known as being some of the most imbalanced weapons in the game due to their semi-automatic sniper rifle status, despite their major disadvantages. For this reason, the G3SG/1, along with SG 550 and SCAR-20 are usually banned on public servers, due to semi-automatic mode that can kill the targets quickly. Moreover, In competitive gameplay, the AWP is often preferred over these semi-automatic rifles due to its high damage per shot, better accuracy, and lower cost.
This weapon is not available in Assassination maps.
Interestingly, Counter-Terrorist bots in older games may pick it up if their default weapon is Scout/SG 550, similar to the Terrorists picking up a SG 550 to replace the Scout and the G3SG/1.
For balancing reasons, some sniper bots in Tour of Duty or multiplayer on higher difficulties rarely/never buy this weapon. Instead, they prefer to use the AWP. However, bots in multiplayer who do not have any weapon preference (mostly easy bots) or a sniper bot that is using the MP5 or the Scout may buy/pick up this weapon.
Properties
| Hitbox | Primary Attack | |
|---|---|---|
| Unarmored | Armored | |
| Head | 319 | 263 |
| Chest & Arm | 79 | 65 |
| Abdomen & Pelvis | 99 | 82 |
| Leg | 59 | 59 |
While wielded, the player's movement speed is lowered to 210 units per second (default speed is 250), meaning they suffer 16% speed reduction.
In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the G3SG/1 has slightly increased movement speed to 215 units per second (14% speed reduction), tied with its counterpart, the SCAR-20.
The G3SG/1 is one of the many weapons able to shoot underwater.
Advantages
- High damage
- Above average hip-fire accuracy
- Higher rate of fire than the AWP, Scout and SSG 08
- In 1.6 it has no accuracy penalties when running and has very good jumping accuracy
- In 1.6 it does not have noscope accuracy penalties
- Kills in two hits or less
- Lower recoil than the SCAR-20
Disadvantages
- Second most expensive weapon ($5000) after the M249.
- One of the heaviest weapons in Counter-Strike as the player can only move around 210 units when using this gun.
- No crosshair when unzoomed
- High recoil while firing continuously, especially when unzoomed
- Smaller magazine size than the Krieg 550 Commando (20 rounds)
- Long reload time
- Cannot be purchased in Assassination mode
Gameplay
Tactics
- Crouch and stop moving for better accuracy.
- Do not try to score a headshot if you are unable to; inflicting damage on the torso or stomach of targets is powerful enough.
- If an enemy is standing still and does not notice you, eliminate that player with a headshot.
- Use cover when using this weapon.
- When scoped, do not fire continuously like an assault rifle (unless you encounter a group of enemies). This is the most common mistake made while using this weapon. Instead try to leave a quarter to half of a second gap between two shots.
- Crouching will reduce the recoil; it can be best used at long range to attack groups of enemies.
- Unless at close range with a target, avoid spraying bullets at full-auto. Instead, burst-fire while scoped in to maintain high accuracy.
- The G3SG/1 can be useful against a crowd of enemies if you can manage at least a single shot on each person, or score multiple kills.
- Due to the penetration damage, it is possible to wallbang by firing at the enemy behind thin boxes or walls.
- Zoom in and mark the central red-dot (1.6 and Condition Zero) / center (Source) of the crosshairs with a wipeable sketch or marker pen of the color of the crosshair. This way the G3SG/1 can be used unscoped as a semi-auto battle rifle. This also works with the lower recoil sniper rifles like Krieg 550 Commando and the Scout.
- Keep a pistol handy. Use the G3SG/1 for long ranges and switch to the handgun to deal with enemies who get too close. If your sidearm is not available, try to spray bullets at the enemy without zooming in.
- The cone of fire will be significantly larger if the player fires the G3SG/1 without using the scope. A sidearm is a more reliable weapon if the user has close encounters. This also applies to SCAR-20.
- If you are armed with a SIG SG550 or a Scout and find a G3SG/1 on the ground, exchange your rifle for the G3SG/1. It is an arguably better weapon and is sometimes better than the AWP due to its semi-automatic capability.
- In CS:GO, if players want a more predictable recoil pattern and do not mind having a longer reload time, they can trade a SCAR-20 for a G3SG/1.
- In comparison to the Krieg 550 Commando, the G3SG/1 has 10 rounds less in its magazine and has higher recoil. Due to this, some players with a higher latency will prefer the Krieg 550 Commando over the G3SG/1. However, the G3SG/1's first shot is more accurate than the Krieg 550 Commando.
- This rifle and its counter part are two of the best anti-rush weapons in CS, especially in closed areas.
- If you are caught in close quarters, its possible to spray without using the scope, the same applies to SCAR-20 and SG 550; although this tactic is not reliable, but a lot more achievable than attempting it bolt-action counterparts.
Countertactics
- Rush at them while they are reloading but be careful for covering teammates.
- Use flashbangs or smoke grenades to distract or disorientate users.
- Wield weapons like the AK-47 score a headshot on users just before he can start shooting (or at least, be able to eliminate you with a second hit). (However, since CTs cannot buy the AK-47, it is better to pick up the weapon from dead Terrorists.)
- It is more recommended to use submachine guns or shotguns and engage them at close proximity. This is when enemies with the G3SG/1 will struggle to fight.
- Be careful if a G3SG/1 user is spraying bullets at close range; keep moving to avoid getting hit. Even without the scope, a user who is spraying bullets at close range can still be lethal.
- If the opponent is aware of your location, avoid staying behind thin cover or door, as the G3SG/1 user may try to wallbang.
- Hit an enemy user with a HE grenade and rush him. However, this may not be advisable if the assailant is located in long distances and if there are present enemy team members.
- Overpower with an AWP. However the luxury of missing a shot against G3SG/1 users and firing again while using an AWP is not available.
- Do not bunch up, this may give G3SG1 user easy multi-kills; this also applies to SCAR-20/SG 550.
- Inexperienced users may fire this weapon constantly and suffer from high recoil. Use sniper rifles that have lower recoil like the SG 550 or the AWP to counter users.
- Do not rush in any cases without the usage of a smoke grenade and a flashbang if enemies have this and its counterpart, the SCAR-20. Users of these two guns can wipe a team off in 5 seconds in closed areas, such as the tunnel entrance in Dust 2.
Comparisons
- Positive
-
- Higher damage
- Higher accuracy
- High accuracy even without using the scope
- Shorter reload time in Condition Zero (3.7 seconds vs 4 seconds)
- Higher effective range
- Neutral
-
- Same movement speed (210 unit per seconds)
- Same ammo in reserve (90 rounds)
- Both weapons are equipped with a scope
- Negative
-
- More expensive ($5000 vs $4200)
- Smaller magazine size (20 rounds vs 30 rounds)
- More expensive ammo cost ($80 vs $60)
- Higher recoil
- Longer reload time in 1.6 and Source (4.7 seconds vs 4 seconds)
- Positive
-
- Sightly lower recoil pattern (30 vs 31)
- Neutral
-
- Same price ($5000)
- Same magazine capacity (20)
- Same ammo in reserve (90)
- Same movement speed (215) (150 zoomed)
- Negative
-
- Inferior tagging factor (Slows to 50% (body) or 65% (leg) speed VS slows to 35% (body) or 40% (leg) speed)
- Longer reload time (4.7 seconds vs 3.1 seconds)
Achievements
- Weapon
|
D3/AU-1 Expert Kill 500 enemy players with the D3/AU-1. |
- Kill
|
Snipe Hunter Kill 100 zoomed-in enemy snipers. |
|
Eye to Eye Kill a zoomed-in enemy sniper with a sniper rifle of your own. |
|
Hip Shot Kill an enemy with an un-zoomed sniper rifle. |
- Miscellaneous
|
Happy Camper Get two kills standing in the same spot with a zoomed sniper rifle. |
- Weapon Specialist
|
G3SG1 Expert Kill 100 enemies with the G3SG1. |
- Combat Skills
|
Snipe Hunter Kill 100 zoomed-in enemy snipers. |
|
Eye to Eye Kill a zoomed-in enemy sniper with a sniper rifle of your own. |
|
Hip Shot Kill an enemy with an un-zoomed sniper rifle. |
Appearances
Condition Zero
For balancing reasons, Terrorist bots never purchase the G3SG1 as the main weapon. Instead, they will purchase the AWP as the highest tier weapon. This is because in the weapon template, the G3SG1 is ranked on NR.3 on the sniper list and its price is higher than both weapon 1 (AWP) and weapon 2 (SG 550). However, bots will still pick up this weapon if they are using the Scout.
The only time the player can obtain this weapon is when a Terrorist bot named Lunatic is present. Due to an error in his preferred weapons list and provided he has sufficient money, Lunatic may buy this weapon and can drop it if he finds a suitable weapon or when killed.
Deleted Scenes
The G3SG/1 does appear frequently in some of the missions in Deleted Scenes (unlike the SG 550) as a secret weapon. However, since most missions take place at enclosed areas or have no reserve ammo for the rest of the mission, players will often save the G3SG/1 for boss/finale fights or when encountering high priority threats like enemy snipers or LAW launchers.
Compared to multiplayer, the G3SG/1 is far less accurate, even the first shot has a high chance to miss a target. This is also shared with its counterpart, the SG 550, the G3SG1 is still very powerful in Deleted Scenes though.
The G3SG/1 appears in the following missions:
- Secret War: It is found at an upper area where you have to go back outside to enter the underground generator. Heading left, you'll find it at the back of some boxes, just next to the hatch of the rocket. It is best to get this weapon and use it against the Hind since the weapon is very effective against the aerial vehicle and one magazine is usually enough to take it down.
- Hankagai: Found at the inside of the window where an enemy sniper had stood in that position, before the player reach the scene that the enemy leader being hit by a car. It is recommended to get this weapon to decrease the chance of accidentally hitting the hostage at the finale.
- Alamo: Found at the building where the first enemy with a white shirt has stood.
- Truth in Chaos: Found nearby the last hostage, where it is placed on a chair.
Trivia
- Despite being called a semi-automatic sniper rifle and used as such by the in-game character, the player may hold the fire button down for full automatic fire (the in-game character will simply repeatedly pull the trigger).
- The G3SG/1 was introduced in Beta 1.0 and it was originally the semi-auto sniper rifle for both factions. After the introduction of the SIG SG 550 in Counter-Strike 1.0, the G3SG/1 became a Terrorist-exclusive weapon. In Counter-Strike 1.6, some CT bots tend to pick up this weapon during sniper matches.
- In earlier versions of Counter-Strike, this gun was relatively ineffective due to a bug in which the amount of recoil was improperly increased by the game when a user had a ping of more than 0. A related problem was that the recoil of the first few shots was wildly high and inconsistent, and often times, the gun had to be "warmed up" by firing a few early shots before accuracy could be maintained at its full rate of fire. In later and current versions, the recoil issues were fixed and effectively reduced, allowing the gun to be accurate when used at full rate of fire when zoomed.
- Many servers for the online play restrict the G3SG/1 for being too powerful (as it can kill a player within 2 shots or less), the same applies to SIG 550 and SACR-20.
- In the older Counter-Strike games, whenever the user is reloading the weapon, it appears that the magazine is simply taken out of it and that same magazine is put back into it.
- The G3SG/1 in Deleted Scenes and Global Offensive uses an olive drab stock and forearm rather than the black used in the original Counter-Strike, Condition Zero, and Source.
- In Source, the fire selector switch is set at safe, therefore it should not be able to fire. In other games, it's correctly set to semi-auto.
- Despite being Terrorist-exclusive, the G3SG/1 is commonly seen wielded by Counter-Terrorists in menu screen background images in Global Offensive.
- It is somewhat odd that the G3SG/1 is a Terrorist weapon, as few Terrorist organizations were known to have used the G3SG/1. On the other hand, the G3SG/1 was used by several military and law enforcement organizations for many years.
- For some reason, if a player selects the G3SG/1 in 1.6 and Condition Zero, the HUD selection icon lacks the word "PRIMARY". However, the pick up icon does.
- The G3SG/1 and its counterpart (the SCAR-20) are also known as the "DakDak" due to the infamous firing sounds they make.
- Unlike other weapons in Global Offensive, the G3SG/1 can have a total of five stickers applied.
- The G3SG/1 in 1.6 is only weapon introduced in beta 1.0 which had gone through neither animation changes nor sound changes.
Behind the scenes
- In the early beta stages of Counter-Strike, the G3SG/1 is mounted with a night vision scope, which is activated once zoomed in and acts in a similar manner to the nightvision goggles.[1] This feature was removed in beta 3.0.
References
- ↑ Counter-Strike Beta 1.1 - Guns Overview on Youtube (exactly at 6:50)
External links
- G3SG/1 at Wikipedia.
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