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Hostagerescue

Hostage Resuce Icon

Hostage Rescue mode, also known as "Hostage Scenario", is a game mode available in all games of the Counter-Strike series.

Overview[]

Hostage Rescue mode is a game mode where the round winning conditions for the two teams are:

  • Counter-Terrorists
    • Rescue at least half of the hostages and there are no remaining living or un-rescued hostages (Excluding Global Offensive)
    • Rescue any of the hostages (Global Offensive only)
    • Eliminate all Terrorists before the round timer runs out
  • Terrorists
    • Run down the round timer without the Counter-Terrorists rescuing more than half of the hostages and there are no remaining living or un-rescued hostages (Excluding Global Offensive)
    • Run down the round timer without the Counter-Terrorists rescuing any hostages (Global Offensive only)
    • Eliminate all Counter-Terrorists

In Global Offensive, the Hostage Scenario is one of the two "Classic" game modes, alongside the Bomb Scenario. Therefore, the Hostage Scenario is available in both Casual and Competitive rulesets.

Gameplay[]

Generally, the hostages are placed near the Terrorist spawn. To rescue the hostages, the Counter-Terrorists must interact with them (by walking up to a hostage and pressing the use key) and lead them to the hostage rescue zone, usually located near the Counter-Terrorist spawn. The secondary objective, which also secures a victory for either team, is to eliminate all members of the opposing team. If the round time expires, the Terrorists win by default.

If all (at least half of) the surviving hostages have been rescued, the Counter-Terrorists will win by default, and each Counter-Terrorist is given a monetary reward. In Counter-Strike: Source however, it does not have to be a half of the initial count as long last hostage is left alive and rescued after other ones were killed. The game mode may effectively become a 'terrorist hunt' if all hostages are killed. Killing a hostage by either side usually incurs a large amount of stiff penalty in cash, and will sometimes garner a slaying, kick, or ban from the server.

When a Counter-Terrorist begins interacting with the hostages, they will be rewarded a small sum of cash. Upon successfully escorting a hostage to a rescue point, a much greater sum is awarded to the individual Counter-Terrorist.

In Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, there was another way for the Counter-Terrorists to win. In this situation, hostages are given the ability to escape on their own and reach the hostage rescue zone, if they do not sense the presence of a Terrorist and they do not encounter a Counter-Terrorist. If all the hostages are able to reach the rescue zone by themselves, the game will announce "Hostages have escaped" instead of announcing the usual statement "Hostages have been rescued".

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive the gamemode was revamped on the March 21, 2013 update. Now only having two hostages instead of four, the Counter-Terrorists have to pick up the Hostages and carry them to the escape zone. Although only one needs to be rescued, it's possible to bring both hostages to the rescue zone. The round time is 2 minutes. While carrying a hostage the Counter-Terrorist is slowed significantly but an extra minute is added to the clock to compensate for this. Hostages are also invulnerable to all damage, although a cash penalty will still be incurred for both sides when shooting one. In the September 21, 2021 update, the Riot Shield was added, available to purchase for the Counter-Terrorists for $1100.

Maps[]

Hostage rescue maps are prefixed with cs_.

The following maps are officially available in the listed games.

( Cscz t ) Counter-Strike map playable on Counter-Strike: Condition Zero.

The following maps were made by community members and have been officially available in Global Offensive for a certain period of time.

Strategies[]

  • Hostages ignore falling damage, thus Counter-Terrorists can have hostages follow them and fall down from significant heights without taking a single point of damage.
  • Counter-Strike: Condition Zero hostages having significantly improved AI require more attention and care to.
    • Terrorists should always be watching them as they can attempt to escape and assist the enemy.
    • Counter-Terrorists can make use of all information given by a hostage, most notably enemy locations. Terrorists in the same way can use their reactions and speech as a mean of pinpointing their position and whether or not they are being rescued.
  • Rescue kits in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are a must-purchase as they considerably reduce the amount of time required to carry a hostage, allowing for speedy extractions.
  • Avoid using incendiary or explosive devices when around hostages as it can hurt them and result in severe cash penalties.
  • Counter-Terrorists should always check the area where hostages are held to avoid being killed by surprise when attempting a rescue.
  • Hostages featured in the Deleted Scenes are mission critical, one should be extremely cautious when around them.
  • A hostage has roughly 50% less health compared to players. As such, a few shots or a single headshot will kill the hostage. Be sure to fire a weapon with care and avoid spraying bullets.
  • As a CT, if there are more than two people (including you) still alive, use your teammates as enemy distractions as it gives you extra time to rescue the hostage(s).
  • As a terrorist, if a hostage is being rescued, do not hesitate, walk, or stall. You will never know if they are going to use a different route. When a hostage is extracted, rush for the rescue zone so you can catch the hostage carrier red-handed. If there are multiple zones, watch both zones time to time and focus on hearing footsteps or any sounds an enemy makes.
  • Unless absolutely necessary, if rescuing the remaining hostages is deemed nearly impossible (either due to being last CT alive and the area is infested with Terrorists or the round timer is almost out while half number of hostages are rescued), it is possible to force Ccounter-Terrorists to win the round by rescuing at least two hostages and then kill the other hostages. While money penalty is a severe problem, players who are already low on funds are not likely to be concerned about the penalty. This should be done only as a last resort and sparingly. Depending on the server settings, the player may get auto-kicked after killing too many hostages (default 5 hostage kills).
    • In Counter-Strike: Source, it's possible to win the round by just rescuing one hostage. This requires the other 3 hostages to be killed before rescuing the last hostage.

Achievements[]

Rescue
Cowboy Diplomacy css Cowboy Diplomacy
Rescue 100 hostages.
Dead Shepherd css Dead Shepherd
Kill an enemy player who is leading the hostages without injuring any hostages.
Freed With Speed css Freed With Speed
Rescue all hostages within 90 seconds.
Good Shepherd css Good Shepherd
Rescue all hostages in a single round.
SAR Czar css SAR Czar
Rescue 500 hostages.

Team Tactics
Good Shepherd csgo Good Shepherd
Rescue all hostages in a single round.
Dead Shepherd csgo Dead Shepherd
Kill an enemy who is carrying a hostage.
Freed With Speed csgo Freed With Speed
Rescue all hostages within 90 seconds.
Cowboy Diplomacy csgo Cowboy Diplomacy
Rescue 100 hostages.
SAR Czar csgo SAR Czar
Rescue 500 hostages.

Behind the scenes[]

References

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