“Easily recognizable for its unique bullpup design, the P90 a great weapon to shoot on the move due to its high-capacity magazine and low recoil.”
―Official description
The P90 or ES C90, as it was previously known, is a submachine gun featured in the Counter-Strike series.
Overview
The FN P90 is a Belgium-made bullpup submachine gun fed with 50 rounds of 5.7×28mm. It has stable accuracy and low recoil even with continuous fire. Although its damage is relatively low, it is compensated with its generous 50 rounds and it has an excellent rate of fire, making it suitable for engaging multiple targets at close ranges.
The bullet spread has been decreased in Global Offensive, but it is heavier and inflicts lower damage to armored opponents, despite the P90's original intention to pierce through body armor.
The P90 is very popular among players who have insufficient funds to buy superior weapons. Its high magazine size allows this SMG to be used for spraying bullets. It is also the main weapon for bots who have the weapon preference of wielding submachine guns.
Properties
| CS 1.6 and CS:CZ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitbox | Primary Attack | ||
| Unarmored | Armored | ||
| Head | 80 | 60 | |
| Chest & Arm | 20 | 15 | |
| Abdomen & Pelvis | 25 | 18 | |
| Leg | 15 | 15 | |
| CS:S | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitbox | Primary Attack | ||
| Unarmored | Armored | ||
| Head | 103 | 77 | |
| Chest & Arm | 25 | 19 | |
| Abdomen & Pelvis | 32 | 24 | |
| Leg | 19 | 19 | |
| CS:GO | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitbox | Primary Attack | ||
| Unarmored | Armored | ||
| Head | 103 | 71 | |
| Chest & Arm | 25 | 17 | |
| Abdomen & Pelvis | 32 | 22 | |
| Leg | 19 | 19 | |
The P90 is a fairly light weapon. In all games prior to CS:GO while wielded, the player's movement speed is 245 units per second, meaning they suffer 2% speed reduction. In CS:GO, the player's movement speed is 230 units per second, making 8% speed reduction. The P90 is one of the many weapons able to shoot underwater.
Advantages
- Large magazine size (50 rounds)
- Very high rate of fire
- Lightweight
- Low recoil
- Cheap
- The best SMG against armored players (second best after the UMP45 in Global Offensive)
Disadvantages
- Inaccurate at long ranges
- Low damage, especially against armored targets
- Long reload time
- Small amount of ammo in reserve
- The most expensive SMG in game
Gameplay
Tactics
- Enemy players will almost always buy armor, so this weapon can be a good choice to wield due to its armor-piercing ammunition. P90 users have a better chance than other SMG users to pierce through helmets as well.
- By spraying bullets, this weapon is very ideal in scoring multiple headshots at medium or close ranges, due to its fast rate of fire and armor-piercing ammunition.
- If you do plan to spray bullets at a group of enemies, a smoke grenade should help you to reach close proximity while flashbangs can help distract your foes.
- If spraying bullets, aim at the line at the top of the reticle. Bullets will usually go around the reticle, making it easy to obtain headshots. This is useful for countering the weapon with high rate of fire at close range.
- Due to the large magazine size, you can spray bullets with this weapon on a large group of enemies and probably get a kill or two, but don't stay in one point for too long. Continuously spraying bullets will also cause inaccuracy and the enemy team may decide to group up and take you out.
- If you're having issues in fighting enemies at close proximity, the importance of throwing a flashbang may increase. If assailants are blinded, rush at them if possible and spray bullets since burst-firing may not be effective.
- Spray bullets and aim for the head while strafing if the enemy is at close quarters. The most important factor to consider is getting sufficiently close to the enemy. Use a flashbang or attack the enemy's blindspot(s).
- Avoid spraying bullets if your teammates are in front of you. The bullet spread may lead to friendly fire even when he is crouching. Instead, fire in bursts or find another location to fire.
- Although this submachine gun is often used for "spray and pray" purposes, due to the high spread and fast rate of fire, it is possible to burst-fire while wielding the P90. This tactic is often implemented when targets are located at medium ranges and if the user is aiming around the chest or neck.
- At medium range, crouch, aim for the leg, and start firing continuously. This may lead to a headshot. Also, do not use full-auto beyond close range; you will have a hard time hitting your target due to its high spread.
- 3 to 5 round bursts (by clicking/pressing the attack key for 1~2 seconds) should maintain your accuracy. Burst firing twice on your target should kill at mid-range without the need to score a headshot. You need to fire at least 2 bursts to kill someone in Source.
- At long range, crouch and fire 1-3 round bursts. Retreat if the enemy is using long range weaponry, or simply avoid spots that you will be potentially sniped.
- Reloading the P90 could take a while. Switch to a sidearm if you are out of ammunition or reach a safe spot to reload.
- In Global Offensive, the damage per bullet has decreased against armored players compared to Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Source. Moreover, the P90 is less effective at longer ranges.
- If you do want to use it however, treat it as a PDW and focus on close range combat. Its rate of fire can be used to overpower sidearms or weapons with lower rate of fire.
Countertactics
- Avoid contact with P90 users at close range, especially if a P90 user sprays a lot of bullets.
- Use long range weaponry. The P90 is not accurate at longer ranges and users are vulnerable due to the low damage per bullet.
- Most rifles outclass submachine guns, as long as the user has good aim and timing.
- High caliber weapons are needed to face the user in a close battle, or engage P90 users with two or more teammates. Remember to fan out so an enemy wielder won't wipe out everyone in a single burst.
- Submachine guns with lower spread, like the MP5, are good at mid-range.
- An unskilled P90 user will probably spray and pray, thus the magazine will run out quickly. Use it to your advantage when he reloads or before the user pulls out his secondary weapon.
- The P90 has a long reload time. This can make its users vulnerable in close ranges.
Achievements
- Weapon
|
ES C90 Expert Kill 1,000 enemy players with the ES C90. |
- Weapon Specialist
|
P90 Expert Kill 500 enemies with the P90. |
Appearances
Condition Zero
In Tour of Duty, the P90 is used by bots as their main firearm who have the weapon preference of using submachine guns (spray). These bots are:
Counter-Terrorists
- Stanley: Cost 1 (with a random sidearm)
- Morris: Cost 1 (with the P228 as a sidearm)
- Pete: Cost 2 (with the Desert Eagle as a sidearm)
- Igor: Cost 3 (with the P228 as a sidearm)
- Rooster: Cost 4 (with a random sidearm)
- Sandman: Cost 5 (with the Five-SeveN as a sidearm)
Terrorists
- Screech: Fair (with a random sidearm)
- Maniac: Normal (with a random sidearm)
- Bandit: Hard (with the Elites as a sidearm)
- Hyena: Expert (with the Desert Eagle as a sidearm)
- Jackal: Elite (with the Elites as a sidearm)
Deleted Scenes
The P90 has rarely appeared in Deleted Scenes, mainly because it has a high rate of fire and large magazine capacity, which would not provide a challenge. It appears in the following missions:
- Downed Pilot: Can be found after you destroyed the lock of the prison door. You need to crawl into an area with water and the P90 can be found at the end of the water. There is only one magazine in reserve ammunition because this weapon is considered to be an Easter egg.
- Hankagai: Found beyond a cracked wall that leads to many boxes. The room is located before the player finds a wounded civilian.
- Rise Hard: Can be found behind a locked door after you jump into the main building. To get it, you need to shoot the fire extinguisher. This one can be easily missed and the player will lose it after being captured.
Gallery
Main article: P90/Gallery
Trivia
- The P90 has an unusable red dot sight, which is featured in every Counter-Strike game until it was replaced by the unusable iron sight in Global Offensive.
- However, the red dot sight was featured in the early betas of Global Offensive. In an update of the game, the sight was removed.
- Despite this, a Counter-Terrorist operative is seen wielding a P90 with the red dot sight in a menu screen of CS:GO.
- The red dot sight featured in the Counter-Strike games is not common in real life. Many P90s have a Tritium-illuminated MC-10-80 reflex sight and the sight has a 2 ring reticle, rather than a single red dot. The reticle can be switched to a T shape and is usable at day or night.
- In early Counter-Strike games, when the P90 is fired, the ejection of the 5.7mm bullets may be seen. In real life, the fired rounds will be dropped from the bottom of the weapon, thus the ejected rounds cannot be seen.
- In Deleted Scenes, the player has several chances to use the P90, but they are all hidden rather than being available at the start of the mission. If you can find 5.7mm ammo, then there is a good chance that you can find a P90 in that mission. It's a solid choice for CQB due to its rate of fire and accuracy. In fact, the P90 in Deleted Scenes is more precise than its multiplayer counterpart.
- The Counter-Strike model has an opaque magazine, while the Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Counter-Strike: Source, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive models feature a translucent magazine which displays the bullets inside.
- The P90 is not available for the Terrorists in Assassination maps.
- The file name for this weapon is p90.
- The hotkey for this weapon is b34 (by default).
- When used with the Five-SeveN as your sidearm, any shots fired consumes the ammo of both guns, as they both fire the 5.7x28mm cartridge. In-game, they share a pool of 100 rounds as a result. This was later changed in Global Offensive in an update.
- In real life, it is the SS190 5.7×28 mm cartridge gives the Five-seveN and the P90 effective armor-piercing capabilities.
- In Counter-Strike: Source and older games, the ammunition was incorrectly listed as .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6x70mm); the chambering of the AWSM, instead of 5.7x28mm. Shoulder firing even single shots of .338 Lapua is rather difficult, let alone fully automatic fire. Despite the error, the ammo used by P90 and AWSM are not interchangeable. This graphical error on the HUD has been since fixed in an update.
- Before it was fixed in Counter-Strike: Source, players in third person will wield the P90 the same way as the UMP-45, which appears as if the player is pulling the trigger with the left hand.
- Prior to Global Offensive, the P90 had the highest rate of fire in the Counter-Strike series at 900 RPM. Currently, the Negev has dethroned the P90.
- P90 is sometimes called Pro90.
External links
- FN P90 at Wikipedia.
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