A new Counter-Strike 2 update is here with a plethora of exciting features, from a 3v3 mode to, erm, chicken eggs – but the anti-cheat fix folks have long been hoping for isn’t part of the patch, much to their dismay.
Valve unveiled its big update over on Steam earlier today, a patch aptly dubbed “Rush Hour” after the new game mode it boasts, unveiling various additions and tweaks.
First, of course, is Rush, “a new fast-paced 3v3 queued mode” for Counter-Strike 2. In it, players run a gauntlet “of randomly-selected battle arenas” and fight to capture the enemy castle to win. The arenas are different every time, ensuring that no two matches are the same.
Rush Hour has changed Premier up a bit, too, making it so that “instead of banning down to a single map, teams will vote to pick two maps each.” After all four are up, one map will be randomly selected and then the match will begin.
On top of that, there are “several quality of life improvements,” like blood and bullet impact visibility, and a new Music Kit: Starjunk 95. Plus, I kid you not, the update seemingly shadow-dropped chicken eggs.
Yes, a new pet system – and with it, a new gambling system – is apparently upon us, as fans share screenshots of differently-colored chicken eggs online. These weren’t mentioned in Valve’s official patch notes, interestingly enough, but it’s amusing nonetheless (and worrying for players’ wallets, sadly).
As silly as it is, however, there’s another update the community would’ve preferred to see before chickens, Rush, and all: anti-cheat.
The top comment on Steam is literally “BETTER ANTICHEAT, PLEASE UPDATE VAC!” So, yeah. Another similar exclamation reads, “WE NEED BETTER ANTICHEAT FIRST!” The discussion isn’t limited to the patch notes post, either.
Over on Twitter, one player sums up the sentiment I’m seeing all over the web perfectly: “Some really, really cool stuff in here, but the game is slowly dying without a working anti-cheat.”
So, what’ll Valve do next? Aside from expanding its strange new pet system, which I have a feeling it undoubtedly will, perhaps the developers will address the whole anti-cheat matter – it’s evidently on fans’ minds.