CS2 Utility Lineups: Learning Smokes and Flashes Map by Map

Learning twenty lineups in one evening is pointless — a week later you'll remember three. The working dose is 1-2 new lineups per 10-minute session on a utility map, plus a quick pass over the ones you already know; any more won't stick. For solo queue, learn default smokes and self-flashes for taking space first — they work without a team. A lineup won't land without the right throw type (LMB/RMB/jump-throw) — those and grenade properties are covered on the drill page too. Inside DrillMaster, the plan picks the map for you.

10 minrecommended session

Flash effectiveness grows directly

Open map/server ↗drill workshop or server

What this drill is

Grenade lineups (smokes/flashes/mollies) for an active-duty map + grenade properties and throw types — the foundation of utility. Grenades in CS2 matter as much as shooting: know the lines and how to throw them, and you send teammates onto a site unseen by the enemy. Smoke is volumetric, so CS:GO lineups often don't work — use CS2 lines only.

How to train it

Throw types (you can't land a lineup without them): • LMB — normal throw (goes farthest). • RMB — short throw, at your feet/close (and precise center hits — e.g. clearing a smoke with an HE). • LMB+RMB together — medium distance. • Run-up throw (run + release LMB) — flies farther than normal. • Jump-throw — aim at the point, LMB, then press space + release LMB SIMULTANEOUSLY. A jump-throw bind is banned on most competitive servers — learn it by hand.

Grenade properties (CS2, current as of July 2026): • HE grenade — $300, up to ~98 damage point-blank with no armor (~57 with armor), falls off with distance; radius ~350 units (~half a site). • Flashbang — $200, 1.6s fuse; blinds for ~1-4s (up to ~4.9 if you look straight at the flash) — the more directly you look, the longer. • Smoke — $300, ~18s. Volumetric: bullets and an HE blast burn a temporary "window" in it (~1s). • Molotov (T $400) / Incendiary (CT $600) — 40 damage/sec (armor doesn't help), burns ~7s. The Molotov throws faster, is louder on landing, and spreads wider; the Incendiary flies slower, is louder on ignition, and covers less. Self-extinguishes if it doesn't touch a surface within ~2s. • Decoy — $50, mimics the sound of your weapon for ~15s (the enemy thinks a real player is there).

Interactions (rock-paper-scissors): smoke douses a molotov, an HE clears a smoke (RMB for a precise center hit). A molly next to a smoke → you can carefully step out and spot the enemy without catching fire. Learn to throw flashes without an audible wall-bounce — the enemy gets blinded out of nowhere.

Tools (CS2): the “{Map} Nades 101” workshop series — the map button in your plan opens the right one, and the series is kept up to date with patches · csnades.gg (videos strictly for CS2 — don't confuse it with csnades.app). Yprac Hub can do utility too, but its free tier only rotates a subset of maps each week. ⚠️ CS:GO lineups often miss (volumetric smoke).

Practice (console): sv_cheats 1; sv_infinite_ammo 1; sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_pipreview 1; sv_showimpacts 1; mp_buy_anywhere 1; mp_maxmoney 60000; bot_kick; bind noclip (fly over and check where the smoke landed).

Routine (10 min): 2 min re-throw 3-4 familiar lines from memory (note what didn't land) → 2 min fix the broken ones from a reference → 4 min learn 1-2 NEW lines (reference → stance → throw type → throw until it lands 3/3) → 2 min throw the new ones from your real position with no preview.

Metric: how many of the map's lineups you can throw 3/3 from memory from your real stance, and whether you know the property and throw type for each situation.

One session — one focus (execute / entry / defense / delay / retake): open the utility map, pick the lines for your current focus and build your set for the map.

Focus options

Execute smokes for a site take

The standard smoke set for taking a site: smoke off the key defensive angles and the entry is met by one or two rifles instead of five. Every map has its own set (Mirage A: CT, Jungle, Stairs) — the utility map shows it as a ready-made package. Learn the set for both sites of your map and throw it in sync with your team before the hit.

Pop-flash for your own entry

A flash you swing behind yourself: throw it high over the wall so it pops already around the corner, then push straight onto the blinded enemy. Learn 1-2 pops per site with no audible bounce — the enemy shouldn't have time to turn away. Throw → step → frag; a pause kills the effect.

Flash for a teammate from behind

A support flash: throw it from behind your teammate so the pop lands in front of THEM, not you — they entry, you cover. Time it: you throw, the teammate moves on the pop. Throw it so you don't blind your own — learn the lines from behind the corner, not point-blank.

Defensive smokes

CT-side smokes that break the timing of a push: banana on Inferno, mid on Dust2, connector on Mirage. A smoke lasts ~18 seconds — the enemy either waits it out and loses their timing, or pushes through blind into your crossfire. Learn 1-2 smokes for your position and throw them on the sound of the push: a smoke thrown too early just runs out.

Molotov to delay / burn out

A molotov/incendiary to delay a rush, burn out a common spot, or deny a plant/defuse. 40 damage/sec — no one stands in fire, so the enemy has to move into your crosshair. Learn where it spreads: onto a slope, into a choke, over the bomb — where it actually cuts the line.

Retake & post-plant: smokes + mollies

Utility for taking a site back: a molly flushes players locked in on the plant (behind the bomb, in the corners), a smoke cuts the crossfire from the second position and covers the defuse. The same logic in reverse — T-side post-plant lines to deny a defuse from safety. Practice from the spot you actually retake from: the lines for pushing in and falling back are different. 2-3 lines per site beat ten pretty ones.

5 combat lines in 40 seconds

A speed run: 5 of the map's combat lineups from memory in 40 seconds — that's how long the buy phase lasts. Not 'perfect', but fast and from your real stance: set up → throw type → throw → next. The goal is to make the key lines automatic so in a match you don't think about where to stand.

Maps to train on

Practicing on your own server

Some drills are easier to run on your own server with cheat commands — grab the CS2 practice config with infinite ammo and grenade trajectories. No server of your own? See where to train in CS2: deathmatch and retake servers plus workshop maps.

Updated: 1 September 2026