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.

How many minutes of this drill do you actually need? DrillMaster decides from your matches — and schedules it when it pays off most.

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.

How many minutes of this drill do YOU need?
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Updated: 1 September 2026