Counter Strike 2: How to fix knife damage reduction after gun fire?

The notorious issue of reduced knife damage from the original CS:GO has reportedly reappeared in Counter-Strike 2. According to various reports, it appears that the problem arises when a player executes a knife attack immediately after firing their gun.

This issue plagued the previous game, with numerous players claiming to have encountered it during their matches. However, the fact that it has also made its way into the sequel has caught many players off-guard.

According to numerous reports on social media, the bug that hampers the effectiveness of knife attacks in Counter-Strike 2 occurs when a player fires their gun and swiftly switches to their knife.

BUG: Firing your gun prevents the optimal knife string from doing damage
byu/godonan inGlobalOffensive

After pulling out a knife, any time a player left-clicks during the withdrawal animation, it counts toward the knife’s damage reduction per swing. Resulting in the ‘97 damage in three strikes’ bug.

This issue had a slightly different variation in the previous game. In the previous CS game, players witnessed the ’97 damage in three strikes’ bug when they used a ‘light slash’ before hitting a target.

Even though the issue persisted for years in CS: GO, Valve seemingly paid little attention to it, leading some to speculate that they intentionally ignored it for unknown reasons. This has raised concerns that players may have to get used to this bug in Counter-Strike 2 as well.

As of now, there is no official explanation for why this bug occurs in the game. However, some fan-led theories may provide some insight.

According to one Reddit user, shooting the gun may be counted as an attack, and following it with a knife strike might be regarded as a consecutive attack rather than a new one.

In this scenario, the game treats the gunshots as the initiating action of the attack string. This is why it balances the damage of the entire combo by reducing the damage of knife strikes.

Another player suggested that the game might incorporate a hidden ‘fatigue’ system, reducing the damage of knife swings after each swing.

It’s important to take these speculations with a grain of salt, as there has been no official statement supporting them.

Currently, there is no official fix for this bug. However, a Reddit user suggested that the bug could be triggered by holding the M1 button while in the animation of drawing the knife. Allowing the equip animation to play out before pressing M1 should result in full damage.

Players can avoid the bug by waiting a few seconds before swinging their knife or by letting the equip animation play out before pressing M1.

Another user on the UnknownCheats forum shared an update, mentioning that the issue might be linked to an animation glitch, which they are currently investigating. They are also working on presenting a public code to rectify the problem soon.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated gaming section, so be sure to follow them as well.

Feature image source: Counter-Strike.com