M4A4 and chicken buffs added in new CS2 update

The M4A4 finally has its buffs in CS2, and the humble chicken is somehow piggybacking on its rise.

Valve continues to tweak Counter-Strike 2 months after its September 2023 release. As the undisputed FPS king of Steam, Counter-Strike 2 requires delicate balancing to keep things fair and exciting. Given Counter-Strike 2’s controversial launch, Valve is doing its best to finetune the game for casual and competitive play. The latest round of updates introduces big buffs for two long-neglected parts of the game in both the M4A4 and the chicken.

The May 2024 update for CS2 makes interesting changes to the weapon economy, match rewards, and explosive effectiveness. Fixes for common bugs and UI glitches also dropped in this update, alongside some long-awaited changes to the chicken AI in certain maps.

M4A4 buffs and T side economy nerfs hit CS2

The M4A4 is now cheaper at $3,000, compounding other buffs to the CT side in CS2. 

With the M4A4 going from $3,100 to $3,000, players will be able to obtain it earlier or with more utility than before. This means teams can kick into third gear much quicker, possibly making the less-equipped T side a sitting duck. To help keep things fair, the CT-exclusive incendiary grenade is nerfed with a reduced duration and area of effect. However, this also comes with a buff, as Valve has reduced the price of incendiary grenades from $600 to $500. The T side’s molotov is now the superior option for players to deny choke points.

The recent changes also nerfed the terrorist team’s effectiveness in recovering during eco rounds.  Before, a planted bomb rewarded the T side with $800 regardless of whether it went off or not. Now, a defused bomb will only grant $600 at the end of the round. The lower cash rewards mean terrorist teams have significantly less cash to play around with on rounds they’ve lost and need a more defensive playstyle.

Players can rent skins, chicken AI can now turn right

The chicken AI has significantly improved, and rental skins have been added under a subscription service. As hardcore Counter-Strike fans are know, chickens play a vital role in the game’s delicate meta. Players praised the buffs to chicken pathing, with the poultry now even capable of walking uphill.

On the real-life economy side of things, Valve has added a rental system that gives access to almost everything within a case’s collection. Players gain access to the entire Kilowatt collection, with the exception of knives, for $2.50 a week. As of now, this system only applies to the Kilowatt case. Valve may be using it as an experiment to see how people react to skin rentals.