This week we'll have a look at how to play the terrorist side on Mirage. The general idea is to take control over one area at a time and limit the number of angles you have to check as you attack the bombsite. I'd suggest that you put in a few extra hours learning grenades on Mirage. To say that grenade management is more important on T-side Mirage than on any other side in the entire game is a bold statement, but one that I'm willing to make. For the same reason I'd say you should think twice about buying if you can't afford smoke grenades. As long as you have a solid plan you'll be able to dictate the course of the round and force the defenders to react to your plays.

A smokes

It's rarely a good idea to attack the A-site without smokes. My suggestion is to smoke off stairs, jungle/connector and CT-spawn. What these smokes do is that they isolate the bombsite. If the defending players are on the site you can push and go for trade kills and make it a three-versus-three situation where you have planted the bomb and the remaining CTs will have to fight you as well as the clock.

Here are the smokes compiled into a single gif:

I usually have one player below T-ramp protecting his teammates while they throw the smokes and one player in palace, whose job it is to use utility grenades to help his team with the push. If he's not smoked off he can bounce a flashbang on the wall so that it bounces past balcony and flashes any potential threat hiding in shadows.

If he is smoked off, on the other hand, he has another option. He can either use the flash mentioned above or he can throw a molotov down to shadows and force any player there to move out in the open to a disadvantageous position.

Once you have the site your number one priority is to protect your bomb carrier. Pre fire the box next to ticket booth and use flashes. Do whatever it takes. Just don't let the CTs stop him from planting as that'll give rotating players more time to get in position for the retake.

You can also have a guy lurking in mid or underpass, ready to kill any counter-terrorists trying to rotate through connector.

On the next page: controlling mid and managing your eco rounds.

Take control over mid

The best way to give your team options is to take control over mid. From there you can choose to attack either site and you'll even have time to change your mind should anything go south. The most obvious spot you want to clear is the window room. A simple yet effective smoke from T-spawn is all it takes.

That smoke won't cover the infamous connector-to-top-of-mid-peek. If you want to get over to the boxes in mid you can use another smoke from spawn, followed by a molotov into window. This will allow you to go for that peek towards catwalk. It's also a good way to make room for your Impossible Missions Force, led by your very own Ethan Hunt, to go through underpass and boost up into the window room.

Most of the time you want to go for a split when you attack B, because of the tight choke point in apartments. When you do just that I'd recommend that you use the smoke in window room as well as a smoke from B-apps to connector. Note that the counter-terrorists can stand inside connector and see you if they're on the right hand side. Just prefire that angle as you move towards catwalk and you should be fine. The guys over at A-site won't be able to see you over the smoke.

The rest of your team will join the party from apartments. A flash that I like to use when pushing apartments to B is the one through the window. Time this one with a flash from catwalk and you should be able to kill the guy around pillar and then take the rest of the site.

If you manage to take control over the site early on you can leave one player inside apartments. That's one of the strongest post-plant positions. Not only can you make sure no one can sneak up on you, but you'll also be able to run the clock down in a one versus one situation.

Eco round

Your objective here is to plant the bomb. That extra $800 per player can turn the tide of a game. Buy two smoke grenades and move towards T-ramp. You'll also have one player inside palace, who'll try to distract the guy on top of stairs while you plant the bomb. Throw a smoke over to jungle/connector like I demonstrated at the beginning of this guide. The other smoke will be used like this:

Plant the bomb inside that smoke. You can make sure the bomb carrier buys one of the smokes as the personal plant bonus of $300 will cover the expense. If you're really low on money then you can buy a flash and throw it through the window in B-apartments and then just go ham with a full team rush. Just make sure you move silently before the push or you'll be screwed faster than you can say bomb plant. Like always, try to have a plan and communicate a lot and you should be able to put up decent numbers.

Find all of our Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map guides here:

• Inferno Counter-Terrorist guide
• Inferno Terrorist guide
• Cache Counter-Terrorist guide
• Cache Terrorist guide
• Overpass Counter-Terrorist guide
• Overpass Terrorist guide
• Cobblestone Counter-Terrorist guide
• Cobblestone Terrorist guide
• Train Counter-Terrorist guide
• Train Terrorist guide
• Mirage Counter-Terrorist guide

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