The most well-known map in CS:GO, Dust II, was created by David Johnston as a successor to his iconic Dust map. One of the main reasons for this map’s popularity is because of its balance. Dust II is the most balanced active duty map according to Valve’s “Map Data” blog post on their Official Counter-Strike blog, blog.counter-strike.net, with a 50.4% T side win percentage.

Like all other demolition maps, Dust II contains two sites, A and B. The T side can go to A in three different routes; long, cat, and, uncommonly, through mid and then the CT spawn.

If the Ts want to go A, going through long is a common strategy. The long side of A (shown in the left side of the picture above) forces the Ts into two choke points. The first choke point is the the long doors. The T side will be able to make it inside the long doors before the CT side can see them, but may run in to opposition when exiting the doors. The second choke point comes after the T side has taken control of long before they cross over to the site ramp. They must cross past an open point that can be seen from multiple points of the map.

Alternatively, the Ts can choose to go to A from the cat side. This side will force them into two choke points as well. The first will be going down the middle of the map to get to the catwalk. CT teams will typically have a player watching the middle of the map so that they can watch out for any Ts that may be coming down the middle. The second choke point the T side will run into is on the short side of A (shown in the right side of the picture above). If a CT player is on the site, they will have more cover to utilize than any Ts running at them.

However, those are not the only options. The B site of Dust II (pictured above) gives the T side another option. The Ts have two ways into the B site: through the tunnels or through mid. A play through the tunnels (exit shown in the right side of the picture) is the safer option, but poses a bigger challenge upon entering the site. The Ts will be able to make it into the tunnels before the CTs, but are forced into one exit to go straight into the site. The other option for a B play is to get control of the middle and go to B through the CT mid. A mid to B play gives the T side a better chance once entering the site, but may be a bigger challenge when securing mid.

Overall, Dust II is an incredibly balanced map and is one of the most exciting maps to watch when played by professionals.