Valve Issues Immediate Fix After CS2 Spray Update Backlash

Counter-Strike 2 received a new update on September 17, 2025, introducing the Genesis Collection. While the cosmetic additions were the highlight, a small yet impactful change – “various improvements to subtick shooting consistency” – had sparked widespread debate in the community. Many players, including professionals, claimed that the game felt drastically different, particularly when it came to spraying weapons.

CS2 Update on September 17, 2025 (Image Source: Valve)

Player Backlash Against Shooting Changes

Since release, Counter-Strike 2’s subtick system has been one of the most discussed mechanics, promising more accurate hit registration by simulating player actions between server ticks. However, after this most recent update, spraying with weapons such as the AK-47 feels different, and several players believe the game’s gunplay has regressed.

Pro players have voiced strong criticism of the update, with Nikola “NiKo” Kovač expressing clear frustration over the ongoing changes negatively affecting the game’s feel.

İsmailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş was even harsher, declaring that the update had severely disrupted spray mechanics, leaving the game feeling broken and unbalanced, especially with competitive tournaments approaching under these conditions.

Both NiKo and XANTARES are among the most renowned and reliable riflers in Counter-Strike, particularly skilled at controlling the AK spray, which gives their concerns even more weight.

What Changed in Weapon Spray

The September 17 CS2 update brought a concrete technical shift: the magnitude of the view-angle during an AK-47 spray changed significantly, as highlighted by community analyst eugenio8a8 on X and Reddit. Each bullet in the spray corresponds to a peak in view-angle magnitude, which represents how much recoil the player's viewpoint shifts after firing. In the data visualization, the blue line marks the new system (lower values), while the red line shows the older system (higher values).

Magnitude Comparison by eugenio8a8

Players immediately noticed that the new update produced consistently lower recoil values, meaning the spray's peak magnitude dropped across the board. In theory, this change should make controlling recoil easier and reduce the muscle memory needed for precision spray transfers. However, the pattern itself, as demonstrated in analysis screenshots, remains unchanged, but the force applied to view-angle is reduced, altering the feel during sprays.

For reference, a table of peak view-angle magnitudes at each bullet fired further confirms that every value in the new update is less than its predecessor. The measurements were meticulously gathered using advanced methods: cl_showpos for positional data, host_timescale set to 0.1, and fps_max to 400 to minimize data noise. Values were extracted with approximately 98% accuracy using a custom OCR system.

Magnitude Differences by value (Image Source: @eugenio8a8a on X)

Valve's Immediate Response

Valve swiftly issued a rollback on September 19, 2025, restoring weapon spray mechanics after intense community criticism. The update fixed the view punch issue affecting sprays and improved server performance in drop-in/drop-out modes. Eugenio8a8 showcased the reversal as well, with red representing the original spray, blue the altered subtick version from September 17, and green the reverted system.

New Magnitude Comparison after September 19 patch (Image Source: @eugenio8a8 on X)

The brief experiment with subtick spray consistency lasted only two days, highlighting the community’s significant impact on preserving CS2’s gunplay.

The Ongoing Balance Between Progress and Familiarity

Valve faces a challenge balancing technological improvements with player familiarity. While subtick aims to enhance precision, frequent changes disrupt mechanical consistency and player trust. With the competitive calendar being packed with events almost all year round, professionals worry about adapting mid-season, making the subtick system the most debated and defining aspect of the current CS2 experience.

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