What are the best CS:GO radar settings?

Finding the best radar settings in CS:GO will guarantee you an edge over the competition. But what is the best way to configure the CS:GO radar in a way to see your opponents before they spot you? Here’s everything you need to know about the radar in Counter-Strike and how to set it up for yourself.

Why is the radar important in CS:GO?

A 5v5 battle fought in fairly close quarters will always come down to knowing where your enemies are. If you can get the drop on an enemy in Counter-Strike, the quick nature of the game’s combat pretty much guarantees a kill in your favor. However, this goes both ways: if your opponent gets behind you and you can’t spot them in time (or no teammate helps you out with a call), you will be a goner in just a few moments.

This is why it is so important to use the best radar settings in CS:GO – the default CS:GO radar doesn’t offer you all the possible advantages and a little tinkering in the menu can get you a long way ahead of the competition. By seeing more of the map at any given time, you will be able to react better to any developments elsewhere in the field of engagement.

How to customize the radar in CS:GO

Nowadays, we’ve got the technology to directly change all CS:GO default settings in the options menu, but many still find it easier to just copy and paste a string of commands into the console and be done with in one fell swoop. We will walk you through each of the different methods so that you can set up the best CS:GO radar your way!

Changing the CS:GO radar settings menu

Navigate to Settings -> Game -> Radar/Tablet to adjust the settings. Don't be confused by the "tablet": your Danger Zone tablet will work the same way as your default radar settings, hence the wording. You'll find that most of the console commands listed below as console commands can also be adjusted here: the radar map orientation, whether the radar is centered or not, the HUD size, the map zoom and its shape when you bring up the scoreboard. We'll explain our suggestions for each of these settings below.

Using the console to change CS:GO radar

First, you need to enable the developer console in the general settings and then set a keybind to bring it up in the controls (generally it’s the tilde key, ‘~’). Once you’ve done that, you’re almost good to go – just copy and paste the settings listed below into the console one by one.

Use autoexec.cfg

You can also add the settings to your autoexec.cfg file so that they are permanently stored and there’s no chance you lose it after a reinstall or moving hard drives.

What are the CS:GO radar settings?

cl_radar_always_centered

By default, the radar is always centered to your own position, which will deny you a lot of information when you’re on the edges of the map and will limit what you can see from the rest of the map. Setting this to 0 will ignore your position and will display the same layout at all times, which is great when you’ve zoomed out enough to see the whole map.

cl_radar_scale

The smaller the scale, the more you zoom out and the more you get to see from the whole map at any given time. 0.3 is the recommended value but feel free to play around with it until you find one you’re comfortable with. cl_radar_scale 0.7 and cl_radar_scale 1 are also popular options.

cl_hud_radar_scale_min

This setting governs the size of icons on your radar, and increasing it above the base value will ensure that you will still see your teammates and the enemies properly despite zooming out overall. Try 1.15 for scale and go from there if needed.

cl_radar_rotate

This determines whether the radar rotates with you or remains static at all times. It’s a question of preference: if you like to always know which way you’re facing, set cl_radar_rotate to 1 – if you’re familiar with the maps and want a broad and consistent overview, set it to 0.

cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard

This setting determines whether the radar turns into a square map when you bring up the scoreboard. Again, this is entirely a matter of preference but it belongs in the list of best radar settings as it is used by many pro players in CS:GO.

Best CS:GO radar settings for matchmaking

Here are our suggested CS:GO console commands which will let you see as much of the map as possible at any given time with as many details as possible without losing a sense of where you are at any given moment.

• cl_radar_always_centered 0
• cl_radar_scale 0.3
• cl_hud_radar_scale 1.15
• cl_radar_icon_scale_min 1
• cl_radar_rotate 0
• cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard 1

CS:GO Pro radar setttings

We’ve listed three of the best radar settings used by pro players below – if you want to emulate s1mple, dev1ce or NiKo, it’s a good starting point:

s1mple CS:GO radar HUD

• cl_radar_always_centered "1"
• cl_radar_scale "0.5"
• cl_hud_radar_scale “0.845000
• cl_radar_icon_scale_min "0.6"
• cl_radar_rotate "1"
• cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard "1"

dev1ce CS:GO radar HUD

• cl_radar_always_centered "1"
• cl_radar_scale "0.5"
• cl_hud_radar_scale “0.900000
• cl_radar_icon_scale_min "0.75"
• cl_radar_rotate "1"
• cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard "0"

Niko CS:GO radar HUD

• cl_radar_always_centered "1"
• cl_radar_scale "0.4"
• cl_hud_radar_scale “1.145000
• cl_radar_icon_scale_min "0.6"
• cl_radar_rotate "1"
• cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard "1"

What are the default CS:GO radar settings?

Once you’re done, make sure to spend some time on a local server to test how comfortable you are with the different settings. In case you don’t like the radar settings listed above, you can always copy and paste the following into the console to revert to the original setup – no need to reinstall the game or anything!

• cl_radar_always_centered “1”
• cl_radar_scale “0.7”
• cl_hud_radar_scale “1”
• cl_radar_icon_scale_min “0.6”
• cl_radar_rotate “1”
• cl_radar_square_with_scoreboard “1”

That’s everything you need to know about the CS:GO radar settings. Getting them just right will offer you an advantage over your opponents, and though there’s nothing that protects you against an AK headshot, a good radar setting will ensure that it happens a lot less often by allowing you to increase your map awareness at any given time!

Learn more about CS:GO

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