Operation Riptide was not the biggest update Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) has ever seen, but it did bring several changes that have shaken things up in the competitive space. The most obvious of these changes was obviously the removal of Train from the competitive map pool in favor of Ancient, but there were also a number of tweaks made to CT-sided weaponry and the infamous Desert Eagle.

Colloquially known as the ‘Deagle’ in-game, the weapon absolutely dominated the meta for a time with its relatively cheap price against its damage output and, whilst it certainly wasn’t the most one-sided landscape CS has ever seen, its nerf has certainly changed the game for pistol rounds.

So, heading into a new year of competitive Counter-Strike, Gamelevate takes you through just how good the Deagle is in 2022.

A Noticeable Comparison

Before its nerf in September 2021, the Deagle used to be capable of dealing 58 damage to the chest, 72 to the gut, and was capable of killing enemies in just one shot to the head. The two shots to the body and one-click headshot made the gun one of the most deadly weapons in the game pound-for-pound, as well as one of the most stylish with countless highlight clips being compiled during its time at the top.

However the gun rarely ever felt as ‘unfair’ as something like the TEC-9 during its days dominating the meta, which is perhaps why Valve didn’t nerf the Deagle into oblivion when Riptide dropped.

The main aim of the nerf was to the proficiency of the Deagle at close range, with the damage of a clean shot being reduced to 47, meaning it now takes three body shots to kill an enemy. Stomach shots can still down an enemy in two shots with up to 57 damage, though that number does drop noticeably the further away the player is.

Crucially, players are still able to one-shot an enemy with a headshot using the Deagle.

Nerf’ is usually a word reserved for absolutely obliterating something out of existence in the world of gaming, however, the Deagle nerf pleasantly feels like an exception to that rule so far.

Used 3.45% of the time by players, that number is slightly deceptive as it is often the go-to choice still for teams running partial or half buy rounds, as well as being the preferred secondary weapon for AWPers if they find themselves under pressure after whiffing a shot.

The fact that the Deagle is still one of the few weapons in the game that can instantly kill an enemy will always mean it’s picked up by players, but the requirements of it needing to be a headshot still means the weapon is balanced with such a good reward coming from a genuinely skilled move.

Players such as Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev are have continued to build their reputation around their proficiency with the gun, and there have been some incredible semi-buy tactics discovered by IGLs thanks to the use of the Deagle, even post-nerf.

So, whilst its days at the very very top might be over, the Deagle is still a genuinely powerful weapon in the right hands, with a far more healthy-looking skill ceiling heading into 2022 than what most fans might have grown used to over the last year or so.