Nuke - Defense

1-2-2 Setup

In the 1-2-2 Setup, Complexity plays two outside, two in the upper site and one in ramp room. At the start of the round, Warden climbs quickly up into birds nest and jumps onto the end of the balcony outside, AWPing down towards the large box (see POV screenshot 1). Rambo plays directly beneath him, watching the T red container.




In the upper bombsite, Frod sits in birds nest with an AWP, watching the entrance to the shed. Zet sits up in the rafters, alternating between watching the shed, and watching squeaky door. Finally, Storm holds the ramp room on his own, AWPing from behind the box at the back.

Warden has the strongest position here, as people very rarely look up to the balcony when pushing outside. He is also able to retreat very easily when put under pressure, and can rotate all the way back along the balcony to birds. Frod’s position is very common, and he is likely to get spammed through the metal wall opposite birds nest, which happened frequently in their match against the Dallas Venom.


2-2-1 Setup

The 2-2-1 setup is essentially the same as the 1-2-2, differentiated only by a few position changes. Warden plays in the garage, instead of up on the balcony, and Rambo rushes into the upper connecter from where he can watch squeaky and the shed window. From here, he is also able to throw grenades into the shed (POV screenshot 2), causing early damage to attackers pushing the upper site. In addition, he can rotate outside very easily, helping Warden if necessary.




Frod has left the bird’s nest and is playing in the CT corridor of the ramp room, AWPing toward the other side. Storm has dropped his AWP, and is playing much closer to the T corridor with an M4, standing on the metal fence in order to get a good view into the radio room. Zet remains up in the rafters, watching the shed entrance.


1-3-1 Setup

The 1-3-1 setup stacks three players on the upper bombsite, leaving two AWPers to cover the two remaining choke points, outside and ramp room. Warden is once again up on the balcony watching the box, and Storm has returned to AWPing from the back of ramp.




Rambo is now playing on the upper bombsite, defending squeaky door. Because the Counter-Terrorists have to run through the smoke grenade, they completely lose their vision as they enter the site, making them easy picks for Rambo if they push through the door. Zet is using an effective spam spot (POV screenshot 3), as when CTs get flashed in the shed while rushing, they usually head to this corner while they regain their sight.

Regarding Warden’s position, it should also be noted that it is much less useful if the terrorists rush outside, rather than setting up more slowly. Climbing up into bird’s nest and heading along the balcony takes much longer than running straight to the garage, so if the terrorists launch a full rush outside, they will most likely be up to the red container before Warden even gets chance to post up.


1-3-1 Setup - Rotating to lower site

In this scenario, the Counter-Terrorists have managed to kill Storm at the back of ramp, and have made a successful entry. Complexity is still unsure whether their opponents will try to push the lower site, or head below the bird’s nest into upper.



Frod has adjusted himself so that he is watching the CT corridor of the ramp room, and Warden has rotated right across from outside to play close below bird’s nest. Meanwhile, Rambo has rotated through the vents, and is ready to stop the bomb plant should their opponents end up on the lower site. Finally, zet has dropped down from the rafters and started to flank behind the terrorists through the shed, attempting to pin them into the ramp room.


1-3-1 Setup - When pressured outside

If the terrorists actually do rush outside while Complexity is in the 1-3-1 setup, it’s a relatively simple adjustment. Warden takes his first shot, and then begins to weave between the garage and red container, rather than falling back to the staircase. He jumps from position to position, trying to delay the rush and kill as many opponents as possible before his teammates rotate to help.



Frod either steps out onto the balcony next to bird’s nest, or out from below, depending on which position he is currently in. From here, he can AWP anybody who gets too close to the garage where Warden is playing. It could be considered a long distance baiting situation, where Warden draws the terrorists toward him while Frod picks as many of them off as possible.