Dust2 - Defense

2-1-2 Setup

3D’s typical setup on defense of dust2 is the 2-1-2, a tactic which involves a great deal of movement at the start of the round, before the players finally settle into position. Two players rush to long A, one continuing down to the pit while the second remains on the corner.

The second player is only present to watch for a rush on long – if no offensive players come after a few seconds, he rotates to watch short, leaving just the player in the ditch at long. Throughout the playbook you will see that this is a common tactic used by 3D, stacking two players at a choke point for the first few seconds of a round, before rotating if nobody attacks.




Two players rush to the B bombsite, one with an AWP and one with a rifle. Once again, the second player is only there to watch for a rush, and rotates to mid if no offensive players immediately appear at B. His presence in the site gives Ksharp a chance to set up with his AWP at the back without fear of being rushed.

Once the second B bombsite player rotates to mid, the player who was watching mid moves up to the A bombsite – standing on the ramp next to the site, a good position to watch both long and short in the event of a push. The player who rotated away from long at the start of the round actually gets up onto short, pushing right round to the staircase to watch for an attack.


2-1-2 A Split

This tactic is a small variation of the standard 2-1-2 setup described above. At the start of the round, Rector boosts Volcano onto short using the boxes outside defensive spawn, before rotating to defensive mid to watch the double doors. Method rushes down long A, usually stopping on the corner as opposed to dropping into the pit, as two players hold the B bombsite.




This setup seems to be in anticipation of an attack on the B site, as three players are stacked on that side of the map, and Volcano has a position which allows quick rotation from short through the tunnels.

If the prediction is wrong, and the offense actually ends up attacking the A site, Method becomes important at long A. If the offense pushes through long, he is able to delay the rush by counter-flashing around the corner or over the wall and rotating back toward the defensive spawn. If they come short, which Volcano can also play a part in delaying, Method can drop down into the pit and look up toward the site, perhaps picking up one or two kills as his teammates rotate from B.


2-2-1 Setup - Catwalk Stack

3D’s 2-2-1 setup involves placing two players on short, two in defensive mid and one on the B bombsite. At the start of the round, one player boosts two others onto the catwalk, using the boxes just outside of defensive spawn. Again, once he has boosted his two teammates, he rotates down into defensive spawn and watches the long A crossover.




Ksharp holds the B bombsite alone with an AWP, and Rector watches the mid double doors. The two players on short are able to push right down the staircase and out into mid to make the tactic aggressive, but are also able to sit and wait on short, a more passive approach. They have an easy rotation to the A bombsite if the offense pushes down long, and are able to throw flashbangs over the wall to blind their opponents on the site.


3-2 Setup

In this setup, three players defend the A bombsite, while two others hold B. Once again, we can see 3D’s unconventional defensive technique here: rushing to stack choke points, then rotating away. The three players at bombsite A all rush down to long, hold for a few seconds, then two rotate back up to A if no offensive players push through. Eventually, the setup settles as one player is positioned next to the long A connector, one at long crossover watching short, one on the ramp at A site and two in the B bombsite.




The two players in the B bombsite work together well. Ksharp stands at the back AWPing, while Rector plays just inside the double doors looking down toward defensive mid. If the attackers push through the tunnels, Ksharp takes one shot before ducking down and counter-flashing over the boxes. Rector is also able to turn around and help, perhaps even moving between the double doors to give himself some cover.

If the offensive pushes through the undefended defensive mid up to B, Rector needs only flash out of the door or over the wall to blind his opponents, buying his teammates vital time to adjust to the strat.