Every automatic weapon in CS2 fires along a fixed recoil path. That path repeats in the same order every time you hold the trigger, which means you can learn it and cancel it out. This guide covers the spray pattern of every weapon worth learning, the pull direction for each phase of the pattern, and a practice routine that turns it into muscle memory. All patterns below were plotted in game on the build.
What Are CS2 Spray Patterns?
A spray pattern is the fixed trajectory that bullets follow when you fire a weapon on full-auto. Hold the trigger and the bullets deviate up, then sideways, in the same order every time. The recoil itself is fully deterministic: bullet twelve always pushes your aim to the same place. What is not deterministic is spread. Every shot also carries a small randomised inaccuracy value stacked on top of the recoil offset, which is why even a perfectly compensated spray never lands in one hole.
You can see this for yourself by firing at a wall: the bullet holes trace out a clear shape. That shape is your weapon’s spray pattern. Once you recognize the shape, you move your crosshair in the opposite direction while firing to cancel the recoil out. That technique is called recoil compensation, or spray control. It only fixes recoil. It does not fix spread, and it does not fix inaccuracy caused by moving.
The recoil tables carried over from CS:GO almost unchanged. Two things around them are different. First, movement inaccuracy is less forgiving, so you need to be fully stopped before the trigger goes down. Second, Valve has repeatedly adjusted how recoil is rendered to your viewangle, in May 2025 (per frame instead of per tick) and again in September 2025, which changes how a spray feels without changing where the bullets go. Your first bullet is the most accurate shot you get, but it is not pinpoint. Standing perfectly still, a rifle still carries a small standing inaccuracy. Crosshair placement is what wins the first bullet. Spray control is what wins bullets two onward.
How to Read the Patterns Below
Each weapon is broken into phases. A phase is a run of bullets that travel in roughly one direction. The pattern direction is where the bullets go. The pull direction is where you move your mouse to cancel it. They are always opposites: the pattern climbs, you pull down; the pattern kicks left, you pull right.
Two things to set up before you read any further:
- Follow Recoil. Settings, Game, Crosshair, Follow the Recoil. Your crosshair traces the recoil path as you fire, so you can watch the pattern while you shoot it. This is the fastest learning aid in the game and it is free.
- A practice server. sv_cheats 1, sv_infinite_ammo 1, bot_kick, mp_buy_anywhere 1, mp_roundtime 60, sv_showimpacts 1. Without infinite ammo you spend half the session reloading, and sv_showimpacts 1 draws the exact server-side hit point, which is what tells you whether you missed from bad compensation or from spread.
Quick Reference: Every Spray Pattern
Full pull sequence for each weapon, in order. Verify against the current build before relying on any row.
| Weapon | Price | Mag | RPM | Phase 1 pull | Phase 2 pull | Phase 3 pull | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK-47 | $2700 | 30 | 600 | Down (1-9) | Right (10-13) | Left (14-19) | Hard |
| M4A1-S | $2900 | 20 | 600 | Down (1-8) | Right (9-14) | Left (15-20) | Easy |
| M4A4 | $2900 | 30 | 666 | Down (1-8) | Right (9-13) | Left (14-22) | Medium |
| Galil AR | $1800 | 35 | 666 | Down (1-8) | Right (9-14) | Left (15-24) | Medium |
| FAMAS | $1950 | 25 | 666 | Down (1-9) | Right (10-15) | Left (16-25) | Easy |
| SG 553 | $3000 | 30 | 545 | Down (1-10) | Right (11-18) | Left (19-26) | Easy |
| AUG | $3300 | 30 | 666 | Down (1-9) | Right (10-16) | Left (17-24) | Easy |
| MP9 | $1250 | 30 | 857 | Down (1-8) | Right (9-15) | Left (16-25) | Easy |
| MAC-10 | $1050 | 30 | 800 | Down (1-7) | Right (8-14) | Left (15-24) | Medium |
| UMP-45 | $1200 | 25 | 666 | Down (1-7) | Right (8-13) | Left (14-22) | Easy |
| MP5-SD | $1500 | 30 | 750 | Down (1-8) | Right (9-15) | Left (16-25) | Easy |
| P90 | $2350 | 50 | 857 | Down (1-9) | Right (10-16) | Left (17-30) | Medium |
Spray Patterns and Recoil Compensation
For Rifles
Rifles are where spray control pays for itself. These are the guns you buy on a full buy, and the difference between winning and losing a full buy round is usually bullets two through eight.
AK-47 Spray Pattern
$2700 · 30 rounds · 600 RPM · 77.5% armor penetration · Difficulty: Hard
The AK-47 kills a helmeted opponent with one headshot at any competitive range, which is why it is the most important weapon in the game and why every T-side full buy round runs through it. It is also the hardest pattern in CS2.
Bullets 1 to 9 climb almost straight up, so pull straight down. Bullets 10 to 13 break to the left, so pull right. Bullets 14 to 19 swing back across to the right, so pull left. Everything from bullet 20 onward zigzags loosely and is not worth learning as a sequence.
Full spray under 15 meters. Burst 2 to 4 bullets between 15 and 25 meters. Tap beyond 25 meters.
Practical note: the one-tap is the reason bullets 8 to 30 rarely matter. In a real round the AK either kills on bullet one or two, or you lose the duel. Practice the first nine before you touch the lateral phases, because that vertical section is the part you actually use.
M4A1-S Spray Pattern
$2900 · 20 rounds · 600 RPM · 70% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The M4A1-S is the easiest rifle pattern in CS2 and the one to learn first, even if you mainly play T-side. The skills transfer to every other rifle, and the low recoil means your early mistakes are correctable rather than fatal.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb vertically, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 14 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 15 to 20 come back right, so pull left. The magazine ends at 20, which is the hidden advantage: the pattern is short enough to memorise end to end.
Full spray under 15 meters. Burst 15 to 25 meters. Tap beyond 25 meters.
Practical note: 20 rounds is also the trap. Two sprayed opponents and you are dry, so a third player walking round the corner catches you reloading. Reload habits matter more on this gun than on any other rifle.
M4A4 Spray Pattern
$2900 · 30 rounds · 666 RPM · 70% armor penetration · Difficulty: Medium
The M4A4 trades the M4A1-S silencer and tighter pattern for 10 extra rounds and a faster fire rate. Those 10 rounds are the whole argument: on a retake, or against a site take with three players walking in, the M4A4 finishes the magazine you would have run out of.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 13 pull left, so compensate right. Bullets 14 to 22 sway back to the right, so pull left. The lateral sway is wider than on the M4A1-S and the higher fire rate gives you less time to react to it, which is the entire difficulty gap between the two rifles.
Full spray under 15 meters. Burst 15 to 25 meters. Tap beyond 25 meters.
Practical note: the faster RPM means your pull has to be faster, not bigger. Players who switch from the M4A1-S usually under-compensate for the first week because the timing changed while the shape did not.
Galil AR Spray Pattern
$1800 · 35 rounds · 666 RPM · 77.5% armor penetration · Difficulty: Medium
The Galil is the T-side force-buy rifle. It carries the same 77.5% armor penetration as the AK-47, which means it retains the one-shot headshot through a helmet at close range for a third less money.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 14 go left, so pull right. Bullets 15 to 24 track right, so pull left. The pattern is a wide, sloppy version of the AK, which makes it good practice for the AK itself.
Full spray under 12 meters. Burst 12 to 20 meters. Tap beyond 20 meters.
Practical note: the Galil’s problem is not the pattern, it is accuracy recovery after moving. It settles slower than an AK, so the counter-strafe has to be cleaner, not the pull.
FAMAS Spray Pattern
$1950 · 25 rounds · 666 RPM · 70% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The CT force-buy rifle, and one of the tightest patterns in the game. The vertical section is long and the lateral break is small, which makes the FAMAS the most forgiving full-auto weapon a CT can buy.
Bullets 1 to 9 climb near vertically, so pull down. Bullets 10 to 15 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 16 to 25 come back right, so pull left.
Full spray under 12 meters. Burst 12 to 22 meters. Use the burst fire mode beyond 22 meters.
Practical note: the FAMAS has a 3-round burst mode on right click that most players never touch. At long range it out-performs a manual burst because the internal timing is tighter than a human trigger finger.
SG 553 Spray Pattern
$3000 · 30 rounds · 545 RPM · 100% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The SG 553 has 100% armor penetration and a slow fire rate, and it is the easiest full-auto pattern of any T-side rifle. The scope on right click reduces visual recoil, which makes the pattern read cleanly while you fire it.
Bullets 1 to 10 climb vertically, so pull down. Bullets 11 to 18 pull left, so compensate right. Bullets 19 to 26 track right, so pull left. The 545 RPM is the reason it is easy: every phase gives you more milliseconds to correct than the AK does.
Full spray under 15 meters. Scoped bursts 15 to 30 meters. Scoped taps beyond 30 meters.
Practical note: the SG is the honest answer for anyone struggling with the AK, and most players skip it out of habit rather than analysis. The trade is $300 and the loss of the reliable one-tap through helmets at range.
AUG Spray Pattern
$3300 · 30 rounds · 666 RPM · 90% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The CT equivalent of the SG 553, and the same argument applies. Scoped, the AUG turns long angles into something close to a cheap AWP, and unscoped it sprays more predictably than the M4A4.
Bullets 1 to 9 climb, so pull down. Bullets 10 to 16 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 17 to 24 come back right, so pull left.
Full spray under 15 meters. Scoped bursts 15 to 30 meters. Scoped taps beyond 30 meters.
Practical note: at $3300 the AUG is $400 more than an M4A4, which is a flashbang and a smoke you did not buy. It is a strong gun on a comfortable economy and a bad gun on a tight one.
For SMGs
SMGs pay $600 per kill against a rifle’s $300, which is why they win eco and force rounds even when they lose gunfights. They also fire faster than rifles, so the pattern arrives quicker and the pull has to be quicker with it. Every SMG below is a close-range weapon: armor penetration in the 57 to 69% range means a helmeted rifler at distance beats you regardless of how good your spray is.
MP9 Spray Pattern
$1250 · 30 rounds · 857 RPM · 60% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The CT anti-eco default. At 857 RPM it kills faster at close range than any rifle in the game, and the pattern is tight enough that most players never consciously learn it.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 15 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 16 to 25 track right, so pull left.
Full spray under 12 meters. Burst 12 to 18 meters. Do not use beyond 18 meters.
Practical note: the MP9 rewards holding close angles you would never hold with an M4. Buying it and then playing a long angle wastes the gun entirely.
MAC-10 Spray Pattern
$1050 · 30 rounds · 800 RPM · 57.5% armor penetration · Difficulty: Medium
The T-side eco round weapon, and the best value buy in CS2 on kill reward alone: two frags return $1200 on a $1050 purchase. The pattern is looser than the MP9 and the armor penetration is the lowest of the usable SMGs.
Bullets 1 to 7 climb, so pull down. Bullets 8 to 14 break left, so pull right. Bullets 15 to 24 swing right, so pull left.
Full spray under 10 meters. Burst 10 to 16 meters. Do not use beyond 16 meters.
Practical note: at 57.5% armor penetration the MAC-10 needs close range and surprise. It is a rush gun, not a hold gun, and its spray only matters inside a site.
UMP-45 Spray Pattern
$1200 · 25 rounds · 666 RPM · 65% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The UMP has the slowest fire rate and the highest armor penetration of the cheap SMGs, which makes it the one that still functions at mid range. It is the SMG to learn if you are only learning one.
Bullets 1 to 7 climb, so pull down. Bullets 8 to 13 go left, so pull right. Bullets 14 to 22 track right, so pull left. The 666 RPM makes this the most rifle-like SMG pattern, so the muscle memory transfers both ways.
Full spray under 14 meters. Burst 14 to 22 meters. Tap beyond 22 meters.
Practical note: 25 rounds and a slow fire rate mean the UMP punishes panic spraying harder than the MAC-10 does. It is a burst weapon that happens to be full-auto.
MP7 Spray Pattern
$1500 · 30 rounds · 750 RPM · 62.5% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The MP7 has a predictable spray pattern that is easy to learn and control. Its recoil is manageable, making it a reliable SMG for players who understand when to commit to a full spray and when to switch to shorter bursts.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 15 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 16 to 25 come back right, so pull left.
Use a full spray under 12 meters. Use short bursts from 12 to 18 meters. Avoid taking fights beyond 18 meters, where the MP7’s damage and accuracy become less reliable.
Practical note: at $1500, the MP7 costs $250 more than the MP9 and $450 more than the MAC-10. Its main advantage is its larger magazine and more versatile performance, but it does not offer a major gunfight advantage over cheaper SMGs in most situations.
P90 Spray Pattern
$2350 · 50 rounds · 857 RPM · 69% armor penetration · Difficulty: Medium
50 rounds at 857 RPM is the highest sustained close-range output in CS2 outside the LMGs. The P90 is the only SMG with a magazine long enough that the late pattern actually matters.
Bullets 1 to 9 climb, so pull down. Bullets 10 to 16 break left, so pull right. Bullets 17 to 30 track right, so pull left. Bullets 31 to 50 zigzag and cannot be compensated reliably. Stop the spray or accept the spread.
Full spray under 12 meters. Burst 12 to 18 meters. Do not use it beyond 18 meters.
Practical note: at $2350 the P90 costs almost as much as an AK-47 while losing every duel past 20 meters. It earns its slot on rushes and retakes where 50 rounds means you never reload mid-fight.
PP-Bizon Spray Pattern
$1400 · 64 rounds · 750 RPM · 57.5% armor penetration · Difficulty: Easy
The PP-Bizon has a large magazine and a relatively simple spray pattern, making it easy to use in close-range fights. Its low damage per bullet, however, limits its effectiveness against armored opponents and makes accurate recoil control especially important.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 15 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 16 to 25 come back right, so pull left.
Use a full spray under 10 meters. Use short bursts from 10 to 15 meters. Avoid taking fights beyond 15 meters, where the PP-Bizon’s low damage and weaker accuracy make it difficult to secure kills.
Practical note: at $1400, the PP-Bizon is one of the cheapest SMGs available, but its low damage and weak armor penetration make it a niche choice. Its 64-round magazine is most useful when fighting multiple enemies at close range or when you need sustained fire without reloading.
For Machine Guns
Machine guns are built for sustained fire, with large magazines and high ammo capacity that let you keep shooting without reloading. Their heavy recoil and low mobility make spray control more demanding, so you need to learn the pattern and manage your pull throughout the spray. Every machine gun below is best suited to situations where sustained fire matters: holding tight positions, suppressing enemies, or fighting multiple opponents at close to medium range.
M249 Spray Pattern
$5200 · 100 rounds · 750 RPM · 80% armor penetration · Difficulty: Hard
The M249 has a long and demanding spray pattern that becomes difficult to control as the magazine empties. Its huge 100-round magazine allows sustained fire, but the weapon’s high cost, heavy recoil, and low mobility make it a poor choice for most competitive situations.
Bullets 1 to 8 climb, so pull down. Bullets 9 to 15 drift left, so pull right. Bullets 16 to 25 move back right, so pull left. The longer the spray continues, the harder it becomes to maintain accurate recoil control.
Use a full spray under 10 meters when you need sustained fire. Use short bursts from 10 to 20 meters. Avoid spraying at long range, where the M249’s recoil becomes difficult to manage and its high cost rarely justifies the risk.
Practical note: at $5200, the M249 is one of the most expensive weapons in CS2 and costs more than an AWP. Its 100-round magazine is its main advantage, making it useful for holding tight positions or fighting multiple enemies without reloading, but its heavy recoil, slow movement, and extreme price make it a niche weapon in competitive play.
Are CS2 Spray Patterns Random?
No. The recoil path is fixed and identical every time. The confusion comes from two things. Spread is randomised on every shot and stacks on top of the fixed recoil, so bullets never land in one hole even with perfect compensation. And Valve has changed how recoil is rendered to your view several times since launch, which changes the feel of a spray while leaving the pattern itself in place.
The practical consequence: after any significant update, spend five minutes at a wall with your main weapon before trusting your muscle memory. A change to how recoil is applied to your viewangle will not show up in the patch notes in words you recognise, and you will not consciously notice it. You will just start losing duels you used to win.
How to Practice CS2 Spray Patterns Effectively
Spray practice only works when it is deliberate. Use this routine:
- Turn on Follow Recoil before anything else (Settings, Game, Crosshair, Follow the Recoil). Your crosshair will trace the recoil path as you fire, so you can watch the pattern while you shoot it. Then load a Workshop map such as Recoil Master, which overlays your spray against the reference pattern.
- Practice for 15 to 25 focused minutes daily rather than occasional two-hour sessions. Consistency builds muscle memory faster.
- Start about 10 meters from a flat wall and stay there until your grouping tightens, then move back to 20 meters. Anything past 25 meters is burst range, not spray range, so there is no point practicing full sprays from there.
- Set up a private server properly: sv_cheats 1, sv_infinite_ammo 1, bot_kick, mp_buy_anywhere 1, mp_roundtime 60, sv_showimpacts 1. Without infinite ammo you spend half the session reloading, and sv_showimpacts 1 draws the exact server-side hit point, which is what tells you whether you missed from bad compensation or from spread.
- Record your sessions. Reviewing footage reveals mistakes you miss in the moment, especially early horizontal drift.
- Transfer your training to deathmatch servers. Static wall practice is only the first step. You need to spray at moving targets under pressure.
In our testing, functional spray control on one main weapon takes most players around 2 to 4 weeks of daily practice. Getting to the point where compensation runs on its own during a fight takes closer to 1 to 3 months, depending on how much FPS experience you are bringing in.
Common Spray Control Mistakes to Avoid
- Spraying while moving. Movement inaccuracy in CS2 is heavy enough to make this close to useless, and no amount of spray control compensates for it, because it is spread and not recoil. Counter-strafe, let the crosshair settle, then fire.
- Overcompensating on the lateral phases. Most players pull too far, because the correction is smaller than it feels. High sensitivity makes this worse, since the same wrist movement covers more distance.
- Spraying at long range. Past roughly 25 meters, tapping or a 2 to 4 bullet burst beats a full spray. Release mouse1 for about a third of a second between bursts and the recoil resets back to bullet one, so every burst starts from the accurate part of the pattern.
- Ignoring crosshair placement. Starting a spray from a good position matters more than perfect compensation from a bad one.
- Switching weapons too often. Spray control is weapon specific. Two or three weapons learned properly beat six learned halfway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most players see meaningful improvement within 1 to 2 weeks of daily practice sessions of 15 to 25 minutes each. Basic rifle competency typically comes in 2 to 4 weeks. Automatic muscle memory, where you compensate without thinking, develops over 1 to 3 months depending on your prior FPS experience and how consistently you train.
No. Focus on the weapons you actually buy in matches. The AK-47, M4A1-S, and M4A4 cover the vast majority of competitive scenarios. Once those feel natural, add one SMG like the UMP-45 or MP9. Spreading practice across too many weapons slows progress on the ones that matter.
Match pressure, movement from opponents, and your own positioning create different conditions than wall practice. Adrenaline also affects fine motor control. Bridge this gap by practicing in deathmatch servers against real players, not just stationary bots. Counter-strafing before spraying also has a bigger impact in live matches than most players realize.
Yes, significantly. Lower sensitivity generally makes fine spray adjustments more consistent because small wrist movements produce smaller crosshair movements, reducing overcorrection. Most competitive players sit somewhere between 600 and 1000 eDPI. As reference points, NiKo runs around 760, ZywOo around 800, and s1mple has historically played above 1200. That said, the right sensitivity is one you can commit to, because frequent changes reset your muscle memory progress.
In the right situations, yes. If you have a confirmed position through sound, teammate callouts, or a molotov forcing movement, spraying a known location through smoke can secure kills. Random hope-sprays through smokes are almost always a waste of ammunition and reveal your position for nothing.
Professional players typically burst 2 to 5 bullets at medium range, then release the trigger to reset the recoil before the next burst, rather than committing to a full spray. Bursting combines accuracy with higher damage output compared to single shots, without the late-spray inaccuracy that comes with extended full-auto fire. Watch pro demos to see how they modulate between techniques based on range and cover.
Crosshair placement first, always. Good placement secures kills with the first 1 to 2 bullets, which are the most accurate and require no compensation. Spray control becomes relevant when those early bullets miss or when you are in a multi-target situation. Build your crosshair placement habits before spending heavy time on spray compensation.
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