Anyone playing shooter games knows how important a weapon’s sight is, and that is especially true for Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Sure, there are other more important elements to master in CS:GO, like communication and knowing where to place your throwables, but at the end of the day shooter games are about landing shots, and the right crosshairs can help a lot.
Choosing the right crosshair is vital, and that is the exact reason we’re here. In this article, I will share some essential tips on crosshair settings for CS:GO.
Default Crosshair in CS:GO
When you first start playing CS:GO, you do so with the game’s default crosshair, which is basically a white crosshair with a dot in the middle. The default settings, for those who wish to play with them, are as follows:
cl_crosshairalpha “200”
cl_crosshaircolor “5”
cl_crosshaircolor_b “50”
cl_crosshaircolor_r “50”
cl_crosshaircolor_g “250”
cl_crosshairdot “0”
cl_crosshairgap “0”
cl_crosshairsize “5”
cl_crosshairstyle “4”
cl_crosshairusealpha “1”
cl_crosshairthickness “0.5”
cl_fixedcrosshairgap “0”
cl_crosshair_outlinethickness “0”
cl_crosshair_drawoutline “0”
If you are like me – and I believe many of you are – then you know the default crosshair is really not that great. I mean, it works just fine when you rush into a dark room, but in bright spaces it is almost impossible to distinguish it from the background.
Plus, the huge size of the crosshair makes it hard to point at the enemy’s head with precision. If we are being serious, you definitely need to upgrade your crosshairs. There are a number of different ways to do that. You can use the game settings, the console, or my favorite – crosshair change maps.
Changing crosshairs through the settings
There’s really no trick here. Just go to game settings and select “Choose HUD”. There you will find a bunch of different styles, sizes and colors for the crosshair.
Changing crosshairs through the console
Most people already know this, but CS:GO has a developer console built-in that allows players to change a great number of things within the game. That includes adding FPS and Ping count, improving game performance, changing mouse and audio settings, and so much more.
To open the console, simply press ~. If it does not work, then try pressing \. The reason for this discrepancy is in the difference in keyboard layouts in some countries.
Customizing the ideal crosshairs for you
Disable Crosshair:
I don’t really recommend this, as it will make your life a lot harder, but if you insist on it, then the disabling code is:
crosshair 0
Most basic crosshair styles:
cl_crosshairstyle 0 (default)
cl_crosshairstyle 1 (the crosshair opens up when shooting or moving)
cl_crosshairstyle 2 (static default crosshair style)
cl_crosshairstyle 3 (CS 1.6 crosshair style)
cl_crosshairstyle 4 (dynamic style)
Color changes:
cl_crosshaircolor 0 (red)
cl_crosshaircolor 1 (green)
cl_crosshaircolor 2 (yellow)
cl_crosshaircolor 3 (blue)
cl_crosshaircolor 4 (light blue)
Crosshair size:
cl_crosshairsize 0.5 ( activates the lines of the crosshair)
cl_crosshairthickness 0.5 (changes thickness of the lines)
cl_crosshairgap 1 (size of the central gap)
If you don’t like that configuration, just add a higher or lower value, to adjust it to your liking.
What crosshair settings do professional players use?
There isn’t a simple answer to this, as each player has their own preferences and gaming style. Nevertheless, I’m going to share one of the best CS:GO players’ crosshairs style.
cl_crosshairalpha 255
cl_crosshaircolor 2
cl_crosshairdot 0
cl_crosshairgap -3
cl_crosshairsize 2
cl_crosshairstyle 4
cl_crosshairusealpha 1
cl_crosshairthickness 1
cl_crosshair_drawoutline 0
cl_crosshair_sniper_width 1
cl_crosshaircolor_b 144
cl_crosshaircolor_g 195
cl_crosshaircolor_r 27
In case you are wondering who the player is, it’s Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostyliev, who currently competes with team Natus Vincere.
Using crosshair change workshop maps
The last and final way to changing the crosshair is crosshair workshop maps. I absolutely love these, as they are the easiest and most visual way to change your crosshair. To use these workshops, you will however have to download the Crosshair Generator V3, or any similar workshop map.
What these workshop maps do, is place the player in a map filled with all sorts of settings, from styles to colors, you name it. To choose the one you like, all you have to do is arm your player and shoot at the desired crosshair. Your crosshair will immediately change to the one you selected. This is the best way to get a visual of the crosshair you prefer and once done, you just need to head out to a game and try it out.
And that’s all, folks! As you can see, it’s quite simple customizing your crosshairs in CS:GO. Let me know in the comments below what is your favorite crosshair style!
