A brand new CS update is out, and Valve has finally decided to address the absolute snooze fest that is Inferno, introducing a couple of significant changes to the A site.

The biggest one is that Graveyard is now inaccessible, as its entrance has been closed off. On top of that, the wall above Pit has been raised, while the Balcony has been extended, replacing the overhang.

So, how does this actually impact how the map is played?

First, Ts now only have to worry about 14 different angles when entering A instead of the usual 17. That’s a win in our book.

On the flip side, CTs will now have one less position to clear during retakes, which should theoretically make them easier. And that’s something the map desperately needs. Inferno has long encouraged instant save calls the moment a site is lost, rather than incentivizing teams to actually play the f-cking game.

That being said, it’s also a trade-off.

You no longer need to worry about Graveyard when retaking, but you also lose the ability to molly Pit from Long, as the added wall height makes it impossible. So rejoice, Pit anchors.

For now, at least. You can be goddamn sure that in a couple of days the utility nerds will have already come up with some walk-three-steps-forward-and-spin-180º-and-eat-a-banana-upside-down throw that somehow lands perfectly anyway.

Overall, it’s a welcome set of changes, but it still might not be enough to truly shift the retake-averse mentality that plagues the map. Still, we’ll take what we can get.

As with any big change, it’ll take some time for players to adapt to the new layout and figure out how to work with it. It’ll be interesting to see how both us mere mortals and the pros approach it. The good news is we won’t have to wait long, since the update is already live in ESL Pro League Season 23.

And it seems like the change already has its first big fan.