On April 25, 2024, Valve released "On The Other Hand...", a quality-of-life update that touched almost every part of Counter-Strike 2. It brought back left-handed viewmodels, swapped Overpass for Dust II in the Active Duty map pool, removed two cramped overhangs on Inferno, and added new buy menu and HUD tools. It added no new cases or items, so this is a look at what changed for players.
What changed
| Area | Change |
|---|---|
| Viewmodel | Preferred left or right hand, plus a key to switch hands mid-round |
| Buy menu | Minimum money for next round shown; new Dropped Weapons panel |
| HUD | Grenade line-up reticle; alternate radar zoom you can toggle |
| Map pool | Dust II replaced Overpass in Active Duty, competitions and Premier |
| Inferno | Overhanging buildings removed at top mid and the bottom of Banana |
| Economy | New kill rewards for the Zeus, CZ75-Auto and XM1014 |
| Practice | Practice matches and Workshop maps playable with your party |
Left-handed viewmodels are back
CS2 launched without the option to hold your gun in your left hand, a setting CS:GO players knew as the console command cl_righthand 0. HLTV called its return "much-requested". The update added a "Preferred Viewmodel Left/Right Handedness" setting and a "Switch Viewmodel Left/Right Hand" key binding, H by default on US keyboards, so you can swap hands temporarily during a round without opening the settings.
Your viewmodel position and current hand are also networked now, so anyone spectating you in first person sees the same thing you do. The old "Couch" viewmodel position was retired and the viewmodel bob was adjusted. Follow-up patches fixed grenade throws getting stuck when switching hands, and the May 2024 update added separate "switchhandsleft" and "switchhandsright" console commands for binds.
Buy menu, line-ups and radar
Valve's post singled out two buy menu additions:
- Minimum next-round money. The top of the buy menu shows the least you are guaranteed to have next round, so you can decide whether to buy or save without doing the loss-bonus maths yourself. Valve's notes thank a community member, Kadomos, for it.
- Dropped Weapons panel. It lists weapons dropped by you or teammates in the buy zone and lets you pick them up straight from the menu.
For grenades, a line-up reticle appears shortly after you pull the pin, and the delay can be set separately for each grenade type. HLTV described it as essentially a crosshair the size of your screen with some extra lines. For the radar, a "Radar Map Alternate Zoom" setting and a "Toggle Radar Zoom" key let you switch between two zoom levels mid-round, which Valve suggested for finding your way through smoke.
Smaller HUD changes included the scoreboard in the Escape menu, an icon for bots on the scoreboard and a kill feed icon for kills made in mid-air. Grenade kills stopped showing that icon a few days later.
Dust II replaces Overpass
The notes "replaced Overpass with Dust 2 in the Active Duty Group, current competition map pool, and Premier matchmaking". Valve's post confirmed the change applied to "both Premier and competitions", so professional events switched pools too.
HLTV called the swap unexpected. Overpass had been fully overhauled for CS2's release, and most speculation had been about Vertigo or Mirage leaving instead. Dust II had left the pool almost 18 months earlier to make room for Anubis, and HLTV noted it had featured in 16 of the 20 Majors played up to then. Reactions split: NiKo, s1mple and magixx welcomed Overpass' removal, while G2's in-game leader HooXi said Valve had removed "the best map".
For collectors, Major Souvenir packages follow the Active Duty pool. The PGL Copenhagen Major in March 2024 had no Dust II package, while the Perfect World Shanghai Major at the end of 2024 did, drawing on the 2021 Dust 2 Collection. Our Shanghai 2024 article has the details.
Inferno opens up
Inferno lost the overhanging building at top mid and the overhangs at the bottom of Banana, with further tweaks to player collision and readability. HLTV explained the background: after its CS2 overhaul, the map had been criticised as claustrophobic, with visual clutter, a tighter Middle and the new, larger molotov spread in Banana. Removing the building made Middle look more like the CS:GO version.
Overpass, Nuke, Vertigo, Mirage and Office got bug, exploit, collision and line-of-sight fixes. Baggage, the Arms Race map, had its roll-up doors at spawn opened and its stairs made solid.
Kill reward changes
Three weapons had their kill rewards changed:
| Weapon | Before | After (Casual in brackets) |
|---|---|---|
| Zeus x27 | $0 | $100 ($50) |
| CZ75-Auto | $100 | $300 ($150) |
| XM1014 | $900 | $600 ($300) |
The Zeus also got faster movement and an adjusted attack cone. HLTV pointed out that the CZ75-Auto's $100 reward dated from December 2014, when it was cut for being overpowered, so the change brought it back in line with other pistols. The XM1014 became an outlier among shotguns, which otherwise kept their higher rewards.
Other changes
- Party practice: practice matches and Workshop maps can be launched with your party members.
- Overwatch: Valve added an Overwatch system so trusted partners can review match demos. HLTV reported it as Overwatch being re-enabled.
- Inventory: the Inspect screen shows the wear category, and panels that only showed a name tag now show the weapon's real name too. The Swap prompt for dropped weapons also uses the real name.
- Weapon finishes: texture and mask adjustments to the AK-47 | Inheritance, and a corrected texture on the USP-S | Jawbreaker, both from the Kilowatt Case.
- Major capsules: the PGL Copenhagen Major sticker capsules went on sale at 75 percent off. Our Copenhagen 2024 article covers that event.
- Demos and display: the demo camera can move while playback is paused, and brightness can be adjusted in windowed modes.
Also in April: traded items hidden for 10 days
A smaller patch on April 2, 2024 changed what others see in your inventory. Counter-Strike items you buy or receive in a trade stay hidden for 10 days from anyone viewing your Steam inventory, though you still see them yourself. Our guide to Steam privacy settings for trading explains what that means when you sell.
Where it stands now
Dust II has stayed in Active Duty through every rotation since. Overpass came back in July 2025, replacing Anubis at the start of Premier Season Three, and left again in July 2026 when Cache took its place in Season Five. Left-handed viewmodels and the buy menu additions are still part of the game. The next update, in May 2024, reworked the incendiary grenade and introduced weapon rentals, covered in our Fire Sale article.
Sources
- On The Other Hand... — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Release Notes for 4/25/2024 — Counter-Strike 2 news
- Counter-Strike 2 patches/April 25, 2024 — Counter-Strike Wiki
- Dust2 replaces Overpass in map pool; Inferno gets changes in big post-Major update — HLTV.org
- Community reacts: Dust2 replaces Overpass in map pool — HLTV.org
- Counter-Strike 2 April 26 patch notes: Left-handed view, Dust 2 returns, more — Dexerto
- Release Notes for 4/2/2024 — Counter-Strike 2 news
