Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has just got an incredible update and is now released under the name of Counter-Strike 2 or CS2. Aside from the reworked maps and graphic overhauls Counter-Strike 2 now also features a global scoreboard for the most ambitious and competitive players
In the competitive scene, every factor and minus detail can make a huge experience, for instance, you want to keep a low latency for all your players, which can be achieved by picking a location close to your community, and you also don't want to oversaturate your server resources with more players or plugins that it can handle.
But there's another thing to keep in mind when managing your Counter-Strike 2 server and that is the tick rate, one of the available configurations for servers, and perhaps one of the most important, what value should you select to guarantee a fair and fun experience for all your players? In this blog, we'll be looking into the impact and differences between 64 and 128 ticks so you can decide what's the best option for your Counter-Strike 2 server.
But what is the 'Tick rate'?
The tick rate is the number of times the server updates the information in a determined period of time, usually a second, so when it's said that a server runs on 30 ticks it means that the client and the server communicate 30 times per second, transmitting all the data in the form of packages. For competitive games like Counter-Strike a high tick rate is essential to calculate the actions in-game correctly, while for some other games like Minecraft, it's useful to trigger events.
The number of ticks can be limited by the server or game itself, and can even be affected by in-game actions, which is the case for Redstone machines or mobs in Minecraft.
In today's era, 30 ticks per second for competitive games are really outdated due to the constant upgrades and advancements in regard to the Internet and ISPs.
Tick rate in Counter-Strike
in Counter-Strike, the tick rate is used to transmit locations or bullet trajectories and interact with the game physics. CS:GO official servers were set to use 64 ticks which meant that they sent information 64 times per second and while external servers (and some competitions) could actually use 128 ticks, this was not possible to implement in the official servers as it would require an essential rework to their entire system, a rework that was completed and it's now known as Counter-Strike 2.
Even so, you'd be surprised to know that the default tick rate for Counter-Strike 2 is still set to 64, while also implementing a new subtick system for better data transmission between the server and the player, allowing to calculate in a more precise way bullet trajectory, positions, actions, etc.
Differences between 64 and 128 ticks
In general, playing with a 64 ticks rate could result in many actions that could affect the average match for a player, such as a delay between actions or an imprecise bullet trajectory, for example, you could have an enemy in point-blank range for a clear and easy headshot and yet the bullet could miss, because the Client (which is your game) didn't send all the information or data packages.
With Counter-Strike 2 the default tick rate is not a problem anymore because every bullet is calculated independently thanks to the subtick system, even with the official servers set to a tick rate of 64 by default.
With a high tick rate, there's almost no data loss so bullets are more direct, however, this also means an increased load on your internet, which is why 128 ticks is not recommended for players with a bad connection, as they will have a clear disadvantage. It's also said that a high tick rate could also cause FPS loss.
Aside from these common and possible errors, average users may not notice the difference between 64 and 128 ticks, but this difference is essential for competitions and professional players.
So to summarize: With 64 ticks there's a chance for your inputs and actions to not be transmitted correctly to the server, while with 128 ticks the overall response is heavily improved but it requires a good internet connection and low latency or you will be at a disadvantage.
What tick rate should I use for my Counter-Strike 2 server?
CS2 also features the new and innovative subticks system where packages are not transmitted 64 nor 128 times per second as explained before but rather instantaneously after doing an action, these subticks affect your movements, key presses, and your aim. Overall this is a huge advantage and aims to delete the common issues from CS:GO, (such as missing shots) and provide a real-time experience. You can learn more about it on its official page here.
Even so, the tick rate is still essential and can affect some in-game actions as well, so in addition to this innovation, it's safe to say that choosing 128 as your server's tick rate is essential to have the best experience possible in your Counter-Strike 2 server.
Are you ready to create your own Counter-Strike 2 server? Iceline Hosting offers Game Hosting for Counter-Strike 2, so you can start your CS2 Journey today! We also have a guide in our knowledge base so you can learn how to purchase a CS2 server with us, which you can read here.
Feel free to contact us through our Livechat for any Sales Questions, or contact us through a ticket if you require help with anything else! And as always feel free to check our Knowledgebase occasionally for any new guides on how to manage your Game Servers.
