TL;DR — August 2025 Highlights
- Ancient visual refresh (earlier in the month) + nighttime versions for Ancient and Shoots (Casual & Deathmatch).
- August 18–19 patch: Ancient’s cave plywood wallbang is restored, small CT-spawn “house” roof deco revert, daytime soundscape tweaks, rubble-pile item snag fix, and player-clipping adjustments. Shoots also gets clipping cleanup.
- Map-making: Valve exposed more Ancient/Shoots source content.
- Misc: Knife decal on wet surfaces fixed, a couple of viewmodel, fullscreen-windowed, and Linux mouse issues squashed, plus general stability.
https://www.counter-strike.net/news/updates – Here you can find the exact changes from the official CS2 updates website.
Ancient: Visuals, angles, sound & a key wallbang
Visual pass & performance (Aug 14): Valve refreshed Ancient’s materials to the latest CS2 shaders and rolled out a nighttime variant, with rendering improvements seen across most maps. It looks cleaner and (in many POVs) performs better.
Sightlines & angles: Valve removed the Temple-to-A Main hold in the Aug 14 update. That change forces CTs to reposition if they want to influence A Main control; you’ll see more fights at Donut and A Main corner instead of static Temple anchors.
August 18–19 follow-up:
- Cave plywood wallbang is back. A big quality-of-life tweak for Ts looking to pressure Cave control or punish rotators, just re-validate your old lineup depths, because thickness and surface values can feel a hair different in Source 2.
- CT “house” roof decorations reverted. Cleaner skybox/readability on CT spawn routes.
- Daytime soundscape changes. Subtle, but it affects how easily you track steps around Mid/Cave. Expect a short re-learning curve on audio cues.
- Fixed items getting stuck behind the T-side B rubble pile, plus clipping touch-ups around the map. No more lost guns or goofy pathing there.
What to practice now on Ancient
- Rebuild your A-site CT protocols without the Temple-to-A Main angle; tighten Donut crossfires and leverage A Main HE/flash timings.
- Dust off your Cave utility and cave-to-site execs since the wallbang is restored – your lurk pressure just got better. (If you need lineups, try our Ancient Smokes: 23 Pro Lineups.)
- Re-listen for Mid/Cave sound cues after the ambiance/soundscape adjustments.
Nighttime versions (Casual/DM) & map-maker goodies
Nighttime maps: Both Ancient and Shoots have nighttime versions available in Casual and Deathmatch, shipping with the Aug 14 drop. They’re great for warm-ups and a fresh look without affecting the competitive pool.
For creators: Valve published more source content for Ancient/Shoots, including ancient_zoo.vmap with assets and blending examples. If you build or iterate maps, this is a nice boost in the toolkit.
Bug fixes & stability improvements
- Fixed knife slashes producing a “dry” decal on wet surfaces.
- Addressed an edge case where clients mispredicted shots when holding attack across a round restart.
- Squashed a viewmodel sticking scenario.
- Fullscreen windowed now behaves more sanely (extreme aspect ratios + proper stretching).
- Corrected relative mouse motion handling on Linux.
- Plus the usual stability passes.
There were also community round-ups covering the patch’s 1.4 GB size and positioning this as a polish pass before big events; useful context if you follow the esport closely.
How this affects ranked play (and what to practice)
Ancient attack tempo speeds up a bit with the cave wallbang restored: Ts can force movement in Cave and punish stubborn anchors. For CTs, that means info cycles and utility discipline matter more; don’t burn both smokes early and leave Cave exposed on the 50-second mark.
A-site CT setups change with the Temple-to-A Main angle gone. Expect more Donut retakes, A Main crunches, and teams playing A Main contact with layered flashes rather than a passive Temple hold.
Shoots remains a warm-up/fun map, but smoother clipping means more consistent jiggle-peeks and less desync around tight corners. If you DM there nightly, muscle memory carries over cleaner to tight spaces on Mirage/Anubis.
Want to drill what matters? Build a 20-minute routine:
• 5 min — Cave exec & wallbang timing in an offline lobby
• 10 min — A-site CT flash/crunch from Donut + retake utility
• 5 min — Nighttime DM on Ancient/Shoots for audio reacclimation
When you’re done scrimming, crack a few cases on DaddySkins… and if you’re new, skim our CS2 Case Opening Guides for smarter pulls.
Frequently asked questions:
Yes. The August 18–19 patch restored the Cave plywood wallbang on Ancient. Players can once again pressure Cave control and punish CT anchors.
It was removed in the August 14 update. CTs now have to rely on Donut control and utility to contest A Main instead of using the Temple sightline.
No. The nighttime versions are only available in Casual and Deathmatch, not in competitive matchmaking.
Valve included clipping fixes on Ancient and Shoots, daytime soundscape adjustments, stability improvements, and bug fixes such as knife decals on wet surfaces.
Play, trade & learn with DaddySkins
- Track every change as it lands: CS2 Update Log (live tracker)
- Learn Ancient the right way: 23 Smokes That Actually Work
- New to CS2? Start here: Beginner Guide
- When you’re ready for a little luck, hop into DaddySkins and open a few cases. Responsible fun, smart budgets.
Source notes & credibility
We compile our posts from the official update feed and reliable aggregators. For this patch window, the key changes (Ancient/Shoots tweaks, wallbang restoration, clipping, community assets, and bug fixes) are visible in the Aug 18–19 build notes and round-ups.
