Working off the data captured from FACEIT’s platform during the summer, it’s clear there’s a major outlier when it comes to map usage. From the total 100%, Mirage sits at an astonishing 32.12%. That means out of every three matches played, one is on this map alone, which is unusual given how many maps are available. Coming next is Dust2 with 22.59% and then Ancient with 13.01%. Looking at the data, I assume over 67% of matches are played on these three maps, so I guess everyone’s sticking to what they know.
Mirage has been part of the official Valve Map Pool since June 2013, which is over ten years ago, and it has been part of every single Counter-Strike Major for a long time. Saying every major is an exaggeration, but it’s a solid fact. For some people, it is kind of a tired map, but the legacy it has and the love that people have for it exceeds that.
The replies have shown mixed reactions. Some users shared their excitement—ObaYo, for instance, has his first ace on the map, which is a nice story. At the same time, many people have just abandoned the conversation. “genuinely insane how overplayed mirage is, imagine learning all 8 maps just to play the same one for 1/3 of your games and if you don’t like it you’re cooked,” was boizzu’s take. No one is buying this whole paid premium tier if they don’t get to try more than a couple maps, and that is a fair complaint.
The mystery surrounding why these maps in particular are so dominant is obvious. As krystianZadara put it, “The most simple maps and highest fps,” and that statement is nearly always true. Neither Ancient nor Train, the newer and more detailed maps, can be properly run on modern computers. “Why I’m paying for premium and I can’t choice map to play, it’s always random shit like train or inferno. And why I can’t ban more than 2 maps in map pool?” complained broguek1ck, which seems to be a common line of grievance.
Problems are different in a few other regions as well. Brazil is one of them. Player druidajose indicated “in Brazil, you can play train in premier easily, in faceit, I think I played 1 map since the release, faceit players just don’t like train here.” It’s interesting how much context changes the problem.
While some maps garner extreme amounts of praise, others are criticized significantly. There is obvious disdain for Ancient, as willste92 states, “Ancient is a horrific map” and sapnjukjerajs follows up with, “Ancient is dogshit.” Hence, the popularity of the map is very controversial. At the same time, LolubigmadXD said something that resonates with a lot of players: “Mirage and dust are just mid not bad or good but the rest of the map pool sucks legit we have the worst map pool right now I think in the history of the game so mid is better than playing trash.” It appears that the general consensus is that people don’t really like Mirage and Dust2, but rather, their distaste for every other option is overwhelming.
In regards to queue times, there’s a humorous exchange. CounterStratGG elements “Me: Why is my Q time so long? Also me: Super match with Mirage and Dust not selected.” So for quick games, make sure those maps are the only ones picked.
And now looking at the knowledge surrounding maps, Snakedrake_CS stated, “The maps that require more utility and rotational knowledge is farther down the list, if teams start really learning those maps you could dominate.” Which is a good point strategically. Of course you could dominate the game by developing extraordinary mastery of the niche, less popular maps if everyone is stuck on the same old maps.
While some make sense of the data, others don’t grasp it at all. As okim222 stated “how is inferno still over 10% 💀” and yes, it’s a mystery how it’s still hovering around. BrozzerF pointed out something that makes sense, “Favorite” and “most played” map are completely different terms.” Maybe people, for example, are just picking it because it’s familiar, not because it’s their favorite, but this distinction isn’t clear to many.
There’s already some discussion about possible remakes. ledelvalhe responded, “I genuily think that a future rework of Mirage needs to go through window/jungle,” a player with insane skill gap however, can control mid and help A so damn fast. The community already gearing up for the map’s evolution is pretty fascinating.
The data from FACEIT is essentially telling us that the CS2 community, especially on their platform, didn’t really grow over the summer months. There’s still the Mirage king, and standing the throne for a long, long time. Is nostalgia, simplicity, performance, or the lack of good options driving it? There are several theories. You do know that if you queue for a match on FACEIT, there’s a very high chance you’ll find yourself in Mirage again, right? While the substantial chunk of players is happy about it, the rest… might stick around in queue for a while.
