The cheat sheets

A cheat sheet teaches nothing new: it reminds you of what you have already read. It is for the moments when you have no time for a whole chapter: before you start playing, waiting between matches, before a tournament.

Academy's cheat sheets page gathers four of them, generated from the guide's content:

• the words: the glossary terms with their short definition;
• if, then: the typical situations, one line each;
• the economy: the weapons in order of cost;
• the habits: the one-line rules, by theme.

The page can be printed: the print stylesheet removes menus and background colors. Keeping a sheet next to your keyboard, with the one for your goal, is a simple way to remember it every evening.

In this chapter you will also find the round checklists: six short reminders, one for each key moment, to review until they become automatic.

Cheat sheets work if you use them sparingly and well:

• pick a single sheet, the one tied to your current goal. If you are working on the post-plant, review the post-plant checklist before every session;
• read it before playing, not during the round. In the round you need to watch the game, not a sheet;
• between matches, reread the line you forgot in the match you just played;
• when a checklist feels obvious, that means you have learned it: move on to the next one.

Cheat sheets do not replace chapters. If a line is unclear, open the linked chapter: the sheet says what to do, the chapter explains why.

Five checks before the round starts:

• economy: buy, save or force? Everyone together;
• gun and armor: if you buy the gun, buy the armor too;
• abilities: do you have the ones your role will use this round?
• plan: one sentence about the round ("slow default, decide at forty"); if nobody says it, propose it yourself;
• your job: in one word, what you are doing ("watching mid", "entering B", "flank").

If something is missing, say so straight away: "no money for armor", "I need a gun".

The attack round in six moments, from the seven steps chapter:

• start: take the space nobody contests, without pointless duels;
• information: everyone has an area; call what you see and what you do not see;
• decision: around forty seconds the site must be chosen;
• execute: utility first, then the entry; in pairs, angles split, instant trades;
• plant: once the site is taken, plant first, then look for more kills;
• post-plant: different positions watching the spike, one ability kept for the defuse.

The spike carrier stays with the team and does not go in first.

Five rules for defense:

• position: do you know your way out? Are you at trade distance from a teammate?
• silence: when the attack is close, walk;
• call: as soon as you see or hear the attack, say how many and where, even before shooting;
• time: if they come in numbers, slow them and fall back; the site can be retaken;
• rotation: rotate on facts (three or more enemies, the spike seen), not at the first noise.

In the last seconds, if the spike is not planted, do not look for a duel: stop the plant.

After the plant, time is on your side. Four points:

• positions: spread out, each with a line on the spike and cover nearby;
• wait: the defenders are the ones who have to move; do not go looking for them;
• listen: you can hear the defuse; that is the moment to act;
• utility: throw onto the spike once the defuse has started, not before.

The post-plant chapter explains the typical positions.

To take a site back:

• timer: how long before it explodes? Often more than it seems;
• numbers: how many of you, how many of them? If the retake is impossible, save;
• together: wait for your teammates, do not go in one at a time;
• utility: "what do we have?"; smokes on the long lines, flashes and information on the corners;
• defuse: who defuses, and who covers them?

The retakes chapter explains how to split the jobs.

When you are the last one alive, before moving:

• how many and where: each enemy's last seen position;
• time: who has to move, you or them?
• one duel at a time: where can you face them separately?
• sound: walk, listen;
• teammates: short information only.

One slow breath before you start. The clutch chapter explains the typical choices.

Three minutes at the end of every session:

• score: one to five on your goal;
• one round: the one that left you most unsure, in one line (what you knew, what you chose);
• one thing: what you will try to change next session.

Once a week, the ten questions on five lost rounds.