CS:GO R8 Revolver Dilemma
You’re playing a game of matchmaking and victory is just a couple of rounds away. You and the team have loads of money to work with. There’s a dilemma. What kind of “troll” weapon are you willing to purchase?
The range is pretty big. You can go with the machinegun which serves no real purpose other than suppressing fire. The lackluster pp-bizon is also available, but there is a weapon. A weapon which stands out from the crowd. It is the antithesis of the Counter-Strike principle. The R8 Revolver.
Bang, Bang, I hear the sound
Long before the revolver was introduced in Global Offensive, its icon was present in the games’ folders. The community had a hunch about the new pistol. Now everyone waited for the grand unveiling. And it was one of the worst updates to ever grace Counter-Strike, not just Global Offensive.
As far as the weapons capabilities are concerned, they are truly insane. On its release, the R8 Revolver had the same base damage as an AWP at 115 damage. It also had the same armor penetration as the Deagle at 93. In terms of range, it could kill an armored opponent with one bullet to the chest at 560 units.
In comparison to other pistols, the R8 Revolver has a unique secondary fire mode. Left click firing required the players to wait a period of time before their shot actually fires, but the accuracy for doing so is more reliable than the AK and M4. Like the Deagle, inaccuracy from firing lingers for a long period of time so rapid firing even when crouching won’t yield good results.
Wild West Nightmare
The numerical implementation of the R8 Revolver was outrageous. In the game itself, there was no longer a need to buy rifles, smgs or sniper rifles. All you needed was 850$ to purchase the R8 and play the entire game with it.
In gunfights, it just came down to “who can fire off the shot first”. With the M4’s, it requires 2 bullets to the head or 4-5 body shots to get a kill. Even with the rifle, as powerful as the AK-47, you need to and the headshot to secure a kill.
The secondary fire mode was even a bigger problem. In close quarter combat, firing of a single shot and landing it is pretty difficult. However, the secondary fire mode allowed a player to fire the shots rapidly and they dealt the same damage as the single-fire mode, albeit with more inaccuracy.
On a statistical basis, the R8 looked like a nightmare but its implementation was undeniably broken. You could fire off the R8 while defusing the bomb. It had a 100% accuracy on ladders. It could even be fired off in the buy phase of each round.
Substantial Nerfs to the R8 Revolver
Valve didn’t waste any time to implement changes for the R8 Revolver. As quot It was removed from competitive play and was worked on over the years. Damage has been decreased, price changes have been changed and in 2017 with was introduced as a loadout weapon for the slot of a deagle.
Those changes weren’t enough to bring any fan-fair for the weapon. Valve changed the price and the R8 Revolver is now priced at 600$ just 100$ less than the Desert Eagle. But it’s still hasn’t found its use in the game.
It still does a lot of damage, but you can’t fire it as quickly as a deagle. The R8 is too expensive for a proper eco round and that’s why people will get a p250 instead. On a forcebuy, even the scout makes more sense, if you want to dish out damage to your opponents.
Back to the Smith
In its current state, the R8 Revolver is still not a viable weapon. On paper, it seems like a better option than a deagle. Lesser cost, more damage and even higher accuracy. But all of that comes with a slow firing primary mode and now a laughable secondary fire mode.
Will the R8 have some sort of new revision from Valve’s part? There’s always a chance. The Negev had some of the biggest and most drastic changes to any weapon in Global Offensive. If Valve wants to stay true to their cause and make all the weapons serve a particular role, the R8 could find its place. But in its current state, it’s just a failed experiment.
