Counter-Strike 2 update swaps Dust2 for Mirage; introduces interchangeable weapon loadouts, selling during buytime

A new customizable loadout feature allows players to hand-pick 15 weapons to bring into matches.

Valve have released a massive update to Counter-Strike 2, which introduces an entirely new buy menu, loadout feature, and swaps out Dust2 for Mirage.

Other substantial changes are also included, many in direct response to concerns from professional players and from the wider community since the release of the Limited Test.

One key update has decreased the length of time that HE grenades affect volumetric smokes, and another has addressed "floaty"-feeling movement with the new sub-tick system, making it more precise. Multiple commands can once again be bound to one key, and VAC can now live ban players and terminate matches.

The new loadout feature allows players to select a total of 15 weapons — four pistols on top of the starting pistol, five "mid-tier" weapons consisting of guns from the SMG and Heavy categories, and five rifles. The change allows players to equip both the M4A1-S and M4A4 on the CT side at the cost of doing away with one of the other traditional rifles.

Accidental buys have also been addressed as armor, grenades, and weapons can now be refunded during buytime, as long as they were purchased in the same round.

Counter-Strike 2 workshop tools have also been released, allowing community members to make weapon finishes, stickers, and maps. The Hammer level editor has also been updated and leverages GPU-accelerated raytracing to reduce compile times, at the cost of requiring a GPU capable of raytracing for it to be fully functional.

The complete update notes can be found below:

[ MAPS ]
Mirage has replaced Dust II on official Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test matchmaking servers.

[ WORKSHOP TOOLS ]
Introducing Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Tools which can be enabled and downloaded from in-game settings menu--these tools will allow community contributors to create weapon finishes, stickers, and maps.
Note: the Steam Community Workshop does not yet support uploading CS2 maps.

The level editor (Hammer) now leverages GPU accelerated raytracing to both preview and bake lighting for CS2 maps. This significantly speeds up compile times, but as a result a GPU capable of raytracing is required for Hammer to be fully functional.
Hammer GPU Minimum Specs:
Nvidia 2060Ti 6gb (2080Ti+ recommended)
AMD 6600XT (6800XT+ recommended)

[ WEAPONS ]
The player loadout has been revised:
Players have 1 Starting Pistol slot, 4 Pistol slots, 5 Mid-tier slots (previously "SMGs" and "Heavy"), and 5 Rifle slots, per team.
Assign any (side-appropriate) weapon to any slot within its category.
Supports drag-and-drop and has been redesigned to fit in on a single screen.

The in-game buy menu interface has been revised:
The wheel has been replaced with a grid showing all purchase options at the same time.
Teammate purchases are displayed on the buy menu.
Weapon "stats" display has been replaced with simple straightforward descriptions.
Players can now refund any purchase that was purchased in the same round and has not been used.

Existing CS:GO items on the Steam Community Market can be inspected in Counter-Strike 2.

[ SUB-TICK ]
Sub-tick movement is now more precise and less "floaty" (per player-feedback).
Releasing movement keys now correctly convey their sub-tick timing.
The top player of a triple-stack can now shoot.
Fine-tuned weapon aim punch recovery to be latency-independent during sub-tick recovery on the client.
Fine-tuned view punch camera shake effect during shooting to be both latency-independent and synchronized with all other sub-tick shooting effects on the client.

[ VOLUMETRIC SMOKE ]
Improved lighting/rendering when smoke overlaps multiple distinctly lit regions.
HE grenade effect times on smoke has been reduced.
Shotguns now create larger holes in smoke volumes.

[ ANIMATION ]
Adjustments to the viewmodel 'inspect' to remove animation popping.
Several viewmodel and blending animation fixes.
Improved traversal animation.
Jumping into the air and running off a ledge is now differentiated to allow for separate character motion.

[ SOUND ]
Player's own footstep sounds are now predicted on the client for a latency-independent experience.

[ RENDERING ]
Improved performance and responsiveness in windowed and full-screen windowed modes.
Fixed several bugs and rendering artifacts.

[ INPUT ]
Fixed bug that would cause input to become permanently broken when multiple commands were bound to one key. Multi-binds are back, except for jump-throw binds (which are now a skillful part of CS).
Commands bound to mouse wheels will now be reliably executed.
Fixed bug that would cause input to execute incorrectly after taking over a bot in practice mode.
Inspecting weapons is now predicted on the client for a more responsive experience.

[ VAC ]
VAC will now live ban and gracefully terminate the match at the end of the round (unless it was the last round and the cheater lost).
The match will not affect any participants' Skill Group.
Players that were not lobbied with the VAC-banned player will earn XP for match.