The Lurker is essentially the silent assassin of the team. Their main job is to stab the enemy in their backs from locations they least expect. The Lurker must always be on the enemy's tail, trying to find easy kill opportunities.
The primary tool in a Lurker's arsenal is the element of surprise. While most players at the top ranks can figure out their enemy's strategy with the initial few pieces of information, what they can't figure out is if there is someone right behind them.
The main goal of a Lurker is to get one kill and then completely change their location so the enemy keeps on guessing, wasting time in the process. A good Lurker can single-handedly dismantle the enemy team.
Lurkers are much more than players moving all over the map. They must have a specific skill set to execute the Lurk role effectively. These skills include:
- Map Knowledge: Since Lurkers move around the map alone, they must have complete knowledge about all locations, hiding spots, and rotations for all competitive maps, at least popular ones.
- Patience and Trigger Discipline: Lurkers encounter situations with unsuspecting enemies and several others behind them that you can't see. Lurkers must have patience and trigger discipline to get complete information before taking action.
- Sound Awareness: Sound is one of the most powerful sources of information in CS2. Lurkers must take complete advantage of this while keeping the sound they create in check so they don't alert any enemy.
- Game Sense: The main goal of Lurkers is to stab the enemy in the back. They must have good enough game sense to predict enemy positions and movements with little information to do that.
Deciding whether the Lurker is the right role for you will depend on your playstyle preferences. It is best suited for players who like playing solo. While CS2 is a team-based game, lower coordination is required from Lurkers as compared to other roles.
You will be very effective at the Lurker role if you have good map knowledge, trigger discipline, and like stealthy gameplay. However, the game has other roles if you prefer a different playstyle.
If you prefer leading the team and developing a strategy, you can become the IGL. Or, if you prefer an aggressive playstyle, pushing the enemy with little to no information, you can become the Entry Fragger. Check out our complete overview of roles in CS2 for more information.
