Are Decoy Grenades Viable Competitive Options?
Ah, the Decoy grenade. At just $50 a pop, it is the cheapest possible thing to buy in CS:GO, but is it really worth the purchase? That $50 could mean the difference between an AWP and armor or just another miscalculated buy option.
This grenade, when thrown, will emulate the firing sound of the thrower’s most powerful weapon and will show up as a red “enemy spotted” dot on the entire enemy team’s minimap. It does this for about 15 seconds, then explodes to cause around 5 damage to any player in a very small radius. It has a movement speed of 245, which is only 5 less than the knife.
There are many disadvantages to this grenade. Firstly, it has a maximum stack of 1, and takes up one of four grenade slots. It also will show the red dot regardless of where enemies are, which could alert them that there is a player in that area and to either approach/not approach it, depending on the situation. Because it is very noisy for a prolonged length of time, it is not advantageous to use this grenade when being stealthy like a Flashbang. Also, every experienced player will not fall for the illusion the grenade attempts to create but will simply ignore it, making it a wasted attempt at higher skill levels. And lastly, the purchase of this grenade in previous rounds could affect your economy, while only slightly, leaving you with $50 less for a full buy.
There are a few advantages, however. In team fights, it could be used as a good distraction while the enemy pushes or defends an area to lure them into peeking the grenade, exposing them for an easy kill. It is also an excellent tool to distract any bots, which are easily fooled anyway. Probably the only actual good aspect of this grenade is the model’s similarity to the Flashbang. This could fool enemy players to look away when they see it, only for you to pop out and kill them, unflashed and unharmed. However, some players with quick reaction times may recognize the red strip to be different from the Flashbang’s blue stripe and not look away, making it a futile effort to throw it.
Are Decoy grenades useful? In very early ranks or against bots, yes. But in an actual competitive environment, it lacks a lot of utility. You seldom see professional players purchase this grenade, even for the use as a Fake Flashbang. In those situations, most players prefer to use their pistol as a fake than a real fake. In my opinion, Decoy grenades are not viable in competitive, but for a $50 purchase, what more could you really ask for.