Ultimate CS:GO Crosshair Guide

Some games like Payday 2 don't have a Crosshair which makes aiming much harder, especially for players who don't have much experience with shooters. CSGO makes it easy for players to learn how to aim better. There are also variations of the Crosshair so you can customize your UI to find the perfect one that suits you.

How to change your crosshair settings

Method 1: Via console & commands

The “Console” is an in-game tool typically only available to PC gamers, it allows players to enter commands to alter the gameplay somehow. For CSGO, there are commands to let you increase your fps, enable sv_cheats, Bunnyhop and a lot more. It also lets you change your Crosshair.

Sadly, while it's possible to change your Crosshair this way it can be a little annoying. Each command needs to be typed in separately and manually so this does take up quite a bit of time. Not something you can do mid-match.

How to change your csgo crosshair settings via console and commands?

1. Launch CSGO
2. Activate Console: Enable the Developer Console and by changing it to "Yes".

1. Open Console: Press the Tilde Button (~). If it doesn't open, you can alternately set a key bind.
2. Once the console is open, just type the Crosshair Command you want to add or try.

There are plenty of other things you can do as well such as changing the thickness, color, gap size, transparency and more. They all require their commands as well.

Method 2: In-game settings

If you don't feel safe changing the Crosshair through the Console then you can also use the in-game settings to modify it. This method is accessible to everyone and it pretty easy to use but it's much more limited. There aren't many options for you to select from here.

How to change your crosshair settings via in-game settings?

1. Launch CSGO
2. Open the Game Settings
3. Go to the subsection "HUD"

This screen lets you change a lot more from than just the Crosshair. You can also move the scoreboard and do a lot more. Regarding the Crosshair, you can change the Style, Center Dot, Length, Thickness, Gap, Outline, Color as well as the Alpha of Crosshair.

Method 3: Via CFG files

Another good method to change the Crosshair as well as the Viewmodel or other general in-game settings is by making a brand new CFG file. It sounds complicated but it's pretty simple. A CFG file is a configuration file that adds some setting to the game, these are also created by the game when you first install them. When you edit settings in the game, they are normally saved in a CFG file on your computer.Another one you might see mentioned online is the Autoexec file which is a custom file that players create in notepad then call "autoexec.cfg". CSGO will use that config first instead of the one the game creates. You put the settings you want to add into that file so that the next time you launch the game, it reads those and acts on these first.

Here is how to locate your own default CFG File:

1. Open Finder and locate your Steam Folder
2. Once on the Steam data path, select "Userdata"
3. Select the number which equals to your Steam ID3
4. Select 730 which stands for CSGO's Game ID
5. Click on "Local", where you will find your own Counter Strike CFG File

This method allows you to directly copy settings from other players including pro players, your favorite streamers and anyone else. While it's not particularly difficult to do this, there are a lot of specifics that need to be done right otherwise it can cause all sorts of problems.

Method 4: crosshair generator maps

If the other methods aren't to your liking or feel too daunting, you can also use a Crosshair Generator to select the one you'd like. This method is the easiest way to give you a lot of options without needing to change or add any config files.

While others are available, we will focus on CrashZ' Crosshair Generator v3 as they are well-known in the community. Here's how you access it:

1. Go to this Steam Workshop Page‍
2. Subscribe to the Workshop item but clicking the big green button

1. Launch the Crosshair Generator map in offline with easy bots
2. Select the Crosshair you want and test it out on the bots

For this particular Crosshair Generator Map, you can buy any weapon you want to try them with before moving over to the Crosshair Manager which lets you customize it. To "click" the options you need to shoot them. If you don't have any custom Crosshairs already then you want to just start styling a personal one by selecting one of the five styles you're presented with.

After making a selection then you can customize it further by changing a few different things and the Crosshair Generator also lets you select ones used by different CSGO pro teams.

Crosshair settings explained

As we've already established, the Crosshair is important and can improve your gameplay purely by making aiming easier or more suited to your style. Everyone has their personal preferences however, a Crosshair shouldn't be very visible or distracting. If it distracts you then you won't notice your surroundings as well as you should.

A good Crosshair won't suddenly make you Godlike but it will make your game experience much easier. It allows you to see more of the screen, lets you have a good idea of weapon spread and recoil while also ensuring you can see the enemy and what's behind it. This is the basic look of your Crosshair and there are 6 different styles that you can select from which can then be further customized. The “style” is also where you select if you want a Crosshair that 's static or spreads when shooting and/or moving.

cl_crosshairstyle 0

This one spreads a little while shooting and moving to give you a more realistic view.

[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairstyle 0"]

cl_crosshairstyle 1

This is like the Classic style but it spreads while moving and shooting

[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairstyle 1"]

cl_crosshairstyle 2

It shows a larger spread and also spreads when shooting or moving

[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairstyle 2"]

cl_crosshairstyle 3

This one is the smallest on the list and completely static

[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairstyle 3"]

cl_crosshairstyle 4

Looks just like the one above except it spreads only when shooting

[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairstyle 4"]

cl+crosshairstyle 5

Generally, new players are advised to use a style that's classed as "dynamic" since it shows them how accurate their shots will be. Anyone can use a dynamic or another style if they wish.

[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairstyle 2"]

Size and thickness

When it comes to the size and thickness, this depends on your display resolution and the monitor that you use. You will need to test a few different ones to see how it feels according to the monitor and resolution that you're using to play with. Ideally, the Crosshair will be visible but not too big on the screen. The goal is to be able to see the Crosshair but not have it block the screen and make it hard to see anything else.

Increasing the Size will make the Crosshair larger overall while the Thickness refers to the Crosshair lines. Increasing or decreasing thickness will change how wide the Crosshair lines are which also changes how visible it will be on the screen. You want to aim to make it possible to see without taking up the whole screen.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairsize 5 & cl_crosshairthickness 0.5"]This command determines the size and thickness of the line´s crosshair and sets it to default values.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairsize 15 & cl_crosshairthickness 2"]This command determines the sizes and the thickness of the line´s crosshair and sets it bigger.

GAP

This refers to the gaps between the Crosshair lines. While they need to have a little spread, setting this too high can make it hard to aim over long distances which can lead to missed shots and lost points.

Ideally, the Crosshair won't have too much Thickness or too big of a Gap to ensure you can accurately see what's in your scope and be able to aim over any distance.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairgap -2"]This command defines the gap between the lines of the crosshair and sets it to -2 while 1 being the default setting.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairgap 5"]This command defines the gap between the lines of the crosshair and sets it to 5.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairgap 15"]This command defines the gap between the lines of the crosshair and sets it to 15.

Outline

Most people won't want to change this. If you need a more visible Outline or find that the current adjustments aren't enough then you'll want to enable the Crosshair Outline.

This will also help to make it much easier to see this on the screen which is perfect for people who like to be able to see through their Crosshair lines.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshair_outlinethickness 1"]This command defines the thickness of the black outlines around the crosshair-lines and sets it to 1.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshair_outlinethickness 2"]This command defines the thickness of the black outlines around the crosshair-lines and sets it to 2.

Alpha

Don't be confused by the name, the Alpha setting refers to the transparency of your Crosshair. This is something you can edit but remember that the maximum value is 255 and this is the one you should change it back to if you run into trouble with changing this setting. To change this, you must first enable custom Alpha values before you can start to change the opacity.

A lower number means that you'll be able to see what's behind the Crosshair lines which can be a good thing for a variety of reasons. For people who have trouble seeing smaller things, it allows you to have a larger Crosshair without it blocking the screen.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairalpha 50"]It allows you to set the transparency of your crosshair to 50.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairalpha 150"]It allows you to set the transparency of your crosshair to 150.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshairalpha 255"]It allows you to set the transparency of your crosshair to 255.

Color

Changing the Color might not mean much to many people however, it can give you a little boost if you don't like the original Crosshair Color. Some colors might be too bright and hurt someone's eyes or it could just be distracting to some people.

If you have certain types of color-blindness then the regular Crosshair might be difficult to see so changing the Color is critical to improving your gameplay and overall enjoyment.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshaircolor 0"]This command changes the crosshair to red.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshaircolor 1"]This command changes the crosshair to green.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshaircolor 2"]This command changes the crosshair to yellow.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshaircolor 3"]This command changes the crosshair to blue.[gg-copy-text text="cl_crosshaircolor 4"]This command changes the crosshair to cyan.

Final thoughts

While a Crosshair is very important to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, getting an improved one can't turn a bad player into a good one. The only thing that can do this is practice. Yes, an improved Crosshair will make your life much easier in this game but it won't guarantee you a better Counter-Strike rank. Many pro teams share their Crosshair config files online for others to download and play with. For example, many of them can be found here.