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What is KZ in CS2 and how to get started

KZ (KreedZ climbing) in Counter-Strike 2 is a movement-focused mode: you clear obstacle courses using jumps, bunny hopping, and strafes, with no shooting. It's about movement skill and completion time, not frags.

What KZ is

KZ maps are courses (kz_) where the goal is to get from start to finish in the fastest time, jumping across platforms and clearing obstacles. Precise strafes, bunny hopping, and air control matter here - there's no shooting and no enemies.

KZ is close to bhop and surf in terms of movement mechanics, so many players train them together. It's a great way to sharpen your movement, which carries over into regular matches too.

How to start playing KZ

  1. 1Find a KZ server in the monitoring or among the community's bhop/surf servers.
  2. 2Connect by IP (see the "How to join a CS2 server by IP" guide).
  3. 3KZ servers usually have a timer and checkpoints - the server itself tells you the start/checkpoint commands in chat.
  4. 4Start with easy maps (kz_ marked easy/beginner) and work your way up.

What a beginner should practice

  • Strafes - smooth mouse movement plus the A/D keys in the air to gain speed.
  • Bunny hop - a chain of jumps without losing speed.
  • Jumping bound to the mouse wheel (bind mwheelup +jump) - the standard for bhop/KZ.
  • Checkpoints - don't be afraid to save and re-run tricky sections.

Where else to start

Alongside KZ it's worth training bhop and surf - the movement mechanics are shared. Servers for all of these modes are in the MonitoringCS2 listing with live player counts and ping.

Frequently asked questions

What is KZ in CS2?+

KZ (climb) is a mode about completing tough maps as fast as possible using jumps, strafes and bunny hopping, without shooting. The goal is to finish the course quickly and improve your timer result.

How do I join a KZ server in CS2?+

Find a KZ server in the community browser or on monitoring sites and connect with connect IP:port. The required plugins and maps are already installed on the server itself.

Which commands and plugins do I need for KZ in CS2?+

On public KZ servers everything needed is already installed server-side, so you do not install anything yourself. To practice on your own server, enable sv_cheats 1 and use commands like sv_autobunnyhopping 1.

What are bunny hop and strafe in KZ?+

Bunny hopping is a chain of jumps that keeps your speed, while strafing is gaining speed by moving the mouse together with the A/D keys in the air. Combined, they let you move faster than normal running.

Why is there a timer on KZ servers?+

The timer records how long it takes to finish a course and stores players' records. It is what results are compared by as you compete for a spot on the server's leaderboard.