How to Kick Bots in CS2 and Adjust Their Difficulty: A Player’s Guide

Bots in the Counter-Strike series have come a long way. In the early versions of the game, they didn’t exist at all, and the first artificial opponents appeared thanks to enthusiasts who developed mods like PODbot and Realbot. Later, Valve added bots to official versions, and their names often referenced real developers. Characters like “Gabe” (after Gabe Newell), “Cliffe,” “Minh,” and others appeared. Over time, players noticed that bots in CS: Source were tougher than in CS:GO, and CS2 seems even more simplified in comparison. However, despite this, it’s still possible to adjust their difficulty — you just need to use console commands.

What Bot Difficulty Levels Are Available in CS2?

Bot difficulty in CS2 is divided into six levels, numbered from 0 to 5:

• bot_difficulty 0 — Completely harmless bots. They barely attack and are perfect for shooting practice or relaxed gameplay.

• bot_difficulty 1 — Slow and not very dangerous. Their reaction times leave much to be desired, so you can practice tricky shots and acrobatic maneuvers.

• bot_difficulty 2 — More deliberate play, simple tactics, and basic movement. These bots can hurt you if you’re too slow.

• bot_difficulty 3 — Medium difficulty. They use grenades and can land headshots. They’re not too smart, but they already pose a threat.

• bot_difficulty 4 — Advanced bots. They use cover well, employ grenades effectively, and react quickly to player actions.

• bot_difficulty 5 — Maximum difficulty bots. They instantly punish mistakes, shoot accurately, and keep you on your toes.

It’s worth noting that by default, CS2 sets the bot difficulty to level 2, which makes bots seem too easy for many players.

How to Change Bot Difficulty Before a Match?

If you want to set bot difficulty before starting the game, follow these steps:

1. Launch CS2 and ensure the console is enabled (Settings > Enable Developer Console > Yes).

2. Open the console (the ~ key) and enter the command bot_difficulty 4 (you can choose any value from 0 to 5).

3. Click “Play” > “Practice,” select a map, and enjoy battling bots.

If the command doesn’t work, try reopening the console, pressing ↑ (up arrow), and re-entering the command.

How to Change Bot Difficulty During a Match?

If you’re already in a match but want to change bot difficulty, follow these steps:

1. Open the console and enter bot_kick to remove all current bots.

2. Then, add new bots at the desired level using the command:

   • bot_add expert — for the hardest level.

   • bot_add hard — for high difficulty.

   • bot_add normal — for medium level.

   • bot_add easy — for easy level.

3. You can add bots to a specific team:

   • bot_add ct expert — adds a hard bot to the Counter-Terrorist team.

   • bot_add t expert — adds a hard bot to the Terrorist team.

If you want to create uneven teams (e.g., more bots on the opponent’s side), disable auto team balancing:

• Enter mp_autoteambalance false and mp_limitteams 0 in the console.

How to Kick Bots in CS2

To manage bots in CS2, you need to master the console. Here’s how:

1. Go to Settings > Game Settings > Enable Developer Console (~) and set it to “Yes.”
2. In-game, press the tilde (~) key to open the console.
3. Enter the command bot_kick to instantly remove all bots.
4. To remove only Terrorist bots, use bot_kick t.
5. To remove only Counter-Terrorist bots, use bot_kick ct.
6. To kick a specific bot by name, enter bot_kick [Name] (e.g., bot_kick Ulric).
7. To prevent bots from returning, use bot_quota 0.
8. To add bots back, use bot_add, bot_add_t or bot_add_ct, and you can specify difficulty and name, e.g., bot_add t hard Ulric.

These commands are convenient for private or practice matches. They don’t work in competitive mode. Without the bot_quota 0 command, bots may respawn after a round, so keep this in mind. Don’t forget to use sv_cheats 1 to activate certain extra commands like bot_stop 1. To remove a specific bot, first check its name on the scoreboard.

Despite some changes in CS2, adjusting bot difficulty is still possible. Use console commands to tailor the level of play to your liking and enjoy training or just fun gameplay against bots. And if you ever feel that bots are too predictable, remember that once upon a time, there were no bots in Counter-Strike at all!