AK-47

Role and identity

The AK-47 is a Terrorist-exclusive purchase in the assault-rifle slot. At $2,700, it is the side’s principal rifle for a standard gun round; a Counter-Terrorist cannot select it in the buy menu but can pick up a dropped copy. A recovered AK can therefore change the opposing team’s next engagement and is worth communicating about, denying or saving when the round allows. Its combination of cost and lethal headshot damage makes it valuable even when a team cannot afford the most expensive equipment for every player.

The table records the weapon properties and hitbox damage listed for Counter-Strike 2. Armor affects most hit locations, while the 77.5% armor-penetration value explains why the rifle retains substantial damage against protected opponents. A head hit deals 111 damage through armor, enough to defeat a helmeted player in one shot at ordinary range. The exact result can still be affected by range and obstruction; a body hit does not have that one-shot outcome. Movement values describe how quickly the player travels with the rifle equipped, not the accuracy of a shot taken while moving.

Firing, recoil and damage

The rifle fires fully automatically at 600 rounds per minute. Its first bullet is the easiest point in a sequence to place precisely; continuing to hold the trigger causes the barrel to rise and the pattern to shift. The opening shots travel upward before the later pattern changes direction, so a sustained spray requires the player to pull the aim down and then make further corrections. The first several rounds are consequently well suited to a short burst, while an extended spray is a deliberate close-range choice rather than a string that remains centered by itself.

For longer sightlines, single shots or compact bursts give time for accuracy to recover and make the 143-damage unarmored head hit or 111-damage armored head hit easier to pursue. At closer distance, the player can fire automatically and correct toward the torso as recoil develops. This trades precision for repeated hit chances. The AK-47 has no scope: positioning, a stable first shot and a clear view of the target matter more than trying to use it as a scoped rifle. Its 0.98 range modifier means damage declines only slightly with distance, but that does not remove the increased difficulty of placing a moving spray at range.

The table’s damage figures are per hit and grouped by hitbox. Chest and arms share a row, as do stomach and pelvis; the legs take 26 damage with or without armor in the listed table. Wall and object interactions are a separate consideration: the AK-47’s 200% penetration-power property allows it to pass through supported surfaces, while surface material and thickness still determine the result. A player should not treat that percentage as a promise that every wall can be penetrated.

Movement, reloads and ammunition

The listed running speed is 215 units per second, falling to 112 while walking and 73 while crouch-walking. Walking can reduce noise and crouching changes the player’s profile, but neither makes a hurried shot automatically accurate. For a distant target, stop and settle before firing; for a close swing, the faster movement and immediate automatic fire can be the more practical response. The weapon’s 30-round magazine supports a sequence of bursts or a sustained close engagement, and the 90-round reserve supplies three further full magazines before accounting for ammunition already loaded.

A normal reload takes 2.4 seconds, during which the rifle cannot answer a threat. Counter-Strike 2’s March 18, 2026 ammunition refactor changed magazine-fed reloads: completing a reload discards the rounds left in the current magazine and draws a full replacement from reserve. The interface also represents reserve ammunition in magazine units and displays the current magazine’s fill level. This makes the decision to reload consequential: after a short burst, consider whether cover and time justify replacing a partially used magazine instead of carrying its remaining rounds into the next duel.

Tactical use and team decisions

The AK-47 is most useful when its player can exploit a precise opening hit, hold a lane with cover or coordinate a burst with teammate utility. A first-round headshot can remove a helmeted opponent, so an exposed defender risks losing the duel before follow-up fire matters. A Flashbang can help the rifle take space, while a Smoke Grenade can block a dangerous sightline or isolate the next angle. These tools do not improve the weapon’s statistics; they create a safer opportunity to use them.

In a close fight, automatic fire and torso-level recoil correction can produce several attempts quickly. Against a target farther away, tapping or short bursts provide more control. Avoid starting a long spray while still running, and avoid reloading in the open simply because the counter is no longer full. The rifle’s 2.4-second reload and the 2026 magazine loss both make timing and cover part of ammunition management. Players should also track their position relative to teammates so that one rifle can trade an opponent rather than becoming an isolated target.

The AK-47’s kill reward in the listed rules is $300 in Competitive and $150 in Casual. A player planning a purchase should consider the whole round budget: rifle, armor and useful grenades work together, and buying the rifle alone may leave the team unable to take space safely. Refer to Buy Menu, Loadout, Economy, Full Buy and Force Buy for how the weapon fits purchase decisions. The Terrorist team can buy it; Counter-Terrorists can only use one acquired during play.

A dropped AK is unusually dangerous in the other team’s hands because its headshot damage crosses the helmet threshold. After winning a duel, a Counter-Terrorist may replace a less useful weapon with the recovered rifle. Terrorists should therefore notice where the rifle fell and whether an opponent can reach it. When practical, recover it, move it to a defensible position or otherwise deny the pickup; do not assume an objective win has made every dropped weapon irrelevant.

Weapon background and Counter-Strike history

The AK-47 is modeled after a real Soviet select-fire rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov and chambered for the intermediate 7.62×39mm cartridge. The AK family’s first weapon is commonly called the AK-47; later historical family members include the AKM, which succeeded it in 1959, and the AK-74, introduced in 1974. The game’s shared ammunition and damage values are gameplay abstractions, not a simulation of real-world rifle ballistics.

The Counter-Strike weapon has appeared across the series under names including CV-47 in some editions. Its persistent role is the Terrorist side’s automatic rifle counterpart to the Counter-Terrorist rifle selection. The in-game AK uses ammunition shared with other weapons for game-system purposes; that shared pool should not be confused with real firearm cartridge compatibility. CS2’s item is a selectable primary weapon in the buy system, rather than a map objective or a separate game mode.

Counter-Strike 2 update history

On February 13, 2025, a CS2 update changed the AK-47’s alternate inspect animation. On August 14, 2025, the deploy and quick-inspect animations for the AK-47, Galil AR, AUG and PP-Bizon were improved. These changes affected presentation and handling animations rather than the damage table above.

On March 18, 2026, CS2 changed the reload model for magazine-fed weapons. A completed reload now discards the unused rounds in the current magazine, takes a full magazine from reserve, and shows reserve ammunition using magazines, shells or bullets according to the weapon. The game also displays the current magazine’s fill level and adjusts reserve magazine counts per weapon. This is the dated gameplay change relevant to the AK-47 in the retrieved CS2 update history. Earlier-edition balance notes are not used as current CS2 statistics.

Version scope and related entries

All prices, hitbox damage, ammunition, movement, reload and fire-rate figures on this page are presented as Counter-Strike 2 values. The Wiki also documents values for earlier Counter-Strike editions; those tables are intentionally kept separate and are not substituted for CS2 data. The AK-47 is a base-game weapon, not a DLC item. Its CS2 updates are dated above so that future changes can be added without merging them with older balance history.

Compare the AK-47 with the M4A4, M4A1-S, Galil AR and AUG to understand the opposing rifle options and the lower-cost Terrorist alternative. Armor Penetration, Recoil, Movement Inaccuracy and Reloading explain the mechanics behind its damage and handling.

AK-47 lethal-headshot correction (September 15, 2023)

The September 15, 2023 update fixed a case in which an AK-47 headshot would not deal lethal damage. The patch describes an exceptional damage-result bug, not a broad rebalance, new headshot multiplier or change to every armor and range combination. It gives no reproduction steps or numerical values. Keep this correction distinct from the weapon’s ordinary damage and armor interaction data; the fix concerns the stated non-lethal headshot case.

Inheritance finish texture adjustment (April 25, 2024)

The April 25, 2024 update adjusted the texture and mask for AK-47 | Inheritance. This is a finish-specific visual correction: the weapon model and finish presentation were tuned, with no stated change to AK-47 damage, recoil, ammunition, price or firing behavior. The adjustment belongs to this named finish rather than every AK-47 skin.

Deploy and quick-inspect animations (August 14, 2025)

The August 14, 2025 update improved the AK-47 deploy and quick-inspect animations. This is a first-person presentation change to the rifle’s draw and rapid inspect actions; the note does not report a change to firing delay, damage, recoil or accuracy. A separate general change removed the deploy-inspect delay for most weapons, while this named entry records the AK-47’s specifically listed animation improvement.

Related entries & categories