What is Climb? #
Climb, also known as Kreedz Climbing (KZ) or Xtreme Climb (XC), is a popular gamemode found in every Counter-Strike game. The goal of Climb is to get from point A to point B in a map in the quickest time possible. Climb utilizes prestrafing, airstrafing, and well-timed jumps to go further than a normal jump ever could, reaching far-away platforms and ledges.
History of Climb #
Climb had its origins in the early 2000’s, when players in Counter-Strike were beginning to master their bunny hops and strafe jumps to get to unintended places. A mapper named Kreedz saw this and thought of making it its own gamemode. He then created the first Climb maps, forever making him the name of the gamemode. From that moment on, Climb was a staple Counter-Strike gamemode, with tournaments being hosted often. It became so popular that it has branched off into other games like Half-Life and even spawned its own game, Kreedz Climbing. Kreedz combined his growing community with Xtreme-Jumps to have a central hub for Climb, and it’s been that way since.
Climb maps have evolved heavily since Kreedz made them. They became less focused on self-improvement, and are now typically setup in a race format where it’s easy to compete with friends and foes alike to get the fastest times possible.
How Climb Works #
Climb works in the same way that bunny hopping does; pressing W or S combined with a strafe key causes the player to receive more velocity than simply holding W or S. Combining this with turning the player’s camera in line with the strafe key, a player can get lots of momentum to jump to far platforms. This is normally called a prestrafe.
This can be further improved by letting go of W in the air but continuing the mouse and strafe key pattern, called airstrafing. Upon hitting the ground, if the player jumps immediately, they can preserve what velocity they have and continue airstrafing, building up more and more speed until they finish the map, or run into an obstacle along the way.