CS2 tagging: how bullet slowdown works and why your weapon matters
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2026 10:21 pm
What tagging is
Tagging is the slowdown you take when you are shot. It is separate from damage. You can be at full health and still lose most of your speed because of it. The Counter-Strike Wiki defines it as the mechanic that sets the mobility slowdown a player receives as a result of being shot.
How the effect has changed
The original Counter-Strike and Condition Zero tagged heavily with every gun. Standing still and eating a round from a Desert Eagle, a shotgun or a rifle also knocked you back, unless the bullet hit your legs. The other weapons did not cause knock-back.
Counter-Strike: Source brought grenade tagging, cut the gun tagging, and removed the knock-back. The acceleration after being tagged also happened at a reduced rate.
From Global Offensive onwards the slowdown is set by the mobility value of the weapon you are carrying and the weapon you are hit by. The effect is cumulative, so several hits in quick succession slow you more than one hit of the same total damage. A low mobility value means a higher tagging rate and a stronger slowdown. The wiki uses the AK-47 as the example of a weapon that leaves you badly slowed when you are shot, and the Glock-18 as a high-mobility weapon that reduces the effect. Grenade tagging depends on the damage you take.
The buy menu used to show it
In Global Offensive the buy menu displayed a weapon's tagging power, called Stopping Power, as a number from 1 to 5. Game files suggest the developers planned to show stars instead, from one to five, and dropped the idea.
What it means in a round
Because the slowdown depends on the weapon in your hands, the same bullet slows a player holding a rifle more than a player holding a pistol. That is the part people notice in a duel: you are holding a rifle, you take a hit, and your retreat is slower than you expected.
Sources
Counter-Strike Wiki: Tagging
Tagging is the slowdown you take when you are shot. It is separate from damage. You can be at full health and still lose most of your speed because of it. The Counter-Strike Wiki defines it as the mechanic that sets the mobility slowdown a player receives as a result of being shot.
How the effect has changed
The original Counter-Strike and Condition Zero tagged heavily with every gun. Standing still and eating a round from a Desert Eagle, a shotgun or a rifle also knocked you back, unless the bullet hit your legs. The other weapons did not cause knock-back.
Counter-Strike: Source brought grenade tagging, cut the gun tagging, and removed the knock-back. The acceleration after being tagged also happened at a reduced rate.
From Global Offensive onwards the slowdown is set by the mobility value of the weapon you are carrying and the weapon you are hit by. The effect is cumulative, so several hits in quick succession slow you more than one hit of the same total damage. A low mobility value means a higher tagging rate and a stronger slowdown. The wiki uses the AK-47 as the example of a weapon that leaves you badly slowed when you are shot, and the Glock-18 as a high-mobility weapon that reduces the effect. Grenade tagging depends on the damage you take.
The buy menu used to show it
In Global Offensive the buy menu displayed a weapon's tagging power, called Stopping Power, as a number from 1 to 5. Game files suggest the developers planned to show stars instead, from one to five, and dropped the idea.
What it means in a round
Because the slowdown depends on the weapon in your hands, the same bullet slows a player holding a rifle more than a player holding a pistol. That is the part people notice in a duel: you are holding a rifle, you take a hit, and your retreat is slower than you expected.
Sources
Counter-Strike Wiki: Tagging