What Is Backtracking CSGO?

CSGO has several unique systems implemented to make it more competitive and fun to play. One of those systems is lag compensation. However, people have found a way to use that system to get an advantage over other players, called backtracking. Here is everything you need to know about it.

The main job of lag compensation is to allow high-ping players to get their shots registered. Players with high ping may shoot an enemy precisely when an enemy is in front of them, but the enemy might have already passed them in real-time. The player with the high ping is actually hitting a delayed image of the enemy.

Lag compensation will register a shot from a player if it is precise and accurate on the player’s screen, regardless of the real-time position of the enemy player. The lag compensation system tracks the enemy’s previous position. The system uses the shooter’s ping to analyze if they accurately shot the enemy on their screen.

Because lag compensation records a player’s previous position and then uses a shooter’s ping to decide if they were accurate, players can use it to their advantage by faking their ping. If you use software to fake your ping, you can shoot behind an enemy as they move, and the game will register the shot because it thinks you are shooting at the enemy on your screen. What you are actually doing is shooting the recorded position of the enemy.