CSGO July 23 patch adds new maps Mutiny and Swamp, Decoy changes, more

Andrew Amos
Mutiny A site and Swamp map in CSGO

Valve are changing things up in CS:GO yet again. The July 23 patch has added two new maps in Mutiny and Swamp, replacing Chlorine and Jungle. They’ve also shipped small changes to Decoy grenades, as well as the controversial Trusted Mode.

Hoping for a new operation after the cryptic tweets from the CS:GO account last week? Sadly, it’s not arriving on the July 23 patch. However, there are some things to get excited about.

The update has added two new maps to official matchmaking in Mutiny and Swamp. Two maps have also been removed to fit them in. On top of that, Decoy grenades have been reworked, and Trusted Mode has received yet another update.

New maps Mutiny and Swamp added to official matchmaking

Mutiny and Swamp have entered official matchmaking in CS:GO, replacing Chlorine and Jungle. The two maps will be active in Casual, Deathmatch, and Scrimmage ⁠— but not Competitive.

Mutiny was a third-place finisher in the Mapcore Exotic Contest in March 2020, which saw winner and runner-up maps Anubis and Chlorine added to the game. Mutiny will now replace the runner-up in matchmaking though, just four months after its inclusion.

It’s a very mid-centric map, with routes to A, B, and both spawns coming right through the middle. It also has a large emphasis on verticality, with controlling high and low-ground being a key factor in keeping bomb sites under control.

Swamp, on the other hand, is very aptly named. It’s very wet, very flat, and quite open. The map, based on the outskirts of Louisiana, forces players to navigate through open water, ducking and diving for cover.

Mutiny Mid in CSGO
The pirate-themed Mutiny came third in the Mapcore Exotic Places contest earlier in 2020.

Decoy grenades no longer damage teammates

Gameplay-wise, there was a small update to grenades ⁠— Decoys specifically. The $50 throwable will no longer do damage to teammates by default.

While this seems like a pointless change, it actually has huge impacts on one thing ⁠— griefing. Players could intentionally team kill themselves on Decoy grenades thrown by their allies if the griefing player got down to low-enough health.

If it happened multiple times, the player who threw the Decoy would be kicked. Making it so the Decoy grenades no longer do damage now removes that method of team killing from CS:GO.

Decoy grenade being thrown in CSGO
Decoy grenades will no longer do damage to teammates by default.

Grenades thrown by teammates who disconnect or swap teams have also been adjusted to convey the correct amount of damage.

Trusted Mode also received an update to give players a “compatibility” option to allow third party software to launch after the system’s full launch. All previous Trusted Mode launch options have been reset as well.

You can find the full CS:GO July 23 patch notes below.

CS:GO July 23 patch notes

Trusted Mode

  • Trusted Mode is now the default launch mode for CS:GO.
    • Previous Trusted Mode launch options have been deprecated.
    • Instead, a new compatibility launch option “-allow_third_party_software” is provided to allow third party software to access the CS:GO game process.

Maps

  • Added Mutiny and Swamp to official matchmaking in Casual, Deathmatch, and Scrimmage game modes.
  • Chlorine and Jungle have been removed from official matchmaking.

Gameplay

  • Grenades now convey the correct amount of damage to teammates if thrown by another teammate who switched teams or disconnected.
  • Decoy grenade explosions no longer damage teammates by default. (controlled via convar ff_damage_decoy_explosion)

Misc

  • Fixed bsp-embedded models caching rules to allow for reloading the correct model when transitioning to a different map.
  • Capped view model backfaces on Desert Eagle.
  • Fixed workshop workbench texture regeneration on low shader quality GPU configurations.
  • Minor adjustments to Danger Zone delivery drone behavior for Steam Workshop Danger Zone maps.