CS2 SSG 08 rifle displayed in the weapon inventory

SSG 08 Guide for Counter-Strike 2

Damage, the scope, and when a $1,700 sniper beats a rifle or an AWP.

The SSG 08 is the cheap sniper. It costs $1,700, pays $300 a kill, and one bullet to the head kills at any distance, helmet or not. At 230 it moves faster than any other sniper, and faster than any rifle.

The trade-off is damage to the body. With 88 damage and 85% armour penetration it needs two hits to the chest, armour or not, and a single stomach hit kills only a player without armour. It fires once every 1.25 seconds and carries 30 rounds in total since the March 2026 ammo rework. This page goes through the numbers, the scope, when to buy it, and the skins and cases.

Last checked

September 2026

Weapon stats checked against CS2 build 1.41.7.6.

SSG 08 at a Glance

The full stat sheet, straight from the game.

Every number below comes from the game build of 18 March 2026. Two of them define the SSG 08: a $1,700 price and a helmet one-tap at any distance. It is the cheapest sniper by far, less than a Galil. What it gives up is damage to the body - 88 a bullet, so the chest always takes two hits.

Damage and money

Price	$1,700
Kill reward	$300
Side	CT and T
Base damage	88
Armour penetration	85%
Headshot multiplier	4x
Damage lost at 500 units	2%
Wall penetration	250%
One-tap range, helmet	Any distance on a map
One-tap range, no helmet	Any distance on a map

Handling and ammo

Rate of fire	48 RPM (one shot every 1.25 s)
Magazine	10
Reserve	20 (30 total)
Reload	3.70 s (mag in at 1.97 s)
Deploy	1.00 s
Mobility	230 (knife is 250)
Tagging power	65%
Accurate range, standing	4.8 m (scoped 47.2 m)
Running inaccuracy	155.4 (scoped 126.7)
Recoil	No set pattern
Console command	`give weapon_ssg08`

The weak spot is the body shot. Two chest hits with 1.25 seconds between shots take a long time, so the SSG 08 lives on headshots. Unscoped it is accurate only to 4.8 metres, better than the AWP's 1.9 but still not a gun to shoot from the hip. On the move it is the least inaccurate sniper, 155.4, better even than the AK's 182.

SSG 08 Damage & Armour

What one bullet does, and how many it takes.

Everything here assumes a full-health player at close range. Armour means kevlar on the body and a helmet on the head. The general rules behind these numbers are on the weapons hub.

Damage per bullet

Hitbox	No armour	Armour	Bullets to kill, no armour	Bullets to kill, armour
Head	352	299.2	1	1
Chest and arms	88	74.8	2	2
Stomach	110	93.5	1	2
Legs	66	66	2	2

Two body shots come close. A stomach hit through armour does 93.5, six and a half short of a kill, and a chest hit without armour does 88. In both cases a pistol or any other gun can finish the player off with one more hit.

Where the SSG 08 holds up

The SSG 08 loses only 2% of its damage for every 500 units of distance. Only one bullet count has a limit you are likely to reach:

Shot	Works up to
Head, helmet or not - 1 bullet	Any distance on a map
Chest, armour or not - 2 bullets	Any distance on a map
Stomach through armour - 2 bullets	Any distance on a map
Legs - 2 bullets	6,871 u (about 174 m)
Stomach, no armour - 1 bullet	2,359 u (about 60 m)

Damage is multiplied by 0.98 for every 500 units of distance, and it drops smoothly in between.

What this means in a fight

A headshot kills in one bullet. Against armour, every other hitbox takes two shots, and the second one comes 1.25 seconds after the first — long enough for the opponent to shoot back or get out of sight. So the SSG 08 is a headshot gun: where the AWP forgives a body shot, the SSG 08 does not. Against players without armour, a stomach hit also kills in one bullet out to about 60 metres.

SSG 08 Scope & Accuracy

Why the SSG 08 is only as good as the moment you shoot it.

The SSG 08 has no spray to learn. It fires once every 1.25 seconds, so recoil never stacks up. Accuracy comes down to being scoped in and fully stopped when you fire.

Without the scope

Unscoped, the SSG 08 is accurate to 4.8 metres standing - better than the AWP's 1.9, but still close range. Its running inaccuracy is 155.4, the best of any sniper, but far from what you need for a headshot.

With the scope

The right mouse button brings up the scope, and a second click zooms in further. Scoped, the accurate range goes from 4.8 to 47.2 metres, and running inaccuracy drops to 126.7. That is less than the AWP (69.3 metres) and the auto-snipers (66.3), but enough for most long angles on a map.

Between shots

After each shot the SSG 08 needs 1.25 seconds before it can fire again, and the scope comes off while the bolt cycles. A body shot leaves the opponent alive for that time (see Damage & Armour), so the second shot is usually harder than the first.

Moving and stopping

Scoping in will not make the SSG 08 accurate on the move. It moves at 230, faster than any other sniper, which makes it easy to reposition between shots - but stop before you shoot: tapping the opposite movement key - counter-strafing - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.

When to Buy the SSG 08

What an SSG 08 round costs, and when it beats a rifle or an AWP.

The SSG 08 is a sniper you can afford on a force buy. t gives you a one-shot headshot at any range for less than a Galil. Against armour, everything below the head takes two shots.

What a buy adds up to

Item	Price
SSG 08	$1,700
Kevlar + helmet	$1,000
Smoke	$300
Flashbang	$200
Total	$3,200

A Galil with armour costs $2,800, a FAMAS with armour $2,950. The same buy with an AWP instead is $6,250, almost twice as much.

SSG 08 or a rifle

The Galil costs $100 more and the FAMAS $250 more. A helmeted headshot from either does 93 or 84, so neither one-taps; the SSG 08 does at any distance. On body shots the rifles win easily - five chest hits in 0.36 seconds against the SSG 08's two, 1.25 seconds apart. Take the SSG 08 when the round is about holding a long angle and you trust your headshots; for everything else, the rifle.

SSG 08 or AWP

The AWP costs $3,050 more and pays $100 a kill against the SSG 08's $300. What the extra money buys is the body shot: the AWP kills with one hit to the chest or stomach, the SSG 08 needs two. The SSG 08 is also faster to move with, 230 against 200. If the team can't afford an AWP buy on top of the others, the SSG 08 keeps a sniper on the long angle for a fraction of the price (see the AWP guide).

Against an eco

The SSG 08 pays $300 a kill, like a rifle. Against players with no armour a single stomach hit kills out to about 60 metres, but an SMG still earns twice as much per kill.

SSG 08 vs Other Snipers

What the SSG 08 does better, and what it gives up.

The SSG 08 wins on price, mobility and kill reward, and loses on damage to the body. The table below has all the numbers side by side.

vs AWP

The other bolt-action sniper, $3,050 more. How the two compare on money and body shots is in When to Buy above. On top of that, the AWP's scope reaches further, 69.3 metres against 47.2, and it fires a little slower, once every 1.45 seconds against 1.25. The SSG 08 carries 30 rounds for the round, the AWP 15. Details in the AWP guide.

vs SCAR-20 and G3SG1

The auto-snipers cost $3,300 more. Like the SSG 08, they need two chest hits and one-tap a helmeted head at any distance - but their second shot comes 0.25 seconds after the first, not 1.25. Their scope reaches 66.3 metres, and they hold 20 rounds a magazine. They move at 215, or 120 while scoped. Details in the SCAR-20 and G3SG1 guides.

vs scoped rifles

The SG 553 costs $1,300 more and one-taps a helmet out to about 115 metres, with four chest hits through armour in 0.33 seconds. The AUG costs $1,600 more and one-taps a helmet only inside about 5 metres. Both fire in full auto and have scopes that reach 37-38 metres, less than the SSG 08's 47.2. More in the SG 553 and AUG guides.

Sniper Stats Table

All four snipers side by side, with the SSG 08 already open.

This is the same table as on the weapons hub, but filtered down to snipers. The SSG 08 row is open with its damage per hitbox and full stats, and it is already ticked for comparison with the AWP, SCAR-20 and G3SG1 - all four at once.

Click a column header to sort. Each sniper row shows the gun without the scope, and the scoped numbers are in its card under variants. The full table with all 36 weapons is on the weapons hub.

Click any weapon for damage per hitbox, full stats and variants.

	Weapon	Type	Price	Kill $	Damage	Armour pen	RPM	Mag	Total ammo	HS kill vs helmet

Stats from the CS2 Weapon Spreadsheet, game build of 18 March 2026. Shotgun damage is per pellet. Headshot ranges are converted from game units at 39.4 units per metre. Zeus and knife values come from the game files rather than the sheet.

SSG 08 Skins & Cases

SSG 08 skins by market listings and price, and where they come from.

Three ways to look at SSG 08 skins. Most listed are the ones with the most offers across the markets I track, in other words the ones currently offered most often. Most expensive are the skins that stay expensive even in their cheapest wear. Cheapest are the ones that stay cheap even in their best wear. Prices update every 15 minutes, and the range on each card runs from the cheapest variant to the most expensive one, wear and StatTrak included.

Consumer Grade

Blue Spruce

$0.01 - $8.95

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Mainframe 001

$0.06 - $1.06

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Memorial

$0.06 - $2.66

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Dezastre

$0.05 - $0.97

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Grey Smoke

$0.01 - $0.03

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Prey

$0.02 - $0.45

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Green Ceramic

$0.01 - $0.03

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Acid Fade

$0.55 - $13.07

View prices →

All of them, with a price for every wear, are on the SSG 08 skins page.

Cases with SSG 08 skins

Every case that can drop an SSG 08 skin, newest first. The number under each case is how many SSG 08 skins it holds.

Fever Case2025 · 1 skin

Gallery Case2024 · 1 skin

Kilowatt Case2024 · 1 skin

Operation Riptide Case2021 · 1 skin

Operation Broken Fang Case2020 · 1 skin

Fracture Case2020 · 1 skin

Prisma 2 Case2020 · 1 skin

Shattered Web Case2019 · 1 skin

Operation Hydra Case2017 · 1 skin

Glove Case2016 · 1 skin

Chroma 3 Case2016 · 1 skin

Operation Wildfire Case2016 · 1 skin

Shadow Case2015 · 1 skin

eSports 2014 Summer Case2014 · 1 skin

Operation Breakout Weapon Case2014 · 1 skin

Huntsman Weapon Case2014 · 1 skin

CS:GO Weapon Case 22013 · 1 skin

SSG 08 skins that never came from a case

Some SSG 08 skins come from map collections, operations, or the Armory instead of cases. Collections marked "souvenir" also come in souvenir packages from Majors.

Browse all CS2 cases and all collections, or check what your own skins are worth with the Inventory Value Calculator.

Common SSG 08 Mistakes

Small habits that cost rounds, and what the numbers say instead.

Reloading after every fight

Since the 18 March 2026 update, a reload throws away whatever is left in the magazine and takes a full one from your reserve. The SSG 08 has two spare magazines of 10, so a reload with five rounds still in the gun throws away a sixth of your 30 for the round. How this habit caught me out is in the AK-47 guide.

The second reload mistake is reloading when you are not safe. From pressing R to being able to shoot again the SSG 08 needs 3.7 seconds. Only reload when you are sure nobody can swing on you for almost four seconds.

Aiming at the body

A chest hit does 88 damage without armour and 74.8 with it, so the SSG 08 needs two chest shots, 1.25 seconds apart. A headshot kills in one at any distance. Keep the crosshair at head height. The numbers are in Damage & Armour.

Shooting without the scope

Unscoped, the SSG 08 is accurate only to 4.8 metres. Past that, a shot without the scope may hit, but you can't count on it - and a chest hit still needs a second shot.

Staying in the fight after a body shot

After a shot the SSG 08 needs 1.25 seconds before it can fire again, and the scope comes off while the bolt cycles. If the first shot hit the body or missed, the opponent has that time to shoot back. Step out of sight and take the next shot from a new angle or a moment later.

Taking close fights with it

Up close, a Galil or FAMAS kills an armoured player in five chest hits, 0.36 seconds. The SSG 08 needs two hits with 1.25 seconds between them. If the round will be decided at short range, buy the rifle. More in When to Buy.

Shooting on the move

The SSG 08's running inaccuracy is 155.4, and 126.7 scoped - the best of any sniper, but still far from standing still. Stop first: tapping the opposite movement key - counter-strafing - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.

More Snipers

The other three snipers in CS2, plus the two scoped rifles.

// Both · $4,750 · the other bolt-action

AWP

High risk and high reward, the infamous AWP is recognizable by its signature report and one-shot, one-kill policy.

Read the guide →

// CT · $5,000

SCAR-20

The SCAR-20 is a semi-automatic sniper rifle that trades a high rate of fire and powerful long-distance damage for sluggish movement speed and big price tag.

CT auto-sniperopen →