Weak T starts on Inferno B often die on Banana’s third step—not from aim, but from utility sequenced for visibility instead of a half-beat delay. This breakdown covers ramp smoke geometry, reclear molly timing, and downstairs plant post-plant order.
Why the third step kills weak B takes
On Inferno, default B pressure lives or dies at Banana’s third step. CTs do not need to show a rifle: from sugar, they can hear your knife-to-nutility switch and read the round before first contact. The failure mode is rarely raw duels—it is utility fired on a “good enough to see” cadence with no rear half-beat to listen for CT repositioning.
Ramp smoke: shrink the CT spawn diagonal, not a one-way gamble
In standard Banana takes, the first smoke’s job is to close the diagonal peek window from CT spawn toward CT—not to chase a flashy one-way. A smoke that lands too far forward leaves a sliver outside the volume; CT can edge-peek without moving, which is smoke hull vs walkable hull intersection, not superstition.
The default entry flash should blank the wide angle from sandbags to boiler door, so CT anchor spots cannot hard swing. Before second contact, do not rush the slope: concrete and grass have different footstep radii. If sugar only hears landings and your step cadence cuts out, treat it as info gather, not a commit— a shallow ramp molly beats another flash and forces CT to rotate or spend utility.
Downstairs plant: break CT’s straight line before Banana reclear
The downstairs plant window is tighter than upstairs; sequence utility backward from the plant moment:
- CT-side smoke (coffins lane)
- Banana mouth reclear molly
- Reserved post-plant fire slot
Many teams drill a fixed triple and ignore CT jump-platform alternate timing. If CT clears the ramp half a beat early, your default molly becomes free damage animation.
After entry, do not stack boiler door. Downstairs B loses rounds when everyone waits in one corridor for plant. Leave one player tree for church-side steps; another holds coffin corner as the trade anchor. If CT still holds jump smoke at plant tick, prioritize a retreat flash to cut the church straight line—not another Banana mouth line; that is luxury after the take is already winning.
One-smoke retakes
With a single smoke in retake, cut CT’s straight line to site first—do not reuse the T-side landing. Church entries need tree denied before coffin corner clear. Banana reclear belongs on next round’s economy, not forced from this round’s utility budget.
Practice metronome
Use the third step as a metronome: smoke settles → flash out → molly seals reclear, with a half-beat listen between each for CT rotation audio. Drop half a beat and CT’s default at sugar completes second contact before you are ready.