AWP

For the Easter themed weapon clone, see: AWP Easter

The AWP is a Sniper released on August 26, 2013, purchasable in the store for 5000. It is the first sniper to be released and one of the first weapons in the game.

Description
The AWP is often the first sniper a player will get their hands on, and is used for long range combat and for sniper-only multiplayer rooms. Despite being one of the cheapest sniper rifles, it is powerful enough to compete with stronger sniper rifles like the Pro-soul and Rudolph when upgraded. It is powerful enough to kill a player in one shot, although players, especially armored ones have a chance of surviving.

The AWP is currently the only available sniper beginning at Quality C. It is only one of two snipers to be bought at level 1, second being the Kar 98K. The AWP will always one-shot on a headshot, like every other sniper in the game, it's fire rate is slower compared to competitors like the SVD and Lucky-Shield but could be beneficial for some players.

Gameplay Tips
See also: Sniper

The AWP uses the more common sub-30 fire rate stat, meaning there is a brief waiting period after each shot before you are allowed to shoot again. The AWP is also initially weak, with some armoured players being able to survive a shot from it at a further range if it isn't upgraded. It is acceptable to try and upgrade your AWP, use Armor, or move to a stronger sniper like the Lucky-Shield or Golden Barrett M82A1.

The AWP shoots perfectly straight when aiming but the bullet shot by the sniper(s) are very tiny. The AWP can shoot through tiny cracks in walls if positioned correctly. Enabling automatic scoping in settings will reduce the amount of buttons you have to press (this is enabled by default). Good aim and practice is needed if you want to shoot a moving enemy or while moving. Sniper only enabled rooms can be used to help you.

For armor choice, you can try and get fire rate, movement speed, and clips buffs to improve the sniper's stats. 4+ fire rate and above would make it function like a Lucky-Shield. For cards, clips and movement speed are a common choice to go for. Because an AWP's cooldown is slow, it may be a choice to reload instead of waiting for the cooldown to finish, even if there is a slightly longer amount of time to do it. Doing this can also allow you to benefit from Super Ammo.

Yo
The AWP is based on a real life sniper of the same name which is part of the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare series of sniper rifles. It is used by the British Armed Forces. See: Accuracy International Arctic Warfare

The AWP in game is themed with a green skin, which is what many popular fictional renditions of the AWP use, like the AWP from the Counter-Strike series. There are 5 skins for the weapon and a 6th Easter theme which is it's own separate weapon. The Star Ring skin has a pink and purple gradient around the body, and a trail flashing from the tip of it's barrel. The Lightbringer skin turns the AWP white and gold with black ends on the scope and the body. A free skin, showing the classic look of the AWP in 2013-2015 was released on Christmas of 2019 as the 'Classic' skin.

The rarest of the skins, the AWP Shining Clouds, turns the AWP completely red with a gold, spring tint. It is matching with the Shining Clouds rifle released in the same event.

History
The AWP is considered one of the most popular snipers in the game and is often seen in montage videos, sniper rooms, and in official game artwork. Despite not being as strong as some other snipers, using the AWP is considered a more skilled option because of it. The Lucky-Shield and Christmas Sniper are other older snipers that are popular among sniper users.

The Shining Clouds AWP skin is also known to be rare, with a select group of people that own the skin for the weapon.

Trivia

 * The AWP is the first sniper to be released.
 * The AWP has the most skins of any sniper rifle in the game.
 * The AWP is the only sniper to have a classic themed skin
 * The AWP is the only store sniper rifle to have a limited edition skin (Shining Clouds)
 * The old sound for the AWP used to be the sound of the AWP from Counter-Strike Source. This sound is still used in the Christmas Sniper.
 * The FR-F2 and Christmas Sniper are two unique snipers that use the same body shape of the AWP.