Mirage Callouts CS2: Every Position From T Ramp to Market (2026)
Mirage callouts in CS2 follow three routes out of T Spawn. T Ramp and Palace lead to A, past Tetris and under Balcony. Top Mid opens into Mid, with Window above it and Connector and Catwalk off it. The Apartments run to B, where Van and Market sit. Add Jungle, Short and Apps and you can call most rounds.
Written by keen, PURE In-Game Leader.
Why Mirage is easier to learn than it looks
Mirage is flat. There's no upper and lower like on Nuke, so one map covers every spot and a name always points at one place on the radar.
It also splits cleanly. Ts get three routes out of spawn: T Ramp and Palace to A, Top Mid into the middle, and the Apartments to B. Mid feeds both sites, through Connector to A and along Catwalk to B Short. CTs start right next to A and rotate to B through the rooms around Window or through Market.
A has most of the names. It's a wide site full of boxes and corners, and each one has a call. B has far fewer. The only spot that sits underneath another is Underpass, the tunnel that runs below Mid from the Apartments side.
So learn it route by route, like Inferno. Once you know which route a name belongs to, the A-site cluster stops sounding like random boxes.
Mirage callouts table
Grouped by area, in the order a T meets them. Alternate names sit in the last column.
T Spawn, T Ramp and Palace
| Callout | Area | Where it is and how it's used |
|---|---|---|
| T Spawn | T side | Where the Ts start. Routes split here to T Ramp, Palace, Top Mid and the Apartments. |
| T Roof | T side | The raised ledge outside T Ramp near T Spawn. Ts wait here and throw A smokes from it. |
| T Ramp | T side / A | The ramp from T Spawn down onto A, coming out at Tetris. The main T entrance to A. Also called A Ramp, Ramp or Main. |
| Palace | T side / A | The building that leads onto A under Balcony. The second T entrance to A. Also called Pal. |
| Palace Pillars | T side / A | The pillars inside Palace just before the exit onto A. Also called Pillars. |
| Side Alley | T side | The alley between T Spawn and Top Mid. A lurk spot. |
Mid, Window and Connector
| Callout | Area | Where it is and how it's used |
|---|---|---|
| Top Mid | Mid | The T end of Mid, where Ts first walk in. Also called T Mid. |
| Mid Boxes | Mid | The boxes and cart at Top Mid. T cover against Window. |
| Mid | Mid | The open middle area between Top Mid, Window and Connector. Also called Middle. |
| Chair | Mid | The corner of Mid with a chair in it. A close CT hold. |
| Underpass | Mid | The tunnel under Mid from the B Apartments side to the bottom of Mid. Also called Under. |
| Underpass Stairs | Mid | The stairs out of Underpass up into Mid. |
| Window | Mid | The raised CT window over the whole of Mid. The classic CT AWP spot. Also called Sniper's Nest or Mid Window. |
| Ladder Room | Mid | The small room between B Short and Window, with the ladder up to Window. Also called Ladder. |
| Vent | Mid / CT | The breakable vent between the CT Spawn side and Window. Also called Window Vent. |
| Catwalk | Mid | The raised walkway from Mid toward B Short. Also called Cat. |
| Connector | Mid / A | The short corridor and stairs from Mid to A. Also called Con. |
| Connector Stairs | Mid / A | The stairs inside Connector leading up toward A. Some players say Top Con. |
A site callouts
These are the Mirage A site callouts, plus CT Spawn right behind them.
| Callout | Area | Where it is and how it's used |
|---|---|---|
| Jungle | A / CT | The CT area between Connector, Window and A. CTs watch A and Connector from here. |
| A Site | A site | The A bombsite and the default plant boxes. Also called A Default or Default. |
| Tetris | A site | The stepped boxes in front of the T Ramp exit. |
| Sandwich | A site | The narrow gap between Stairs and Tetris. |
| Stairs | A site | The steps from Connector and Jungle down onto A. Also called A Stairs. |
| Firebox | A site | The cubby behind the boxes on A, usually cleared with a molotov. |
| Triple Box | A site | The three stacked boxes at the back of A, nearer CT Spawn. Also called Triple or Triple Boxes. |
| Ninja | A site | The hiding corner behind the default boxes near the Palace exit. The ninja-defuse spot. |
| Balcony | A site | The wooden balcony from Palace over A. Valve reinforced the scaffolding by it on 22.09.2026. Also called Palace Balcony. |
| Shadow | A site | The covered space under Balcony. Also called Under Balcony, Under Palace or Shadows. |
| Ticket Booth | A site / CT | The booth on the CT side of A, a common AWP spot. Also called Ticket. |
| Trash | A site / CT | The trash can opposite Ticket at the CT entrance to A. Also called Trash Can. |
| CT | A site / CT | The CT entrance to A by Ticket and Trash. Not the same as CT Spawn. Also called CT Entrance. |
| CT Spawn | CT side | Where the CTs start, right next to A. |
Apartments and B Short
| Callout | Area | Where it is and how it's used |
|---|---|---|
| T Apartments | T side / B route | The building next to T Spawn where the Apartments route starts. Some guides call it House. |
| TV | T side / B route | The room with a TV on the way to B Apartments. Also called TV Room. |
| Back Alley | B route | The stretch between T Apartments and B Apartments. It also leads into Underpass. Also called Alley. |
| B Apartments | B route | The long corridor from the T side to B. The main T route to B. Also called Apps. |
| Kitchen Apartments | B route | The kitchen room at the end of Apps, before the B exit. Also called Apps Kitchen. |
| B Balcony | B route / B | The ledge at the Apps exit, before you drop onto B. Also called Apps Balcony. |
| B Short | B | The entrance to B from Mid at the end of Catwalk. Also called Short. |
| Short Corner | B | The corner right of B Short when you come from Mid, by the wallbang spot into Apps. |
B site and Market
| Callout | Area | Where it is and how it's used |
|---|---|---|
| Arches | B | The arches between B Short and B site. A CT hold on Short. |
| B Site | B site | The B bombsite and its default plant. Also called B Default or Default. |
| Van | B site | The white van opposite the Apps exit. A CT AWP angle down Apps. Also called Car. |
| B Pillars | B site | The pillars holding up the canopy over B. |
| E Box | B site | The electrical box on B. |
| Boost Boxes | B site | The boxes next to B Default that players boost onto. Some players call this spot Ninja too. |
| Bench | B site | The bench along the back wall of B. |
| Back Site | B site | The back of B. Add "Bench side" or "Market side" so it's clear. |
| Market | B / CT | The building between CT Spawn and B. The CT rotation route. Also called Shop. Older players still call it Kitchen, but today Kitchen means the room in Apps. |
| Market Window | B | The window from Market onto B. Also called B Window. |
| Market Door | B | The doorway from Market onto B. Also called Door. |
| Sneaky | B / Market | The spot on top of the fridge inside Market. |
Names checked against Total CS, Hotspawn, Blitz, skinsmonkey and a Steam community guide (27.10.2026). A Site, Balcony and Van notes come from Valve's CS2 patch notes.
Which callouts matter most in a real round?
You won't need all 52 on day one. About a dozen carry most rounds: Palace, Ramp, Tetris, Stairs, Jungle, Connector, Window, Top Mid, Short, Apps, Van and Market.
Calls shrink fast. Nobody says "two players inside the Palace building, nearly at the exit". It's "two Palace, one Ramp". On B it's "three Apps" or "one Short", and that split matters, because B usually gets hit from both sides at once and the CTs there need to know which way to look.
Mid is where most early info comes from. A T crossing Top Mid, a CT peeking from Window, footsteps dropping into Underpass. Each one changes rotations, so call it even when nobody dies.
Teams invent their own names too. That's fine, as long as all five of you use them.
If you also play Inferno, our Inferno callouts guide breaks that map down route by route.
Firebox, Triple or Ninja? Three Mirage spots that get mixed up
Firebox, Triple and Ninja all sit in the back half of A, a few steps from each other, and guides online still mix them up. Some say Firebox and Triple are the same boxes. Others move Firebox onto the Ninja corner.
In CS2 today they're three separate spots. Triple is the stack of boxes on the CT side of A. Firebox is the cubby right next to them, the one that gets a molotov. Ninja is the corner by the Palace exit, where the ninja defuse happens.
Valve doesn't settle it either. The CS2 Limited Test notes from 09.06.2023 say Valve "added back jump onto firebox in A site", and that's it, no picture and no hint of which box.
Trouble starts when one team mixes them, and someone calls "Ninja" while a teammate checks the corner next to it. Agree on the three names before your first match on the map.
Mirage names that sound the same
Mirage repeats a lot of names, and that's where most comms mistakes on it come from.
Window means the CT window over Mid, the one Valve's own patch notes call Sniper's Nest. On B, say Market Window. Default exists on both sites, so it's A Default or B Default, never just "Default". Balcony on its own is the one over A by Palace. The ledge at the Apps exit is B Balcony.
Kitchen is the messy one. Today it means the room in Apps just before the B exit, but older players still use it for Market. Say Market for the CT building and nobody has to guess.
Stairs is worse. There's A Stairs on site, Connector Stairs, and Underpass Stairs up into Mid. "Stairs" with nothing in front of it should mean A.
Two smaller ones. Ninja is the A-site corner, but some players also call the boost boxes on B "Ninja". And Car is just Van. Same white van, two names.
What changed on Mirage in CS2
The names didn't. CS2 Mirage callouts are the CS:GO ones, and each still points to the same place. What changed is a few boxes and some collision, all of it in Valve's patch notes.
That fits how Valve has treated this map from the start. When it rebuilt Mirage for CS:GO, the team wrote on 07.06.2013 that it wanted to improve readability "without losing any of the gameplay, jumps, corners, timings and balance". The map went live in CS:GO on 12.06.2013. In CS2, Mirage replaced Dust II on the Limited Test servers on 06.06.2023 and has been in the map pool since launch on 27.09.2023.
The CS2 changes that touch named spots:
- 08.11.2023. Valve lowered the height of a box on A to match CS:GO.
- 30.11.2023. Bombsite A got a new size and visual boundaries, and Valve fixed clipping on the Van and on a fridge in the Apartments.
- 21.08.2024. Smoother collision on the Van, and wallbang fixes around some of the arches.
- 25.09.2025. Updated collision around the top of the ladder hole, the one players know from Ladder Room.
- 22.09.2026. Valve reinforced the scaffolding by Balcony on A.
None of these renamed a spot or moved a call. Dot Esports summed up Mirage's place on 22.09.2026: it "remains the only map that has stayed in the active duty map pool across CS:GO and CS2".
How PURE do on Mirage
Mirage hasn't been our map lately, and the numbers are public, so here they are.
Over the last three months on HLTV (27.07 to 27.10.2026), PURE have played Mirage 6 times, winning 2 and losing 4 (33.3%), as of 27.10.2026. We took 55 of 127 rounds, with 50.8% of rounds won on CT and 35.5% on T, and 5 of 12 pistol rounds. Source: HLTV PURE Mirage stats. Six maps is a small sample.
The six maps came at Urban Riga Open Season 6, the Stake Ranked Episode 4 Open Qualifier, FOX Legacy Season 1 and Roman Imperium Cup IX. You can find all of them on our matches page, and the current roster is on the team page.
Common mistakes with Mirage calls
Saying "Window" when you mean Market Window. Your Mid player looks up at the wrong building.
Calling "CT" when you mean CT Spawn. CT is the entrance to A by Ticket and Trash. CT Spawn is where the defenders start, a few steps further back.
Calling "B" when they're still in Apps. "B" means they're on site. "Apps" tells your team there's still time.
Saying "Default" without the site. There are two.
Mixing up Short and Catwalk. Catwalk is the raised walkway out of Mid, and Short is where it ends at the entrance to B. A T on Catwalk is still a few seconds from the site.
For a two-level map, the Nuke callouts guide splits every call into upper and lower.
FAQ
What are all the callouts for CS2 Mirage map?
Our table has 52, grouped by route. On the way to A you've got T Ramp, Palace, Tetris, Sandwich, Stairs, Firebox, Ninja, Balcony, Ticket and Jungle. In the middle it's Top Mid, Window, Connector, Catwalk, Underpass and Ladder Room. The B route runs through the Apartments and Short to Arches, Van, Bench and Market.
Is Mirage getting removed from CS2?
Not as of 27.10.2026. Mirage is in the Active Duty pool for Premier Season Five, which started on 08.07.2026 with Ancient, Anubis, Cache, Dust II, Inferno, Mirage and Nuke. Cache replaced Overpass in that update. Valve hasn't announced any change to Mirage's place in the pool since then.
Is Mirage CT or T sided?
Slightly CT sided. HLTV's all-time map stats show 52.7% of Mirage rounds going to CT and 47.3% to T (HLTV map stats, checked 27.10.2026). That's a small edge, and good Ts still win plenty of halves there. Nuke, on the same page, sits at 54.6% CT. PURE's own split over the last three months is 50.8% CT and 35.5% T.
Who created Mirage, and how old is it?
Mirage started as de_cpl_strike, a community map by Michael "BubkeZ" Hüll, made for the Cyberathlete Professional League. Valve rebuilt it as de_mirage and added it to CS:GO on 12.06.2013, after explaining the remake in a blog post called "The Mirage Process" on 07.06.2013.
Is Mirage a good map in CS2?
Yes, and it's the best one to learn first. It's flat, it has three clear routes, and almost everyone plays it. Dot Esports says it has the highest Premier pick rate in the game and calls it the only map that has stayed in the Active Duty pool across CS:GO and CS2.