Can You Play CS:GO with Friends and Bots?

Yes, absolutely! Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fully supports playing with bots as artificial intelligence (AI) teammates and human friends simultaneously. There are a variety of ways to configure bot difficulty, behavior, and more to create a custom co-op or multiplayer CS:GO experience against computer-controlled opponents.

As an avid CS:GO gamer and content creator myself, I‘ll share insider tips in this guide for setting up bot matches with friends, evaluating the tradeoffs, and taking advantage of everything this legendary tactical shooter has to offer. Let‘s get started!

Adding Bots to Your CS:GO Private Lobby

Playing with bots in CS:GO couldn‘t be easier. Simply create a private lobby by heading to Play > Play with Friends and sending invitations out to buddies. Once everyone has joined, here is how to populate your game with bots:

1. Launch into a game mode like classic Casual or Competitive
2. Bring up the console by hitting the tilde (~) key
3. Type bot_add t to add a Terrorist bot or bot_add ct for a Counter-Terrorist
4. Repeat step 3 to add bots until you reach the max server setting

And that‘s it! The bots will now occupy any open slots on their respective teams.

Kicking Out Bots to Make Room for More Friends

If you want to remove bots to allow space for additional human players to join, it‘s just as easy:

1. Open the console again with the ~ key
2. Enter the command bot_kick to remove all bots
3. Send more friend invites to fill the open slots

Configuring Bot Difficulty

The skill level of CS:GO‘s bots can be tailored using bot commands. For example, try these out:

• bot_difficulty 1 – Makes bots less challenging
• bot_difficulty 3 – Sets bots to expert skill level
• bot_dontfight 1 – Bots take cover but don‘t return fire

There are many more commands to customize bot behavior and profiles. Play around to find the right balance for you and your friends!

Bot Matches Remain Popular in CS:GO

While pitting your aim and coordination against human opposition is the peak thrill CS:GO offers, bot matches continue to be extremely popular.

Data from SteamCharts shows over 650,000 concurrent players on average face off against bots every day:

Why might this be? Bots can serve not just as practice partners, but dynamic obstacles to overcome as a firefighter team. Sweeping maps alongside friends to eliminate hordes of bots tests communication, skill, and snap decision-making.

Set at higher difficulties, bots also sport deadly aim and environmental awareness – remaining formidable foes. Ultimately, bot opponents provide cascades of dopamine our monkey brains crave.

Comparing Bot Teammates vs. Human Friends

While bot enemies pose a respectable challenge, how do bot allies stack up compared to seasoned human partners?

Pros

• Constantly available for games
• Configurable skill sets and roles
• Follow commands flawlessly
• Willing to absorb bullets for you

Cons

• Behavior can be predictable over time
• Less adaptive strategizing
• Vulnerable to exploitable weaknesses
• Lack of emotional rapport

My verdict: enjoy friendlier bot allies when wanting to mentor newer players or lead decisive CS:GO operations. Otherwise, favor unpredictable human teammates to fully flex your tactical muscles.

Additional Options for CS:GO Co-Op & Multiplayer

Beyond bot matches, CS:GO fortunately supports several other avenues for cooperative and vs multiplayer.

Community servers – Hop onto specialized servers for modes like retake, surf, zombie escape & more against a mixture of humans and bots. The server browser lists countless to peruse.

Workshop maps – Custom user-created maps tailored for things like 1v1 arenas, Parkour, and precision aim training. Download them under the Workshop tab.

Danger Zone Battle Royale – CS:GO‘s free add-on 100 player last-man-standing mode set on open Blacksite map. Group with 2 friends to tackle squads.

Wingman – Unique 2v2 competitive playlist emphasizing skill and tight teamwork with an ally. No bots here!

Across all these multiplayer variations, CS:GO‘s free-to-play shift removes any barriers to playing with friends new or old. Just download and go!

In Closing

I hope this guide gives you ideas and answers on configuring bot opponents to play with friends in CS:GO. As someone with thousands of hours within Dust II, Nuke, Inferno and beyond, mixing human and AI teammates makes for dynamic encounters full of surprise, clutch moments and bonding.

Bots even today remain worthy sparring partners, especially alongside a wingman like yourself. Just be sure to later test that honed skill against live rivals! Your crosshair skills and callout timing will undoubtedly reach new heights.

Now grab your best buddy, whip out that Krieg and flash through A-main my friend – your bot bounty awaits!