WEAPON DOSSIER · CS2 · Pump shotgun

Everything about Nova in CS2

The Nova's rock-bottom price tag makes it a great ambush weapon for a cash-strapped team.

Heavy In-game price $1,050 8 / 32 rounds

Explore skins 47 ↗

Nova CS2 / NOVA

Damage per pellet 26 9 pellets per shot

Armor penetration 50% Body · armor: 13

Rounds / min 68 Recoil magnitude: 143

Magazine 8 32 rounds

Nova round profile

Effective range Close quarters

Firing rhythm Measured single shots

Defining trait

The low price buys a strong ambush: 9 pellets belong in doors and narrow lanes rather than an open sightline.

01 / DAMAGE

Damage by distance

Move the slider to inspect calculated damage per hit. Values are rounded; actual damage also depends on hit zone and armor.

Distance 500 game units

015003000

about 13 m

Head 72.8

Head · helmet 36.4

Body 18.2

Body · armor 9.1

Shotgun values are per pellet. Total damage depends on how many pellets land.

02 / CONTROL

Accuracy and spread

Compare first-shot spread bounds from game parameters. Stance changes inaccuracy; the distance slider changes the zone diameter.

Recoil magnitude143

Base spread0.04000

Standing Diameter up to 119.4 cm at 12.7 m First-shot spread bound in the weapon’s primary mode

03 / FIELD NOTES

How to play it

Choose a range that suits the damage profile and stop before precision shots.

04 / HANDLING

Handling

Move speed: 220 u/s
Reserve ammo: 32
Reload fire lockout: 0.5 s

Values checked against CS2 weapon data · snapshot 2026-09-23 Source ↗

Reading the numbers

Why does damage change with distance?

The game applies a range modifier for every 500 game units. The slider models that modifier; it is not a guarantee for every encounter.

Is this a bullet spray pattern?

Compare first-shot spread bounds from game parameters. Stance changes inaccuracy; the distance slider changes the zone diameter. Coordinates from recorded OP.GG sequences: camera recoil without mouse compensation. Random bullet spread is excluded.