Standoff 2: the mobile tactical shooter, explained

Standoff 2 is a free first-person shooter for iPhone and Android by Axlebolt. It plays a lot like Counter-Strike: two teams, bomb sites, buy rounds and one life per round in the main mode. It is one of the biggest mobile shooters, especially in Eastern Europe.

The modes

Defuse. The classic mode. Terrorists plant the bomb at a site, counter-terrorists stop them or defuse it.
Competitive. Ranked 5v5 Defuse matches where your rank goes up or down.
Team Deathmatch. Two teams, instant respawns, first to the kill target wins. Good for warming up.
Arms Race. Every kill gives you the next gun on the list. The first to get a kill with the last weapon wins.

How a Defuse round works

At the start of each round you get money to buy a gun, armor and grenades. Win a round and your team earns more. Lose, and you may need to save money for a full buy later. This economy is half the strategy.

Maps such as Sandstone and Province have two bomb sites. Attackers pick one and push together. Defenders split up and rotate when they hear where the attack is coming from. Smoke and flash grenades decide most fights at the entrances.

Tips to win more rounds

Aim at head height. Keep your crosshair where heads will appear so you move it less in a fight.
Stop before you shoot. Shots are far more accurate when you are standing still.
Buy as a team. Everyone saving or everyone buying beats a half-armed team.
Play with sound. Footsteps tell you where the enemy is before you see them.

Tactical shooters on Roam

FUSE is a tactical bomb-defusal FPS: buy your gun, hold the site, defuse. Block Wars is a 5v5 first-person street shooter where you hold the block and chain kills. Standoff 2 itself is from Axlebolt on the app stores, not on Roam.

Play it on Roam

Make your own tactical shooter with Roam

Roam is a free iPhone app. Describe the map, the teams and the rules, and it comes back playable with friends. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.

Try: "5v5 bomb defuse in my school, two sites in the gym and the library, buy rounds, my friends are the other team"

Create it with Roam Pre-register on Android See Roam

Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play.

Questions people ask

Who makes Standoff 2?

Axlebolt develops and publishes Standoff 2.

Is Standoff 2 free?

Yes. It is free on iPhone and Android, with optional purchases like weapon skins.

Is Standoff 2 like Counter-Strike?

Yes. It uses the same bomb-site, buy-round format, built for phones.