Palace Molotov from Stairs

Steps

1. From the Stairs position (also called ticket booth), move to the left side of the stairs area and stand against the wall that faces toward A site. Your back should be flat against the wall with a clear view toward the palace entrance.
2. Look up and toward palace. You can see the palace exit that opens onto A site and the architectural details of the building above it.
3. Find the decorative arch above the palace exit. There is a raised section of stone trim running along the top of the palace opening. Place your crosshair on the right edge of this trim, where it terminates at the building corner above the palace door.
4. Use your jump throw bind (hold left click, then press your jump throw key). The jump throw gives the incendiary the extra arc needed to reach inside the palace corridor.
5. The incendiary arcs over and lands inside the palace corridor, spreading fire across the narrow passage leading onto A site. Any T pushing through palace takes significant damage or is forced to wait for the fire to die, buying roughly 7 seconds of delay.

Tips

• Palace is one of the two main entry points for T-side A executes on Mirage. This molotov shuts it down completely and forces the Ts to either wait (losing timing on their execute) or push through and take 40-60 damage each.
• The fire spreads across the narrow palace corridor, which means there is no way to avoid the damage. Unlike wider areas where players can hug a wall, the palace passage is too narrow to bypass the flames.
• If the fire lands on the A site side of the palace exit (outside the corridor), your crosshair was too low. Raise it higher on the trim. If it lands deep inside palace (too far from the exit), you were aiming too high.
• Combine this molotov with an A ramp smoke for complete A site lockdown. The molotov denies palace, the smoke denies ramp, and your team has roughly 18 seconds of peace to hold passive positions.
• Practice offline with these commands: sv_cheats 1; sv_infinite_ammo 1; sv_grenade_trajectory 1; sv_grenade_trajectory_time 10; mp_roundtime_defuse 60
• Throw this molotov as soon as you hear Ts in palace (footsteps, utility bouncing, or callouts). The earlier you throw it, the more likely you are to catch Ts still grouped in the corridor.

When to Use

This molotov is a key defensive tool for CT-side A site on Mirage. Use it for:

• Stopping palace pushes when you hear Ts stacking palace - the fire blocks the narrow corridor and forces them to wait or take heavy damage pushing through
• Buying time during A executes when Ts are pushing both ramp and palace simultaneously - the molotov buys 7 seconds on the palace side, letting you focus on the ramp push first
• Early-round denial to prevent Ts from gaining early palace control - throw the molotov at the start of the round to force Ts out of palace and deny that map control
• Solo A holds where you need to eliminate one entry point to make the hold manageable - molotov palace and focus on watching ramp until your teammates can rotate
• Anti-eco defense where Ts rush through palace with pistols - the fire deals devastating damage to unarmored players and can single-handedly stop a rush