Pros

  • I still remember when Valve silently increased the Dust2 bomb radius without mentioning it in the patch notes and I died behind B Car with the biggest Pikachu face because I had no idea the safe spot had changed. This update prevents that kind of confusion.

  • It's much clearer for new players. They won't get trolled by dying to the bomb because they didn't know the safe spots on maps like Nuke or Vertigo.

  • The new shockwave looks great and makes the explosion feel much more powerful and intense.

Cons

  • The shockwave will throw off your aim ( due to intense camera shake ) if you're trying to aim someone right after the explosion. Since it affects both players equally, though, it's a level playing field.

  • The guaranteed 1 HP damage means anyone surviving with 1 HP will always die. I'm not a fan of that mechanic. I'd rather they remove the guaranteed damage while keeping everything else.

The weapons not reacting to the explosion is probably just a bug, and I expect Valve to fix it soon.

Overall, I think it's a good update. The bomb explosion feels much more impactful and modern, and the whole scenario is easier to understand for both new and old players. I just wish they went even further with the physics like in CS:Source. Imagine barrels, crates, and other props getting launched by the blast. That would make bomb explosions look even more satisfying.