How To Rank Up Fast In CS2
Counter-Strike 2 is currently one of the biggest first-person shooters out there, and one of the best competitive games in general. There are currently over a million daily players in CS2, which makes it the most-played game on the Steam platform, and this number continues to rise with each day. In large part, this increase stems from what can best be described in the words of the game’s developers: The largest technological leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history.
With the continually increasing player count of CS2, more and more players are striving to be the best in the game. The competitive grind is tougher than ever before and ranking up in the game can often be a difficult experience. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a new player or a CS2 veteran, chances are that you’re trying to get your rank up as fast as possible while trying to improve yourself and be a better player. However, you may encounter a few hurdles as you progress through the competitive ecosystem of CS2.
If you’re finding yourself stuck at a certain rank or being unable to get to the rank you desire, we have you covered. In this article, we’re going to take a look at some of the best methods, tips, and tricks that you can use to glide through the ranks in CS2.
The Ranking System In CS2
To understand how to rank up fast in CS2, let’s take a look at the CS2 ranks and how the ranking system works. We’ve already talked about the intricate details of the CS2 ranking system in the past, but if you don’t wish to read the detailed article, we will briefly explain the two different ranking systems below:
CS2: The Premier Mode Rating System
Counter-Strike 2 has introduced a completely new Rating System for its Premier matchmaking mode. Your initial rating will be shown after you win 10 matches in Premier mode. Afterwards, this rating will go up or down, with each win or loss respectively. The positive or negative Elo points gained or lost at the end of the match are a transparent way of signifying your match performance and its outcome. These Elo rating numbers at their lowest range vary from 0 - 4,999 and go upwards of 35,000. Each separate numerical range for these ratings is further distinguished by colors that are similar to those used in signifying weapon rarities, as shown in the table:
| Elo Points | Color | Estimated Equivalent Legacy Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 4,999 | Grey | Silver 1 - Silver 3 |
| 5,000 – 9,999 | Light Blue | Silver 4 - Silver Elite Master |
| 10,000 – 14,999 | Blue | Gold Nova 1 - Gold Nova 3 |
| 15,000 – 19,999 | Purple | Gold Nova Master - Master Guardian 2 |
| 20,000 – 24,999 | Pink | Master Guardian Elite - Legendary Eagle |
| 25,000 – 29,999 | Red | Legendary Eagle Master - Supreme Master First Class |
| 30,000+ | Gold | Global Elite |
CS2: Competitive Matchmaking Ranks
In Counter-Strike 2, the single overall rank for competitive matches is gone and has now been replaced by ranks for each separate map in the Active Duty map pool, achieved by winning 10 Competitive matches on a particular map. These map-specific ranks for CS2’s Competitive matchmaking mode are as follows, starting with the lowest:
- Silver 1 (S1)
- Silver 2 (S2)
- Silver 3 (S3)
- Silver 4 (S4)
- Silver Elite (SE)
- Silver Elite Master (SEM)
- Gold Nova 1 (GN1)
- Gold Nova 2 (GN2)
- Gold Nova 3 (GN3)
- Gold Nova 4/Gold Nova Master (GN4/GNM)
- Master Guardian 1 (MG1)
- Master Guardian 2 (MG2)
- Master Guardian Elite (MGE)
- Distinguished Master Guardian (DMG)
- Legendary Eagle (LE)
- Legendary Eagle Master (LEM)
- Supreme Master First Class (SMFC)
- Global Elite (GE)
Ranking Up in CS2
The most critical factor to ranking up in CS2 is of course that of winning matches. Your Elo ratings are positively impacted most by winning streaks and vice versa. However, there are a number of other factors which also contribute to the rate at which you rank up in CS2. One of these is consistency, which in CS2 matters much more than the frequency with which you play games. So instead of just playing a ton of matches every day, you should instead focus on putting up more consistent performances throughout your Premier mode or competitive games, since performances that vary wildly tend to contribute towards rank volatility. For instance, dropping 40 kills in one game and struggling to get 10 kills in the very next game greatly increases your rank volatility, which in turn negatively impacts your rank.
Now that you know the secret recipe for ranking up in CS2, let’s take a look at a few practical tips that you can actually implement to climb the competitive ladder of the title.
Top 5 Ways To Rank Up Fast In CS2
There are several methods that you can use to effectively rank up quickly in CS2. Bear in mind that these tips won’t help you replace practice or hard work. To get a high rank in CS2, you need to put hundreds, if not thousands of hours into the game first. However, these tips are certain to make your competitive grind a lot easier.
1. Have a Warmup Routine
The most common and perhaps the biggest mistake you can make while playing CS2 is not warming up before queuing for a Premier mode or Competitive game. Warmups are non-optional in CS2 if you’re looking to rank up quickly in the game, and the brief pre-game warmup that you get once you’re inside a game is not enough.
Always focus on allocating 30 minutes to an hour of warmup before you queue for your first competitive game of the day. This will not only help you improve your aim, but your muscle memory will also thank you as you’ll get the time to get used to your sensitivity.
During your warmup, try to work separately on the following aspects:
- Aim/Flicking
- Tracking
- Movement
- Spray Control
Some good community maps to train your aim and warm up before a competitive game include aim botz. You can also hop into a deathmatch to work on the above-mentioned aspects of CS2.
2. Utility Usage
You don’t need to have the best aim in CS2 to be able to carry your team in the competitive games that you play. In fact, utility usage in CS2 is equally as important as being able to aim properly.
Having good aim will certainly help you win more duels in CS2, but proper utility usage will enable you to get the upper hand over your enemies in gunfights. This is why you should take the time to learn utility lineups for all the maps that you normally play.
With the Operation Riptide Update that dropped on September 21, 2021, players can drop grenades and other utility to their teammates. If you think you don’t remember lineups for a certain map, feel free to ask your teammate to take your smoke grenade and throw it for you. Better still, do watch some videos on grenade lineups on YouTube, especially for maps that you regularly play on. It will go a long way in improving your rating/rank in the long run. Keep practicing to get the hang of it, until these lineups become second nature to you. The YouTuber Nadeking is a good resource for this, or you can watch videos from pro players as well.
3. Communication
Being able to communicate clearly and effectively can be key to winning some CS2 rounds. If you don’t communicate with your team while playing CS2, you’re putting your teammates at a clear disadvantage whereas talking too much into the microphone can lead to your teammates missing crucial audio cues.
Focus on keeping your comms short, precise, and informational. Try not to rally useless info or talk about how you died in your voice comms. If you’re dead, try not to use the voice comms at all unless you have something really important to say. Talking while you’re dead and telling your teammates what to do, which is also known as ‘backseat gaming’, is heavily looked down upon by the CS2 community and gamers in general.
4. Never Give Up
This is a tip that many players overlook, especially when they’re tilted. Even if you’re losing a game 0 to 15, you should never give up. By giving up at any point during a competitive game, you end up ruining the entire game for yourself and for your team.
In CS2, every single round you win gives you some ELO, which helps you rank up. To put it simply, losing a game 0-16 is a lot worse than losing it 4-16.
You should always try to maintain a positive mindset and win as many rounds as possible, even if you end up losing the game in the end.
5. Know When To Queue
Sometimes, the outcome of CS2 games is decided even before you queue up. For instance, if you’re tilted from your last game, or you’re just having a bad day, it might be the best idea to not queue for Premier or ranked competitive matches at all. You should know when to take a break and regain composure before playing your next game.
Here are some key things to keep in mind as you queue for competitive CS2 games:
- Don’t binge-queue competitive games. Try to maintain consistent performances in the comp games that you play.
- Don’t queue if you’re tilted (or angry) from your last game.
- Don’t queue if you think you’re having a bad day and playing worse than usual.
- Don’t queue if you haven’t warmed up properly.
- Only queue for maps that you know well and you’re familiar with.
- Take a break if you’re on a loss streak, even if you’re maintaining a good KDA.
Conclusion
If you follow these few simple tips, you should be able to slowly climb up the ladder of CS2 Premier Ratings as well as Competitive ranks. Keep in mind that ranking up in CS2 is not an easy task, as millions of players are trying to do the same thing as you. Getting to your dream rating or rank is definitely possible with proper practice, but it will take some time. All you have to do is keep grinding till you get there, and have a good time doing it.
