How to Improve in CS:GO - 10 Effective Tips to Become a Better Player

How to Improve in CS:GO - 10 Effective Tips to Become a Better Player

Aditya Singh Rawat
Updated On: 
  • CS:GO is not a game as simple as running and shooting, there are more complex skills that need to be mastered in order to be a complete player.
  • Every player needs to practice hard and refine those skills in order to become better at the game.
  • Here are ten effective tips that will surely help you improve at CS:GO irrespective of whether you are a beginner or simply trying to get better.

CS:GO as any other online competitive shooter might seem like quite a simple game, just running around and shooting at the enemies or teammates. But in reality, it takes ages to master these ordinary controls, CS:GO might be easy to learn but it is one of the most complex tactical shooters in the world. There is much more to the game than just running around and shooting, players need to learn map callouts, spray controls, utility lineups, and many other skills to become a better player. Hard work and consistency is key when it comes to refining these skills, which automatically translates to improved gameplay and a higher rank.

All those who are determined to improve at CS:GO irrespective of them being beginners or experienced players, can follow this set of 10 effective tips which will surely make them a better Counter-Strike player.

RELATED:  How to Check and Improve Trust Factor in CS:GO?

10 Effective Tips to Become a Better CS:GO Player

10. Master Core Weapons

The single most important thing in CS:GO is shooting. There are various components to shooting like aiming, recoil control, tapping, and spraying. That being said it takes a really long time to master all this for each and every weapon that is there in CS:GO. 

So, instead of being a jack of all trades and master of none, try to take a more realistic approach and only practice those weapons that you tend to use more often. This is the weapon  combination that would benefit most players,

Pistols: Five-SeveN (CT), Tec-9 (T), P250 (Both)

Riffles: AK-47 (T), M4A4 or M4A1-S (CT)

These are the most used weapons in CS:GO by far, they are also the most viable in almost all phases of the game and in all situations. Mastering these weapons will make you a formidable player to go up against, automatically making you a more reliable and consistent player.

9. Aim Is King

Aiming is something that directly improves your shooting, adding to it positively and further bolstering your supremacy with any weapon that you wield. Unlike spray control, aiming is mostly consistent across different weapons, it may vary if a player is dealing with a scoped weapon otherwise the fundamentals are similar across all weapons.

Players can improve their aim by investing a little time into solo practice sessions before hopping into competitive matchmaking. They can try out any one of the several community maps made specifically to improve the aim, practice against bots to concentrate solely on their aim, and finally play deathmatch to try out their improved aim in real-time.

8. Differentiate Between Burst and Tap Fire

While this may not be a necessity when it comes to sidearms like pistols, it is surely very important when talking about the most used and primary weapon of the game - Rifles. Be it an AK-47 or an M4A4, a good player will always know when to spray with their rifles and when to simply tap at the enemy.

This is again something that can be practiced on specific community maps and deathmatches, but the most effective way to practice this skill is in a proper 5v5 setup, so the newly added unranked game mode is actually perfect for this.

As a thumb rule, players should opt for tapping when facing a single enemy at long-mid range, but when they are close up spraying is much more effective. On the other hand, if dealing with multiple enemies spray is usually the preferred mode of operation.

7. Do Not Press ‘R’ After Every Fight

This is a really bad habit, one that FPS players should avoid right from the time when they start playing CS:GO. Unconsciously, players usually develop the habit of reloading their weapons after every skirmish or a kill, this in most cases is counterproductive and quite risky. 

Players often get caught off guard reloading their weapons and usually they are not able to anything other than just give up. Such unfortunate situations are 100% avoidable, all that you need to do is keep stock of your bullets and only reload when absolutely necessary or when you know that your surroundings are actually clear. 

6. Learn One CS:GO Map Before Moving to The Next

CS:GO does not force a player to randomly play a map, it gives them the choice to play on any map that they want. Utilise this ability to improve as a player, play all the maps a few times and see which ones work out for you. Then start practicing only those maps and learn every single thing that it has to offer, before moving on to the next one.

In case you are beginning out, we would suggest that you start by learning these 3 maps,

  • Dust 2
  • Mirage
  • Inferno

These are the most commonly played maps and learning them will be much easier than the rest. Master everything about these maps from Callouts, Utility Lineups, Executes, Pre-Aim, Rotation Timings, and even the most common Bugs.

RELATED:  CS:GO Callouts 2021 - Dust 2, Mirage, Vertigo, Nuke, and More

5. Sound is Everything, Learn to Listen

In CS:GO the most important thing is sound, it gives away all the key information related to the enemies. Everything from the positions they are holding, their movements, what utility they have used, what weapons they are using, can be known simply by hearing all the audio cues that are made during the game.

So start identifying sounds and try to differentiate between them. This is key in breaking down what the enemy is doing, automatically making it easier for your team to win the round. This may require a good headset along with some audio setting tweaks, both in-game and on the system, but all this is truly worth it.

4. Communication is Key

In CS:GO one of the most important things is to constantly communicate with your teammates. Keep relaying information constantly between your allies, to better coordinate your next steps and keep them involved to win the round more easily. This may require investment in the form of a decent microphone, but this simple tactic is enough to get you out of the silver bracket.

Share things like your position, the information that you gain from enemy sound cues or utility usage, in case you take a kill, when you catch an enemy on the rotate, and other vital information that you think will help out your team.

How to Improve in CS:GO - 10 Effective Tips to Become a Better Player
Do keep in mind that sometimes it is better to mute players

3. Learn to Read Your Opponents

CS:GO is nothing but Chess on steroids where mechanical skill does make a huge difference. But despite this handicap, if you are observant and aware of what the enemy is doing there are ways to win without relying on your aim and using brute force.

Good communication and knowing everything about a particular map already gives you an advantage over your opponents. Now just combine the two and create a mind map using all this information, to be aware of what the enemy is up to and devise a strategy accordingly.

This may all sound too complicated but with enough practice playing the game and by gaining experience, you will automatically start to get a hang of this. Recognizing enemy pattern also gives you a significant edge, as you will now be able to predict their movement in advance and respond more effectively.

2. Work on Your Movement Skills

Though mostly a neglected part of the game, in recent times more players have started concentrating on improving their movement in CS:GO. This can be of immense help when stuck in an awkward spot, in case you need to rotate faster, cutting down the timing to effectively reach a certain spot on the map quicker, and jebait your opponent by running circles around them on the back of some sick movement skills.

How to Improve in CS:GO - 10 Effective Tips to Become a Better Player
This is what a CS:GO surf map looks like

To practice this players can try out surfing in CS:GO which is a completely different part of the game that one can check out when bored from all the running and shooting. Apart from this, there are various community maps specifically designed to help players improve their movement.

RELATED:  How to Play Surf Maps and Join Servers in CS:GO

1. Optimize Your CS:GO Settings

There is a lot to keep in mind when talking about this part of CS:GO and though most of it is a personal preference, there are still guides that will help you make the perfect choice to play the game more comfortably while always having an upper hand.

You can check out the best CS:GO Launch Options by simply Clicking Here. This will help you juice out your system to the maximum, attaining the highest possible FPS which will directly improve your gameplay experience.

You can check out the most essential CS:GO Binds that are required to further optimize your gameplay by Clicking Here.

You can check out the most useful CS:GO Console Commands by Clicking Here in order to personalize the game as you seem fit.

RELATED:  How to Increase FPS in CS:GO With Easy Windows Registry Tweaks




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Aditya is the in-house CS:GO writer at AFK Gaming. While his understanding of the esports space is not restricted by geographical borders, his current focus lies in the Asian region. Understands and follows almost all major esport titles.

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