How to Get Better at CS:GO: 13 Effective CS:GO Tips

At first glance, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a very simple game - just run around and shoot those enemies. This is such an illusion, and the more experience you gain in this super popular shooter, the deeper an abyss opens to your amazed eyes. And the question arises: How to get better at CS:GO?

This game has lots of tricky aspects. It may be quite difficult for beginners to understand them and start enjoying both the playing process and the winning results. This guide highlights some of the basic principles - understand them and you will begin to feel the whole game much better.

By using these CS:GO tips on practice you will boost confidence in matches - and your mood is the power to lead the whole team to victories.

1. Start with the Core Weapons

There are a lot of guns in CS:GO. Some of them look very impressive, and many beginners will want to introduce them to the game. For example, they purchase Desert Eagle or AWP and can’t understand how such great weapons don’t deliver nice headshots.

It would be much better to start your practice with more effective in-game firearms. They are:

Pistols: Tec-9 (T), Five-SeveN (CT), P250 (both teams)
Riffles: AK-47 (T) and M4A4/M4A1-S (CT)

Don’t rush to learn about other guns unless you can use the above mentioned ones on a decent level - this is how to play CS GO and get victories. The rifles are especially effective and most pro players take them to matches as well.

2. Practice Accurate Shooting

There are lots of things happening in CS:GO matches, so you might have no time to stay calm and practice aiming and shooting. But it is a worthy training that will pay off nicely.

You have three options:

Start the game on community-created maps specially dedicated to aiming. Just search for aim training on the Steam Workshop and try out any map you find interesting. Make this CS GO training your regular practice.
Play with bots and try to concentrate only on shooting. Keep the other important aspects aside for a while.
Play the Deathmatch mode - it’s a very good practice of fast shooting.

3. Use Burst Fire

It’s quite hard to deliver nice headshots with a single shot - to do this you need to be very precise in timing, movements, and accuracy. It’s not easy to be accurate while spraying bullets (when you keep the left mouse button pressed) - you should learn CS:GO spray patterns and recoil compensation to figure out how the bullet streams behave.

Another shooting mode is much more convenient for beginners - burst fire. You shoot a few bullets, so your gun remains accurate. And you don’t need to rely on the deadly power of one shoot because other bullets will deal additional damage.

Stay still while shooting. In CS:GO, you can’t shoot accurately while moving. Learn how to freeze for a moment to make the burst and then continue moving around the map. It’s a very good piece of advice for those who wonder how to get good at CSGO. To practice in-game movements, you can try out other fun bits of entertainment such as CS:GO surfing.

4. Check Your Bullets and Reload

You should always have enough ammo in the magazine to be ready for killing virtual opponents. But reloading takes time and this means you remain vulnerable.

It would be wise to wait for proper moments to reload CS:GO guns. You should feel safe for this and should only do it when really in a need of more bullets.

5. Listen to the Sounds

It’s hard not to make noises in the virtual world of CS:GO, but still, you should be very careful with stomping and banging around. Opponents will be able to distinguish your position and organize an unexpected attack.

At the same time, you should use this feature for the benefits of your team. Always play with a headset to hear everything properly. Make decisions on the base of those sounds. This simple but very effective advice will help you to rank up in CS:GO fast.

6. Learn the Maps

Each map in Counter-Strike is more than walls and objects. These locations define the game rules, behavior of both teams, possible strategies, and overall playing experience. To get better at CS:GO, you should become good on specific maps.

Take a look at the best maps in Counter-Strike. Choose the one you like the most (for any reason). Start practicing on it and develop your skills until you reach a very good level.

Use our guide on map callouts to learn the map of your choice properly. Remember the names of all the internal places - it’s important for communication with teammates.

Don’t get stuck with one map for too long. Make the next step when you are happy with your current progress.

7. Communicate with Your Teammates

You can be a good player but you can’t win CS:GO matches alone. It’s a team-based shooter first of all (as well as Team Fortress 2), so start developing your communication skills from the very beginning.

Share your position, inform other players on the enemy actions, coordinate your strategy in each round, and just share your emotions. This will help to bring you the most powerful excitement. And you certainly will be much more effective in the game.

8. Learn Map Control

Beginners in CS:GO may try to bring behavior patterns from other shooters, such as Battle Royale games - and this is not how to be better at CSGO. The game is not about just keeping alive and staying together to protect the team. Here you have straightforward goals, and you have to control the map to achieve them.

Of course, you should know the locations and behave as a team, so this tip is a sequence of the previous two.

Counter-Terrorists should focus on covering approaches to the bombsites and play patiently in defense. Terrorists should not only rush to a bombsite but also think about clearing the place and then protecting it from any enemies.

9. Bots and Casual Matches before Competitive

It’s a special feeling when you jump into CS:GO for the first time and find yourself in total chaos, not knowing what is going on. Perhaps you don’t know where that bombsite is, how the enemies can kill you so quickly, and why everyone is yelling at you.

The CS:GO community is quite toxic, so you may get an unpleasant starting experience. Practice with bots - it’s a great opportunity to understand the game basics and not become frustrated with your initial steps. But don’t play with bots for a long time. You can remove them at any time by using kick bot commands.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a multiplayer game. When you know what to do and can kill at least the easy bots, jump into the Casual matchmaking. Shootouts here do not affect CS:GO ranks, so players are rather forgiving to newcomers - they come here to practice and have fun.

10. Adjust the Game Setting for Maximum Comfort

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gives lots of opportunities to change something inside the game - through the traditional Settings Menu or many CS console commands. Gain the basic game experience and you will begin to feel what you should adjust.

Many Counter-Strike tips recommend paying proper attention to the following aspects:

Mouse Settings - decrease the mouse sensitivity to make bigger physical movements for smaller virtual actions. Thus you will be more precise in the game.
Crosshair Settings - to see where you are aiming at and don’t be distracted by the crosshair itself.
HUD elements - radar and other info on the screen should look the best for your own visual setting, to allow immediate understanding of the situation.

11. Use Grenades

The game has nice weapons and very good grenades, so players should use both.

First, it’s difficult to understand when and where you would throw Smokes, Flashbangs, Molotovs, and HE Grenades. Many beginners do this chaotically, with no good effects at all. Still, don’t stop this practice. Professional players also use a lot of grenades but they know exactly how to get the most out of them.

Smokes block the vision
Flashbangs blind players for a while
Molotovs prevent from entering an area and deal damage
HE Grenades strongly damage

12. Consider the Economy

Players should earn a lot in the game and wisely spend these funds. The in-game economy is often ignored by beginners, and this is a mistake.

Your purchases depend on many factors. For example, after losing the pistol round or having no resources in the middle game, the team should go eco - buy nothing and save for the future. Some weapons (most SMGs) give an additional killing bonus, so you can use them to boost your budget.

13. Learn from Professionals

Read guides, watch streams, and follow esports tournaments. Feel like a sponge that absorbs CS:GO tips and tricks to use them in your games.

Twitch streamers spend lots of time in the game, so they definitely know some interesting tricks.

Esports teams earn a lot of money, so their fights make up the best CS:GO possible. Watch matches and listen to CS:GO pro tips to learn a lot of new and helpful stuff.

Even your ambition to become a pro-player in CS:GO is not a reason to get angry and feel depressed because of losses. The game should be fun, and this depends mostly on your attitude.

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