CS2 Economy Guide

Economy is as important an aspect of competitive CS2 as well-coordinated team actions and good individual shooting skills are. In a nutshell, the game economy is the art of balancing your income from various actions with the expense of purchasing weapons and equipment.

This topic is often ignored by beginners in Counter-Strike 2. It’s pretty understandable, as players should develop some individual skills first: from understanding the general weapon balance to learning the maps. Still, when it comes to slightly more serious competitive matches, no one can succeed without knowing how the CS2 economy works.

Even the best pro players die in CS2 rounds and lose their weapons. Even the top-level champion teams can’t avoid Eco rounds: when they don’t buy anything, to save money. However good you are at the game, it is often the economy factor that decides the final result of your matches.

This guide on DMarket Blog explains the CS2 economy in detail.

The CS2 Economy Explained. How Does it Work?

The first thing to clarify here is that we are talking specifically about the in-game economy—the CS2 dollars you earn and spend in matches. The economy of buying and selling CS2 skins is a different topic, and it is also very important. Trading items allows the game to thrive and supports the esports dimension.

The CS2 economy is based on simple math.

• Both teams get in-game money throughout a match. The income sources are kills, the bomb being planted/defused, and rounds won/lost.
• Both teams should plan their expenses according to their income. In Competitive CS2 Mode, players buy weapons and equipment (armor and defuse kits). In Casual matches, there is no need to buy equipment.

Not only does this economy math involve the intention of earning as much money as possible, but it also forces players to consider various strategies.

• There are different types of round buys, depending on the money a CS2 team has for each player. It’s essential for the practical usage of the CS2 economy.

• Players must consider the money of their teammates to make common decisions. Individual buys should be in tune with the team’s economic strategy.

• Teams should try and respond to the economic situation of their opponents. This is an additional factor to determine your round-to-round buys. It’s the background to your decision on the next buy strategy.

In the following sections of our CS2 Economy guide, you’ll find details on these aspects: what brings money and how to spend it most effectively.

Money in CS2: All Sources of Income

Counter-Strike 2 rewards players with in-game money for successful actions and supports them with cash after failures. Players start matches with $800 in Competitive Mode and $1,000 in Casual. The main sources of income are listed below.

• Kills (frags): The reward depends on the weapon.

• Rounds won: Victory rewards are $3,250 for killing all opponents; CTs earn $3,250 if the time runs out.

• The bomb being planted or defused: $3,500 for the team that reached their bomb objectives.

• Rounds lost: Teams get $1,900 if they lose the Pistol Round. After that, the first lost round brings $1,400, and every consecutive one adds $500 to this reward—but only up to $3,400.

The team rewards are divided between all players.

CS2 Kill Rewards for Different Weapons

While the price of CS2 weapons is shown directly in the game, the kill reward is a hidden factor. Knowing how much money you get for kills (frags) will help you decide on which gun to buy in a variety of economic situations.

Money for CS2 kills in Competitive Mode is shown here.

• Kills with CS2 knives: $1,500
• Shotguns (except for XM1014): $900
• XM1014: $600
• Submachine guns (except for P90): $600
• Kills with grenades: $300
• P90: $300
• Machine guns: $300
• Assault rifles: $300
• Pistols: $300
• Sniper rifles (Except for AWP): $300
• AWP: $100
• Zeus x27: $100

In CS2 Casual matches, the kill rewards are halved.

CS2 Economy Strategies

Throughout the long existence of Counter-Strike, the community has developed a few round strategies. The main goal is to save money and then spend it in the most effective way.

Full Buy Rounds

If players in your team have more than $5,000 on them, they can go for Full Buy rounds. This means the team can purchase the best items during the buy phase. Usually, it’s the AK-47 for Terrorists and the M4A4/M4A1-S for Counter-Terrorists, AWPs, the full set of utility and armor, and a defuse kit for CTs.

These are rounds with the highest potential, as you are fully prepared to face your opponents. Also, Full Buy rounds often mean you have more money on your account than needed for just one set of weaponry. This will help you to be effective in the following rounds, regardless of the outcome.

Force Buy

In this scenario, CS2 teams spend everything they have: players try to buy the best weapons they can afford. It’s a risky step as if the team fails, the players will be forced to Eco next, which almost guarantees lost rounds for them.

It may happen then you don’t even have enough money to buy the best rifles and the full utility set. Then, you will need to spend everything you have in Force Buy rounds to be as viable in the battle as possible. Maybe sacrificing a helmet or grenades will allow you to reach the max damage power. Maybe even cheaper rifles will help you win an important round.

Half Buy / Semi Buy

In some situations, teams decide to spend around half of the money they have. The purpose is to save funds for Full Buy in the next round and still be reasonably strong. For Half Buy rounds, players often buy good pistols (like Dead Eagle for a chance of headshot kills) and cheaper rifles (like the FAMAS for CTs and Galil AR for Ts).

You need to calculate the financial situation thoroughly to go for Half Buy. Are you sure all teammates will be able to do Full Buy next round? Good experience in CS2 is needed to make Half Buy effective.

Eco / Save Rounds

When the money is low, players may decide to buy nothing. Such rounds are often hopeless, and only miracles and exceptional skills allow players to win them.

Quite often, teams buy better pistols in the hope of delivering a nice headshot and taking at least something from a CS2 Eco round. Having a couple of grenades and Kevlar may also help with this goal.

Terrorists should try and plant the bomb to get an extra reward. Counter-Terrorists often try to defend only one bombsite to boost their power as a crowd.

If you manage to get a kill in Eco, steal the weapon from your opponent and try to save it for the next round. In general, it’s a good tip for any economic strategy: if you see a better gun on the floor, grab it.

Anti-Eco / Farming Rounds

When teams predict that their opponents have an Eco round, they may decide to do an Anti-Eco buy. The main goal here is to earn the max money with the minimum expenses. Take another look at the kill rewards list above. With SMGs and shotguns, you can earn significantly more.

Sure, these types of guns are not the most effective. That’s why you need to try to calculate the next steps of your opponents. For example, if your team won Pistol, you can assume that your opponents don’t have normal guns—so why not go for Anti-Eco? The risk is high here, as you can’t know if the other team will decide to do Force Buy instead.

The cap of money on a player is a real thing in CS2. You can’t have more than $16,000. Therefore, when you are somewhat close to this sum, there is no need for Anti-Eco. Just do your best with Full Buy.

Hero Buy

This economic strategy in CS2 is effective when a team has enough money for Full Buy for one player. The others go for Eco or Force Buy, and they support the efforts of their “Hero” to score kills and reach the round objectives.

If someone gets more kills, they may accumulate enough cash for Hero Buy. This can be supported by teammates purchasing extra weapons for the “Hero” during the buy phase.

Even beyond Hero Buys, sharing weapons is a good team trick. For example, someone can buy the AWP, but they give the sniper rifle to someone who is better with this type of weapon.

CS2 Economy is Team Play

It is only possible to implement the economic strategies in Counter-Strike matches if the entire team does so. A Save round works properly if everyone abandons the idea of buying a rifle. A Force Buy scenario is worth the risk only if all teammates are on the same page.

Such a level of team coordination may be difficult to achieve in random matchmaking. But you still may become a leader that brings everybody together and initiates economic strategies. And you certainly can follow the lead of another player, when they call for Anti-Eco rounds or something like Hero Buy.

The economic team play works better in CS2 Premier Mode, where players are even more dedicated than in Competitive matchmaking.

Your understanding of the CS2 economy should cover theoretical knowledge to practical experience. The basic idea is to check your in-game account regularly to make proper purchase decisions.

During rounds, you should try and earn as much money as possible. In most cases, this requires the same actions as just winning the game. Still, sometimes, you need to do something beyond that, like Anti-Eco rounds or attempting to plant the bomb in the desperate Eco rounds.

Coordinate your economic plans with your teammates, as victories in Counter-Strike are achievements of the entire team. In the CS2 economy, you can’t carry the whole team alone.

For other CS2 guides and skins trading articles, stay tuned to DMarket Blog.