The CS2 release rebuilt the rating system from scratch, and the ranks you knew from CS:GO are gone
How does the CS2 rank system (CS Rating) work?
Competitive Counter-Strike has changed radically, the goal being a more orderly matchmaking system where players get a better experience out of better matches (that part is still up for debate)
CS2 now has two ratings: Premier and Competitive
Unlike CS:GO, Premier has a numeric rating, which is closest to the way FACEIT works, though there are details we will come to later. The problem with the previous rank system was that a player never knew how close they were to a promotion or a demotion. Players also often ran into the promotion problem where even 10-15 wins in a row might not move their rank, which was disheartening, pushed people away from the game and, most importantly, did nothing to improve other players' ranked matches
The old CS:GO rating system is still in the game, but it will not be used in Premier and may be removed altogether in the future. You can still meet it in ordinary Competitive, where you pick the maps you play on yourself (treat that rating as legacy)
How does the new CS2 rating work?
First, CS2 asks you to clear the opening challenge: 10 wins. Yes, wins. Valve decided that simply playing well is not enough - you have to win to get your first rank, your first CS Rating in CS2.
CS Rating starts at 0 and can climb past 40,000, and every new 5,000-point step is marked by a change in the colour of your rating badge.
We have added rough marks from CS:GO and FACEIT so you can compare them with the current rating:
- 0-3,000 - Silvers
- 3,000-6,000 - Gold Novas
- 6000-10000 - Master Guardian+ to Legendary Eagle
- 10,000-15,000 - Supreme to Global (FACEIT level 8+)
- 15,000-20,000 - Global+ (FACEIT level 10)
- 20,000-25,000 - Global+ (FACEIT 2300-2500 Elo)
- 30,000+ - Global+ (FACEIT 2700+ Elo)
So your rating is no longer just a number - it is also a colour, which you can read as your personal in-game rank. It looks very much as though the change was inspired by FACEIT, which has used a similar system of numeric rating and levels for years.
One more point of comparison: the yellow band is something like Global Elite, while the grey band is reminiscent of Silver. You get how it works now, right?
If you need a hand getting your new rank, you can use our CS2 rating boost
How do promotions work in the new CS2 rating?
The logic stays the same: win to climb, and expect to drop when you lose. At the start of a match you will see exactly how many rating points you stand to gain or lose depending on the result, and your kills and personal performance make no difference to it (in our view that is a big mistake)
Judging by how the rating worked in the beta, win and loss streaks will affect how much rating you get. If you were losing 100 rating per defeat, for instance, then after 3-5 defeats in a row the game may start taking 300 off you for the next one. The same works for a win streak
How does the new Premier mode work?
Premier in CS2 is not the same as an ordinary Competitive match. First, you cannot choose the map or maps you want to play. Instead there is a pick and ban phase, borrowed rather brazenly from FACEIT
Once the match starts, the first team bans two maps, then the other team bans three more. What this system tells you is that you have to be confident on every map in the pool, because any of them can come up at the worst possible moment (a personal hello from us to the Mirage-only players with 3000+ matches)
In ordinary Competitive you can still choose which maps you want to play, so you can practise and sharpen your skills on unfamiliar maps if you want to get ready for Premier
The new MR12 round system
MR12 stands for Max Rounds 12 - the maximum number of rounds that can be played in a half. So the first half can end 6-6, 9-3 or 12-0. After the sides swap, the first team to take the 13th round wins
If both teams level at 12-12, overtime begins, and the winner is the first team to take 16 rounds. If the match reaches 15-15 it is recorded as a draw
You can also surrender if at least one player leaves the ranked match
The CS2 rating leaderboard
Valve introduced a new leaderboard where you can see the best players in the world and work out the level you and your friends are currently at
You can filter by friends, by the world top 1000 or by specific regions: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, North America, South America. Your leaderboard region is simply decided by where you play most of your matches.
You will also need to choose a leaderboard name and submit it for approval. On top of that, once it is created your name cannot be changed for the current season - so choose wisely! The first season is running now, and how long exactly it will last is not yet known.
Note that you need Prime status to be eligible for the leaderboards.
