How to get better at CS:GO?

Mar 12 • 7 min read

CSGO, like many popular games, requires strategy and skill. Luckily, this can be learned over time. The more you play the better you will get. However, if you don't know how to practice and what crucial things to learn, you will easily get stuck in one place and never improve.

This is the reason why we're here today, to help you in your journey of getting better at Counter-Strike Global Offensive. The road doesn't have to be difficult as long as you know how to improve efficiently. Below, we will talk about a few key training methods to show you how to get better at CSGO quickly.

Dedicating your time to at least one of these methods will set you on the right path. However, you can also try following all of them, allowing you to progress faster and learn all the strategies that could make you a professional player in no time. Let's see what you have to do!

Tips to Get Better at CS:GO

1: Aim Training

Killing your enemies is the most important thing you have to do in a match of CS:GO. Now, imagine if you couldn't get one bullet to hit those players. Knowing how to aim before you shoot is crucial and will make sure you get plenty more kills. Lucki for you, this is a skill that can be improved with practice. Aim training is a must if you want to get better at CS:GO. So, how can you do this quickly and easily?

Use the Aim Training Maps

Thankfully, Counter-Strike Global Offensive has a few maps that are specifically intended for training. There are ones where you can practice aiming, ones where you can enhance your reflexes, and more. Taking advantage of such a map will definitely improve your aim in no time.

Test All Weapons in CSGO

The next part of making sure your aim is prestige involves testing out all of the different weapons CS:GO has to offer. You've probably played enough matches to know that not every weapon fires the same. Take your time and practice aiming with all of them, even the ones you don't like to use at all. This will give you a clear idea of how they work and give you something to compare when playing against any type of player.

2: Get to Know the Maps in CSGO

If you watch war and action movies you've probably heard the phrase “know your surroundings” once or twice. It's used as a sign of warning, as those who know their surroundings better than you will always use this to their advantage. You can be that player who uses this to have leverage over your enemies.

It's hard to learn every map but you need to be aware of everything in the maps you play most. You need to remember the names of the most important locations within them, as you can't afford not knowing what your team is talking about when they tell you to go somewhere. If you want to play AWP, you need to know the locations that are best suited for such a position.

The only way you can learn more and more is if you practice on various maps. Once the match begins, analyze everything in front of you and remember the name when your teammates tell you to go to a specific place.

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Aside from knowing the name of every single spot on the map, you need to devote more time and learn all of the strategic points for planting bombs, throwing flash and smoke grenades, ambushing enemies, and more. You can do this easily by following the third tip we have for you below.

3: Learn from CS GO Pros

One of the easiest and most entertaining ways to learn how to get better at CSGO is simply watching professional players. These players aren't playing professionally without reason. They've obviously understood what it takes to play CS:GO. They've learned what to put their focus on and what it takes to constantly improve.

So, watching their streams, live games in tournaments, and even their youtube videos is one of the best ways to learn new tips and tricks that can improve your CS GO game. Don't just watch, you need to analyze every move they make. Watching casual streams can be a great way to learn how they usually play, but competitive matches are where pro players are at their best. Take this to your advantage and don't be afraid to implement everything they have to offer in your own CS:GO games.

4: Learn Map Callouts

There are a couple of reasons why map callouts are extremely important. The most significant being not wasting any time thinking about what your teammates are trying to say. Sharing crucial and time-sensitive information about their location can make the difference between winning or losing a game. Because of this, you need to be prepared and understand everything they're talking about.

To understand the importance of map callouts imagine that you're currently playing on the CS:GO map “Train” and someone warns you about spotting an enemy at the “B Ramp”. If you don't know what this place is or that it was called that, you won't be as careful and might even lose the entire round yourself.

There are universal map callouts for all maps such as the bomb sites A and B. Callouts like these are easy to learn, but you also need to devote time to memorize map specific callouts such as the one we mentioned. This will ensure a smooth game with fast reaction and running for backup whenever your teammate is in need. It's also crucial if you want to truly get better at CS:GO.

5: How to Improve Using Smokes and Flashes

Most amateur CS:GO players don't really take the full advantage that utility grenades can offer. They simply throw a flash grenade just because they've already bought it and feel they must use it now or later. Sure, you can always use it, it's not extremely expensive but you need to remember not to rush it. Here is when to and when not to use flash grenades:

Use:

  • when you're warned from callouts
  • when you hear someone ahead of you
  • when you hear someone coming from behind
  • when you want to confuse the enemy of your whereabouts

Don't Use:

  • Just for the sake of it
  • When they are too close to your position

Regarding smoke bombs, there are a few tactical ways to take the full advantages these items can offer as well. Sure, throwing a smoke bomb can help you move past obstacles and avoid being shot, but there are better ways to use them that will make you look like a pro and manage to always elude your opponents. Here is how:

Use:

  • When planting or defusing the bomb
  • When moving past tight wall openings
  • When trying to escape an enemy push
  • For putting out Molotov fire

Don't Use:

  • In the middle of an open and wide area
  • In areas where high elevation points exist

6: Crosshair Placement

As we mentioned before, the aim is among the most important skills a CSGO player can obtain. When you practice aiming, you should focus mainly on hitting the target and not missing your bullets. However, crosshair placement is a huge part of fast and clean kills. After you've learned how to aim with sharp reflexes and always hit your target, you need to make a habit of always placing your crosshair at head level.

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What does this actually mean? This is sort of a golden rule when it comes to placing your crosshair just right. Making sure it's always at head level means that you need to assess where you are on the map and predict where the enemy's head would be if you saw them right now. As you're walking, adjust your crosshair according to this rule and you will see your shots improve dramatically.

7: Invest In Equipment

Having the right and best type of gaming equipment can be quite helpful, however, it's not crucial for you to become better at CSGO. This stands more for comfort and a great gaming experience rather than anything else. So, now that we've mentioned it, let's see what would be best for you in this area.

First of all, there's no need to go overboard with this one. Simply try investing in what will provide you the most comfort. You don't need a high-end PC to be able to play CSGO. Things such as a decent and comfortable gaming chair, a nice mouse with more shortcut buttons, a decent optical keyboard, and you're good to go. Out of all these things, a nice mouse will probably provide the most benefits and value towards you getting better at CSGO.

8: Bind Mouse Buttons

Now that we've covered the most significant ways to get better at CSGO, let's get a bit more technical and focus on even more ways to help you improve faster and more efficiently. Considering you got yourself a gaming mouse with the extra buttons, you can choose to bind these buttons to specific commands within the game.

For example, you can assign the extra buttons for quick flashbang or smoke bomb toss. You can assign one for an instant Molotov throw or virtually anything you'd wish. This can become a powerful weapon in your arsenal, one that your whole team may thank you for.

9: Practice

This should be self-explanatory but there are a couple of things we still need to go over. You might know the phrase “practice makes perfect” which is perfect for this situation. However, you won't improve by just queueing for a match and doing the same things you normally do. The definition for insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Don't let yourself get to that.

You must take advantage of the tips and tricks we showed you here. Practice in the areas that truly matter and nothing will stop you in your mission to get better at CSGO. If you want to beat most players you go up against, you have to outmatch them in something. Devoting more time to practicing what matters instead of just entering a game and doing the same things over again will definitely make you improve faster.

3 Helpful Counter-Strike Global Offensive Tips

Lastly, we decided to leave you off with 3 more beneficial CS:GO tips that will help you further improve in the game.

  1. Communication is key: Remember to talk with your team about every little detail you encounter. Remind them of your position so that they can prepare for their next move, tell them your next move, and generally discuss the game.
  2. Avoid being toxic: Toxicity is the quickest way to start seeing your rank fall in CSGO. Players who are toxic get matched with toxic and bad players. Avoid this overall, and be nice with your teammates. This encourages better play from everyone on your team.
  3. Don't chain queue after losing a few matches: Emotion plays a huge role in games like CSGO. If you've already lost a few matches in a row, it's best to leave the game for a while and get your emotions in order. Starting a match angry will definitely decrease your capabilities and make you lose even more.