If you play CS:GO every day then chances are you really care about your rank. Or, maybe you’re just starting to find interest in learning how to rank up in CS:GO. Whatever the case, it’s imperative that you learn how CS:GO ranks and the ranking system in general work first.
After that, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what can get you to Global Elite faster and what drags CS:GO ranks down. Once you’ve mastered all that, you will control the ranking system, not the other way around.
Gamer’s Guide: How to Get Better at CSGO in 2022?
Let’s dive into this CS:GO ranks explained guide and learn everything there is about CS:GO ranks. Once you’re done with this guide, you can say goodbye to the Silver ranks or skill group and work your way through Gold Nova, Master Guardian Elite, and all the way up to where the big dogs play, which is basically anything between Legendary Eagle Master and the all-mighty Global Elite.
So, if you’re ready to make CS:GO ranks and the ranking system work for you, use this CS:GO ranks explained guide to your advantage. Also, if you enjoyed this guide, check out the rest of our website, where you can trade CS:GO (CS2) skins for best prices.
What Are CSGO Ranks?
In Counter-Strike Global Offensive, players value each other most by the ranks that sit on their profiles. For example, you’re much more likely to respect and play with someone who is Supreme Master First Class rather than someone who is only Silver Elite Master.
That’s just how the system works. The ranking system displays your skill level in the game. CS:GO ranks are designed to help the matchmaking process and to pair you with players who are closest to your own skill level or rank.
Another area where CS:GO ranks are important is in competitive matches. You won’t be able to play with pros if you’re only a Silver even if you are the greatest player in the game. That’s just how it works and is common game sense nowadays.
Hopefully, now that we have CS:GO ranks explained you know that ranking up in CSGO is important and is what allows you to play with better players and make the entire experience more exciting. However, we know what it is but we still don’t know how all of this works.
What exactly affects the CSGO ranking system? How do you rank up? Do different game modes help you rank faster? Let’s have a look.
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List of CSGO Ranks
There are a total of 18 ranks in Counter-Strike Global Offensive. Each CS:GO rank represents your current skill based on how you play and the number of wins you have overall. More ranked match wins equal more points which result in getting your ranks higher.
Here is the list of all CS:GO ranks in order, from Silver I to Global Elite.
- Silver I
- Silver II
- Silver III
- Silver IV
- Silver Elite
- Silver Elite Master
- Gold Nova I
- Gold Nova II
- Gold Nova III
- Gold Nova Master
- Master Guardian I
- Master Guardian II
- Master Guardian Elite
- Distinguished Master Guardian
- Legendary Eagle
- Legendary Eagle Master
- Supreme Master First Class
- Global Elite
How Do CSGO Ranks Work? – Ranking System Explained
Believe it or not, it’s widely believed that it’s not only about being able to win as many matches as you possibly can in order to climb the CS:GO ranks ladder. That’s not how to ranking system works. Well, it’s not as simple as that at least. There’s actually much more to it.
Let’s explain.
Firstly, yes, it is important to win more than you lose before you get your first rank and long after that as well. However, that’s not all that goes into it.
For example, Valve takes into account many other factors from your performance during each match you play in competitive mode. This can include the duration of each match, your overall performance in terms of kills, deaths, and so on.
Another crucial factor that helps CSGO determine which skill group you belong in are your teamwork capabilities. If you aren’t able to communicate and get along with your team you won’t get very far in the CS:GO ranks ladder.
After all of this is evaluated, the matchmaking system then decides which players you belong with. As a result, changing your behavior and improving your skills can get you to rank up and play with better players who are also the same rank and on the same level as you.
How to Get Your First CSGO Rank?
The average rank most players end up with is Gold Nova III. However, this doesn’t mean that Gold Nova is going to be the first rank you get as well. Let’s see what exactly it takes for you to get your first rank and finally be able to play in CSGO competitive matches.
You should know that you won’t be able to play competitive matches at the beginning. Instead, you get to play casual matches that don’t affect your rank. In fact, you don’t even have a rank when you first start out in Counter-Strike Global Offensive. So, here’s your guide to getting your first CS:GO ranks, explained.
First, you will have to play casual CSGO matches until you gather enough experience to reach Private Rank 2 on your profile. After achieving this, you will gain access to competitive matchmaking games.
How Many Games Until You Get Your First CSGO Rank?
If you’ve played other Valve games like DOTA 2 before, you’re probably asking yourself how many games you need to play to get access to CS:GO ranks.
Well, you will need to play a total of ten matches (hopefully ten wins) in CSGO in order to finally get your first rank from the CS:GO ranking system. However, keep in mind that you will only be able to play up to two of those competitive games per day. That’s just the way it is and there’s no way around it. This means that you will need at least five days to get your first CS:GO rank.
During those first ten games, it’s important to know that you will be paired with all sorts of players, most of which will be with a different rank than yours. Given that you don’t have any current rank, the CS:GO ranking system won’t be able to match you against players who are in the same skill groups as you.
What Is the Highest Possible First Rank in CS:GO?
Even if you win every single match in this competitive match testing phase, you still won’t be able to receive a rank that is anything higher than Legendary Eagle Master. Your most likely bet is that you will get something within the Silver skill groups or even up to Master Guardian II, Master Guardian Elite, and Distinguished Master Guardian.
The most important thing to know here is not to worry about all that. Play your best, maintain great behavior, and focus on perfect team play. If you do all that, you can easily receive a higher rank such as Gold Nova, Master Distinguished Master Guardian, or even Legendary Eagle. This is probably the best advice you can get from this CS:GO ranks explained guide.
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How to Rank Up in CSGO Faster?
If things didn’t work out the way you wanted and you ended up with something like a Silver III or even a Silver Elite Master CS:GO ranks, then don’t worry, there’s still a chance to catch up to more experienced players in the CS:GO ranking system. There are a few things we can do in order to rank up fast.
The most important are the following:
1. Learn from the pros
Your best bet is to watch professional players and learn how they play. These guys know the best tricks to quickly dominate your enemy and increase your CS;GO rank. The best places to learn from them are Youtube and Twitch, so go follow your favorite CSGO players and see how the highest rank in CSGO is played.
2. Play with better players
Having friends who are much better at the game than you and have much higher CS:GO ranks can be used in your favor. By playing with them, you’re sort of getting a free ticket towards a higher CS:GO rank. However, there’s something even better here. You’re going to passively learn how to properly play the game by following them around.
When you see their kills at the match scoreboard and compare them to yours, you’re going to want to improve, which is a great way to get out of Silver Elite Master and finally join the higher-ranked players.
What Is the Average CS GO Rank?
Even though most players want to be Global Elite or Supreme Master First Class, it’s still quite difficult to end up in that skill group. According to statistics, the largest number of players are currently stated in the Gold Nova skill groups. To be even more precise, over 9% percent of the full CSGO player base are in the Gold Nova III ranks. No other ranks feature more than that percentage of total players.
However, the higher ranks like the Master Guardian Players are fairly close and seem to be getting more and more players over time. This means that more of them are slowly climbing through the ranks in CSGO.
Summary
Hopefully, this CS:GO ranks explained guide was able to clear up any confusion you may have had on the topic. It’s actually not that complicated to understand. It’s all about learning which rules and guidelines this team game has laid out and using them to your advantage to reach Global Elite faster. Even though it’s difficult, it’s still not impossible.
So, work hard, follow these rules and you’ll be out of Silver or Gold Nova in no time. Now that we have CSGO ranks explained, it’s time to go and play some CSGO.
A true gaming enthusiast, especially Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rust. At SkinsMonkey, he is involved in creating game guides based on his own experience.
