Top 10 tips for CS:GO beginners
Have you just booted up CS:GO and got absolutely destroyed by some 12 year old – again? We know how you feel. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 tips for players who don’t have a lot of experience in CS:GO to help you avoid common mistakes, hone your skills and earn some crypto by playing. There’s no way but up. Let’s go!
1. Configure your sensitivity
When you start playing, you have to make sure your setup suits you. One of the most important settings you can configure is mouse sensitivity. Here, it is usually better to use lower in-game sensitivity, rather than higher. But everyone has their own preference and you should try using different settings until you find what suits you best.
2. Don’t shoot and run
It’s one of the most common mistakes new players make, and it will almost always get you killed. To give yourself the best chance of winning a fight, you must come to a complete stop before focusing your crosshair on your enemy. This method, sometimes known as counter-strafing, may take some practise, but if done right, it will make it much more likely that you’ll take your enemy down.
How to counter-strafe
- Let go of the direction key
- Tap the opposite direction key once to stop
- Aim and fire
3. Always be ready with your aim
You should always return your crosshair to the head-level, so you don’t need to adjust by much when somebody enters your line of sight. Exactly what your crosshair placement should be at any given moment depends on the location on the map. Try to practise the maps and remember all the hot spots where your opponents peek, stand, camp or move around, so that you can be ready for whatever hides behind each corner.
Satoshi's Top Tip
Spray fire on your opponent while slowly dragging your crosshair downwards to balance the spray pattern. Over longer ranges, try tapping.
4. Master your movement
Once you’ve learned the quick-stop move by counter-strafing and got the hang of your aim, you need to focus on your movement. Map knowledge is key if you want to move around efficiently, so it’s worth dedicating some time to practising a map over and over. The faster and smoother you navigate a map, the more likely you are to outplay your opponent.
Satoshi's Top Tip
Avoid the temptation to jump during a fight – it almost never ends well.
5. Practice with the weapons you don’t know
Some would advise you to stick to the weapons that you like and know how to use. But you should actually do exactly the opposite. If you lack experience with a weapon, try using it as much as possible to get better at it. You won’t always have your favorite weapon ready at hand, so being as good as you can with all tools is a must.
6. Help your teammates
Some game modes in CS:GO require you to perform well as a team. In Team Deathmatch and Wingman, you will have to cooperate with your teammates for the best chance of winning. Have each other’s back, and don’t be the last to enter the fray while your friends get wrecked in front of you. No matter how good you are, you’re always stronger in numbers.
7. Communicate with your team
The key to improving team-play is communication. Speak to your team and try to share the most vital information: tell them where the enemies are, what you’re up to and drive the strategy to outsmart your opponents. Screaming when you get shot or complaining about the way the match is going won’t help your team win.
"I first realized I was getting better when I started losing. Because as I got better, so did my competitors."
— Satoshi Nakamoto
8. Don’t get bogged down in economy
You’ll get a lot of tactical options when selecting your weapons and gear. And sure, making the right choice is important, but it shouldn’t be your main focus when trying to raise your game. Don’t worry too much about tactical decisions at this stage. This will come into play down the line, once you’ve already mastered your aim, movement and team-play.
9. Improvise, adapt, overcome
It’s one thing knowing everything in theory, but out on the battlefield, it’s never quite like in the textbook. That’s why it’s crucial that you improvise. Use everything you’ve learned since the beginning to adapt to each new situation, and in the course of it all, develop your own unique approaches and style.
10. Practice makes perfect
Whatever happens, remember that you won’t win all matches. In fact, from the start, you will probably lose a lot (and no, not everyone who beats you is a cheater). But don’t be disappointed if you feel you're worse than the other players. Eventually, you’ll gain experience and get to the level where you’ll be able to face off against the best. All it takes is practise, practise, practise.
Thanks to our community members for helping us compile this list of tips! Shout out to KraM, Nike, Alisson333, honzano, Angelo, earth is flat, Eyalner, DrLowly, Hrce and many others! If you want to become part of our awesome community and start playing CS:GO for Bitcoin, join our Discord and we’ll help you with setting everything up.
