How to Rank Up in CSGO

CSGO Ranks

The better you become, the higher you will rank at CSGO – until you join the Global Elite rank. In this article, we will look at the CSGO ranking system and how to rank up in CSGO quickly.

Understanding Your Rank and the CSGO Ranking System

A CSGO Rank is a skill group. This is what will evaluate you and your opponents when you are playing in the CSGO Classic Competitive Mode. The ranking system grades players based on their skill sets. This is then used to match you up against players of a similar skill level which will help to avoid unequal matchups, making it more enjoyable for all players.

After winning 10 match making matches a player will receive their rank. However, you can only include 2 wins every day. As soon as ten match wins are completed then your rank will be displayed under your avatar in the main menu.

Players can work their way up (or down) the ranks depending on whether their skills are getting better or worse and go from the beginner level Silver 1 all the way up to Global Elite. However, the gap between the top and bottom of every rank can still be pretty large, so a player at the bottom of one level could still be a lot lower in skill level than a player at the top of the rank. Whenever you play competitively, you will earn or lose a certain amount of points based on your overall performance in competitive matches, your ranking points and your opponent’s ranking points. Although there is no definitive guide to exactly what you will get if you win you will earn points and if you lose, you will lose points

The Different Ranking Levels

  1. Silver I
  2. Silver II
  3. Silver III
  4. Silver IV
  5. Silver Elite
  6. Silver Elite Master
  7. Gold Nova I
  8. Gold Nova II
  9. Gold Nova III
  10. Gold Nova Master
  11. Master Guardian I
  12. Master Guardian II
  13. Master Guardian Elite
  14. Distinguished Master Guardian
  15. Legendary Eagle
  16. Legendary Eagle Master
  17. Supreme Master First Class
  18. The Global Elite

What Affects Your CSGO Competitive Rank

So, what factors affect your competitive rank when playing Counter-Strike Global Offensive competitive matches? Well, here are some of the things you need to take into account;

Your Current CSGO Rank and ELO Points

Your private CSGO rank and ELO point count factor in. If the competitive matchmaking system puts you against a lower point and ranking opponent then you have a higher chance of winning. This means that if you lose, you will lose more ranking points and if you win you will win fewer ranking points as you will be expected to win. However, if you are playing a higher ranked player and win, you will win more points if you win and lose less if you lose, as you would be expected to lose.

For example – if a Supreme Rank player plays against a Nova Rank and wins, they would only get a small number of points. If the Nova Player wins, they will get lots of points!

team strategy

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Whether You Win or Lose a Round

A team strategy will always be to win. However, a player could rank up in CSGO… or rank down even after a draw. This gives credence to the theory that the wins of individual rounds are what matters the most. This means that it is important not just to win the match but to aim to win as many individual rounds as possible. Even if you are on the road to losing, try and win as many rounds as you can.

Gaining Most Valuable Player Stars

You should also look to get as many MVP stars as possible. So if you are looking to rank up fast then you should aim to be not just on the winning team, but the most effective player on that team. The player that manages to get the MVP will get more points than the other team players.

Ultimately, the aim is to win games. A round win is important, but win as many matches as you can in a row and you will be leaving your silver rank in a flash!

Factors that Don’t Affect Your CSGO Rank

There are some factors that will not affect your ranking or ELO point score:

  • Casual matches
  • Teamkills and suicides
  • Number of kills, assists, deaths, knife kills, grenade kills or hostage rescues
  • Shot accuracy
  • Damage received or meted out

Although the system can change with updates, it’s worth being aware that your ranking in CSGO may well be influenced by your percentile – and whether you are below or above average compared to other players. As such, if there are lots of higher-ranked players that are removed from the ranking system then you can rank up much more quickly.

How the Matchmaking Function Works

The matchmaking system is based on your rank and this is the main factor in deciding who you will be matched with. When you start playing, the range of your opponent’s ranks will be a lot more varied. The more that you play and the more you win, the more accurate your ranking will be, which means you are more likely to be matched against a more suitable opponent. It’s common at the start to be ranked against opponents that are either too high or too low. However, because you, your teammates or your opponents could be new players, the range of skill groups, the range of skills groups you could face will be more varied

The Effect of a Surrender, Tie or Leave/Kick on Points

So, whilst the effect of a win or loss is obvious, these are a little more questionable

1. Ties

Ultimately, match wins and losses aren’t the be-all and end-all of points. These are rewarded on round wins and round results. This means that you could still be either promoted or demoted based on a draw as one side will always win points and the other will always lose points at the end of every round.

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2. Surrenders

You can only surrender a match if one of your leaves and your team is much weaker as a result. The player will only get to win or lose the points up until he left the match. The rest of the points until the end of the match will be then split between the four remaining players, which means you could win more points.

So, if your team goes on to win with one player missing then you could come out of it much better than if they stayed. The opposing team would also lose more points for losing – as they should have an advantage as a 5 player team against a 4 player team.

So, if you do have a reasonably strong team play on… if one player leaves then the remaining 4 players will get more points for round wins – meanwhile the enemy team loses more points for round losses. So try not to surrender.

Leaving the Match

If you are the player who left the match then you will only keep the changes in your ELO points up until the point where you left. So, if you leave in the fifth round, then only the rounds that you have played will count towards your score. Whatever happens afterwards is irrelevant and won’t affect your points.

Boosting CSGO Rank Up

If you want to rank up in CSGO fast then boosting isn’t recommended. If the reason you rank higher is that you let your Global Elite mate play on your account – and gave you a boost of 3 rank ups then it’s pointless. Not only will you not get the joy in ranking up, but you’ll also end up playing against opponents that are a lot better than you, so you’ll probably end up dropping straight back down again.

A better choice is to try and play competitive matchmaking with 4 players that are more skilled, which will help you to learn and improve by playing with them and playing against more skilled opponents. Try for those MVP points as well by defusing bombs, planting bombs and getting kills.

If you don’t have four (or any) more skilled friends then just play matchmaking – play well, be friendly and make sure your communication is good. You could then start making friends who are on the same skill level as you or even higher.

Unranked Players

If you haven’t played or won ten matches and have little matchmaking experience then you will have no ranking. This means that you can either play solo or join a group with four more players. Unranked players start off by playing with a set amount of points. If they win, they will play against a higher skilled player. They will then get even more points and play against higher skills. However, to move up those CSGO ranks at the start you need to win your early matches.

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So, if you win your first four matches, lose four matches and then win the next six matches you will move up quicker than if you lose your first four matches then win the following ten matches afterwards.

Don’t Worry Too Much About CSGO Rank

Play with friends and don’t let their skill level put you off playing with them. It’s unlikely everyone in your friendship group will all have the same skills. So, you could lose games with lower-skilled friends and even drop ranks but how you deal with that is up to you – you either:

So you have 3 options:

  • Enjoy the experience of playing with your friends and play better than them but share the same rank as them. You might have to deal with those that look down on your skill group but you can enjoy the game with your friends.
  • Get another Steam account to play with your friends. You can then use this account to save your main account from point losses and de-ranking whilst still playing and enjoying time with them. However, this is known as smurfing and is accused of spoiling ranks and the overall enjoyment of opponents so is not recommended.
  • Don’t play with friends and only play with people in your skill group or higher. This doesn’t make you a great friend but it will give you a better gaming experience for you and your friends.