How to Get Better and Reach Global Elite in CS:GO - Tips by f0rest
Learn some tips on how to improve and actually get better at CS:GO from the one and only f0rest.
Everyone that is playing a game, whatever that game might be, wants to get better, especially if we’re talking about a competitive one such as Counter-Strike, with many years of history and a long list of legendary players. But, although everyone can eventually become good at a game, getting great is a whole other story… and the majority of players don’t even know where to begin on their road to becoming better.
I’ve teamed up with Dignitas’ Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg to write this article on helping you to improve at CS:GO and eventually reach that mythic rank - The Global Elite. Although not necessarily the very exclusive rank it once was, it’s still a goal that many players try to achieve during their CS:GO career, and one that I’m here to try to help.
To compile this article, I asked f0rest a few questions and I started with a very basic question:
How can a player get better at CS:GO?
To get better there are a lot of steps needed to be done, and there are a lot of things you can actually do. One of the most important parts is definitely trying and studying your own demos, as well as professional demos, and trying and seeing where you can improve yourself based on your plays. Maybe you overpeeked in some scenario, maybe you extended too far on a position, there are a lot of things you can see about your own gameplay that people generally just straight put the blame on the team or another individual. I mean, it's easier to do. The thing is, more often than not, it's always stuff that you can improve upon as an individual.
Being critical of yourself is super important, as f0rest stated. It’s easy to blame others when you die or make a bad decision. However, only those who actually take the time to improve on their mistakes and examine their past decisions and understand why they were good or poor can make better choices next time.
f0rest also touches on the watching demos part, and that’s definitely important, but I would add to it - make sure to study demos of different players, with different playstyles. If you only study and try to copy one player, you’ll be a bit limited. Remember that a style of a player is very unique and it’s based on very different factors.
Naturally, all of that is not an excuse to avoid doing the classic things:
Then you have the classic warmup scenarios where you can find stuff like Deathmatch, Aimbotz... try to find something that works well as a routine for you before every match. Whenever you play, make sure to always start with the same routine so that you can get that good feeling and some preparation work before a match and watch and play a LOT of Counter-Strike. In the end, don't forget to have fun while doing so.
I don’t believe in playing hours upon hours of Deathmatch to improve your gameplay, I honestly don’t think that helps as much as players say, but I do believe in good warmup routines to get the mouse and keyboard feel. So make sure to warm up!
You know how to aim well - what now?
Obviously, it's important to be able to aim and shoot well in CS:GO, after all, it's a first-person shooter. It's also important to have a precision mouse and keyboard that you can count on. f0rest personally prefers the HyperX Pulsefire Haste gaming mouse and HyperX Alloy Keyboards.
Once you have all that nailed down, though, what else would you say is important for building teamwork and reaching those higher ranks?
Communication is one of the key factors in professional Counter-Strike. Being able to communicate very well and really fast is one of the most important parts of games like these, so work on that. Being helpful to the in-game leader by playing different spots and giving insights on what's happening. While playing on any platform of your choice (Matchmaking, FACEIT, ESEA, or any other), make sure to communicate and try to stay positive, as most people are always trying their best and help your team the best way you can.
Communication is the key in CS:GO - it’s a team-based game. Bad comms have been the downfall of many, many squads. Make sure you get clear callouts in the clutch with a HyperX Headset and microphone. Teamwork really does make the dream work, so play around your teammates, help yourselves, play for the win, and not for the stats. What’s better - ending the map with 16 rounds or 30 kills? (and no, you can’t have both). Exactly.
More hours = Better gameplay?
There’s always the topic that a player has to have as many hours in the last two weeks to prove that they’re good or that they’re grinding, and that’s true in a way, but honestly, that’s not all. You can also study the game without actually putting in the hours. You can watch professional matches with the true intent of getting better, of analyzing players and teams… and that’s not exactly counting Steam hours.
Grinding is not always the key factor, you can have low hours but still, work hard - making sure that you're physically and mentally stable. Believe me, if you feel good outside of Counter-Strike, you're probably going to feel great while playing. Naturally, the grind is great and needed, but you need some balance so that it doesn't wear you out quickly and if you're not taking care of yourself, you can even play worse, even if you have 120 hours the last two weeks. It's not necessarily the hours that determine if you play good or bad, it's more of a combination of factors. Do everything in your power to feel good.
And then there’s your mental and physical health like f0rest says. It’s very common for a player to discard this, but I can’t stress enough how important this actually is. If you’re feeling unwell, you’ll most likely not perform as well as you’d like or that you can. It’s something that’s proven that most younger players generally do not care, but they seriously should. Don’t spend the entire day grinding, take breaks, do some exercise, make sure to drink enough water, have healthy meals. All of this helps you feel better physically, mentally, and even your self-esteem. If you’re good outside the game, you’ll be good while playing the game.
I’ve decided to ask an extra question to f0rest:
What’s the best single quality a CS:GO player can have?
To my eyes, this is a rather difficult question to answer, but f0rest was quick to do it:
There are not a lot of players that would sacrifice 100% to help their team. That is a trait that is very rare nowadays where the only things looked at are the scoreboard, the rating, and the ADR, but when playing with a team, everyone should be fully committed to winning. There should be players that will do everything in their power to set the team up and those players are very rare and super helpful for teams to have - be selfless.
The end goal is the win - that’s all that matters. If you have to kill less and die more to achieve it, you should do it. Naturally, it’s not easy to do it, but you’ll become a better player overall by doing so. Just think about it.
Hopefully, this article was helpful and will help you become a better player in the long run. Focus on your goals, aim for that Global Elite, and improve your game. Practice, practice… and then practice a bit more.
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Thank you for reading! You can find me for suggestions or feedback on Twitter.
