Guide on Personal Performance. (CSGO) - ALL LEVELS

This guide is a simple set of rules to follow to improve your game at a personal level. Team-play and strategies are not included in this guide. However, I do have many files describing team-play if people wish to read them.

This guide will take you from the newest player with no clue on gun-play, movement or game knowledge to being able to understand the mechanics of the game to a subconscious level. This will enable you to focus more on the team-play of the map.

This guide runs through the basics of correct warm-up procedures, counter-keying and the effect of mentality on a players performance.

Introduction:

About me:

I have been playing Counter-Strike for over 7 years now and have enjoyed almost every game I have played. However, I have hit the point of the game where my personal performance is no longer the winning factor of the games I play. This is because most people at the higher ranks and levels on Face-It have a in-depth understanding of their personal play-style and performance. Luckily when I started playing this game I was in college and could invest many hours per week trying to improve. However, this did not happen off my own back. I remember during a college lesson I saw over someones shoulder a picture of a Karambit Fade.

So me being a very arrogant NOVA 2 I decided to introduce myself to this person who clearly also knew this game. This person immediately humbled me by disclosing that they were LEM (Legendary Eagle Master). At this point in time this was the equivalent of being a literal god.

As time went on we started becoming good friends always talking about the game and I would always moan about my experiences and the struggle of trying to rank up. This is when they said they wanted to watch me play to see if they could help improve my game. So after a few games my friend made a list of all the things I did wrong. Let's just say, it was huge... However, most of the items on the list was personally controllable by following simple rules. And that's when my friend sent me a simple notepad document with around 5 things to do to improve. I did these things religiously for a few weeks and I had improved so much that I could then play at his level. Even overtaking him at some stages which made me feel amazing. However, it was all because of him giving me the advice that made me better.

And what he did for me is what I wish to do to anyone that wants it.

This image is my earliest screenshot after using the advice and tips given to me by my friend.

Disclaimer:

You will not see result just from reading this guide. You need to put these pieces of information to work and consciously work at the rules. If you follow this guide and only do the training once, you will not improve you must put in the work to see the results. It took me nearly 9 months to achieve the rank of Global Elite for the first time. But the secret to achieving your goals is to NOT GIVE UP.



CONSISTENCY IS KEY

Game-Play (Settings)

Welcome to the Home Screen!

A lot of people (including myself) started playing this game and just played with the default settings for weeks. Counter-Strike is a game where settings greatly effect your ability to see enemies. Also some settings allow you to see extra pixels around edges of walls/boxes that you can use as a little hole to see approaching enemies and even shoot them before they even see you!

In this section I will be going over the settings I used and still use to this day to help with my personal game-play. Please take note that these settings work the best for my PC and my personal play-style. Some things may be better for you to experiment with yourself to see how it changes your play-style.

The launch options below will allow your CSGO to connect to both 64tick and 128tick servers properly. If you do not at the tickrate into your launch options you may be playing on a 128 tick server but you game is actually only running in 64 tick. This will make you feel like you're dying before even seeing enemies, and makes you feel like you are behind in the action almost like your enemies have information before they do.

Feel free to change the value of the dedicated CPU threads and max fps if you need to.

Launch Options: -novid -tickrate 128 -high -threads 6 +fps_max 400 +cl_interp 0 +cl_interp_ratio 1 +rate 128000 +cl_updaterate 128 +cl_cmdrate 128 +mat_queue_mode 2 -freq 144 -refresh 144 -d3d9ex -nojoy

Copy and paste these launch options into your CSGO properties: Steam Library -> Counter-Strike Global Offensive -> Right-Click -> Properties -> Launch Options



From this Home Screen navigate to the cog looking icon to open up the game's setting window. This can be seen below.

Feel free to copy the settings I use. Most of these settings in the first screen are all personal preference and don't greatly impact game-play. I would greatly recommend turning off player pings and Game Instructor messages as these can block view during game-play.





Important Settings:

These settings are what I have found to be the best settings for a rifler/occasional AWPer. The settings and mainly set to lowest it can go to ensure the FPS does not stutter and you have minimal frame rate stutters. I have run these settings for 5 years now and have never had a issue with frames or anything visual. Also with these settings smoke and Molotov grenades can be used to achieve one-way gaps for you to kill enemies without being seen (this obviously depends on the distance of the enemy player). I have had experience playing 4:3 black bars and personally it made me more accurate with the rifles. But it cost me visibility and information so was worse for me in the long run. I would recommend experimenting with the aspect ratios and finding what feels comfortable with your computer and monitor setup.

Now that the settings are done we can hop into the first rule!

Pre Warm-up (Rule 1)

The first rule is to make sure you are warm:
This may seem obvious to everyone and everyone says they are "warmed up" but that is not what is meant by being warm. Getting warm starts before you even turn your computer on to start gaming. This is where mindset and physical well-being can effect your game.

Getting "warm" should follow a simple check list. The checklist below is what I use:

• Have something to eat

• Get some juice or water ready

• Clear desk/work area

• Ensure I wont be disturbed during my time online

• Comfortable clothing (an example is I can only play in a hoodie)

• Temperature of the room I will be gaming in

• Good mood (don't play if you are miserable)

As you can see this list is all external factors and you may be wondering do they really have an effect on your performance? YES THEY DO!
It is so important to be as comfortable as possible with the smallest amount of distractions so you can pour your absolute concentration into your performance. I can tell you from experience that I will not play well if I have not checked this list off. Of course this list is not written down and these are things I do sub-consciously but that's because I've made a habit of it over the years of playing games. It takes the human mind 21-28 days to form a habit so consistency is key.

Once you have checked these external factors you can then proceed onto the next step of preparing your body for the stresses it will be under while gaming. I know this sounds ridiculous again but using a computer mouse and keyboard does take it's toll on the body as it is not a fully natural movement for the body to do for hours on end.

You should stretch these parts of your body:

• Forearms

• Wrists (both of them)

• Fingers

• Lower back

• Neck

Have you ever started playing and it has felt like your mouse has changed sensitivity? This is why. Your muscles in these parts of your body, especially your wrists and forearms are responsible for the micro-adjustments required to be accurate in-game. Simply spending 20-30 seconds stretching these muscles out will increase the blood-flow and activate the muscles required. There are many resources on YouTube and Google on how to correctly stretch these parts of you body.

Once these are complete you are ready to boot your computer up and start working on your personal game.

DON'T MOVE! (Rule 2)

No matter what level/rank you are in this game you know not to move while shooting. But have you ever actually made a conscious effort of mastering that skill? you may think you are making the effort to stop and shoot but are you fully understanding the mechanics of shooting in CSGO?
When I first started this training I thought I was stopping and shooting but I wasn't 100% stopped, this caused my shot to have a chance to miss due to the variable value that CSGO use to calculate where the bullet shall go on server side.

My friend from college literally wrote down on a notepad "STAND STILL WHEN SHOOTING ADADA". This seems vague but it was actually the vagueness of this advice that gave it it's importance.

Counter-Keying:
Counter-keying is the action of utilising the momentum in the games engine to come to a complete stop while still having an input from the client. This is done in CSGO by strafing one way and using the opposing strafe key to come to a stop. Once your character is at a complete stop you can shoot before the momentum of the opposing key starts your movement the opposite way. This is why you see players "jiggle" peeking. To know when to shoot you must understand timings and weapon resets. Simply watch your weapon reset to it's default location when you are changing direction and that is the one point in time your weapon will be accurate. It's a very brief time window but with practice you will naturally feel the timing.

Practicing:

We've all seen workshop maps like this and probably play them for 10-20 minutes and think that's it for the warm-up. That's simply not good enough as you are not actually working or improving on any aspect of your game. you are just clicking heads. You need to make a CONSCIOUS effort at using your A and D keys to Counter-Key between kills and watching how your rifle reacts between kills to know when you can shoot accurately again.

Doing 250-400 kills on a warm-up bot server like this one will greatly increase you knowledge of weapon resetting and increase you ability to identify when your weapon animation has reset. Also try and use other weapons besides the AK-47 during this time and each weapon has varying animations.

You will only see results if you are actively making your character strafe between kills.

250-400 Kills per session BEFORE COMPETITIVE PLAY.

Off-angles and Peeking (Rule 3)

Understanding the terms Off-angles and Peeking can give you a massive advantage over the enemy as it will allow you to use the layout of the game to benefit you. But first we need to know what is a Off-angle?

Off-angle:
An Off-angle is a position held that is not common for the enemies to check/hard clear. Here is an example of an Off-angle on the map Mirage. This is a CT side off angle to hold A site.
Image Left is a normal angle for a CT to hold. Image Right is an Off-angle less commonly played.




Notice how on the Off-angle you will have less cover. In an Off-angle you are surrendering you cover for a opportunity to ambush your enemy from an angle they do not expect. As most players check the most common held angles like CT, triple and default site. You will be ignored because they are not expecting you to be in such a weird angle. This can be done on all maps and the element of elevation makes these Off-angles even more deadly. The same rule applies to using Off-angles in practice, you must make a CONSCIOUS EFFORT to apply these into you normal play-style. This mean doing it in deathmatch servers when you are warming up and taking mental notes of Off-angles other players have used against you on all servers.


Peeking:
Everyone should know what Peeking is. However, to understand Peeking you need to know how the character is seen around corners and the effect of distance on your visibility.

When peeking a corner you will have a disadvantage if you are closer to the corner than that of the enemy you are peeking. This is because of the player model. Your arm/back sticks out away from your viewpoint. Here are some examples of this in a peek training map:


Here is an example of the enemy seeing me before I can see them: (white square is enemy)


I can see these enemies before they see me because they are closer to the walls they are peeking me from:
In the image above the enemy to my right has the advantage onto me as I am closer to the corner than he is. However, The advantage is due to something called right-eye peeking. Right-eye peeking has the advantage because less of the body is show on peeking an angle. Opposite to this left-eye peeking will reveal your left leg, butt and shoulder before you are able to see around the corner you are peeking.

Mastering the Key Weapons (Rule 4)

You MUST master the basic weapons of the game. These weapons are the baseline of all competitive games you will play. These are the weapons you MUST master:

• AK-47

• M4A1-S

• M4A4

• DESERT EAGLE

To master these weapons you must CONSISTENTLY play with these weapons. Warming up on deathmatch dont just use the AK47! Get your hands on both versions of the M4 to prepare yourself for any situation. I highly recommend getting as much practice with the desert eagle as you can and also encourage finding a deagle only 1v1 or deathmatch server on the community page.

Mastery with a weapon is not just understanding the full spray pattern. In fact you don't need to know more that 5 to 10 rounds of the spray pattern to be a great player. You just need to understand the mechanics of playing with the weapon and how the weapon acts on it's initial 5-10 round burst as you will rarely spray a full magazine into an enemy.

Simply doing 20-30 minutes per session during your warm-up on a community deathmatch server using all the weapons mentioned above will greatly improve your individual skill. If you feel like you're not making much progress or you feel you have already mastered the weapons named above, then you should attend headshot only servers and stick to tap firing instead of spraying.

Keep in mind that the first 2-4 rounds of the AK47 and both M4's are basically straight so not much recoil control is needed. Just a slight adjustment after the 3rd round will ensure you can do 3-5 round bursts confidently. Also, with mastering the AK-47 and Desert Eagle you will be greatly increasing your chances on winning pistol rounds. This is because the starting pistols on both CT side and T side almost act like an AK-47 and Desert eagle where the first round is accurate if stood still. You also start flicking when you are playing with the AK-47 and Deagle, I don't fully understand why this response happens when using these weapons however I think it's because the player subconsciously know it's only 1 shot to the head to kill. And as the old saying goes "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take".

Responsibility and Confidence (Rule 5)

Confidence is key to success in anything you do in life and CSGO is no different. Every play you make you must own and take responsibility of the outcome. You cannot control what your teammates do across the map. But you can control your own actions around them. You need to start taking initiative in the games you are in. You also need to understand you have been matched against players of a similar skill level as you! You deserve to be there just as much as the other players in the lobby. (unless they were actually boosted)

Sometimes your teammates will cause the loss, I understand there are trolls and idiots out there. But you can take responsibility of your team by being the VOICE of the team if no-one is stepping up. Simply giving CLEAR and CONFIDENT information can sometimes mean the difference of a round won or round loss. You don't need to give strats as that comes under teamplay and this guide is based on personal performance. However, personal confidence in communication and simple information calling is a big part in winning.

If you are giving clear information and communicating with your team, performing well and having fun you know you are not the reason your team is failing.

Staying alive:

This could be another rule in itself but it is simple enough to explain in a short paragraph.

Sometimes staying alive is enough to win the round evening if you are low HP. How many times have you been 2v3 and thought "this is a loss" just because the enemy team had 3 players against your two? I've seen it many many times. That negativity effects every member on your team especially the ones still alive. If it was 3v2 but the 3 players were all 10hp and you were both 100hp you wouldn't think twice about going for the round. However, when do you ever get accurate information on the enemies HP status? even at high level you don't get that information unless you ask for it.

Staying alive will simply deter the enemy away from the position you were last seen at. So at all costs if it is possible to stay alive, do you best to do so. Because you might just win the round because of it!

Conclusion

I bet you've read this guide and said to yourself "I already knew all of the information". That's because most people already know what it takes to become better at the game. However, not many players actually want to put in the effort and the hours to improve. They want to watch a video or read a guide and get better the next game they play. Well the sad truth is that doesn't work.

Only 3 of the rules require actual game-play. If you set a time to play with friends on MM and you REALLY want to improve you should be making an effort to be online at least an hour before they are online. This is so that you can squeeze in the bot warm-up and deathmatch warm-up before preparing for a competitive game.

At the end of the day if you are simply looking at getting better at the game so it's more fun for you and your friends feel free to take some rules out and put your own in. But if you are truly thinking about improving your CSGO performance to a skill above MGE/DMG level then you need to start really focusing on your personal ability to perform at those levels.

If you follow this guide it's a lot like riding a bike. Once, you've done the training for months and months on end, grinding away at your rank and improve every step of the way. You will never lose that information. I wrote this whole guide off the top of my head and feel like it is a decent start for most people wanting to improve personal skill inside of CSGO.

Just remember it's only a game and games are there to be enjoyed! You will improve in time!

Thanks for reading and best of luck ranking up!

★Vanja★

[Nightmare trag pe frunte]

+rep rly helpfull

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+rep for +rep

[fr0st]

+rep hell yeah brother

[YM]

yes Good human

[ABSTAND]

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[AsaaRi]

ok

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+helpful

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GOOOOOOOD

[JacBl]

Very helpful t hank yOU!

[ADoj9d231fjAF]

+rep thank you very much