With the release of CS2, the ranking system received a major overhaul by adding a new way to play ranked. This has lead to a bit of confusion as to what players should be aiming for and where they truly rank compared to other players in the new system. To ease this confusion, the new ranked system has been separated out from the old ranked system of CS:GO. Let’s go over all the ranks you can get and how the ranked system works in CS2.
All CS2 Ranks
Although a new ranking system was introduced, the old ranks from CS:GO can still be earned if you queue for individual maps over the new Premier matchmaking. The ranks you can get for each map are as follows:
- Silver 1-4
- Silver Elite
- Silver Elite Master
- Gold Nova 1-3
- Gold Nova Master
- Master Guardian 1-2
- Master Guardian Elite
- Distinguished Master Guardian
- Legendary Eagle
- Legendary Eagle Master
- Supreme Master First Class
- Global Elite
If you played CS:GO these ranks will seem familiar since they are the same ones used for CS:GO’s ranked system. Alongside these ranks, you can also obtain a rating number if you play the Premier matchmaking that was introduced with CS2.
Premier ranked will allow you to pick and ban maps so you don’t know which map you will get when you accept the queue. You skill ranking is across your whole account and is represented by a simple number that will increase with wins and decrease with losses. The amount you gain and lose will depend on the ranks that you are put up against, but you will have a rough idea of high much is at stake when you load into a match.
CS2 Ranking System & Tiers
Although your Premier rank is a simple number, there are still checkpoints that you will need to cross as you go up and down the ladder. These checkpoint amounts are as follows:
- 0 – 4999
- 5000 – 9999
- 10,000 – 14,999
- 15,000 – 19,999
- 20,000 – 24,999
- 25,000 – 29,999
- 30,000+
Once you get into a position where your next win or loss will have your skill rating change tiers, you will always need to win or lose another game in order to cross the board numbers between a set tier. This means that you can’t go straight from 4,800 to 5,200 skill rating. You will hit 4,999 skill rating if you win a game and then your next game will be your rank-up match.
Many players enjoy this new Premier system over the older ranked system as you can actively track your skill level and see your improvement or decline after every game. With the old CS:GO ranked system, you never knew how close you were to having your rank change. You also never knew if your rank was going to simply jump up a single rank or have a massive jump up multiple ranks.
This led many players to speculate what led to a larger rank jump such as a higher K/D and having more MVP stars allowing you to jump ranks. It also led to an unwelcome surprise for players on a losing streak as their rank would suddenly go down after a few losses in a row with no indication that it was about to happen. Nothing ended off a bad night of CS:GO ranked worse than your rank silently dropping after a game.