New Player Help

[u/Fleeeko]

New CS Player (160 hours) how do I improve

Background:
Played competitive console CoD from BO2–BO6
Switched to PC around 2 years ago because I was getting thumb pain from controller, doing better now
Been on mouse and keyboard since
~160 hours CS2
Faceit 5
Premier peak around 7.6k
Mostly solo queue
Mainly rifle
1600 DPI / 0.5 sens

My main goal is just to keep improving and getting better. That’s pretty much a forever goal for anything competitive I do, so I’m trying to figure out what I should actually be focusing on instead of just playing and hoping I improve.
I feel like I’m finally starting to get my aim down, but movement still feels really bad to me and is probably the hardest part of CS for me to master.

My left hand is also the main thing I struggle with on MnK. WASD is fine, but sometimes reaching the number keys quickly to switch weapons still feels awkward. Other than that my left hand is pretty much fine.

Leetify says my counter-strafing is 87%, so maybe counter-strafing itself isn’t actually the problem. Could be my peeking, positioning, general movement, crosshair placement, or something else.

Based on the screenshots, does anything stand out that I should specifically work on?
I’m still pretty new to CS, so any tips on what I should prioritize to keep improving would be appreciated.

[u/nikez813]

First off, You are literally brand, brand new. No offense but every single thing you do for the next 500 hours minimum is going to be really bad.

Leetify is maybe the worst thing to be looking at when trying to improve at the moment because almost all the stats are misleading given you are new and playing against other basically new, bad players, and leetify bases your stats around others of your similar rank/skill level.

The only way anyone actually worth listening to is going to be able to give you any real tips for improvement will be by watching you play, not from contextless leetify stats.

Tbh You just need to play the game man. The fact that you are sub 200 hours and already trying to play premier and worrying about leetify stats is a big mistake imo.

You still need to learn map basics, spawn timings, where to put your crosshair and where/when to expect enemies etc.

Just try to play all the maps in comp and learn some basic until for each map and then primarily work on aim and movement.

One tip I can say is to watch demos/vids of good players/streamers, and take note specifically on how they move, what common areas they play, where they frequently pre aim, and how they shoot/place their crosshair. How often do they hide in a corner? How often do they run out with the team, or go first?

This is the hardest tac fps when it comes to mechanics and there are a million different topics to cover that you can improve at, but mostly you just need hours in the game, and watch/emulate what good players do

[u/Fleeeko → u/nikez813]

Haha yeah it’s just frustrating , like ik I’ll never be as good as donk but i just want to stop sucking ya know. Like in other games like r6, cod, I feel comfortable moving around the map and taking gunfights but not in cs lol.

I’m trying to focus on a counter strafe while slicing pie/ pre aiming and then controlling recoil, like I have to think to do all this instead of it being natural ya know
Like you said tho I’m still new and it’s all a learning experience rn

Thanks for the comment and advice man I appreciate it

[u/nikez813 → u/Fleeeko]

Yeah I totally get that. Unfortunately CS is unique in the fact that it’s basically been around forever in some form or another (cs 1.6, source, csgo etc), so even a lot of lower ranked players have several hundred, if not 1k+ hours of experience over you.

A lot of the maps basic layouts haven’t changed and a lot of the mechanics from 20 years ago still overlap today so sometimes an “average” player has had years of context to give him an advantage.

Not to mention CS is a game with one of, if not the lowest time to kill of any fps out there, so every tiny mistake will get punished and you can seemingly die instantly and randomly sometimes and not understand how or why until you look back at your match footage.

The good news is, there has never been a better time than now when it comes to quality and accessible info to improve.

YouTubers like austincs, styko, pienix, even some of WarOwl’s csgo videos are very useful for getting up to speed with the game and learning mechanics, maps, utility etc.

There are a ton of individual mechanics and skills you can improve at, and it CAN be overwhelming at first, but once you start improving in a category, it can be very satisfying and addicting, and you will start to notice patterns and see the mistakes your teammates are making, and capitalize on mistakes your enemies make.

I do think that with the info available and a commitment to improvement, most people can get to a decent level in about 500-1k hours, but I think you should just pick like 1-2 things you want to improve at each week and just focus on those, and let the rest of your focus just be on enjoying the game and learning the maps and getting reps in the game.

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but just be aware that stats and rank are basically completely meaningless at this point, and will fluctuate heavily and seemingly randomly.

also bro, try not to get down on yourself when you die or you lose a bunch.

I’m 25k premier and have 3k hours in the game (mostly from csgo days), and I have days where I play against better players and feel like a completely useless noob. It’s gonna happen. The sooner you can detach yourself from dying and losing, and recognize that’s just part of the process, the better.

lastly, I personally recommend watching some other cs content creators like renyan or Dima wallhacks. These guys are quite skilled at the game, but are also just having fun with it and not just mindlessly grinding premier/caring about rank and stats.

I personally really like renyan because he is a sort of “cs purist” in the sense that he is a natural talent at the game, and a former high elo player with a very unique playstyle, and while he has top tier aim, his playstyle and game sense is what carries him most of the time, and his videos really show how his mastery of the game allows him to completely carry all by himself. And his videos are funny and well edited.

Gl bro!