CS2 has finally been released, and there are lots of new features that have been added. Especially the new competitive mode and its overall on the competitive mode with two new competitive ranks added to the game.
But what exactly are these differences? Here at CSDB we provide you with a guide to both Competitive and premier modes within CS2.
CS2 Premier Vs Competitive?
The competitive mote within Counter Strike 2 works incredibly similar to that of the original CS rating system. After finishing your placement matches, you will then be eligible to receive your official rank within the game. Like within the original Global Offensive, the matches are a standard 5v5 containing 2 bomb sites, with the differences now being shorter games and now only 13 rounds are necessary to win instead of the previous version 15.
CS2 Competitive Mode
With the competitive mode in Counter-Strike 2 you and your friends can select a choice of maps that you wish to play from the maps that are in the competitive mode pool, meaning you can select the maps that you only wish to play, allowing you to choose a particular map for this ranked mode.
This means that you can get a certain rank for specific each map, for example, if you want to get Global Elite within just Dust 2 it is now entirely possible, unlike the original where you had one rank for all maps.
CS2 Premier Mode
One of the newest overhauls to CS2 is the inclusion of the new Premier Mode, a brand-new take on the competitive system. Premier mode gives players more options for competitive modes, allowing players to select what map they specifically want to play and even what size. Premier mode is a great new game mode that is suitable for every skill level and is recommended by us here at CSDB.
Instead of selecting specific maps, CS2 Premier mode introduces a pick-and-ban system like the original. Both teams will need to vote on the banning maps, each map that has the most ban votes gets removed from the map selection pool. The first team bans two maps from the pool, then the second team is required to ban three maps. The first team selects the last map to ban, leaving the last map left is the map where the game takes place.
Premier mode works the same as competitive mode, the matches are 5v5 and have two diffuse sites with both game modes containing a global leaderboard system.
CS2 Premier Mode Ranking System
One of the main differences that’s worth noting while playing CS2 Premier as well as the specific map changes, the ranking system has also received a significant overhaul. Instead of a singular rank, in the premier mode every player receives a first CS rating, this new stat measures your skill level against other CS2 players within the region you play.
Just like the Competitive Mode to receive your first CS rating you must play 10 placement matches, which then you will receive your CS Rating. CS Rating includes a ranking system from 0 to 40,000.
Instead of Ranks, CS Rating comes in the form of colours, for every 5,000 rating, there is a new colour which is the next rank.
- 0-4,999 – Grey
- 5,000-9,999 – Light Blue
- 10,000-14,999 – Blue
- 15,000-19,999 – Purple
- 20,000-24,999 – Pink
- 25,000-29,999 – Red
- 30,000+ – Yellow/Gold
As you can see there are 7 Colours with Yellow/Gold being the highest rank coming at a 30,000+ CS Rating.
Players will always be matched with a similar CS skill group and rating within the premier mode system, just like it works with regular CS2 competitive modes. This is a great addition and allows you to see the skill levels of each player in more intuitive depth.
Is Prime Status Required to Play The New CS2 Premier?
If you only have the free version of Counter-Strike 2 then you will not be eligible to play on CS2 Premier servers. Just like it works with the regular competitive mode, you will need to upgrade to CS2 Prime to compete within CS2 Premier and enjoy all of its beneficial features. The reason for this as that CS2 Prime promotes a stricter anti-cheat system and manages to disclude smurfs and even botters that can ruin the competitive experience for all.