Smart Gaming: CSGO Economy
CSGO economy is very important when it comes to winning games, and learning how to manage it is the key to success.
Smart Gaming: CSGO Economy
While the basics of CSGO just tackle the way of shooting your way through most rounds to win, managing the money players have is another lesson. This affects the tier of weapons that most players can choose from especially when they are playing in the later rounds.
CSGO is not known as a shooter game alone. It can also be technically classified as a strategy game because teams need tactics to manage their resources. Players are rewarded with money every time they win a round and are even put with penalties if they make mistakes on the map.
While other games like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and Battlefield focus on the storytelling and leave out most players to run and gun their way through the whole game, CSGO does it a little differently. Even rising games such as Valorant don’t have the economic management that CSGO offers as a secondary challenge in the game.
Economy is a critical part of the game. Most players consider it a habit to build up their chances of winning when it comes to the economy. It means saving up their money to buy powerful weapons in the later rounds. These weapons usually deal bigger damage and that is why they are pricey.
CSGO has always put the economy first when it comes to the game’s challenges. This is why players tend to manage their budget early in the game and later use it to make big purchases.
Economy has also been one of the main factors to consider in CSGO tournaments. The biggest Majors have hosted some of the best teams in the game, and all of them know how to make use of the economy since there are many great players who have the skill to gain huge numbers of kills.
Players can only buy pistols and armour in the first round. As the match progresses, they will be able to afford better weapons in the long run. CSGO’s wear and tear in every round will make players either earn or lose money, and this is why managing costs is very important to win.
Winning and Losing Rounds
Every round presents a chance for both sides to earn an award based on the results for that round. There are many ways to win a round depending on the map played.
There are times where a map has two bomb sites, and the Terrorists must detonate a bomb while the Counter-Terrorists must work to take out the other team or at least prevent them from planting and letting the bomb explode.
Some maps also allow players to rescue hostages for CTs. The goal is to get them to a safe zone which will earn them extra money aside from the round win. There is a version of this where a certain player gets to play as the VIP and reach a safe area in the map while Terrorists try to take him out.
Each round, teams get a chance to get an award based on how well they played. For one, if the CTs defuse a bomb, they win the round and will get a reward of $3500. This will allow them to buy better weapons in the next round while the Terrorists get no rewards.
The economy gives out a reward to the losing team with an increasing loss bonus to put the losing side a fair chance to win as well. Losing one round will see the losing team earn only $1400.
Dropping two straight will give them $1900 while losing three in a row gives them $2400. Four straight losses will give them $2900, while a five-game stretch of losses will give them $3400. There is also a bomb plant bonus of $800 whether a team loses or not.
Each player starts the match with $800 in their pockets. They can buy any weapons they want, but the first round is usually the right time to save up and go for the basic and cheap guns before slowly buying the better weapons.
Just like how free CSGO skins are rewarded for winning bets. Every kill has a reward for players depending on the weapon they use. There is also a penalty for taking out allies in the game, which deducts a total of $300 on their total money. The kill rewards are as follows:
- Pistol: $300
- SMG: $600
- P90: $300
- Shotgun: $900
- rifle: $300
- AWP kill: $100
- Knife: $1500
- Grenade: $300
In addition, killing all enemies gives players a reward of $3250, and running out the clock gives out the same amount for CTs, while it is capped at $3500 if the bomb explodes. Winning or losing the round has the most impact in a team bank, which makes it a priority for most teams.
Types of Rounds
There are five kinds of buy rounds where CSGO players take their time and consider their options in the market. These are the Eco, Anti Eco, Half Buy, Force, and Full Buy. Depending on the money that a team has, they can cycle through these options as they wish.
Eco rounds will see players buy some light weapons and gear to save money for the next round. Other teams which are short on budget sometimes consider buying nothing and save their funds instead. However, there are many flaws to this type since it exploits their poor weapons compared to the other side.
An Anti Eco round puts most players in a spot to buy smaller weapons such as SMGs or a cheap rifle at the very least. This is designed to counter the Eco round from the other team since they have poor gear and no armour as well. An Anti Eco round proves to be very useful especially in pushing teams to the brink of bankruptcy.
A Half Buy, on the other hand, is spending half of the money available to even out the economy of the squad as a whole. Depending on the damage that a whole team can deal with another, players can opt to select a wide range of weapons as long as the rest of the squad can cover the weakness it has.
A Force Buy happens when a team goes to spend all the funds they have. This is crucial especially when a team can break the economy of the other side. Taking out the economy for the other team is very important in securing a win so this becomes important in the late game.
Full Buys only take place if a team buys all armour weapons and utilities they can. This looks like a full-scale assault with the goal of either sweeping the whole team or rushing sites and defending them.
Timing the Purchases
Just like in betting to win free CSGO skins, buying weapons at the right time is the key to sealing a win in most games. If a team picks what kind of buy they will go with, then it will lead to either a loss or a win in a round. Depending on how well teams play their games, timing the use of money is crucial in winning matches.
CTs need to save the most of their money early in the game simply because the weapons, equipment and other gear are much more expensive compared to the Terrorists’. $3750 is the lowest amount needed to buy an M4 with armour and no helmet for CTs. It costs $4100 to go full armour.
For Terrorists, $3700 is enough to ensure them with an AK-47 and full armour. The AK is a heavy favourite in the game simply because a single headshot from the gun results in an instant kill. AWP players, on the other hand, require players to save up more money since it costs $5750 with full armour.
This makes tracking of round rewards and loss bonuses very crucial in winning games in the long run. Pro players usually use their money to slowly upgrade their weapons one round after another, so it is very crucial to stay focused and ready in every round.
Most of the time, if a team wins the pistol round, they are set to go for an Anti Eco run in the next one. This also puts them in a great spot to win games as they look to cripple the economy of the losing side if they beat them again.
The next rounds will see them go for a full burst by spending all of their money. The winning team will then keep the pace going until the game ends, assuming that they still keep claiming victories down the stretch.
Teams are also very keen to make fewer mistakes as one kill on their side will cause a domino effect among other players. This is why managing the economy for most teams is very important considering that there are many factors which affect their chances of winning.
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Words: Paul Daniel Flores
