As with so many things about Valve’s peerless team-based shooter, CSGO ranks are hard to wrap your head around when starting out. There is little in the way of in-game explanations to help you figure out how to get started with CSGO rankings. It doesn’t help that earning your stripes will take a lot longer than in other competitive first-person shooters like Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch, either.

CSGO has continued to grow, now touting a concurrent player count of over one million during peak hours. That means there are a lot of new players learning the ropes and trying to adjust to one of the best PC games of all time. With 18 CSGO ranks, a lengthy road to getting ranked, and then the never-ending task of improving your rank lying ahead of you, we thought you could use a helping hand in the unforgiving multiplayer game – here is a breakdown of CSGO’s ranking system.

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