CS2 Season Two: What You Need to Know

Last week Valve announced one piece of breaking news, that is sure to shake up the world of Counter Strike: ranked premier season 2 will be starting next week. This has taken many gamers by surprise, and not without a good reason. Everyone wants to have the highest CS rating achieved and players got attached to their ELO in this premier season as a reflection of their individual skill.

So, what can we expect in CS2 premier season 2? Here at Skincashier we’ll answer all of your questions and help you prepare for the new CS2 premier season!

Also, if you need money to prepare your inventory for the next season, make sure to visit Skincashier, where you can always sell CS skins and cash out your inventory!

29.01.2025: Did you experience the ‘Game Mode Locked’ error while starting up ranked? That’s because CS2 Premier season 2 has already been released! Check out the rest of our article for all the changes introduced with the new season!

What Will Happen to My Premier Season Rank?

The number one thing that players are worried about is their premier rank. After all, many of the players have spent months grinding out their rank in competitive CS game modes. This applies in particular to the players in higher ranks, who played at the equivalent of Global Elite and above.

The bad news is that premier season 2 will include rank recalibration, meaning that you’ll have to complete placement matches again. This shouldn’t affect your CS2 ranks standing too much though, since your next rank won’t differ radically from your previous one. This means that you won’t be able to make a jump from Silver to Legendary Eagle, but if you don’t to so hot in your placement matches you won’t fall down too drastically either.

However, if you’re attached to your premier season ELO, you’ll be happy to learn that every player who participated in ranked CS2 matches in the previous season will receive a commemorative premier season one medal, which will work as a permanent reminder of their performance in the prior ranked season. More than just an aesthetic upgrade, your premier season medal will be visible in your CS profile, and will forever commemorate your performance in the prior season. By clicking on the season medal you’ll have access to a plethora of information telling you how you did last premier season, together with your win and loss ratio, most played maps, final rank, and many more.

Season one is going to conclude next week, and there will be a single day of break between ranked seasons in premier. Season 2 will run all the way until the next Austin Major, one of the biggest CS2 tournaments.

What Other Changes Will Be Added in Premier Season 2?

What other new features will be added to the game with premier season 2? While we don’t know yet the exact specifics, Valve revealed a sneak peek of what’s to come. Here is what we know so far:

Vertigo Replaced by Train in the Active Duty Pool

One of the major changes introduced in the premier season 2 is a change to the active duty map pool. Most importantly, Vertigo is leaving the active duty pool to be replaced with Train. This change is very welcome, as many players have been complaining about Vertigo for a longer time now, and it was probably the least liked active duty map.

While lack of balance was one thing, the possible fall deaths were annoying, making it particularly difficult to win on lower ranks, where a single player randomly dying is a serious drawback to any team. In contrast. Train has been a long-time player favorite, with corridors for and multiple levels for intense close-quarter combat, as well as large and open areas perfect for CS2 snipers.

M4A4 Price Reduction

The popular CS2 assault rifle which is a staple of the CT team’s inventory will receive another price cut, once again making it $100 cheaper and dropping its price to the same level as its silenced counterpart, M4A1-S. This is meant to balance the CT team CS economy, making it slightly cheaper for them to obtain the assault rifle without having to consider the price tag, but instead allowing the players to choose the gun they feel more comfortable with. We’re yet to see how this will affect ranked CS2 gameplay, but it should make the CT team’s job just a little bit earlier.

Famas Buffs

Continuing with some CT help, the Famas received an upgrade, making this budget option more useful mid-game. Besides a price reduction to only $1950, the gun also got a significant standing and crouching accuracy buff. This is another tweak by Valve meant to make the CT gameplay slightly more forgiving and less reliant on a perfect understanding of CS economy.

AUG and SG Scope Buff

Both AUG and SG 553 are less popular than their cheaper counterparts M4A4 and AK-47. While the Aug and SG both feature scopes that make them more effective at long-range, many experienced players simply opt for the unscoped versions, which can be just as effective at long-range in skilled hands. To make AUG and SG 553 more attractive to players valve improved the aiming dot in the scope of both of the weapons, making them more useful at longer range.

MP9, MP5-SF, and MP7 Nerf

The final change introduced initially in this season is a significant nerf to three of the most popular CS SMGs: MP9, MP5-SF, and MP7. In order to balance the game’s pace and economy, the SMGs have their ranged capabilities slightly nerfed. While they are still very useful up-close, players who want to fight at longer ranges early on will be forced to select other weapons, adding some diversity to the ranked gameplay and forcing players to make significant tactical choices.

In Conclusion

As you can see, the new premier mode season in Counter-Strike will bring some significant changes. If you want to keep up with what’s going on in the game, make sure to follow our blog for more regular updates, news, tricks, and CS guides!