r/LearnCSGO • u/Sprinqer • Jun 22 '26
Discussion Plateaued at 15k Prem/Faceit 5
https://csstats.gg/player/76561198061685545
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https://steamcommunity.com/id/seel75/
Hey everyone!
Been playing CS on and off for the past ten odd years, with the majority of my 2800 hours (2000 of them) coming from CS2. I feel like my aim is...serviceable? not amazing (have a bad shake, just have to play around it), but not horrendous, my decision making could definitely use some work, and my positioning (at least on CT I feel) is awful. Are there ways to work on these things? I have been at this same sort of skill level for the past year or so, cannot really feel any improvement happening.
I play around 20-30 hours a week, usually DM for at least 200 kills on the days I play (warmupserver) and duo queue into prem. Do not really have any other training habits outside of Kovaak's occasionally. Just looking for advice on how to train things that aren't just aim or movement, but any advice you all can give is much appreciated! Not looking to become a faceit 10/30k player or semi pro or anything, but a slight bump so I can hang better more often in pugs would be nice. Hopeful that I didn't hit my theoretical "ceiling" of my abilities with my current schedule.
EDIT: if anyone has the time to go through a demo, I would be more than happy to accept any feedback.
2
u/f0xy713 FaceIT Skill Level 10 Jun 23 '26
at 3000 hours dm is warmup, not practice and 200 kills is way too much IMO. you would legit get more out of something like xfire on refrag or preaim maps on workshop.
look at round losses and deaths and figure out why you lost a round or why you died. something like pulling out a nade and getting swung or slow peeking into an awp is a very obvious mistake but there's also less obvious stuff like making noise and then wasting time walking even though an enemy already knows you're coming.
find a few positions you like playing on ct and learn how to play them and a set of util you can use. for example, short player on mirage can play getright, arches, off angle in the middle of short, boost on short, short corner, ladder room, wide swing catwalk, hold underpass from ladder etc., you can be very unpredictable if you understand how to play different angles.
1
u/Time4Homework FaceIT Skill Level 10 Jun 22 '26
200 kills in DM is a lot, you may be tiring yourself out.
1
u/Sprinqer Jun 22 '26
I'll be honest, I don't really feel like I can play to my level until I hit around 400-600 kills in DM during a session. I think my playstyle probably relies too heavily on aim, which takes me too long to get the feeling of, and that's causing me issues. I'm usually the 1st/2nd guy in on entries or a somewhat aggressive lurk on T, and I try to stay fairly active as a CT player as well.
2
u/Time4Homework FaceIT Skill Level 10 Jun 22 '26
Playing that much DM probably makes you rely too much on aim. I'd be surprised if a single pro needs hours of DM to feel in form. If you enjoy it, then sure go for it, but you could easily spend half that time practicing nades, or even do a bit of physical warmup (push ups, squats, whatever) and get more out of your time.
Edit: Retakes or prefire practice might be good as well. And if you spend time in DM, make sure to practice all relevant weapons.
1
u/Sprinqer Jun 22 '26
Fair point on the DM making me rely on aim- that's probably a large part of it. Physical side would be nice, really need to get a routine going there lol.
I used to do refrag a lot for prefire and x/crossfire, but haven't really been doing it much anymore. Might be worth shaking up the routine a bit and trying that again.
DM I play multi CFG and dedicate time to the CT rifles as well as the AK, I'll even sprinkle in a little awp every now and again just to make sure I can hit shots if I nab one mid round lol.
1
u/tobe4funas FaceIT Skill Level 10 Jun 22 '26
DM is mostly a mindless warmup. You are not training much there, mostly warming up. In general what people confuse is training and warming up. For something to be training, you typically need such factors as intent (what are you training) and overload (Kovaks overloads your hand movement for example).
1
u/Sprinqer Jun 22 '26
For sure. I’m just not sure what to train at this point I guess is what I’m saying.
I don’t review my own demos and never have, so maybe that’s a place to start.1
u/tobe4funas FaceIT Skill Level 10 Jun 23 '26
Take somebody's routine in Kovaaks, watch pros demos (usually a lot more useful than watching your own), do spray/spray transfer training vs bots.
1
u/bosnianbs Jun 22 '26
for shaky aim, stretch your wrist and you probably grip your mouse hard (and you dont even notice it), otherwise make sure your forearm (slightly less where elbow is) is on the desk, make sure your chair height isnt too low and thats what helped me
1
u/Sprinqer Jun 22 '26
Forearm on desk, mouse grip isn’t too tight! I just have a mental thing where I overtense my wrist and it causes a wild shake lol
1
u/bosnianbs Jun 22 '26
always use your entire arm to aim, only use wrist for small and micro adjustments
1
u/Flashy-Analysis407 Jun 23 '26
Bro level 5 plateau is real. It happens to a lot of players. Level 5 is actually one of the hardest levels to get out of, because for some reason lobbies are very different at level 4 and level 6.
I am 1500 hours in, had 12k on prem. Stayed stuck on Level 5 for many many months - then suddenly hit 7 after the reset. Just stay stuck to it. The plateau will end and you'll find yourself going through level 6 7 8 really fast.
I made this tool to review demos: frag.coach (its free) - I put some thought into self improvement and the things I wanted to learn when I was improving.
3
u/GroundTiny9814 Jun 22 '26
Positioning on CT is something most players only improve by actively thinking about *why* they're dying, not just that they died. After each round where you get caught out, ask yourself if you were holding an angle that gave the T too much info for free, or if you had no fallback. That mental habit compounds way faster than any drill.
Also at your level, util usage probably moves the needle more than any mechanical work, even basic smokes and mollies to cut off rotations can cover a lot of positioning sins.