If you want to get better at CS:GO you need to make an effort. The best way to do that is by training the different skills utilized in CS:GO. In this guide, I will be going over the different practice maps used.

Practice Maps

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a very wide range of different workshop maps that can be used to get better at the game. In this section of our guide, I will be going over which ones I prefer for the different tasks. You should try to consistently work on the different aspects of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive so that one skill doesn’t end up lagging behind.

Warming up

My preferred way of warming up before I start playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is to go into the workshop map called Fast Aim / Reflex Training. The way the map works is by having the player stand in the middle of the map, the bots then run towards the player. I like to kill 100 bots with AK-47, 100 bots with M4, and 100 bots with Deagle. The Fast Aim / Reflex Training map can be downloaded from the Steam Workshop here.

Aiming

Training your aim is a swift way to get better at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The most common way most people train it is by either going into the workshop map Aim_Botz which can be downloaded here. If you prefer playing against real opponents, you can go into a community deathmatch server instead. The amount of bots/people I kill per session depends a lot on how much time I have to do it. When I was at my peak (level 10 on Faceit), I was shooting around 2000 – 3000 bots each day. If you are new to training your aim, you might want to start out slow, so you don’t end up burning out.

AWPing

My preferred way of training the AWP is to go into the Fast Aim / Reflex Training map and flicking between targets. After that, I like to go into a deathmatch server and kill 100 – 200 players. While that has been said, I am not the main AWPer on my team, so try to find something that fits you!

Recoil

Training the recoil of the different Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapons is a very good way to learn how to spray with them. Luckily a couple of different workshop maps exist to help you learn. My preferred workshop map is the Yprac Aim Arena which can be downloaded here. Another map that can be used to learn the recoil of weapons is Recoil Master which can be downloaded here. The difference between the two maps is very minimal, so both can be used with pretty much the same skill increase.

Utility

Training your utility usage can be done in two different ways. My preferred way is going into a private server and using a practice config to set up the server so that I can run around testing out utilities that I have either seen on the internet or in games.

The second way to learn more utility is to use the Yprac workshop maps, which has a mode where they show you the lineups of smoke grenades, flashbangs and molotovs. The Yprac workshop maps can be downloaded from here.

Movement

Movement is a skill that is very hard to directly train, it is something that for most people comes with time. If you have time to spare and want to work on your movement, you should go into the community server browser and look for a bhop, kz (climb) or surf server. Those types of servers can help you master moving around on the map.

Another alternative is to use the Yprac maps peeking and stutter stepping game mode.

The Yprac workshop maps can be downloaded here.

Practice Routine

Creating a routine for when you train what can be a great idea to keep track of what to train and when. Under you can see an example of how I would schedule a practice routine that takes 1 hour a day 5 days of the week. Depending on how much time you have available you can adapt it to fit you. Try to always have a few breaks in between so that you don’t just end up tunnel visioning and wasting your training time.

All the maps used can be found under the different sections.

Monday

The purpose of Monday is to practice your ability to headshot players easily when playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This is done by focusing on hitting a headshot on players/bots. Don’t be discouraged if your K/D is sub 1. Try to always focus on yourself when playing deathmatch, since there is such a big difference between the different players playing. If you aren’t that confident in your aim, you can go into an HS only deathmatch, if you are confident then you should go into a normal deathmatch, just make sure that you try to get a headshot as much as possible.

10 minutes warm-up. 25 minutes of focused aim training in Aim_Botz. 25 minutes of FFA HS only deathmatch.

Tuesday

Tuesday is the day where you train your spray control. This is done by going into a recoil control map. After that, you should train your spray transfer. Lastly, you should go into a deathmatch to practice on moving players.

10 minutes warm-up. 20 minutes of recoil training in Recoil Master / Yprac Aim Arena. 10 minutes of spray transfer training in Aim_Botz. 20 minutes of FFA deathmatch to practice what you have learned on real players.

Wednesday

Wednesday is used to train your utility usage. Even though it can be boring to train utility it is a very good idea to still do it. You can either choose to focus on one map or multiple. If your utility usage is lacking, then you should focus on learning the basic smokes of each map (Mirage A CT, stairs and jungle. Inferno CT on B and coffin, heaven on Overpass e.g.)

10 minutes warm-up. 50 minutes of training utility on different maps. Try to learn a few new throws every time.

Thursday

On Thursday you train your general handling of Counter-Strike: Global Offensives weapons

10 minutes warm-up. 25 minutes of focused aim training in Aim_Botz. 25 minutes of retake.

Friday

10 minutes warm-up 10 minutes of Aim_Botz training with a pistol. 20 minutes of playing on an HS only pistol deathmatch. 20 minutes of playing on a normal pistol only deathmatch.

Saturday

If you need a rest day you should take it here. Otherwise, I would follow the same plan as Monday. Alternatively, you can train your AWPing skills here. Training your AWPing skills is most efficient by either playing deathmatch or retake. I prefer deathmatch because of the number of players. You can warm up your AWPing skills by going into the Fast Aim / Reflex map and flicking around.

Sunday

If you need a rest day you should take it here. Otherwise, I would follow the same plan as Thursday.

Conclusion

Even though it might seem like a long way, with enough effort you will reach your goals. Nothing is off-limits when you put an effort into it. Just don’t expect to become s1mple in one day!

Remember to set your game to 64 tickrate if you are practicing for matchmaking. If you play Faceit or ESEA instead, then you should have it at 128 tickrate.

To set your launch options go into your steam library, right-click on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive -> properties -> set launch options and after that input the settings you want. For 128 tickrate you need to write “-tickrate 128”, “-tickrate 64” is used for 64 tickrate (matchmaking).

Other Guides

I am currently doing a series on how to improve in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. I am planning on writing about everything from aiming to game sense so that as many people as possible can reach Global Elite as possible.

You can check out our guide on improving your aim in CS:GO here.

You can check out our guide on how to improve your movement here.

You can check out our guide on the mindset of good CS:GO players here.