One of the most unique features of Counter-Strike’s gameplay is the economy system. It’s what separates it from similar attack/defense games in the first-person shooter genre. It introduces unique opportunities for strategy and dynamic gameplay over the course of a MR12 match.
Managing economy is crucial, and a couple of important things to think about when managing economy in Counter-Strike 2 are both the Kill Rewards and Loss Bonus. These two mechanics will guide a lot of your decision-making when it comes to managing the economy side of the game. In this blog, we’ll be giving a crash course in how both of these mechanics function and what some general strategy might look like in your PUGs.
Kill Rewards
In CS2, each frag you get will land you what’s called a “Kill Reward”. A kill reward is a set amount of money you receive, and the amount you get depends on the weapon you use.
Below is a complete list of kill reward amounts, accurate to the time of publication of this blog.
- Pistols – $300
- Rifles (incl. scoped rifles) – $300
- LMGs (Negev, M249) – $300
- SMGs – $600
- Shotguns – $900
- Grenades – $300
A few weapons have their own unique kill rewards that are exceptions to that list. Those are:
- Zeus – $100
- Knife – $1500
- P90 – $300
- XM1014 (Auto Shotgun) – $600
- AWP – $100
As a general rule of thumb, as the difficulty of procuring a frag increases, so does the kill reward. Getting up close and personal with a shotgun, SMG or even a blade can net you a big cash reward to bring into future rounds. Rifles will all give you a flat $300 amount, besides the AWP, which has had its kill reward neutered to a meagre $100. Grenades, no matter the type, all net the same $300 reward.
Round Loss Bonus
Just as there’s a cash reward for winning rounds, there’s also a reward for losing them. Round Loss Bonus is an economy mechanic that’s designed to stop a match from snowballing out of control for one side. Round loss bonus increases in incrementally based on how many rounds you lose in a row, creating a sort of “catch-up” mechanic.
Below are the current round loss bonus amounts, accurate to the time of publication of this blog:
- 1 round loss – $1400
- 2 round losses – $1900
- 3 round losses – $2400
- 4 round losses – $2900
- 5 or more round losses – $3400
There is one important exception to this rule, and that’s the round loss bonus for pistol rounds. When losing a pistol round, your team will receive a bonus of $1900 instead of $1400.
General Strategy
When it comes to economy strategy, it’s easy to get deep in the weeds regarding when exactly to save, force buy, or otherwise. We might get into some more advanced economy strategy in a later blog post, but for now, let’s go over some general strategy for both managing round loss bonus and kill rewards.
Maximizing kill rewards
Maximizing kill reward is not something you will commonly be thinking about as a solo player. The reward for winning a round with a weak buy often manifests itself more in the way the game plays out rather than just the economy.
As a team however, you can maximize the economic benefit of kill rewards by planning accordingly. If you recognize you’re up against a full save, it’s most beneficial to let your SMG-wielding players take contact first. This is because SMGs chew through unarmored opponents with pistols and because they’ll farm kill reward money more effectively than those players wielding rifles would.
Planning ahead with loss bonus
Loss bonus is an integral part of Counter-Strike. What to do with your loss bonus depends on the context of the game, such as how much money you had to begin with, the other team’s economic status, and how many rounds are left in the game. Here’s a few general tips to keep in mind regarding managing your loss bonus:
$2000 rule
A good rule of thumb to use if you’re half-buying in the current round, but want enough money for a full-buy next round, is don’t buy below $2000. With a minimum of $2000, even with the 2nd increment of loss bonus, you’ll be able to afford a primary rifle and full kevlar.
Keep an eye on who was left alive
With the current economy meta, it takes multiple round wins to fully “break” the economy of the opposition. Even when you lose the round and may have a weak buy in the following round, if you manage to frag the majority of the opposition, their buy may be weaker than yours, depending on the context of the game.
Avoid the impulse pistol buy
When on a full-eco round, players often feel it’s worth it to purchase a Deagle, P250 or other pistols, because of how much more viable they are against a better equipped opponent. This is just generally a waste and should be avoided on full-eco rounds. That extra $300-$700 is better used to buy utility or a better weapon in the next full-buy round. That impulse pistol buy will have a negligible effect on your chance of winning the eco round, but it will affect your chances of winning the following round.
The biggest gains in skill are to be gained through repetitive practice, and while you might not be able to control what your teammates choose to buy when you solo queue, you can control what methods you choose to hone your skills. Refrag is the best way to strengthen your ability in all facets of CS2, and with code econ15 you can save 15% off of your initial subscription. Happy fragging!
