Guide to Understand CS2 Economy

The Counter-Strike money system

The economy plays a major role in Counter-Strike gameplay. Money is used to buy various weapons, equipment, and utility. Having a lot of money set you up with more firepower to conquer the enemy. The maximum amount you can hold is $16000.

You receive money after each round regardless of winning or losing. The amount you get depends on your loss bonus and how the round played out. In addition, you collect money for each kill you make. The amount depends on the weapon used. Some weapons give significantly more than others.

In this article, you find an overview and explanation of the different rewards and bonuses you can receive when playing a competitive match. Knowing the numbers makes it easier for you to know what type of buy is the smartest to make.

Kill rewards

Pistols $300 (*CZ75-A $100)
Knife $1500
Rifles $300
SMG’s $600 (*P90 $300)
Shotguns $900
AWP $100
Grenade $300
Machine guns $300
Team kill -$300

Victory rewards

Killing all enemies gives $3250 for T and CT
When the time runs out CT gets $3250
When the bomb explodes T gets $3500
When the bomb is defused CT gets $3500

Objective rewards

When T loses but plants the bomb all players receive $800
The player planting or defusing the bomb receives $300

Loss bonuses

The CS2 economy has a loss bonus system that gives the losing team a gradual increase in reward. The reward is not getting higher after losing five rounds in a row. The increasing reward is created to make it easier for the losing team to catch up with the winning team. Each time you win a round the loss bonus goes one down the ladder.

• Pistol round loss: $1900
• One loss in a row: $1400
• Two losses in a row: $1900
• Three losses in a row: $2400
• Four losses in a row: $2900
• Five losses in a row: $3400

Five types of buy rounds

Besides the pistol round where you only start with $800, you have five buy options to choose from. The decision for what to buy is highly influenced by the team’s total amount of money and the in-game situation. Sometimes it can be unclear what the best buy would be. Understanding the different buy types should help the decision become more clear.

Eco

An eco round also referred to as save rounds is when you buy little to no items. The strategy is to save most of the money for the next round. The most common purchases in eco rounds are Kevlar, grenades, and pistols. Eco’s should not last longer than one round.
When playing terrorists your main goal should be to get the bomb planted to receive the $800 extra per person. Playing counter-terrorists your main goal should be to do as much damage as possible and take away as many weapons as you can. It’s common for CT to stack one of the bomb sites while making a distraction on the other.

Anti-Eco

An Anti-eco is used when you know the enemy in on an eco round. The strategy is to get as much money as possible out of the round to build a strong economic foundation. You do this by taking advantage of the enemy’s vulnerability who has a weak buy with low firepower and often no armor. This makes the use of SMGs or shotguns, which carries a higher kill reward, easier to use for collecting more money. Make sure to buy some utility to prevent the enemy from surprising you with a desperate strategy.

Full buys

A full buy is when all team members have armor, great weapons and full utility. Sometimes you also have money for an upgraded pistol. A full buy is a perfect scenario to be in as it opens up the possibility to do better strategies on attacking or defending the bomb sites.
The terrorists need at least $4700 to get a full buy while the counter-terrorists need at least $4900. Depending on the exact weapon and utility the costs will vary.

Half buys

Half buys are when your team spends half of the money to make sure to have enough money to get a full buy in the next round. Half buys are mainly used when you lose a few rounds in a row. Having more money than your teammates it’s normal to support them with weapons and utility. Most often you will half buy to $2000. If you possess $3700 at the start of the round you can buy full armor and a Deagle which can do huge damage and even win rounds that otherwise were not seen as likely to win.

Force buys

Force rounds are when your team does not have enough money for a full buy and it makes sense economically to spend all the money trying to win the round. It’s important that you and all your teammates agree to force buy or the whole team economy is risked to be ruined. In some cases, it makes sense to let one player save his money to buy an AWP later.
If you lose the pistol round when playing terrorist but manage to plant the bomb it can be a great idea to force buy since the CT won’t have enough money for a full buy and you have money for SMG’s and great utility.