Since the release of CS2, fans were bored with its decade-old predecessor and hoped for a reset without any alteration in the fundamentals of the game. While CS2 brought a holistic improvement in all areas, toxicity remains a lingering problem that to this day remains impossible to deal with, and to make it worse, the CS community has integrated it into as part of the Counter Strike culture.
While at an esports level, Valorant is very strict in dealing with untoward actions of professional players, it would be a blatant lie to say that an average competitive game doesn’t have a shred of toxicity, although unlike CS, it is not as glorified nor pronounced, leading to a better image of the game from the outside.
The drastic measures taken by Valorant led everyone to believe that Valve would introduce something similar when launching CS2, but nothing significant has hit the servers that is actively working on reducing the immense toxicity that thrives in every layer of the game. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that it has become an integral part of the culture, and players can hardly finish a game without swearing at least once if not more.
What Counts as Toxicity in CS2?
As surprising as it sounds, little swearing is written off as normal behaviour by seasoned players, leading to normalisation of the toxic behaviour on a large scale. Toxicity is not limited only to swearing or verbal abuse. A player can ruin the vibe of a match without opening his microphone. Let’s look at some of the more common forms of toxicity in CS2.
- Verbal abuse in voice and text chat
- Teamkilling or griefing (e.g., trolling, throwing games)
- Kicking teammates unfairly
- AFKing or disconnecting due to frustration
- Harassment based on gender, rank, nationality, or skill
If you have been playing the game for a while, it is impossible not to cross a player who openly displays such traits, and while 3rd party platforms often take measures to limit such behaviour, they are being shown on such a large scale that half the active player base would have to sit out for a while if bans are implemented.
Why Does CS2 Feel More Toxic Than CS:GO?
The game being reset completely destabilised the ranking system. Not only did it bring down the higher-ranked players close to lower-ranked players, but it also presented players stuck in a certain rank to grind out and get ahead of the rest, leading to desperation from either side, which eventually leads to toxicity if things do not go their way.
- Desperation for climbing ranks.
- Rank reset mixing players from different ranks into the same lobbies.
- Absurd amount of smurf floating in matchmaking.
Rage queuing is something that can be attributed to toxicity in players. Losing streaks lead to frustrations and further deranks, and matches are filled with toxicity. While there is no definitive way to contain this, players need to be responsible on their own.
Community Feedback and Player Experiences
CS2 threads on Reddit have no shortage of stories depicting what the players had to face when playing the game.
- “Got kicked for missing one round of utility.”
- “Teammate flamed me for not buying an AWP.”
- “People are more egoistic and rude than they were in CS:GO.”
External Factors Amplifying the Problem
Streams and influencers depict toxic behaviour online in the name of content, and it subtly influences fans to replicate the same thing when they are playing.
Valve has largely failed to shut down the surfing issue, leading to these players playing in lower-ranked lobbies and therefore unbalancing the game’s level. This behaviour leads to genuine players feeling unwelcome in the game.
One can argue that these problems existed during the days of CS:GO, and it is true; however, the drastic increase can be attributed to the mixing of players of different levels into one due to the lack of stabilisation of ranks. While the stark increase of toxicity in CS2 is a thing but recency bias can also be a reason people perceive the latest iteration of the game to more toxicity.
Hate Towards Female Players
It is no secret that targeted abuse towards female gamers exists in every game, and CS is no exception. While this was present back in the days of CS:GO, CS2 has more female players. Toxicity in general is broadly unaddressed in general matchmaking, let alone targeted abuse towards women, as they are only left with the in-game report function, which is hardly of any help.
How Do 3rd-Party Platforms Deal With Toxicity?
While there are a plethora of platforms out there, FACEIT is broadly known to have taken significant measures against toxicity. Suffice it to say that implementation of a whole system was required to tackle the various ways toxicity has prevailed in the game, and FACEIT has managed to minimise it more than any other platform.
How does FACEIT tackle toxicity?
- Robust ANTICHEAT prevents surfing and multi-account use, leading to fair matchmaking and lesser frustration.
- Strict action against griefers and match leavers is prompting players to take matches seriously.
- Possible review of audiologs to track verbal abuse.
- Prompt action from FACEIT admins to pick out griefers mid-game.
Players Have To Be Responsible
No matter how many tools are implemented to prevent toxicity in the game, it will be next to impossible at this point unless players learn to be responsible and exhibit more mature behaviour towards fellow teammates. Everyone has bad days, but that is not an excuse to abuse a fellow teammate.
Yes, the game is unfair at times, matching you with teammates of a lower ELO or putting you in a match against opponents of higher ELO, but trying your best should be the option you take.
Verdict
It cannot be said that CS2 is categorically more toxic than CS:GO, but rather, toxicity is a problem that has travelled from iteration to iteration. While the developers have to implement strict and implement drastic measures to cut down on the toxicity, unless the players’ base chooses something else to vent their frustrations, CS will continue to be toxic.