Do You Need Prime To Get A Rank In CS2?

Every Counter-Strike player has probably heard of the “Prime Status” upgrade, which has been a crucial feature that reshaped the way Counter-Strike matches and game quality has worked. The most common question brought up surrounding the Prime Status is whether players can partake in ranked matchmaking and receive a rank medal without the upgrade.

The Prime upgrade in Counter-Strike 2 is an exclusive feature that will grant players protected by it with several benefits. The main advantages players can enjoy are related to matchmaking and receiving weekly item drops. 

Valve placed heavy emphasis on the Prime Upgrade shortly after Counter-Strike became a free-to-play game. They have done this to ensure no malicious players will constantly create accounts to ruin games by using cheats or intentionally griefing their teammates.

The Prime Status was essentially used to improve the quality of matches in Counter-Strike by weeding out unwanted players that have easy access to the game since it is free. Valve is looking to maintain a healthy player base, choosing quality over quantity, but still gives new players the ability to try the game for free before creating a financial commitment.

The answer is yes. You must have the Prime Status to be able to play in Counter-Strike’s ranked game modes. Valve has put a paywall blocking players from playing ranked matchmaking for free to ensure that the ranked environment consists of serious players only. 

The Prime Status makes the ranked scene in Counter-Strike more competitive and less vulnerable to issues such as griefing and hacking, which can easily be found in the game’s unranked modes. 

With the Prime upgrade, players will immediately receive access to all Counter-Strike game modes, including ranked ones such as Competitive, Wingman, Danger Zone, and Premier mode. 

Of course, after playing the required number of matches on the respective game modes, you will receive a rank that reflects your current skill level. You can use your rank to have a good idea of where you’re at and compare it to other players such as your friends.

Unfortunately, the Prime Status upgrade is not free in Counter-Strike. Players must pay $14.99 to have their accounts protected by it. 

The Prime upgrade can be purchased through the in-game client, or the Steam Store page. Keep in mind that you are directly with Valve, so there is no way that you will get scammed. 

You should also know that the Prime Status is a one-time purchase, meaning the upgrade is permanent. Getting Prime is not a monthly subscription or anything like that. The only way the upgrade would get removed from your account is if you have been VAC banned for cheating. 

However, there is an exception where players can get the Prime status for “free”. Back then, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was a paid game where players had to pay $14.99 to play. So, Valve has essentially rewarded all Steam accounts that initially paid for CS:GO with a Prime Status upgrade, acting as a little refund and thank-you gift for believing in the game before everyone else did. 

Yes, the financial commitment you must make isn’t solely to receive access to ranked game modes. After purchasing Prime, you can expect two additional benefits:

Weekly Care Packages

Players protected by Prime will be eligible to receive free weekly rewards in the form of item drops. After playing the required number of matches per week, Prime players will be given a “Weekly Care Package,” which consists of in-game drops such as weapon cases, skins, and graffiti. 

These items can be sold off to the Steam Community Market for Steam Wallet balance. After collecting enough drops and selling them, you will eventually repay your $14.99 investment for buying the Prime Status upgrade. 

Higher Quality Matches

Playing in ranked matches will already ensure that the quality of matches will be higher, since it is less likely to have griefers and cheaters in say Competitive or Premier mode. However, higher match qualities are also applied to unranked matchmaking. Even in unranked game modes, Prime players will be placed in games with other Prime players, too. 

Still, there are some people who will buy the Prime Status upgrade just to ruin games, so you might expect to see some hackers from time to time. Still, the Prime Status has definitely done an exceptional job in reducing the frequencies of such cases from happening. 

In conclusion, yes, buying the Prime Status is extremely worth it if you’re planning to spend more than a hundred hours playing this game. We have to remember that the Prime Status is a one-time purchase that will last your entire lifetime. 

Most players spend thousands of hours on the game. Just imagine dividing $15 with a thousand and see how much money you’re actually spending on the Prime Upgrade corresponding to your total hours played.

It is also important to remind you that the Prime Status will give players weekly item drops which can be sold on the Steam Market. Getting these drops does not require any additional effort, as all you have to do is play the game. After collecting these drops for a couple of months, you would have already made the money back that you invested. 

If you are just starting out playing Counter-Strike, you do not have to purchase the Prime upgrade immediately. Get a good feel of the game through unranked game modes and think if you see yourself committing more time to playing.