A 1v1 battle is a proving ground for players to showcase their skill and manifest ultimate superiority over their friends or suffer the worst kind of embarrassment. But on a serious note, playing a 1v1 is a great way to practice and train your gaming skills, especially when the game is a competitive title shooter. This is why in this guide we will teach you the best ways how to play a 1v1 in CSGO.
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How to Create a 1v1 Game in CS:GO
If you want to play a 1v1 against a friend of yours, the best way to do it is by creating a custom game in CS:GO. It’s simple to set up and play, all you need is the map, a list of commands, and a friend to play against.
But first, you’ll need to make sure that you have your developer console enabled. Once you’ve done that, follow our setups below to create a custom 1v1 game in CS:GO:
- In the game mode selection choose either “Practice with bots” (for standard maps) or “Workshop Maps” (for custom workshop maps)
- Choose a map (we recommend 1v1 Nuke)
- Open the console and paste the 1v1 commands (all the commands are listed below)
- Pick different teams and you are good to go!
CS:GO 1v1 Console Commands
Below are all the commands you need for a comfortable 1v1 match. You can alter and tweak them if you know what they do. But if you are new to commands, just leave it as it is. There’s not much to be changed anyway.
mp_round_restart_delay 5; |
mp_maxrounds 30; |
mp_roundtime 50000; |
mp_match_can_clinch 1; |
mp_overtime_enable 1; |
bot_kick; |
mp_freezetime 2; |
mp_ignore_round_win_conditions 0; |
mp_limitteams 1; |
mp_weapons_allow_map_placed 0; |
mp_death_drop_gun 0; |
sv_infinite_ammo 2; |
mp_free_armor 1; |
mp_startmoney "16000" |
mp_t_default_secondary weapon_glock; |
mp_ct_default_secondary weapon_usp_silencer; |
mp_t_default_primary weapon_ak47; |
mp_ct_default_primary weapon_m4a1; |
mp_halftime 1; |
mp_halftime_duration 5; |
mp_warmup_end; |
mp_restartgame 1; |
Additionally, players can also save the commands in the config file for convenience.
- Create a text document and name it 1v1commands.cfg.
- Edit the file with the notepad and paste all the commands there.
- Paste the file to your CS:GO config folder: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo\cfg.
- When in the game, type
exec 1v1commandsin the console to execute all the commands at the same time.
How to 1v1 on Arena Servers in CS:GO
We briefly mentioned that a 1v1 is a great way to train and warm up in CSGO. However, if you play dozens of 1v1’s against that one friend, it quickly becomes repetitive and pointless.
Fortunately, players can join servers to play and practice against others.
What is an Arena Server in CS:GO?
This is why a great way of having a 1v1 in CSGO is by jumping on arena community servers. Arena servers are dedicated 1v1 servers on which you play against a random player on a small map and whoever wins, moves up the arena. For example, you will start on Arena 10, and then you win 3 1v1’s in a row you will end up on Arena 7.
It’s a very convenient way to play 1v1s. But if you are a low-rank player (lower than Gold Nova 3) you may find it very challenging. The players there for the most part are of Master Guardian rank and higher, and their shooting skills are appropriately decent.
The pros of the arena servers:
- You play against the players of a similar skill level
- Fights are super quick (10-20 seconds each)
- You don’t have to worry about resetting your server, setting up map rules, etc.
The cons of the arena servers:
- Custom servers may have certain rules that adjust gameplay
- The barrier of entry can be a bit high (players on such servers are usually of a Master Guardian rank and higher)
How to Find an Arena Server in CS:GO
There are many 1v1 Arena servers in different regions and in CSGO you can easily find all of them via the community server browser.
To find and join the community 1v1 server:
- In-game mode selection choose “Community server browser”
- In the tag bar below type in “Arena” or “1v1”.
- Select a server with a decent amount of players and low ping and press “Connect”
- The game will download the necessary resources and join the server.
Make sure to follow the rules of community servers to not get banned. And take your time exploring the features of the server by typing “/help” or looking at the information in the chat.
These servers will have menus to change your weapon, preferred type of rounds (regular, pistol, sniper, knife), and even change your skins!
