In CS2, rank restrictions can prevent you from playing with friends who are either much higher or lower ranked than you. If you’ve ever tried to join a game with someone and noticed you couldn’t, you’re not alone. So, what ranks can actually play together in CS2, and why do these restrictions exist? Here’s a full breakdown to help clarify the situation.
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Maximum Allowable Difference Between Ranks in CS2
Unfortunately, there’s no clear answer to this question. That’s because the exact rank difference between 2 players is something that Valve hasn’t talked anything about. So there is no way for us to give you a definitive answer on the exact number. Fortunately, we can test this by queueing up with players with different ranks.
Based on our testing and what we found on multiple Steam community discussions and Reddit forums, the maximum allowable rank difference between 2 players who can play together in a single lobby seems to lie somewhere around the 5000 mark. So if the difference between the rank of the lowest-ranked player in your lobby and the highest-ranked player exceeds 5000, you won’t be able to continue with the matchmaking.
However, you must take that number with a grain of salt. While most reports on the Internet do show that players exceeding a rank difference of 5000 weren’t able to play together and when the rank difference was under 5000 players could play together, certain reports don’t exactly follow this rule. That’s because the exact number also takes other variables into account.
One of those variables is the size of the lobby. The higher the number of players in your lobby, the higher the allowable rank difference between the lowest-ranked player and the highest-ranked player. In some instances, players have reported being able to play together with a maximum rank difference of up to 10,000 while in a 5-player lobby.
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Conclusion
While there’s no official word on the exact rank limits in CS2, many players and reports suggest that the maximum rank difference allowed for matchmaking is roughly between 5,000 and 10,000 Elo points. So, if you’re looking to play with friends, try to keep your ranks within this range to ensure you can join the same match.
