Counter-Strike 2 returned to the franchise’s roots by introducing MR12 in the competitive mode. It’s arguably the biggest change so far in the game, and it has caused quite a stir among the community. Many wonder whether the game’s economy can support it properly, and FaZe Clan’s ropz doesn’t think so.
The star player claimed the economy “is definitely not in a good place to support MR12,” in an interview with Dot Esports on Sept. 12 ahead of ESL Pro League Season 18’s Group C.
Ropz said pistol rounds will have “a very large impact” on the economy moving forward, and will be even more important to win in CS2. “When you lose a pistol [round], I think it’s gonna have a tremendous effect on how the game shapes up. And when you lose both of the pistols, it’s like half of the game can be done for you,” said ropz.
Additionally, ropz thinks pistol rounds are often even and hard to predict. “In a bigger picture, they’re very 50/50 and it always comes down to people who, you know, have better form or [are hitting their] shots way more.”
In the eyes of the FaZe star, lowering the impact of pistol rounds would be beneficial for CS2, but another possible change worth looking into is a “hard reset of the loss bonus, starting at $1,400.”
As of now, the loss bonus isn’t hard reset, but rather each tier of it is lowered with each round you win until you reach $1,400 or start losing again. With such mechanics in place, teams are allowed many more force buys and can supplement themselves with certain equipment each round.
Ropz isn’t the only pro to support changes to the economy following the MR12 change. Heroic’s cadiaN has a similar feeling, telling Dot Esports: “I’m not against MR12, but I think it’s going to require some changes to the economy.”
If we’re fortunate enough, Valve will address these fears somehow, and possibly alter the CS2 format. Although looking at how ropz is widely recognized as a Valve developer himself (he didn’t want to admit it when we asked), he should have no trouble passing some of his feedback to the rest of the dev team.
