It’s almost impossible not to get reported in CSGO if you’re a good player or if you’re hacking. While we strongly condemn the latter, there’s always a way back to the righteous path.

Every time you get reported in CSGO or do any negative activity like kicking players for that matter, your trust factor takes a hit. Not only this, but your actions in the Steam Community and even in other games also affect your trust factor.

So what is this trust factor? Why is it so important and most importantly, why should you be concerned about yours? Read on to find out.

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What is the Trust Factor?

The first step towards improving the trust factor is understanding how it works. Ever since CSGO went free to play, the hacker problem which was already quite big, exploded. There was no penalty to hacking as one could always create another free account and join the game right away.

Valve came up with a system called the Trust Factor to combat this problem. Players who get reported often and indulge in other harmful activities get their trust factor reduced. This allows the matchmaking system to match players with similar trust factors.

This keeps the hackers and griefers out of genuine, serious players’ games and puts them up against, you guessed it, other hackers or players with a low trust factor.

While this system works most of the times, sometimes players with lower trust factors might lobby with players having a better one. In such cases, you might end up with a hacker in your lobby.

Valve has put systems into place to avoid this from happening. This involves handing out party member penalties to players who lobby with any player who eventually gets banned. Regardless it’s a common occurrence.

All this can often land clean players with trust factor issues, especially if your opponents rage-report you. Don’t worry; there are ways you can fix your trust factor.

Also read: How to get better at CSGO (Counter Strike Global Offensive)?

How to fix Trust factor?

• Stop hacking: First up, if you’re hacking, stop it right away. It ruins the game for everyone and you will eventually be caught by Overwatch or VACnet and will be handed a permanent ban. However, it’s not uncommon for good players to get reported for no reason. Nothing is more frustrating (and satisfying) than the opponent thinking you’re a hacker just because you have more map knowledge and skill than them.
• Avoid other bans: Make sure you don’t have any other game bans on your account. What you do on Steam, in general, affects your trust factor by quite a lot. If you’ve already been banned in another game, you will already have a low trust factor.
• Contribute to the Steam community: This also works the other way around. If you’ve got a very low trust factor, we suggest you put CS aside for some time and play other games on Steam. Contribute to the community or even write game reviews. All this will increase your Steam account level, and that helps in regaining your trust factor.
• Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator: Also, ensure that you have Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator enabled and your phone number linked to your account. This is an obvious thing; however, if you’re a new player, this can really make a difference.

• Prime Account Status: Last but not least, make sure your account is upgraded to Prime status. You can either buy your Prime status for ₹1049 or play the game until you reach XP level 21. Having prime boosts your trust factor and gives you access to exclusive perks as well.

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