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A few weeks ago, Valve decided to reduce the price of the negev down to $2000 in an effort to test it in ranked gameplay. Although at first the community was in an uproar at how the negev would be cheaper than the primary rifles, the situation has stabilized now. According to Valve, the negev was designed to be a suppressive fire weapon and its large magazine and accurate spray after the first 10 bullets reinforce this idea. At its original price of $5800, the negev was simply not cost efficient and was only bought when a team was winning by a lot and had plenty of money to spare.
Currently the negev is seeing more playing time during ranked games, however most people at higher levels are still purchasing the primary riles in the AKs and M4s. The biggest presence of the negev comes at the lower ranks where the weapon reigns supreme due to the lower skill level. The negev becomes laser accurate after the first few bullets have been fired and the 150 bullet magazines allows players at lower levels to dish out a lot more damage than other weapons. Added on to this fact, the negev has high armor penetration and is effective for shooting through thin walls and objects making it good for spamming. This advantage turns at the higher levels because players are much quicker at killing opponents and the inaccuracy of the first few bullets of the negev becomes a huge disadvantage at this level.
However, that does not mean the negev does not have a place in the higher levels of matchmaking. The weapon is extremely potent in chokepoints for the Counter Terrorists especially in areas such as tunnels leading to Bombsite B on Dust 2. One player can hold off an entire team of rushing enemies with a negev. Even if the enemies are not rushing the negev can be used to keep enemies at bay by spamming through tunnels with its large bullet count. In the end, the negev has become more prevalent in CSGO, but only as a situational weapon that players should consider purchasing.
