CS2 Skin Glossary

A 0.00–1.00 decimal hard-coded at drop time that determines how visually worn a skin looks. Lower float = sharper, less scratched; higher float = more visible wear. Float maps to one of five wear brackets (Factory New through Battle-Scarred) and is one of the two biggest price drivers alongside pattern.

The cleanest wear bracket — float range 0.00–0.07. Skins in FN look brand-new with no visible scratches or texture damage. Typically the most expensive wear, though knives and patterns often command bigger price gaps than wear differences for the same skin.

Float range 0.07–0.15. Light scratches visible up close but the skin still reads as new at gameplay distance. Usually the best price-to-look ratio: 30–50% cheaper than FN with minimal visual difference on most finishes.

Float range 0.15–0.38. Clearly worn but the design is still fully recognisable. The most-traded wear by volume — most casual buyers default here for the best balance of price vs aesthetics.

Float range 0.38–0.45. Heavy scratching, faded paint, large worn patches. Cheaper than FT but visibly damaged. Some skins (Asiimov, Hyper Beast) are designed to look intentional in WW — others lose their identity entirely.

Float range 0.45–1.00. Maximum visible wear — heavy paint loss, deep scratches, faded colours. Cheapest tier for most skins. Best value for skins where the design tolerates damage; worst for clean colour-block designs that fall apart.

The maximum and minimum float a specific skin can roll. Most skins span the full 0.00–1.00 range but some finishes are capped — e.g. Doppler floats max at 0.08 (FN/MW only), AWP Asiimov starts at 0.18 (no FN), Karambit Lore tops at 0.78.

The colour-coded scarcity grade Valve assigns to each finish. From most common to rarest: Consumer (white), Industrial (light blue), Mil-Spec (blue), Restricted (purple), Classified (pink), Covert (red), Contraband (gold) plus the special-item Rare (gold) tier for knives and gloves.

The 'blue' rarity. Drops 79.92% of the time from a case opening — the most common unlock. Mil-Spec skins are typically priced $0.10–$5. The rarity that pays most of the trade-up contract economy.

The 'purple' rarity. Drops 15.98% per case. Mid-tier finishes — typically $1–$20 range, occasionally pushing higher for popular designs (Glock Water Elemental, P90 Asiimov).

The 'pink' rarity. Drops 3.20% per case. Often the standout designs in any given case (P250 Asiimov, AWP Atheris). Typically $5–$50 range; expensive when StatTrak or in Factory New.

The 'red' rarity. Drops 0.64% per case — the rarest non-knife unlock. Usually the iconic skin a case is known for (AK-47 Asiimov, M4A4 Howl pre-Contraband, AWP Hyper Beast). Typical range $30–$5000+ depending on case age and demand.

The 'gold/orange' rarity reserved for skins withdrawn by Valve. The only Contraband in CS2 is the M4A4 | Howl — moved from Covert after a copyright dispute in 2014. Supply is fixed forever; FN copies trade for $5K–$50K.

The 0.26% knife/gloves slot in case openings. Hits roll a random knife (or glove in glove-cases) from the case's pool, with a separate ~10% StatTrak modifier. The economic engine of high-end CS2 trading.

An optional kill-counter modifier that drops independently at ~10% probability per unbox. The counter increments only while the player holding the skin gets a kill with that weapon. StatTrak typically commands a 30–100% premium over the standard version.

A Major-tournament drop variant. Souvenir packages drop to viewers during live CS Majors and unbox into a guaranteed skin from that map's collection with autographed stickers of the players and team that produced the highlight. Often 10–1000× the value of the regular version.

An integer 0–1000 hard-coded at drop time that determines how a finish's procedural texture is laid out on the model. For patterned finishes (Case Hardened, Fade, Marble Fade, Doppler, Crimson Web) the pattern matters more than the float to the final price.

The 4 standard phases of Doppler (Phase 1 pink/black, Phase 2 deep blue, Phase 3 green streak, Phase 4 light blue) plus three rare phases — Ruby (solid red), Sapphire (solid blue), Black Pearl (white-pearl). Gamma Doppler shares the 4-phase structure but its rare is Emerald instead.

Community grading for Case Hardened skins where the procedural pattern shows >80% blue surface coverage on the playside. Famous AK-47 patterns: 661 (Tier 1), 670, 955, 387. Top-tier Blue Gems have sold for $1M+ in private trades.

For Fade finishes (Bayonet, Karambit, Glock, MAC-10), the proportion of the visible blade or grip covered in the gradient. 90% Fade is the top grade; 100% Fade is the absolute peak. Each 5% step adds 20–40% to the price on knives.

A swirled red/blue/yellow finish that ships only on knives. Pattern-graded: Fire & Ice (most red+blue, almost no yellow) is the top tier; Tricolor and Max Yellow patterns also have collector status. Always Factory New / Minimal Wear due to float cap.

The three rare Doppler phases. Ruby is a solid red blade; Sapphire is solid blue; Black Pearl is a white-with-pearlescent-black colour. Each is roughly 50× rarer than the standard four phases. Ruby usually prices highest, followed by Black Pearl and Sapphire.

A sealed container that drops randomly to active CS2 players. Each case has a fixed pool of 17 skins and one knife/gloves table. Opening requires a $2.49 Steam key. Most cases return less than the key cost in EV — see our case odds guide.

The $2.49 Steam-only item required to open a weapon case. Keys are non-tradeable on Steam (since 2018) but third-party marketplaces sell tradeable equivalents at similar prices. Old tradeable keys still circulate on the secondary market.

An applicable cosmetic that adds a graphic to a weapon's body. Comes in Normal, Holo, Foil, Glitter, Gold and Lenticular variants. Pro-player and team stickers from older Majors are the highest-value sticker category — a Crown Foil sticker can cost more than the gun it's on.

A dangling cosmetic attached to a weapon's keyring slot. Released in Keychain Capsules (Small Arms, Missing Link, Real-World capsules) and as Souvenir Highlight Reels commemorating Major plays. Doesn't affect gameplay; pure flair.

A consumable cosmetic — each sealed unit provides 50 in-match spray uses on maps, walls and surfaces. Drops from community Graffiti Boxes. Stays tradeable on the Steam Market while sealed.

A character model that replaces the default CT or T appearance. Released via Operations and Agent Capsules. Each agent has a side restriction (CT-only or T-only) and a quality grade (Distinguished, Exceptional, Superior, Master).

A cosmetic that attaches to agent skins (operator characters), not to weapons. Released in Patch Packs and Operation rewards. Affects the agent's jacket / vest appearance with a small graphic.

Pins, coins, trophies and tournament passes. Distinct from skins — collectibles don't equip onto weapons but are tradeable items on the Steam Market. Most are limited-time and stay valuable as historical mementos.

An in-game mechanic that converts 10 skins of the same rarity tier into 1 random skin of the next-higher tier from the same collection pool. Outputs scale float from the average input float. Used to grind low-tier mats into Restricted/Classified attempts.

Valve's first-party marketplace where CS2 skins, cases and cosmetics can be bought/sold for Steam wallet funds. Charges ~15% combined fee (10% to Valve, 5% to CS2 publisher) on every sale. Wallet funds are non-cashable — they can only be spent on more Steam content.

Third-party marketplaces where sellers list skins for cash and buyers receive the item via Steam trade. Fees are lower than Steam (4–8% sell fee) and cashout is real money — but you trade outside Valve's protection.

Marketplaces where the platform holds an inventory of bot accounts and you trade with the bot for instant swaps. Inventory turns over in seconds but you pay a wider spread vs P2P.

Valve-funded flagship CS tournaments that anchor the competitive calendar. Sticker capsules, agent capsules and souvenir packages release around Majors — and these limited-window items often appreciate dramatically once the event closes and supply caps.

A CS2 protocol URL that opens the in-game inspect view of a specific tradeable item. Every Steam Market and third-party listing exposes one. Lets you verify the exact float, pattern, stickers and wear before buying without owning the skin.