What this pillar covers
A CS2 skin is identified by four things: the skin name (AK-47 Asiimov), the exterior (Field-Tested), the StatTrak/Souvenir flag, and — invisible in most marketplace listings but baked into every individual copy — the float value and the pattern index. Two copies of "AK-47 Asiimov Field-Tested" are the same SKU but are not the same item. The float decides how clean the wear looks, the pattern decides which slice of the texture you see, and on collector items those two numbers determine whether the copy is worth $40 or $4,000.
This pillar maps the wear system and the pattern system end to end. The five exteriors and the global float boundaries that define them. The float clipping that restricts most skins to a sub-range of 0.000–1.000. The pattern families where the seed is the dominant price driver and the long list of finishes where the seed is cosmetic noise. The lookup tools that turn an inspect link into a float and a pattern in two clicks. The price-impact rules that connect a number to a marketplace listing.
If you want the trade-up-specific float math (how the averaging formula maps input floats onto the output skin's clip), the trade-up contracts pillar covers that mechanic. If you want the per-finish deep dives (blue gem tier lists, Fade % charts, Doppler phase IDs), the spokes listed below are where that level of detail lives.
The wear system — five exteriors, fixed boundaries
Every weapon skin, glove, and a small set of stickers in CS2 lives in one of five exterior tiers. The tier is a function of the float and nothing else. Sticker craft, name tag, and StatTrak status do not move the exterior. The boundaries are global — identical for every skin — and have not moved since the wear system shipped in 2013.
| Exterior | Abbreviation | Float range | Visual character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Factory New | FN | 0.00 – 0.07 | Pristine, almost no visible wear |
| Minimal Wear | MW | 0.07 – 0.15 | Minor scratches, very clean |
| Field-Tested | FT | 0.15 – 0.38 | Noticeable scratches and blemishes |
| Well-Worn | WW | 0.38 – 0.45 | Significant wear, fading, scratches |
| Battle-Scarred | BS | 0.45 – 1.00 | Heavy damage, deep scratches, large blemishes |
Notice the asymmetry. Factory New occupies the bottom 7% of the float space; Field-Tested occupies 23%; Battle-Scarred owns the entire upper half. The widths reflect what most players actually pull from cases — a uniform random draw across 0.000–1.000 puts roughly 8 in 10 case-opened skins into FT or worse. FN is the rarest exterior by raw distribution, which feeds the FN premium even before the collector low-float buyers show up.
The bucket boundaries are universal. The per-skin float clip (next section) decides which buckets a given skin can actually reach.
For the long-form treatment of each tier — what the playside actually looks like at 0.069 vs 0.149 MW, why FT covers so much visual ground, when to pay the FN premium and when to skip it — see wear conditions explained. For the universal definition of the tier system itself, wear tier is the glossary entry.
Float clipping — why most skins do not span 0.000 to 1.000
The wear system is universal. The per-skin float clip is not. Every paint kit in items_game.txt carries two attributes — wear_remap_min and wear_remap_max — that restrict the float of any skin generated from that kit to a sub-range of the unit interval. The clip is set when the skin ships and is immutable for the life of the skin.
A handful of well-known examples:
| Skin | Clip range | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| AK-47 Redline | 0.10 – 0.70 | Never appears in Factory New; never in deep Battle-Scarred |
| AK-47 Case Hardened | 0.00 – 0.70 | Never deep Battle-Scarred |
| AWP Asiimov | 0.18 – 1.00 | Never Factory New, never Minimal Wear |
| AWP Dragon Lore | 0.00 – 1.00 | Full range |
| M4A4 Howl | 0.00 – 0.40 | Never Well-Worn or Battle-Scarred |
| Karambit Fade | 0.00 – 0.08 | Effectively FN-only with a thin MW band |
| Sawed-Off Wasteland Princess | 0.06 – 0.80 | No FN at all, no deep BS |
The clip is what produces the "this skin doesn't exist in FN" effect every new player notices in marketplace searches. AWP Asiimov, Five-SeveN Hyper Beast, P90 Asiimov, MAG-7 Praetorian — all of them clip out of the cleaner tiers. The clip is also what makes a Fade knife trade at a near-flat price across copies: the Karambit Fade clip is so narrow (0.00–0.08) that essentially every copy is sub-FN-bucket, and the float coordinate barely moves the price within that range.
The clip is invisible inside the Steam Market UI. Inspection tools (CSFloat, tradeit, csgostash.com) read the clip from items_game.txt and display it on the skin's per-item page. For trade-up purposes, the float averaging formula spoke walks how the clip restricts what an output skin can become.
The practical consequence for buyers: before paying a low-float premium on an unfamiliar skin, look up the clip. A 0.04 float on a 0.00–0.08 clipped Karambit Fade is unremarkable — it is the upper end of FN-bucket for a skin that ships entirely sub-FN. A 0.04 float on an unclipped AK-47 Vulcan is a genuinely scarce FN copy.
Where the float number comes from
The float is drawn at the moment a skin is generated. The generation paths are:
- Case opening. A uniform-random draw across the eligible bucket for the selected skin, then mapped onto the skin's clip via the standard formula.
- Trade-up contract output. A deterministic function of the ten input floats and the output skin's clip. The trade-up contracts pillar explains the averaging formula.
- Souvenir package drop. Similar to case opening, with the additional Souvenir tag and the per-Major sticker logic.
- Weekly care package / drop pool. Bounded by the current active-collection drop pool; floats sampled uniformly.
Once the skin is in your inventory, the float is fixed. Opening a case with the skin already inside does nothing. Applying stickers, charms, name tags, swap tools — none of these touch the float. Selling and rebuying the skin returns the same float because the same in-game item moves between inventories.
The number is exposed via two channels: the in-game inspect view (rounded to an exterior bucket) and the csgo_econ_econ_item_preview protobuf accessible through the inspect link (steam://run/730/inspect/...). Every third-party float checker uses the second channel.
Where the pattern index comes from
Pattern index (paint seed) is the second number generated at drop time. It is an integer Valve writes alongside the float, with a range from 0 to roughly 1000 on most paint kits. The seed is independent of the float — the case-opening RNG draws each one separately — and it is also immutable for the life of the skin.
The seed controls which slice of the source texture atlas the skin samples from. Most CS2 skins are not painted directly onto the weapon mesh; they are generated by projecting a 2D paint pattern (the texture atlas) onto the model's UV map. The seed shifts the projection offset, so different seeds expose different regions of the atlas on the playside (the side the player sees in first-person).
On most paint kits the atlas is uniform enough that two seeds produce visually indistinguishable results. Two AWP Asiimovs at the same exterior, different seeds — you cannot tell them apart in-game. Two AK-47 Vulcans, different seeds — same story. The seed is cosmetic noise.
On a small list of paint kits, the atlas is non-uniform on purpose: certain regions of the atlas carry distinctive colors, patterns, or alignments, and only specific seeds expose those regions on the playside. That short list is the market's pattern economy.
The glossary entry pattern index covers the definition; the paragraphs below cover the five families the market actually trades.
The five pattern families that move the market
Case Hardened — the blue-gem economy
Case Hardened paint kits sample a stained-blue Damascus texture. The atlas contains regions of deep saturated blue, regions of yellow and brown, and transition zones. Specific seeds — seed 661, 670, 955 on the AK-47, plus tier-1 seeds on Karambit, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Five-SeveN, MAC-10, MP9 and a handful of others — sample a playside that is nearly entirely blue. Those are the "blue gems".
The price gap is multiplicative. A generic-seed AK-47 Case Hardened in Field-Tested trades around $80–$150 as of early Q2 2026. A tier-3 mostly-blue AK Case Hardened (significant blue coverage on the playside but with some yellow patches) trades $1,500–$5,000. A tier-1 near-all-blue seed AK has sold above $30,000 at auction, and the seed-661 Karambit Case Hardened cleared $1.5M USD in 2021.
The seed alone is not enough to grade a blue gem — the same numerical seed produces different playsides on different weapons because the UV mapping differs per weapon model. AK-47 seed 661 is a tier-1 blue gem. Karambit seed 661 is not the same finish; it is its own pattern with its own tier. Always check the per-weapon tier list, not a generic table.
The standard reference grids are maintained by community researchers and aggregated on csgobluegem and isitabluegem. The per-weapon deep-dives — AK, Karambit, M9, Five-SeveN, MAC-10, MP9 — are spokes shipping across weeks 8, 10, 44, 63 in the content calendar. The Case Hardened glossary entry covers the term.
Fade percentage — Karambit, Glock, AWP, Bayonet
Fade paint kits sample a rainbow gradient: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, depending on the paint kit and the model. The atlas is small relative to the model, so the seed determines how much of the gradient is visible on the playside. The community grades the gradient as a fade percentage: 100% Fade shows the full rainbow on the playside, 80% Fade shows about four-fifths.
The pricing tiers are 100% / 95% / 90% / 80%. A 100% Fade Karambit trades at 30–50% premium over a baseline 80%; on Glock-18 Fade the spread is wider because the playside is small enough that the % swing is dramatic. AWP Fade and Bayonet Fade follow the same logic with different tier breakpoints.
A few Fade paint kits add a "acid fade" or "max fade" seed that produces an unusually saturated playside even at standard percentages. Those are the seeds that command the largest absolute premiums on the smaller weapon models.
The full per-weapon Fade reference lives in the fiery finishes article and the per-knife guides shipping in weeks 9, 11, 45.
Doppler and Gamma Doppler — the phase economy
Doppler knives split into four standard phases (Phase 1, 2, 3, 4) plus the rare Ruby (saturated red), Sapphire (saturated blue), and Black Pearl (deep black with iridescent flecks). Gamma Doppler is the green-themed reissue, with its own phases plus the rare Emerald finish.
The phase is determined by the seed. The four standard phases hit at fixed seed-set memberships — phase 1 is the seed group {0, 38, 39, 47, 51…}, phase 2 the seed group {6, 11, 13, 20…}, and so on. Ruby, Sapphire and Black Pearl together hit at single-digit-percentage drop rates on the original Doppler; Emerald is even rarer on Gamma Doppler.
Phase pricing is non-linear. Phase 2 is usually the cheapest. Phase 1 is the visual purist's choice (cleaner saturated swirl). Phase 4 has a distinctive "tip" that traders pay for. Ruby and Sapphire trade 5–8× a standard phase; Black Pearl is the most expensive Doppler finish on knives where it ships.
The full phase reference and the per-knife price tiers live in the Doppler guide and the Gamma Doppler guide. The Doppler phase glossary entry covers the term.
Marble Fade — Fire and Ice
Marble Fade paint kits sample a marbled texture with red, blue, white and yellow swirls. The market grades Marble Fade by the Fire and Ice (FFI) configuration: a playside with a large solid red region near the tip ("Fire") and a contrasting solid blue region toward the handle ("Ice") is the pinnacle. Most seeds produce a mixed-color playside; only a small number produce a true FFI.
FFI tiers track the prominence of the red/blue contrast and the absence of yellow speckle on the playside. A tier-1 FFI on a Karambit Marble Fade trades 4–7× a non-FFI Karambit Marble Fade in the same exterior. M9 Bayonet, Butterfly Knife, Bayonet, Talon Knife and a few rifle paint kits ship Marble Fade with the same FFI logic at their own tier breakpoints.
The Marble Fade Fire and Ice glossary entry covers the term. The per-knife tier lists ship in week 10 and 44.
Crimson Web — the full-web pattern
Crimson Web paint kits sample a red-on-black spider-web atlas. The atlas contains a single complete web in one region and crossing partial webs elsewhere. Seeds that align the complete web onto the playside produce "full web" copies; everything else is partial.
The full-web premium is wide on M9 Bayonet and Karambit Crimson Web (3–8× over partial) and narrower on Bayonet and Bowie Knife. The Crimson Web glossary entry covers the term in the week-67 batch; the full-web pattern list ships in week 45.
Float versus pattern — which one wins on price
The interaction between float and pattern is the most-asked question in the collector market. The general rule:
- On a generic-pattern skin (anything outside the five families above), float is the only seed-related price driver inside an exterior tier. Above $50, a low float carries a measurable premium; below $50, the exterior alone covers the price.
- On a collector-pattern skin (Case Hardened, Fade, Doppler, Marble Fade, Crimson Web), pattern dominates. A tier-1 blue gem AK in Battle-Scarred outprices a generic FN by 50–100×. A 100% Fade Karambit in MW outprices a 80% Fade Karambit in FN. The pattern premium is multiplicative on top of the base exterior price; float is a secondary modifier.
- On color-controlled patterns (Doppler, Gamma Doppler), the phase already settles the visual identity, so float reasserts itself as a meaningful secondary driver. A Phase 4 Doppler in FN outprices the same Phase 4 in FT by 20–40%, because the rest of the blade is uniform color and the FN/FT difference is the only remaining visual variable.
The numerical rule of thumb: the further the seed is from "normal" on the relevant pattern grid, the less the float matters. A tier-1 blue gem is "all blue regardless of wear". A tier-3 mostly-blue is "all blue with some wear-visible yellow", so float starts to matter again. A generic-seed Case Hardened is just a wear-graded skin like any other — float drives the price inside the exterior.
Float versus pattern — which matters more (shipping in week 51) walks the decision tree in long form.
The low-float premium — when it is real and when it is collector noise
Above the ~$50 line, a sub-X float starts moving the price independent of the exterior bucket. The X depends on the bucket:
- Sub-0.005 FN: the "true low float" tier, sometimes called sub-0.01. Worth 1.5–3× a standard FN on liquid skins. CSFloat publishes a global rank — "the 7th-lowest float AWP Asiimov ever recorded" — and that ranking is marketable.
- 0.005–0.01 FN: a clean low float, 1.2–1.5× a standard FN.
- 0.01–0.04 FN: a normal FN. Standard price for the bucket.
- 0.04–0.07 FN: an "FN-look but with visible-up-close wear" tier. Standard FN price; some traders discount.
- 0.07–0.08 MW: the "FN-look MW", trades close to FN price on skins with visible wear textures.
- 0.14–0.149 MW: a worn-feeling MW; trades close to FT price.
- 0.15–0.16 FT: an "MW-look FT" — the highest-value FT band, used by budget low-float buyers.
The premiums are most pronounced on rifles where the artist baked visible scuffs into the texture: AK-47 Asiimov, AWP Asiimov, AK-47 Vulcan, AWP Hyper Beast, M4A4 Hellfire. On skins where the texture is uniformly clean (most Dopplers, Marble Fades, Fades), the float premium inside FN is narrow because there is no visible wear to discount.
The premiums are also stronger on knives and gloves than on rifles, because knives sell at higher absolute prices and collector buyers care more about the rank.
How to read the float and pattern off a skin you own
The full step-by-step is in the how to check skin float spoke. The three-line summary:
- In Steam, right-click the item → copy inspect link. The link looks like
steam://run/730/+csgo_econ_action_preview%20.... - Paste the link into CSFloat (csfloat.com inspect tool), tradeit.gg inspect, or any community float checker. The page returns float to four decimal places, pattern index as an integer, and the StatTrak/Souvenir tags.
- Cross-reference the pattern against the per-weapon tier list for the relevant finish (blue gem, Fade %, Doppler phase, FFI, full web). The seed alone is not enough — you need the per-weapon grid.
The same tools work on items inside a trade offer, on Steam Market listings, and on items in other players' inventories (Steam exposes the inspect link publicly). The CSFloat browser extension surfaces the float and pattern directly inside the Steam Market listing page without copy-pasting.
For items in your inventory that the calculator on this site already values, the float is read automatically from each inspect — see the inventory calculator on the homepage.
How the rest of the market reads pattern data
Three reference databases run the pattern-grading economy:
- csgobluegem.com — the canonical blue-gem reference for AK-47, Karambit, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Five-SeveN. Per-seed images, tier classifications, sales history.
- csgofloat / csfloat.com — the canonical float checker plus Doppler phase classifier and Fade % grader. The browser extension overlays the data on Steam Market.
- isitabluegem.com — an older but still-maintained blue gem and rare-pattern lookup for less-tracked weapons.
For Marble Fade FFI and Crimson Web full-web, the reference grids are scattered across Reddit posts (r/CSGOMarketForum), private Discord servers (BlueGem.gg discord, several broker-run servers), and individual collector tools. The aggregation is uneven, which is part of why per-weapon spokes on this site (shipping across weeks 10, 11, 45) are listed as P0/P1 — the existing public references leave gaps.
How pattern and float feed into the rest of the site
Three downstream surfaces depend on the rules in this pillar.
- Per-skin pages in the items encyclopedia carry a pattern-info block (Doppler phases / Fade % / blue gem zones / Marble Fade FFI / Crimson Web full web, depending on the skin) and a float range bar showing the skin's clip with the FN/MW/FT/WW/BS boundaries marked. The data is read from the same
items_game.txtclip values discussed above. - The trade-up calculator (
/tools/trade-up-calculator, shipping in week 19) uses the float averaging formula plus per-output-skin clip values to project the output exterior. The float averaging formula spoke is its specification. - The inventory calculator on the homepage reads float and pattern from every item it values. For sticker-and-pattern-heavy collector items, the calculator's headline number is a Steam-median baseline; the collector premium for a tier-1 blue gem or a 100% Fade is not auto-applied and should be priced manually.
The four common misreadings of pattern and float
What new collectors get wrong, in rough order of cost.
Confusing seed with phase on Doppler. The seed is an integer 0–1000; the phase is a categorical bucket (P1, P2, P3, P4, Ruby, Sapphire, Black Pearl) that the seed maps into. A "Phase 4 Doppler" is not "seed 4". Buyers who try to match by seed end up with a different phase than they expected.
Treating Case Hardened seeds as cross-weapon. Seed 661 is a tier-1 AK-47 blue gem. The same number on a Karambit is its own pattern, with its own tier classification. Always use the per-weapon grid.
Paying low-float premium on a heavily-clipped skin. A 0.04 FN on a 0.00–0.08 clipped Fade is the upper end of the clip, not a rare low-float copy. Look up the clip before paying premium.
Reading the in-game float display as authoritative. The in-game inspect rounds the float to an exterior bucket and a single decimal. The actual float lives in the inspect link metadata and is four decimal places precise. Always read through a float checker for collector decisions.
Why this pillar matters for the rest of the site
The pattern and float economy is the deepest piece of CS2 collector math that has no analogue in any other game's cosmetic system. Every per-skin price tracker, every trade-up calculator, every per-pro loadout page on this site reads two numbers — float and pattern — and prices the rest from there. The wear tier boundaries, the per-skin clip, the five pattern families, the collector premium curve, the lookup workflow — those six layers are the foundation that the pattern deep-dives (weeks 8 through 64 in the content calendar) build on.
If you only remember three things: the exterior is a float bucket and nothing more, most skins are float-clipped to a sub-range of 0.000–1.000, and pattern matters only on five specific finish families. Everything else in this silo follows from those facts.