CS2 rarity colors explained

Every CS2 skin has a rarity, and every rarity has a color. The color tells you at a glance how rare a skin was meant to be when it dropped: grey and light blue at the bottom, then blue, purple, pink and red, with gold for knives and gloves at the top. Rarity is not the same as price, but it is a good first hint.

The weapon skin rarities

Consumer and Industrial Grade

The two lowest tiers. You find them in map collections and in weekly drops, not in weapon cases. They are cheap, with a few collector exceptions.

Mil-Spec, Restricted and Classified

The everyday tiers of weapon cases. Blue is what most openings give in Valve's cases. Purple and pink are less common, and pink skins are often the first ones players notice.

Covert

Red skins are the top weapon tier of a case. Popular rifle skins in red are among the most traded items in the game.

Contraband

Orange is a special case: it was given to one skin that was taken out of drops. It shows how rarity can be changed by Valve after release.

Rare Special Items: the gold tier

Knives and gloves are shown in gold with a star, ★. In a Valve case they are the rarest drop. When people talk about "unboxing gold", this is what they mean. More in our knife and glove cases guide.

Official odds in Valve's cases

For its own weapon cases, Valve has published chances per tier. The figures most often quoted are:

That means roughly 1 gold item in every 385 Valve case openings, on average. Every opening is still independent: there is no guaranteed gold after a number of cases.

Rarity on case sites

Case sites like CSVOLT build their own cases, so they do not use Valve's tier chances. Each case has its own table of items and drop chances out of 10,000,000 tickets. The rarity color is still shown on every item card so you can read a case at a glance, but the chance that matters is the one next to the item. Read CS2 case odds explained to see how.

Rarity is not price

A rarity color tells you how rare a skin was in its collection or case. The price depends on many more things:

• Demand. A popular red rifle skin can be worth far more than an unpopular red pistol skin.
• Wear. Factory New and Battle Scarred copies of the same skin can differ a lot. See CS2 skin wear and float explained.
• StatTrak or Souvenir. Special versions often cost more. See StatTrak and Souvenir explained.
• Supply. Skins from old cases that no longer drop can climb in price.
• Pattern. Some patterns on some skins are far more wanted than others.

So a blue skin can sometimes be worth more than a red one. Always look at the value.

Other item rarity names

Stickers, agents and other items use their own names for similar tiers. Stickers, for example, use names such as High Grade, Remarkable, Exotic and Extraordinary. The colors follow the same idea: the higher up, the rarer.

Using rarity when you read a case

Rarity colors help you scan a case page fast, but they are only a first filter:

1. Use the colors to spot the top of the case: red, pink and gold items.
2. Then read each item's value and drop chance. Two red items in the same case can have very different chances.
3. Check the wear and StatTrak tag next to the name. They can matter more than the color.
4. Look at the bottom of the table too. The common items decide how most openings feel.

18+ only. CSVOLT uses virtual coins and every case is a game of chance. Set limits in responsible gaming.