What is a CS2 pattern index?
A CS2 pattern index is a number between 0 and 1000 attached to every skin when it is created. The game uses it to decide where on the weapon the skin's texture is placed, a bit like sliding a sheet of wrapping paper across a box before cutting it. Move the paper, and different parts of the design land on different parts of the gun.
The game's own item data calls this the paint seed. Players and tools call it the pattern index, pattern ID, or just the pattern. All the same number.
For the majority of skins, the designer made the texture so that the offset does not matter, and every copy looks the same. For a small set of skins the texture has strong colour areas, and the offset decides whether the gun shows the pretty part or the dull part. Those are the skins where pattern becomes the biggest part of the price, sometimes by a very large multiple. This guide explains which skins, why, how to check, and how not to overpay.
What is the difference between pattern index and float?
They are two separate numbers that are often confused because they both appear on a checker together.
| Float value | Pattern index | |
|---|---|---|
| Range | 0.00 to 1.00 | 0 to 1000 |
| What it controls | How much wear is drawn over the skin | Where the skin's texture sits on the weapon |
| Shown on the Steam Market | As a wear name only | Not shown |
| Changes over time | Never | Never |
| Matters on which skins | Almost all, at the extremes | A small set with high-contrast textures |
| Higher or lower is better | Lower is cleaner on most skins | Neither, it is a lookup, not a scale |
Float is explained in full in float values explained. The short version: float is about condition, pattern is about layout. A skin can be a perfect 0.001 float with a terrible pattern, or a scratched 0.40 with a famous one. On pattern skins, the famous pattern usually wins.
Which skins does the pattern index matter for?
The list is short and stable. New skins are added to it rarely, when the community finds a texture with real variation.
| Skin family | What the pattern changes | What collectors look for |
|---|---|---|
| Case Hardened (AK-47, Five-SeveN, Karambit, Flip Knife, gloves and more) | How much blue, gold and purple shows on the visible side | Mostly blue on the playside ("blue gem"), or mostly gold ("gold gem") |
| Fade (AWP, Glock-18, Karambit, Bayonet and more) | How far the pink and purple gradient covers the weapon | High "fade percentage" with full colour |
| Marble Fade (knives) | The mix of red, yellow and blue | "Fire and Ice", where only red and blue appear |
| Crimson Web (knives, gloves) | Where the webs land | Many full webs on the visible side |
| Slaughter (knives) | Which shapes appear in the red pattern | Diamonds, hearts, and other named shapes |
| Doppler and Gamma Doppler (knives, gloves) | The phase is set by paint index, not pattern, but pattern shifts colour placement | See the Doppler guide |
Outside this list, treat the pattern as noise. If someone asks a premium for a "rare pattern" on an AK-47 Redline, they are selling you nothing.
Doppler knives get their own page, Doppler phases explained, because the thing people call the "phase" comes from a different field than the pattern index, and mixing them up is the most expensive mistake in knife trading.
What is a blue gem?
A blue gem is a Case Hardened skin whose pattern puts mostly blue on the side of the weapon you see while playing. Case Hardened's texture is a mix of blue, purple, and gold. Most patterns give you a muddy mix. A few give you a nearly solid blue playside, and those are the blue gems.
Three things decide how much a given blue gem is worth:
- How much blue, and where. The playside matters most. Blue on the top of the receiver on an AK-47 matters more than blue on the magazine. Collectors talk about "top blue" for this reason.
- The weapon. The same pattern number lands differently on each gun. Seed 661 is famous on the AK-47. It is nothing special on a Five-SeveN.
- Tier lists. The community has ranked the Case Hardened patterns for the popular weapons into tiers. A tier 1 pattern on an AK-47 or a Karambit has sold for very large sums. A tier 3 pattern is a modest premium.
Gold gems are the same idea with gold instead of blue. They are rarer on some weapons and less sought after on others.
Blue gems are the extreme case of the pattern effect. A normal Case Hardened AK-47 is a mid-priced skin. A top-tier blue gem of the same skin has changed hands for more than a house in some reports.
How does Fade percentage work?
Fade skins have a gradient from yellow through pink to purple. The pattern index shifts where that gradient sits on the weapon. Some patterns push the yellow off the visible area so the gun is all pink and purple. Others leave a lot of yellow.
The community measures this as a fade percentage. A "100% fade" or "full fade" has the most pink and purple showing; lower percentages show more yellow. The exact number for each pattern is worked out by the community from screenshots and is not something the game displays.
Marble Fade is a different texture with its own pattern game. Its normal look mixes red, yellow and blue. "Fire and Ice" patterns show only red and blue, and those carry a premium on the knives that have the finish.
How do you check a skin's pattern index?
Same route as float. The Steam Market and your inventory do not show it, so you need the inspect link.
- On the item, right-click "Inspect in Game" and copy the link.
- Paste it into the float checker. It returns the float, the pattern index, and the skin's float range.
- For pattern skins, compare the number against a community database or tier list for that exact weapon.
In-game, inspecting the item shows you the pattern visually, which is what actually matters. A number is only useful because it lets you look up what the pattern looks like without owning the item.
If you are buying a pattern skin, look at the item's actual screenshots and the playside. Never buy on the number alone, and never trust a seller's screenshot without checking the inspect link yourself. Screenshots can be from a different copy.
How much does a rare pattern add to the price?
It ranges from nothing to almost the whole price. Here is a rough way to think about it.
| Pattern quality | Effect on price |
|---|---|
| Normal pattern on a non-pattern skin | None. Ignore it. |
| Normal pattern on a pattern skin | The base price for that skin and wear |
| Slightly better than average (some extra blue, a fuller fade) | Small premium, often within normal price noise |
| Recognised tier 3 or "nice" pattern | Clear premium over base, a fraction to a multiple |
| Tier 2 | Multiple times base |
| Tier 1 on a popular weapon | Base price becomes irrelevant; the pattern is the price |
The pattern premium stacks with the other price factors. A tier 1 blue gem in Factory New with a very low float is rarer than the same pattern in Field-Tested, and priced accordingly. A StatTrak version is rarer still. The pricing pillar shows how these layers combine, and sticker value explained covers the one remaining layer.
One quirk of pattern skins: their base price rises too. Because every Case Hardened copy has a small chance of being a gem, people open and buy them hoping to hit one, which lifts the price of ordinary copies above what their looks would justify.
How do you avoid overpaying for a pattern?
Pattern trading is where knowledge gaps cost the most, on both sides. Some rules that hold up:
- Check the inspect link yourself. A seller's screenshot proves nothing. The float checker gives you the pattern number in seconds.
- Check the playside, not the backside. A knife or gun that is blue on the side facing away from you is worth far less than one that is blue on the side you see.
- Use a tier list for that exact weapon. A famous AK-47 seed is not a famous Karambit seed.
- Ignore "rare pattern" on non-pattern skins. There is no rare pattern on a skin whose texture does not vary.
- Be careful with trade-ups. A trade-up creates a new skin with a random pattern. Since the 22 October 2025 update lets five Coverts become a knife, some people trade up hoping for a gem knife. The odds are the same as any other pattern roll, and the trade-up calculator does not and cannot price the pattern chance. Treat it as a bonus, never as the plan.
- Remember the buyer pool is small. A tier 1 gem is worth a lot to a few collectors. If you need to sell fast, that market is thin, and instant-sell bots will price it as a normal copy.
The pattern index is one small number that most of the time means nothing. On the right skin it is the whole story. Learn which skins those are, verify the number yourself, and the rest of the market's pattern hype becomes easy to ignore.