Because not all skins are created equal.
🧠 What Are Skin Patterns?

Every skin in CS2 (just like in CS:GO) is applied using a pattern template. When a weapon skin is generated (e.g., via case opening or trade-up), the game assigns:

A Pattern ID (0 to 999)

A Wear value (Float)

Some skins are affected heavily by the pattern (like Case Hardened), while others aren't at all (like Redline).
🎯 Why Patterns Matter

Depending on the skin:

A good pattern = $$$

A rare pattern = flex

A bad pattern = cope

Some skins even have "pattern rankings" in the community (e.g. “Top Blue” or “100% Fade”).
🔥 Examples of Important Pattern Skins
🔷 AK-47 | Case Hardened

Has 1,000 pattern variations.

Blue Gem = extremely rare (mostly blue on play side).

Top-tier pattern IDs: 661 (Blue Gem), 387, 555, 828.

Some can be worth thousands of dollars.

🌈 Fade Series (e.g. Karambit Fade, Glock Fade)

Fade % is based on how much of the blade/slide shows pink > purple > gold.

100% Fade = most desirable

85% and under = lower tier.

🧊 Marble Fade Knives

People chase Fire & Ice (red and blue only) or Max Blue tips.

Pattern ID affects where the color lands.

🐯 Tiger Tooth, Damascus Steel, Slaughter

Slaughter has rare “hidden” patterns (Diamond, Angel, Heart, etc.).

Not trade-banned anymore, so collectors pay a premium.

💀 Special: Dopplers

Dopplers have phases (P1–P4, Black Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire).

Even same Doppler skin can look wildly different depending on pattern.

Example: Karambit Sapphire (Phase 4, all blue) = $$$

🧾 Where to Check Pattern IDs and Floats

You can use sites like:

{LINK REMOVED}csfloat.com

buff.163.com

csgofloat.com

Steam Market Inspector Tools (like FloatDB, Broskins, etc.)

🧪 How to Use Pattern ID in Practice

Case opening? → Use a float checker extension to reveal the pattern ID before listing.

Buying? → Look up if the pattern has community value.

Selling? → List your item by pattern if it’s rare (e.g., “AK Case Hardened Blue Gem (Pattern 661)”).

📦 Do Patterns Affect All Skins?
Skin Type Pattern-Relevant? Notes
Case Hardened ✅ Yes Most valuable pattern-based skin
Fade Series ✅ Yes Based on fade %
Doppler ✅ Yes Depends on phase & pattern
Redline ❌ No Static design
Asiimov ❌ No Pattern ID doesn't matter
Printstream ❌ No Float matters more
🏆 Pro Tip: Don’t Sell a Rare Pattern Cheap

You might have:

A Karambit Fade 99% and not know it.

A Case Hardened AK worth 10x the usual market price.
Always check pattern ID + float before selling or trading.