What is float in CS2

Float in one minute

Every skin item in CS2 carries a wear value, usually called float because it is stored as a decimal number. It ranges from 0 (no wear at all) to 1 (as worn as possible). The value is set once, when the item drops or is created, and it stays the same after that. Playing with the weapon, getting kills or trading the item doesn't change it.

The game turns the float into one of five exterior names. That name is what you see in the item title and on the market, but it hides the exact number. Two Field‑Tested copies can have floats of 0.15 and 0.38, which look noticeably different.

From float to exterior

Each exterior covers its own band of floats, and the bands are not equal: Field‑Tested and Battle‑Scarred are wide, while Well‑Worn is narrow. That is why the exterior label alone tells you less about a Battle‑Scarred skin than about a Factory New one. The exteriors guide shows what each band looks like in practice.

Every skin has its own range

This is the part many people miss. A skin doesn't have to use the whole 0⁠–⁠1 scale. Each one has a minimum and a maximum float, and every copy falls somewhere between them. The range decides which exteriors are even possible:

• AK-47 | Redline runs from 0.10 to 0.70. Its lowest float is already in Minimal Wear, so a Factory New Redline doesn't exist.
• AWP | Asiimov runs from 0.18 to 1, so it starts in Field‑Tested. No Factory New, no Minimal Wear.
• AK-47 | Bloodsport runs from 0 to 0.45, so it stops just before Battle‑Scarred.
• AWP | Lightning Strike and the Fade and Doppler knives, like the Karambit | Fade, run from 0 to 0.08. They only exist as Factory New or Minimal Wear.
• Gloves such as the Sport Gloves | Vice run from 0.06 to 0.80, so their Factory New band is only 0.06 to 0.07.
• AK-47 | Case Hardened uses the full 0 to 1.

Every skin page in this wiki shows the minimum and maximum float and lists only the exteriors that actually exist.

Float inside an exterior

Because the exterior is a range, the exact float still matters within it. A Minimal Wear at 0.07 and one at 0.15 sit at opposite ends of their band. On many skins the difference is small, but on light designs it can be clear. Good examples are the white panels of the P90 | Asiimov or the white suppressor of the USP-S | Printstream, where grime spreads quickly as the float rises.

The effect also depends on the skin's own range. On a skin that runs from 0 to 0.45, Well‑Worn is the heaviest wear you can get. On a skin that runs from 0 to 1, a float near 1 is far more damaged than one at 0.45, even though both are called Battle‑Scarred.

Where to see the float

In CS2 you can see the float of your own item when you inspect it: the item info shows it as Wear Rating, next to the Pattern Template. Market listings usually show only the exterior name, so if the exact number matters to you, check the inspect view or screenshots of that specific copy.

The wiki shows the possible range for each skin, not the float of a specific copy, because every copy is different. The picture on a skin page shows the skin in the best exterior it can have, so a copy with a higher float looks more worn than that picture.

Common misunderstandings

Does float change over time? No. Using the weapon doesn't wear it down. The float is fixed when the item is created.

Is a lower float always better? It depends on what you want. A lower float means less visible wear, but some people like the worn look, and on dark designs like the AK-47 | Slate the difference is hard to see at all.

Does StatTrak™ affect float? No. StatTrak™ adds a kill counter; it has nothing to do with wear. The StatTrak and Souvenir guide covers it.

Does float affect the pattern? No. Float decides how worn the skin is; the pattern decides how the design is placed on the model. They are separate values, and the patterns guide explains the second one.