Skins in CS2 are at an all time high for quality and demand, and with the updated visuals that weapon skins and other cosmetics received in the transition from CS:GO to CS2, opening cases is the talk of the town. Here’s everything you’ll need to know to get your hands on Counter Strike 2 cases and unbox some exiting skins for yourself!

Source: Valve

Counter Strike 2 Case Odds

A variety of factors can make getting weapons you want difficult. We’re lucky to have a black and white explanation of the odds for skins coming from Counter Strike 2 cases. In 2017, Valve was forced to publish the official numbers. This gives players an exact idea of how they’re spending their money when they get cases. These odds were as follows:

Navy Blue (Rare) – 79.92%
Purple (Mythical) – 15.98%
Hot Pink (Legendary) – 3.2%
Hot Pink (Legendary) – 3.2%
Red (Ancient) – 0.64%
Gold (Exceedingly Rare) – 0.26%

Cases, Collections and Keys

Starting with the basics, in Counter Strike 2 cases are a subsection of the container group of items. They come along with predominantly sticker cases and, less frequently, souvenir collections, pin packs, and patch packs. Weapon cases are by far the most frequently traded or sought after in the community. They’re also the most common way to obtain weapon skins in Counter Strike 2.

Weapon cases require corresponding keys that you can purchase for actual money through your Steam account. Keys were originally tradeable from the release of weapon cases in 2013’s Arms Deal update until late 2019 when they were tied to the account that obtained them.

Once you’ve got the case and key that match, you’re able to open your inventory and use the key on the case to trigger the opening animation for your weapon skin! Unfortunately, one of the major hurdles to this is that as cases were released over the past 10 plus years, they became harder to get. This is because their finite quantities dwindle and demand increases over that diminished supply. This drives up the price harshly.

As an example, the original CS:GO weapons case sells for almost 100$ today. This is due in part to this dwindling supply as well as the super sought after skins from inside the case’s contents.

The Right Case For The Job

Adding to the complication, in Counter Strike 2 cases from various collections. The contents of each case are fixed. If you’re after a specific skin (like the record-shattering expensive Dragon Lore) for your AWP, then you’ll need to go get the exact case for the weapon skin and the key to match. If this particular skin is a community favorite, you could be looking at hunting down cases that have become much more expensive like esports souvenir collections.