Skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO and CS2) are virtual personalized cosmetic effects, wear or finishes that can be applied to weapons in CSGO. The reason behind this is to improve the aesthetics of the in-game weapons like rifles, pistols, knives, grenades and even sometimes gloves. CSGO skins are designed not to have any meaningful impact on gameplay but just for visual appeal and the sake of showing off.
The customization of skins can be done with different colours and patterns ranging from vibrant and abstract designs to the popularly loved realistic military camouflage. In addition to this, CSGO skins come in different rarity levels and grades. This distinction within them affects their visual appeal, and hype and of course adds to their perceived value. Rare CSGO skins are usually more visually striking and it is not uncommon for them to have special features like animated textures.
Categories of CSGO and CS2 Skins
In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, skins are distinguishable from each other in terms of their rarity, physical appearance, and how or where they are gotten from. Here’s an insight into the types of CSGO and CS2 finishes:
Standard Weapon Skins
In the multiplayer tactical first-person shooter game; CSGO, weapon skins are the most common type of wear. They can be applied to various in-game weapons like shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols, AK-47s, M4A4s etc. They come in unique visual designs to improve the player’s game experience. There is also the StatTrak™ Skin which comes with a special tracking feature that counts the number of kills a player makes.
Sticker Skins
These are skins in the form of virtual adhesive decals applied to weapons to further customize their looks. They might come with a team logo or in some instances a player signature, or even colourful artwork.
Knife Skins
Similar to weapon skins, knife skins in CSGO upgrade the default in-game knife with various graphic animations. There are more than 19 different knife skin types in the game. Some examples of knife skins include the Talon knives, Falchion knives, butterfly knives, Safari mesh, Damascus steel, Doppler, etc.
Agent Skins
They are used to add unique personal touches to a game character by modifying the character’s voice lines. One of the most popular agent skin types is the military operative.
Glove Skins
Glove skins are fanciful items that customize the appearance of a game character’s hands. They are often found in weapon cases alongside other assault items. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, some of the most fanciful glove finishes are Pandora’s Box gloves, Amphibious gloves, vice gloves, etc.
How to Acquire CSGO Skins
In CSGO and CS2, there are different methods through which a player can obtain wear. While some methods are free, others come at a price. For the former, the game player has no specific control over the type of skin to be gotten while in the latter, the player gets exactly the desired finish after paying its stated monetary value.
In-Game Air Drops
This is the most common method of acquiring skins in CSGO. Players get rewarded during matches with skins delivered via airdrops. It is very common when playing in online communities and official servers. Though it’s hardly ever possible to get unique wear through this method, the fact they come free and randomized makes it worthwhile.
Opening Cases and Containers
Players can get CSGO and CS2 skins by purchasing and opening in-game loot crates (cases) and containers, such as weapon cases or souvenir packages. These cases have a high chance of dropping wear. However, in this method of acquiring finishes, the player has no control over the type of skin to be gotten. But be that as it may, it has an element of surprise which adds to the excitement of trying it out.
Game Purchases
With the option of the Steam Community Market, CSGO players can be able to acquire exactly their desired skin types by outrightly purchasing them. The skins in this category are usually well-customized with finer detail. They also come at various prices (paid for with virtual currencies) with some being more expensive than others. But no matter their price differences, the wear traded here is often better than those gotten through airdrops and other free means.
Trading Skins with Other Players
In addition to buying wear from the Steam Community Market, CSGO players can also trade skins amongst themselves through the same community market. The market is designed to allow Steam users to use it to buy and sell in-game items with their Steam wallet funds. The market is a place of inspiration as there are so many skin types at different values to be seen and purchased here. Do note that any skin (and other items) bought from this market cannot be traded for at least one week. There is also a 5% charge on the value of the traded item.
Future Evolution of CSGO Skins
CSGO and CS2 skins have evolved over the years adapting to the games market trends and technological advancement. With game engines now capable of rendering detailed details, characters will have more intricate designs, textures, interactive skins and animations. All this will be geared towards improving users’ gameplay experience.