If you are new to skins and want to learn about "Floats" and "Patterns" or if you already know the basics and want to learn about "Scratch patterns" and "Grunge patterns" - you are in the right place!
This guide will take you from 0 understanding of those subjects to an in depth understanding that a lot people don't have.




1 - "Welcome!":
That's this section...

2 & 3 - "Float values" & "Float caps":
These sections go in depth into the basics of Floats and their effects on skins.

4, 5 & 6 - "Pattern seeds" & "Pattern templates" (two template sections):
These sections go in depth into the basics of Patterns and their effects on skins.

7 & 8 - "Scratch patterns" & "Grunge patterns":
These sections are more advanced and go over two topics that are affected by both - Floats and Patterns.

The last two sections (9 & 10) are dedicated to the ending notes and my other guides.



You can jump to a specific section by using the "GUIDE INDEX" menu on the right hand side.

You can open up the images in this guide in full size by clicking on them.

Every skin gets a random static (it doesn't change) "Float Value" upon its creation (unboxing / dropping) but what is it and what does it do?

A float value is a decimal number between 0 - 1. That number affects the look of the skin in multiple different ways depending on the skin. The consistency is: The higher the float value - the more "worn" / "scarred" the skin gets which leads us to conditions.
Even if you are new to skins you have likely heard the terms "Factory New" or "Battle Scarred", those are the skin's conditions but they are actually just the float value range divided unevenly into five sections:

Factory New (FN): A skin is FN if its float value is between 0 - 0.07.
Minimal Wear (MW): A skin is MW if its float value is between 0.07 - 0.15.
Field Tested (FT): A skin is FT if its float value is between 0.15 - 0.38.
Well Worn (WW): A skin is WW if its float value is between 0.38 - 0.45.
Battle Scarred (BS): A skin is BS if its float value is between 0.45 - 1.



Note that a 0 float in theory represents a skin with no wear at all but in reality skins always have some amount of wear no matter how low the float value is. Same for a 1 float: A skin with a float of 1 in theory has no skin left and just showcases the default gun, in reality that's never true.

Note: I use the lower line of the float ruler shown above to write the float values and their locations on the ruler - of the skins shown under them in the examples.



Until now I have been very technical so let's have a look at how the float value / condition actually affects the look of skins with a few examples.

Many skins simply get darker and dirtier looking the higher the float (using the Grunge template that's shown later on in the "Grunge patterns" section).
Here is an example of three MAG-7 Heats (with the floats - 0.00, 0.50 and 0.99):



Many other skins get more scratched the higher the float (using the Scratches template that's shown later on in the "Scratch patterns" section) leading to a more noticeable effect.
Here is an example of three MAG-7 Core Breaches (with the floats - 0.00, 0.50 and 0.99):



There are a few skins that have special effects the higher the float - that are unique to them.
Here is an example of three MAG-7 Rust Coats (with the floats - 0.00, 0.50 and 0.99):
(as you can see - it rusts at a higher float which is a unique effect)



When looking at the examples above you would expect the the middle example (0.50) to be in the middle condition (Field Tested). And yet, like the 0.99, it's also Battle Scarred because Battle Scarred on it's own takes more than 50% of the float range.
I am emphasizing this because some sites out there show float rulers that divide the float range evenly when that's far from true and that can sometimes be misleading.





Different skins are affected by the float value more in certain places than others and sometimes the float has a certain effect only on specific locations.
Here is an example of a skin that seems like it only gets darker at a higher float but it actually also scratches in very specific locations that are not as visible at first glance (marked in white).
0.00 VS 0.99 SCAR-20 | Cardiac:





So how do we find the float value of a skin?
A few years ago that used to be complicated and required external sites / tools. Today it's quite simple. All you need to do is inspect the skin and hover over the information symbol at the bottom center of the screen:

As mentioned in the "Float values" section - the full range of float values is between 0 - 1. However not all skins are able to reach the edges of that range. Some skins are what is called "Capped" and can only reach up to a certain float (low / high or both) and will therefore be rarer in some conditions or will not exist in those conditions at all.

Here are a couple of extreme examples of skins that are not able to exist in most conditions due to an extremely High or Low float caps.
The CZ Chalice on the left is a skin that can only exist in Factory New and Minimal Wear due to a 0.10 float cap (can't be higher than that) and will always look "clean".
The Sawed-Off Fubar on the right is a skin that can only come in Battle Scarred and Well Worn due to a 0.4 float cap (can't be lower than that) and will always look "worn":



Note: A low float cap is the cap that prevents the skin from existing with a lower float than the cap and a high float cap does the same but in the opposite direction (preventing a higher float than the cap). Meaning that although the CZ in the example above can only exist with a low float - the cap is actually a high float cap (and the opposite for the Sawed-Off).



Here are a couple of examples of skins that have float caps in both directions.
The first is an extreme example of a skin that can only exist in Field Tested (and is in fact the only skin in the game that can only exist in the Field Tested condition) - the UMP Grand Prix.
The second is a more mild and common skin cap example of a skin that is able to reach all conditions but is capped at their edges - the P250 Nuclear Threat.



You might have noticed that the Nuclear Threat is very rare to get in Factory New because it's float range in FN is between 0.06 - 0.07 which is only a 0.01 difference.

Fun fact: A lot of older skins and a lot of collections' skins have 0.06 - 0.8 float caps.



How do we know if a skin is capped and at what float value? Unfortunately that's not viewable in game but there is a great site that will let you see the float caps of every skin as well as a lot of other information about them: csgostash[csgostash.com]
If you go to a specific skin on that site you will be able to see the information shown in the image below. (image taken from csgostash)





Note: Because of a number conversion that happens behind the scenes (that is beyond my understanding) - on extremely rare occasions (1 in many millions) the float of a skin can be so low that in the conversion process the skin goes a tiny bit beyond its cap. Here are the two known skins that exist with that "glitch":



The two Novas above have a float of 0.059999998 even though they are capped at 0.06.
That "glitch" can exist between conditions as well - leading to a skin being in one condition but with a float within the range of another.

Note that in game the float is shown as having seven 9s as opposed to the true float having only six 9s and an 8. That's because the float is a very very long number if not infinite and the game can only show up to a finite amount of digits so it rounds up the last one.

A Pattern Seed (just like a Float value) is a random static number (it doesn't change) that every skin gets upon its creation (unboxing / dropping). Unlike Float values - Pattern seeds are not decimal numbers and they range between 0 - 1000. But what do they do?

Pattern seeds have two unconnected effects on skins:

1. For skins that have a pattern template - different pattern seeds in combination with that template will make the same skin look different between different items.
For a visual showcase of that effect - here are two AWP Hives (they are both the same skin) with different pattern seeds:



I explain pattern templates and this process in the next section ("Pattern templates")

2. The second effect is a little more complicated and uses a combination of float values and pattern seeds in order to create especially clean or dirty looking skins. Here is an example of two items with the same float value and different pattern seeds to showcase that effect:



I explain this process later on in the "Scratch patterns" section.



Terminology:
When people want to refer to a certain pattern seed they will use one of the following terms: (they all mean the same thing)
Pattern seed (number), Pattern index (number), Paint seed (number), pattern (number) or simply #(number).
Here are a couple of examples: "Pattern index 273 is the best AWP Hive pattern" or "I recently picked up a #583 Galil Sandstorm" - Both referring to a specific pattern on the specific skins they are talking about.
Note that I used #(number) in the images above in order to show the pattern seeds of the skins in them.



Note: For whatever reason pattern 1000 can only be obtained from trade ups making it rarer than other patterns and impossible to get on items that you can't trade up to (Souvenirs, Knives, Gloves, Mil-Specs from cases, Consumer Grades from collections and Industrial Grades from collections that start from that rarity)



So how do we find the pattern seed of a skin? Luckily that's simple, just like the float we inspect a skin and hover over the information symbol at the bottom center of the screen:

Before I get into Pattern Templates and Pattern Based skins - let me first talk about non-Pattern Based skins.

A lot of skins in the game are designed how you would expect. An artist paints the visible parts of the weapon in order to create a "paint layer" on it that is called a skin (the official CSGO term is "weapon finish"). Most games create their skins that way and it makes for nice looking skins but with not much depth.
Example:



CSGO has another type of skin called a "Pattern Based" skin. Unlike "Painted Skins" - Pattern Based skins don't have a fixed look. Instead they take their look from a "Pattern Template" which gives them more depth and makes them more interesting in my opinion.



So what is a "Pattern template"?
A Pattern Template is an image that represents all of the different possible variations that specific items of the same skin type could look like.
For an example - let's take a look at the most well known pattern based skin - the "Case Hardened" ("CH" in short) that is themed around the various colors that you get by hardening metal.

Note: In this section I will mainly showcase Case hardened patterns as examples to minimize confusion but everything written here is true to all pattern templates / pattern based skins.

Here is the Case Hardened pattern template:




Upon the creation (unboxing / dropping) of a skin - it's assigned a random pattern seed (as explained in the "Pattern seeds" section). The pattern seed points to a location on the template. The template is then "cut" to the shape and size of that weapon at the location that the pattern seed points to. It is then applied to the base weapon to give it its look.

Here are the steps of that process using the template shown above with a Bayonet (Bayonet Case Hardened):
1. Pattern seed #589 points to the marked location on the template.
2. The template is then "cut" from that marked location based on the shape of the knife and resized to fit it.
3. The "cut" section that now fits the knife is then applied onto it to give it its look.



Note: Patterns that are close in number aren't going to look similar, they are all shuffled

Here are 5 other Bayonet Case Hardened patterns:



As you can see - unlike fixed looking skins - they all look very different from one another even though they are all different items of the same skin type (CH).
Here are the approximate locations of the pattern seeds that the specific Bayonets shown above have (#555, #228, #312, #234, #53):






Endless
What happens if a pattern seed points to a location that is too close to the edge of the template? (like #312 and #234 in the examples above)
That's actually not a problem because every pattern template is "endless" - each side ends where the opposite side begins.
Here is how it looks like if we take the original template on the left, duplicate it multiple times and put it side by side with the original:



Here is another Bayonet CH example that showcases a pattern that "cuts off" at the right side of the template and continues from the left:


As you can see - there is no seam in the pattern above because the template is "endless".



Sizing
People often have the misconception that because a weapon is smaller it's going to have more patterns that, in the case of the Case Hardened skin, are full blue or silver (because the blade is smaller and in theory takes less of the template).
However - a pattern template is often resized in order to fit the weapon's shape and size better. Note that the sizing doesn't change per pattern seed, only per weapon.



As you can see in the image below - the pattern template is scaled differently on two different CH knives in order to fit them better. Notice that the "scar" on the Butterfly knife is smaller than the "scar" on the Survival knife below it (even though it's the same "scar"):





Rotation
A lot of pattern based skins (not all) have different rotations between different pattern seeds, this was showcased in my Bayonet CH examples as well:




For an example let's take a look at two different Butterfly Knife CH patterns:



As you can see - the template is more rotated on the right Butterfly knife than it is on the left.

Fun fact: You might have noticed in the image above that the template is actually inverted (left to right) on the Butterfly knife CH as opposed to the Bayonet CH or the Survival knife CH shown in previous examples. This is because the pattern is mirrored (both sides of the knife look the same) and the backside is the one that has the template the right way around.



Coloring
Unlike the CH pattern template which is very old - newer Pattern templates (not that new but less old) have their colors divided into RGB (Red, Green, Blue). Valve does that in order to be able to reuse the same template by recoloring it differently for different skins. For this we need a new example of a different template.
Here is the original RGB colored "Terrace" pattern template:



The Red, Green and Blue from that template are then separated into different layers:



These layers are then recolored and combined in order to create differently colored templates, In this case for the skins: Tec-9 | Terrace, MAG-7 | Counter Terrace, Galil AR | Aqua Terrace (and more recently the MAG-7 | Prism Terrace that is not shown in this example).





Note: On certain weapons - different parts will be colored by separate sections of the template. In the image below you can see that the marked part on the Tec-9 Ice Cap is colored differently (from a different section of the template) than the colored part below it:

After focusing on the Case Hardened template let's take a look at a few other templates. All pattern templates are just images but because different templates have different "levels" of effects on skins - let's divide them into three different sections - "No difference", "Shape" and "Color".



"No difference" templates:
Skins that have this type of pattern templates do look different with different pattern seeds but not in a significant enough way to make one pattern stand out from another. You might have noticed that the Terrace templates in the Coloring subsection above are "No difference" templates.
Here is an example of another "No difference" pattern template - Mudders example:



If you look closely at patterns #1 and #2 you will see a difference in the positioning of the "mud" spots but it doesn't really make a difference to the look of the skin, hence - "No difference" template.



"Shape" pattern templates:
These are pattern templates that contain a specific symbol that stands out from the rest of the template. That symbol might be in the same color range as the rest of the template but will still make a significant enough difference to the look of the skin with the right pattern seed.
Here is an example of a "Shape" pattern template - Sun in Leos example:


On Sun in Leos people usually look for a pattern with a centered sun like the #102.



"Color" pattern templates
These are the most rare and impactful pattern templates. they contain more than one color in a big enough quantity on the skin to make it have completely different colors with different pattern seeds. the Case Hardened template shown above is one of those templates.
Here is another example of a "Color" pattern template - Galil Sandstorms example:



On Sandstorms people usually prefer the purple patterns.



You can find the pattern templates of pattern based skins on the site that I linked earlier for finding float caps - csgostash[csgostash.com]. You do that by going to the page of a pattern based skin, scrolling down and clicking on the "Texture Pattern" tab.

Scratches, like patterns, are also based on a template.

CSGO's Scratch Template:



Through an algorithm that is beyond my understanding - the game takes that template and calculates every pixel on the skin in combination with the float value to determine if that pixel should be scratched and if so - how much.

While the float will determine the size and amount of scratches - the scratches' position is based on the template shown above. Just like a normal pattern template - the scratch template will be laid out on he skin in a different position and orientation based on the pattern seed.

Usually the position of the scratches is less important because on a lot of skins that scratch - even a small difference in float value can mean a lot more scratches and their position won't have as big of an effect.
Here is an example of two Field Tested SSG Detours, one with a 0.15 float and one with a 0.37 float to showcase how big of an effect the float has on the scratches:



Sometimes with certain specific skins - a low float can still mean a lot of scratches and if positioned just right, with the right pattern seed, the skin can look considerably less / more scratched even when the float value is near identical.
Here is an example of the least and most scratched USP-S Whiteout patterns in FN with an identical float (0.065):


Notice that the USP-S Whiteout (like all Whiteout skins) is low float capped at 0.06 meaning that FN only ranges between 0.06 - 0.07 leading to a very slight and mostly unnoticeable difference in the amount and size of the scratches.
However - because only the top of it is able to be scratched at those float ranges and not the body - with the right pattern the scratches are mostly not positioned on top. That gives the illusion that the left one (pattern 35) has a lower float when in reality it's simply the scratches being placed out of the way of the area that is able to be scratched.

A skin has more layers than just scratches and one of those layers is called "Grunge". Grunge is the layer that makes the skin look more worn by giving it spots that make it look more dirty.

CSGO's Grunge template:



For all intents and purposes Grunge works exactly like Scratches (i.e - based on the float value there will be more Grunge on the skin, the location of the Grunge is based on the pattern seed pointing to a specific location on the Grunge template...) so I am not going to repeat the full explanation of how it works and just jump straight to the examples.

Here are two AK Fuel Injectors, one of them has a 0.00 float and the other one has a 0.99 float. Notice the dirtiness that appears on the skin at a higher float (that's the Grunge):



Here are two 0.99 float Sawed-Off Coppers with different pattern seeds. Notice how the placement of the Grunge makes the top one look cleaner and the the bottom one look more dirty even though they have almost the exact same float (just like scratch patterns):

Special thanks to my friend Oskar for showing me the Scratch template and teaching me about Grunge and the process that the game uses to apply them onto the skin.

Thank you for making it all the way to the bottom of this... book...

If you enjoyed this guide or at least learnt something while suffering the headache of reading through it ;) Make sure to leave a like, favorite and maybe even consider giving it an award.



Have a nice day!



I (SeanErren) am the sole writer of this guide and I do not permit anyone else to reupload it.
03/09/2022

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2795921764
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1528825070
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2352059734
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2762908042
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1929061468