Float and Wear: How Condition Affects a Skin

What the Float Value Is

Every weapon finish in CS2 stores a float value, a number between 0 and 1 that represents how worn the skin appears. A lower float means less wear and a cleaner surface, while a higher float shows more scratches, fading and exposed metal. The value is set when the item is created and never changes, so a skin's condition is fixed for its entire life.

Float is sometimes called the wear value, and it is what the game uses to render scuffs on the texture. Two copies of the same finish can look noticeably different side by side purely because one has a float of 0.05 and the other 0.45. Because the number is continuous, collectors often care about the exact figure rather than only the broad tier, especially near the edges where a tiny difference pushes an item into a cleaner-looking category.

The Five Wear Tiers

CS2 groups float values into five named wear tiers. From cleanest to most worn they are Factory New (0.00 to 0.07), Minimal Wear (0.07 to 0.15), Field-Tested (0.15 to 0.38), Well-Worn (0.38 to 0.45) and Battle-Scarred (0.45 to 1.00). The market label you see on a listing comes directly from which band the float falls into.

These tiers are a convenience for browsing, not the whole story. A Field-Tested covers a wide range, so one copy near 0.16 can look close to Minimal Wear while another near 0.37 shows heavy wear. When you shop by tier alone you accept anything inside that band, which is why two listings at the same tier can differ in appearance and price. Reading the exact float gives a clearer picture than the label by itself.

How Float Affects Price

Condition is one of the biggest drivers of price for most finishes. All else equal, a Factory New copy usually costs more than a Battle-Scarred one, and demand concentrates on the cleaner tiers. The gap varies enormously by skin: some finishes barely change in appearance across tiers, so prices stay close, while others show dramatic wear and command a steep premium for low floats.

Extreme floats can carry their own premium. A near-zero Factory New, or an unusually low Battle-Scarred, may attract collectors who value the rarity of the number itself. As an illustration, if a skin lists around a modest price in Field-Tested, the Factory New version might cost several times more, though the exact ratio depends entirely on the item. Always compare like for like rather than assuming a fixed multiplier between tiers.

Wear Caps and Float Ranges

Not every skin can reach every tier. Each finish has a minimum and maximum float set by its creator, so some skins never appear in Factory New and others never drop below a certain wear. A finish capped partway up its range simply cannot exist cleaner, or dirtier, than those limits allow.

This is why some popular skins look rough even at their best, and why a handful are rare or impossible in Factory New. The wear caps also interact with pattern: on certain finishes a low float reveals more of a desirable design, which feeds into collector demand. Before buying, it helps to know whether the tier you want even exists for that finish, because chasing a condition the skin cannot reach will only waste your time.

How to Check a Skin's Float

Before paying for a specific copy, inspect its exact float rather than trusting the tier label alone. Third-party tools and many marketplaces display the full float value, and the in-game inspect link lets you view the item up close. A quick inspection tells you where the float sits inside its band and whether any scuffs land on a visible part of the model.

When comparing listings, line up float, pattern and price together so you know what you are actually paying for. For a fuller walkthrough of valuing an item, see our guide on how to price-check a skin. If you are weighing where to shop, our notes on safe buying cover checking listings carefully. Taking a moment to read condition up front avoids overpaying for a copy that only looks clean on a thumbnail.

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