The best M4A1-S | Fade pattern is 374, the only index with a 100% fade, where purple covers the entire upper part of the rifle. Next come ten 99% patterns: 279, 80, 441, 666, 786, 73, 382, 774, 873 and 555. The more purple on the upper receiver and rear sight, the higher the fade percentage and the more the copy is worth; regular copies start at about $170. Below is the full tier list, with indexes 0 to 1000 grouped by fade percentage from 100% down to 80%.
The M4A1-S Fade is popular with traders and regular players alike. The Fade design is recognizable on any weapon, and here the anodized finish runs from gold through red to purple. The pattern decides how much purple ends up on the rifle, so prices of individual copies can differ several times over. For how this finish compares with Doppler, see Fade vs Doppler in CS2.
A few other details matter. The skin comes in only two wears, Factory New and Minimal Wear (float 0.00 to 0.08). Most of the rifle is painted, but some parts stay black: the buttstock, the pistol grip, the switches and the finned parts of the handguard. There is no StatTrak version, but a Souvenir version does exist. The skin belongs to The Sport & Field Collection, so you cannot unbox it from a weapon case. At current LIS-SKINS prices, Factory New costs about $170, while Minimal Wear is pricier at about $220, because the narrow float range leaves far fewer MW copies on the market. A Factory New Souvenir M4A1-S | Fade goes for about $340.
M4A1-S Fade Pattern Tier List
Almost any M4A1-S Fade looks good, but collectors value certain patterns far more than others. While most M4A1-S Fade skins have a small amount of purple shade (or none whatsoever), a select few patterns have a full spectrum of colors in abundance, including substantial amounts of purple. The most valuable copies are the ones where purple covers the upper receiver along with the rear sight. The fade percentage is set by the pattern index, not the float, so the same index looks the same in both wears. For more on this, read how the pattern index affects value. Here are some of the patterns with the highest percentage of fade:
The Ultimate 100% Fade: Pattern 374
This is the Holy Grail of the M4A1-S Fade skin. Pattern 374 is the only pattern that boasts 100% gradient coverage. No other index has this coverage, so copies rarely appear on the market and sell at a large premium over the regular price (about $170 in Factory New). The exact amount depends on the specific deal, the float and any stickers.
Patterns: 374
Second-Best Fade Patterns (99%)
These patterns feature a 99% gradient and are usually somewhat more attainable. You could hardly tell them apart from #374 without checking the pattern index. While these 10 are considered the second-best after the 100% Fade, many other 98-99% patterns are worth considering.
Patterns: 279, 80, 441, 666, 786, 73, 382, 774, 873, 555
The 90-99% Fade Patterns
These patterns have a varying amount of purple colors ranging from extremely saturated 99% gradients to a bleaker 90% where the purple is barely present on the receiver.
Patterns 99%: 57, 73, 80, 110, 112, 140, 156, 245, 279, 292, 307, 336, 352, 360, 382, 441, 449, 463, 467, 478, 518, 555, 565, 576, 613, 666, 774, 783, 785, 786, 873, 895, 926, 957
98%: 86, 94, 107, 108, 125, 148, 172, 209, 210, 236, 251, 263, 275, 278, 304, 312, 317, 331, 345, 353, 362, 368, 391, 393, 410, 411, 419, 425, 429, 432, 436, 447, 468, 474, 511, 534, 535, 547, 550, 564, 575, 582, 584, 603, 648, 652, 670, 690, 692, 702, 715, 731, 759, 770, 795, 807, 831, 846, 849, 870, 897, 915, 946, 959, 961, 962, 972
97%: 3, 14, 35, 41, 64, 88, 91, 99, 100, 103, 113, 116, 124, 126, 131, 164, 168, 177, 186, 232, 280, 319, 344, 383, 446, 451, 460, 493, 508, 538, 563, 602, 610, 620, 624, 644, 674, 735, 756, 757, 819, 829, 836, 867, 872, 922, 936, 952, 954
96%: 12, 17, 22, 36, 89, 128, 196, 197, 198, 202, 204, 207, 216, 229, 241, 247, 311, 346, 347, 350, 356, 357, 365, 366, 396, 435, 481, 577, 581, 615, 626, 641, 654, 675, 700, 740, 790, 830, 860, 886, 923, 987
95%: 19, 58, 59, 66, 109, 122, 137, 142, 165, 194, 237, 266, 268, 302, 324, 403, 448, 475, 487, 509, 545, 573, 601, 628, 694, 699, 706, 744, 769, 800, 864, 919, 958, 986, 995
94%: 13, 24, 31, 33, 38, 40, 45, 90, 95, 102, 121, 149, 212, 224, 243, 255, 281, 320, 349, 355, 369, 379, 385, 464, 472, 484, 500, 531, 533, 539, 559, 579, 599, 617, 630, 639, 667, 677, 716, 737, 741, 752, 806, 815, 818, 837, 841, 899, 913, 948, 968
93%: 10, 15, 67, 87, 105, 118, 119, 135, 138, 171, 223, 225, 288, 321, 333, 339, 342, 404, 406, 462, 480, 489, 519, 558, 591, 597, 634, 687, 719, 758, 777, 797, 832, 855, 859, 888, 928, 956, 971, 974, 977, 983, 997, 998
92%: 55, 65, 79, 81, 82, 84, 96, 104, 114, 132, 211, 215, 252, 258, 260, 298, 329, 367, 392, 409, 422, 434, 445, 470, 510, 523, 552, 585, 593, 629, 679, 711, 724, 730, 771, 781, 804, 810, 824, 839, 843, 850, 863, 874, 880, 883, 930, 932, 984, 999
91%: 47, 161, 193, 218, 228, 239, 254, 261, 308, 384, 395, 405, 414, 416, 433, 477, 482, 540, 551, 560, 570, 572, 589, 604, 608, 621, 636, 638, 643, 649, 665, 697, 707, 794, 796, 823, 862, 885, 909, 924, 925, 931, 939, 950, 964, 990
90%: 56, 61, 72, 117, 143, 152, 170, 199, 214, 220, 248, 276, 309, 316, 322, 361, 363, 371, 413, 421, 459, 465, 483, 496, 501, 517, 536, 569, 607, 614, 637, 651, 656, 660, 669, 680, 695, 720, 726, 727, 743, 766, 801, 826, 835, 842, 845, 856, 879, 889, 910, 914, 985
The 80-90% Fade Patterns
The patterns with the lowest values show very little purple compared with the rest of the list. The patterns with 85% gradient coverage and lower have visible purple color only on the buttstock and the rear sight.
Patterns 89%: 42, 46, 49, 101, 145, 153, 174, 190, 201, 205, 238, 257, 287, 289, 299, 417, 426, 498, 506, 514, 556, 568, 578, 590, 600, 616, 633, 653, 683, 696, 701, 708, 718, 725, 728, 747, 792, 809, 825, 827, 875, 877, 882, 905, 911, 929, 951, 953, 966, 981, 988, 989
88%: 0, 1, 27, 37, 51, 92, 139, 169, 181, 203, 222, 233, 246, 284, 314, 376, 397, 455, 503, 504, 512, 530, 574, 681, 704, 712, 722, 751, 767, 768, 828, 834, 906, 908, 927, 940, 943
87%: 18, 68, 71, 111, 146, 154, 155, 213, 217, 293, 306, 330, 370, 399, 452, 456, 461, 479, 527, 561, 571, 611, 618, 635, 686, 745, 746, 753, 760, 775, 789, 808, 821, 852, 893, 965, 979
86%: 2, 28, 43, 52, 74, 129, 133, 157, 160, 180, 189, 221, 274, 285, 297, 301, 303, 327, 328, 373, 408, 412, 420, 440, 453, 466, 497, 505, 521, 532, 557, 587, 588, 609, 612, 661, 689, 703, 713, 714, 721, 723, 732, 754, 764, 765, 788, 791, 817, 840, 847, 848, 869, 871, 892, 907, 921, 941, 944, 949, 960, 970, 973, 996
85%: 6, 16, 44, 48, 69, 76, 77, 159, 184, 200, 208, 235, 242, 250, 253, 267, 295, 310, 315, 359, 364, 394, 398, 400, 415, 450, 454, 471, 473, 499, 502, 528, 537, 554, 566, 580, 586, 606, 627, 632, 655, 658, 672, 684, 710, 734, 736, 742, 762, 787, 805, 811, 812, 814, 822, 866, 884, 896, 898, 902, 912, 918, 933, 947, 963, 967, 975, 976, 978, 994
84%: 20, 25, 32, 39, 54, 85, 98, 134, 162, 173, 176, 226, 273, 300, 313, 326, 332, 343, 348, 354, 372, 418, 424, 437, 476, 486, 488, 492, 520, 529, 592, 622, 625, 671, 673, 676, 678, 688, 779, 816, 894, 901, 916, 938, 980, 992
83%: 5, 9, 83, 93, 123, 141, 191, 195, 256, 265, 272, 296, 337, 341, 457, 513, 524, 526, 541, 619, 647, 705, 717, 729, 733, 763, 778, 820, 857, 942, 982, 1000
82%: 4, 7, 29, 34, 50, 62, 97, 106, 120, 136, 144, 147, 151, 175, 187, 249, 259, 264, 277, 325, 340, 351, 358, 378, 380, 401, 407, 423, 431, 443, 458, 469, 495, 516, 544, 567, 631, 640, 642, 645, 685, 691, 693, 738, 748, 755, 784, 793, 844, 854, 858, 861, 868, 876, 890, 900, 934, 935, 991
81%: 8, 21, 70, 166, 179, 183, 185, 188, 227, 231, 244, 283, 290, 318, 335, 381, 387, 389, 427, 439, 444, 491, 507, 525, 543, 562, 595, 623, 659, 662, 749, 772, 773, 780, 833, 838, 878, 881, 887, 993
80%: 11, 23, 26, 30, 53, 60, 63, 75, 78, 115, 127, 130, 150, 158, 163, 167, 178, 182, 192, 206, 219, 230, 234, 240, 262, 269, 270, 271, 282, 286, 291, 294, 305, 323, 334, 338, 375, 377, 386, 390, 402, 428, 430, 438, 442, 485, 490, 494, 515, 522, 542, 546, 548, 549, 553, 583, 594, 596, 598, 605, 646, 650, 657, 663, 664, 668, 682, 698, 709, 739, 750, 761, 776, 782, 798, 799, 802, 803, 813, 851, 853, 865, 891, 903, 904, 917, 920, 937, 945, 955, 969
How to Check Your M4A1-S Fade Pattern
The pattern index is part of the item data. You can see it when inspecting the item, on its marketplace listing or in third-party databases; all the methods are covered in how to check a skin pattern in CS2. Once you have the number, match it against the tier list above: each index has a fixed fade percentage that never changes.
Where to Buy an M4A1-S Fade
LIS-SKINS has a wide selection of M4A1-S Fade skins with different fade percentages for every budget. Pick any offer from the list and click "Screenshot" to get a detailed look at the exact copy, including its pattern number. If you want a fade for another slot, see our pattern guides for the MP7 Fade and the Karambit Marble Fade, and for alternatives on this rifle check the best M4A1-S skins.
FAQ
What is the best M4A1-S Fade pattern?
Pattern 374, the only index with a 100% fade. It is followed by the 99% patterns 279, 80, 441, 666, 786, 73, 382, 774, 873 and 555, which are almost indistinguishable from 374 by eye.
How do I find the fade percentage of my M4A1-S Fade?
Look up the pattern index in the item data and find it in the lists above. Every index from 0 to 1000 maps to a fixed fade percentage.
Is there a StatTrak M4A1-S Fade?
No, a StatTrak version does not exist. There are regular and Souvenir versions, both only in Factory New and Minimal Wear.
Factory New or Minimal Wear: which should I buy?
With a float cap of 0.08 the visual difference is minimal, and the fade percentage does not depend on wear. Factory New is currently even cheaper (about $170 vs $220), because there are more FN copies on the market.
