In CS2, rare AWP patterns exist on five well-known skins: Fade with its Full Fade version, Electric Hive with a blue or orange grid, BOOM, PAW and POP AWP. In each case the look depends on the pattern index, a number from 0 to 1000 assigned to the skin when it drops, and only five to about twenty values produce the sought-after version. Such copies sell for noticeably more than regular ones; the mechanics are explained in our article on what the pattern index affects. Below we cover each skin and the indexes to look for.
The AWP has around fifty skins in total, and their values vary widely. Some of the rifle's finishes are truly unique, and versions with rare patterns stay on collectors' radar.
AWP Full Fade
The rarest version of a fade skin is called Full Fade. For the AWP | Fade, only 21 pattern index values produce it. They all look roughly the same: most of the body is gold, brightest toward the front, with a little purple visible only at the rear of the stock. Examples of such indexes: 129, 146, 152, 241. This Covert skin belongs to the Control Collection and exists only in Factory New and Minimal Wear; a regular copy starts at $630, and a Full Fade sells at a premium. Fades are covered in more detail in what you need to know about Fade skins.
AWP Electric Hive
The AWP | Electric Hive also has several notable pattern indexes. Here the index decides the color of the hexagonal grid that covers the whole rifle. The most valuable versions are Blue Hive and Orange Hive, where the grid turns blue or orange. Blue Hive comes from indexes such as 273 and 436 plus nine more values, and Orange Hive from fifteen numbers, including 253, 54 and 767. This skin from the eSports 2013 Winter Case comes in Factory New through Well-Worn, and a regular copy starts at $25.
AWP BOOM
The AWP | BOOM is covered with comic-book sound effects such as BOOM and CRACK. Where they land on the model depends on the pattern index, and many players value the version where the letters RA in CRACK fall on the hole in the stock. The word then reads C_CK, a thinly disguised rude word. Some see it as a dubious bonus, others hunt for exactly that copy. Just under twenty indexes produce the effect. The skin comes from the eSports 2013 Case, exists only in Factory New, Minimal Wear and Field-Tested, and starts at $90.
AWP PAW
The AWP | PAW is pure cuteness: the skin is made of many images of cats and dogs. Your odds of a good version are higher here than with the previous skins, since there are several notable variants and each matches at least ten values. Copies with a golden cat, a grenade or an animal in a gas mask right above the magazine are especially valued. A regular copy from the Horizon Case costs about $2, and all the good indexes are listed in our AWP PAW pattern guide.
AWP POP AWP
The popularity of one version of the AWP | POP AWP is largely a coincidence. When Among Us took off in 2020, the silhouette of its astronaut in a colorful suit became widely recognized. Exactly that shape appears on the front of the rifle with certain pattern indexes, and there are only five of them. The skin belongs to the 2021 Train Collection, and a regular copy starts at $5. The chance of getting the "astronaut" is small, but a buyer willing to pay a large sum for one is usually easy to find. More examples of valuable patterns are in our overview of rare patterns in CS2.
