Fade in CS2 is a finish for knives, gloves and several guns that blends pink, purple and yellow in a smooth gradient. Two parameters drive the value of a Fade skin: the pattern index, which sets the Fade percentage (how much of the surface is covered in color), and the float, which sets the wear. The most valuable copies combine a 100% Fade with a clean blade free of visible scratches.
The pattern index runs from 0 to 1000, so every Fade skin in CS2 has 1,001 possible layouts of the texture. It determines how the three main colors, purple, pink and yellow, are spread across the surface. Gray can show up as a fourth component; it is usually not counted, but the more gray is visible, the lower the skin is valued. The individual characteristics of these skins are covered in more detail in our guide to skins with the Fade pattern.
What the Fade percentages mean
The key characteristic of a Fade skin is its percentage, which describes how much of the surface is covered by the colored texture. It usually ranges from 80 to 100%. Skins with a 100% Fade are the most valuable, because the color covers the entire body. Even that is not the ceiling: on some knives, such as the Falchion, the texture extends onto the handle, so the maximum can reach 110%.
Some knives, namely the Karambit and the Talon, are described with several values at once. If a Karambit is listed as 70/29/1, for example, 70% of its surface is pink, 29% purple and 1% yellow.
It also helps to know that a pattern index range of 0 to 1000 does not mean 1,001 unique colorings. The number of possible texture placements is limited, so they repeat. As a result, the chance of a rare copy is slightly higher than it looks: you need one of a couple dozen suitable indexes rather than one specific number. How the colors fall on particular models is shown in our M4A1-S Fade pattern guide and MP7 Fade pattern guide.
What the price of a Fade skin depends on
The two main parameters behind the price of a Fade skin in CS2 are the float and the pattern index. On knives the float matters a lot even though its range is narrow (0 to 0.08). That is why Fade knives exist only in Factory New and Minimal Wear, and the even coloring makes small scratches easy to see, so inspect a copy carefully before buying. How wear works is explained in our CS2 float and wear guide. A Karambit | Fade, for instance, can show scuffs where the blade meets the handle even at a low float, and that lowers its price. The opposite also happens: at a higher float the scratches sometimes land in less visible spots.
If you have decided to buy a Fade knife in CS2, check the following:
Look beyond the float value and check where the scratches sit on that specific copy.
Check the pattern index.
Make sure the index is on the list of patterns with the coloring you want for that skin. Otherwise you risk buying a 99% Fade that looks rare at first glance but lacks full coverage.
Fade knives are the most popular, but the finish also exists on Specialist Gloves | Fade and several guns. The price spread is wide: a Factory New Falchion Knife | Fade costs around $190, while a Karambit | Fade is about $1,850. If you are torn between this finish and Doppler, see our Fade vs Doppler comparison. With the budget for it, Fade items make for an impressive inventory, and all of them are available on LIS-SKINS.
