AK-47 | Hydroponic (Well-Worn)

In Well-Worn (WW), the AK-47 | Hydroponic sits in the middle of the lower half of the scale. Its float runs from 0.38 to 0.45. The skin is Classified and belongs to The Rising Sun Collection, which has no case. The look depends on the pattern index, so a choice by leaf placement comes on top of wear.

What the AK-47 | Hydroponic looks like in Well-Worn

Acid-green leaf silhouettes carry the finish, set on a receiver and dust cover of pale gray that is nearly white. The leaves vary in size, and some are cut off by the edge of the part. The wood of the handguard and stock is brown, grained and lacquered; the grip is terracotta. Bright grass-green metal goes to three parts: the gas tube, the front sight base and the muzzle. The magazine stays dark steel with white ribs.

In Well-Worn the line between clean paint and worn paint now runs the full length of the edges. The white receiver goes gray, the green metal on the high points shows bare steel, and the wood of the stock darkens. The leaves on the flat of the side stay readable, because wear gathers at the edges rather than in the middle.

Where the AK-47 | Hydroponic came from

The AK-47 | Hydroponic is Valve's own work; the finish has no outside artist. It was released on May 26, 2015. Two days later Valve announced Operation Bloodhound, with a coin, a mission journal and profile ranks. Its number in Valve's catalog is 456.

Valve describes the work as a bamboo motif in metallic paints. On the rifle itself the leaves are broad, and the motif reads as green foliage.

What to check before buying

In a listing of the AK-47 | Hydroponic, check these parameters:

• pattern index: which leaves fall on the visible side of the receiver;


• float from 0.38 to 0.45: near the lower bound the edges are lighter;


• the name tag and stickers the AK-47 | Hydroponic already carries.

The wear fits within 0.38 to 0.45, so listings look alike on that count. They differ not in wear but in the placement of the leaves. The wear's share of the finish's scale is 9%, a narrow stretch.

What the AK-47 | Hydroponic costs in Well-Worn

Measured against Well-Worn, the neighboring wears come out like this:

• Factory New sits roughly three and a half times higher;


• Minimal Wear runs about one and a half times above this wear;


• Field-Tested costs a few percent less;


• Battle-Scarred costs about a twentieth less.

The price does not follow the order of wear: Well-Worn costs more than the fresher Field-Tested. Only two wears stand above it, and the main step lies at Factory New.

In this wear the AK-47 | Hydroponic costs more than any other Classified AK-47. The AK-47 | Jet Set is four times cheaper, the AK-47 | Case Hardened six and a half. The AK-47 | Panthera onca is about ten times lower, and the AK-47 | Redline more than forty.

Getting the AK-47 | Hydroponic

No case holds the AK-47 | Hydroponic. A trade-up also yields it: ten skins from the rank below. Inputs include the Desert Eagle | Sunset Storm 弐 and the M4A4 | Daybreak.

There is a single Classified skin in The Rising Sun Collection, so the outcome of the trade-up is known in advance. The float comes out random.

StatTrak and Souvenir

Stickers and craft on the AK-47 | Hydroponic

The AK-47 | Hydroponic has no StatTrak version. There were no Souvenir packages for this finish either; those were made only for tournament map collections. But you can build a Souvenir copy yourself: the Souvenir-O-Matic puts gold tournament stickers and a player autograph on an ordinary skin from your inventory.

Green leaves on a light ground make a large design, and stickers with fine graphics get lost on it. High-contrast stickers look better on the wood of the stock and on the dark magazine. The receiver itself has little room: the leaves fill the side panel, and the edges are already touched by wear.

Who this wear suits

The AK-47 | Hydroponic in Well-Worn is a reasonable buy if:

• you want to choose by pattern without paying the Factory New premium;


• scuffed edges do not bother you, and the leaves on the side should land well;


• the rifle goes into CS2 or an inventory with no aim at a clean look.

The narrow band from 0.38 to 0.45 settles the float question: what you compare is the artwork, not the wear.