Desert Eagle | Code Red (Field-Tested)

The Desert Eagle | Code Red in Field-Tested (FT): the finish has the full float scale, from 0.00 to 1.00, and this wear takes almost a quarter of it. Covert rank; the skin drops from the Horizon Case. The Deagle in CS2 is open to both sides, so the finish is tied to neither the Counter-Terrorists nor the Terrorists.

What the Desert Eagle | Code Red looks like in Field-Tested

The slide is covered in bright red paint, and a wide silver-white insert runs along its side with the factory lettering Magnum Research Inc. Below the insert runs a black strip with slots, and a red rib rises above the barrel. The serrations at the rear of the slide are red too, set against gray metal.

The frame and the trigger guard stayed dark gray, and the grip panel is black with fine checkering and a silver eagle in the center. The magazine base is red, the only red element below the slide. The color is gathered in the upper half of the pistol; from below, the Desert Eagle | Code Red barely differs from the standard one.

In Field-Tested the red gives way first. The large smooth planes of the slide take all the scratches, and the paint lightens along the top rib. The silver insert with the lettering holds out longer, and the black frame hardly shows wear.

Where the Desert Eagle | Code Red came from

The finish was made by a Steam Workshop artist who goes by DasDas. He submitted it on April 9, 2017 under the title "Desert Eagle 'Aggressor'". By release Valve had changed the name, but the author's description had stayed at two words: "Code red". That is where the in-game name comes from.

More than a year passed between the submission and the game. The Horizon Collection went live on August 1, 2018. In Valve's finish catalog the Desert Eagle | Code Red is number 711.

What to check before buying

Before paying, check:

• float: scratches on the red planes of the slide show first;


• the top rib and the serrations, where the paint comes off first;


• stickers and a name already on the weapon.

Pattern index does not affect the price: the artwork is the same on every copy. The band for this wear runs from 0.15 to 0.38.

What the Desert Eagle | Code Red costs in Field-Tested

Take the from-price for this wear from the listings above. The wears part ways sharply on price:

• Factory New costs almost four times more;


• Minimal Wear costs about a quarter more;


• Well-Worn and Battle-Scarred are cheaper, within a tenth of the price.

The fourfold gap to the clean wear has two explanations. The red paint lies in even, smooth planes, so the first scuff on them is visible. On top of that, Factory New takes up less than a tenth of the range.

Covert Desert Eagles are few. In Field-Tested the Code Red sits between two other Covert Desert Eagle finishes: one that costs less and one that costs more.

Getting the Desert Eagle | Code Red

The direct route is the Horizon Case. A trade-up contract also produces it: ten skins of the rank below.

StatTrak and Souvenir

Stickers and craft on the Desert Eagle | Code Red

A StatTrak version of the Desert Eagle | Code Red exists. No Souvenir packages were released for this finish: they were made only for the 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. That is why the odd Souvenir copy turns up now and then even where no packages ever existed.

The background splits into three parts: a bright red top, a silver insert and a black frame. A sticker almost always lands on the red, so red and orange stickers blend in while white and light blue ones give contrast. The silver strip with the factory lettering is usually left uncovered.

Who this wear suits

Field-Tested is a sensible choice for the Desert Eagle | Code Red in these cases:

• you want a bright Covert Deagle for CS2 without a fourfold premium for Factory New;


• the view from a distance is enough: in a fight the difference between wears does not read on the red;


• you have time to sift through listings: near the bottom of the band the paint is better preserved.

Choose within 0.15 to 0.38 here: the difference between the top and the bottom of the band is visible. Near the top, the red planes of the slide are noticeably scratched.