Float Values Explained — From 0.00 to 1.00, And Why It Matters

Open any Counter-Strike 2 skin inspect window and you'll see a number that looks like 0.18432217. That's the float — a value between 0 and 1 that Valve assigns at the moment your skin is generated, and never changes again. It is the single most important number on the skin after the skin's name, and most players have no idea what it actually does.

What float controls

Float drives wear. Lower float means less wear, sharper textures, fewer scratches. Higher float means more abrasion, faded patterns, sometimes huge bald patches. Each skin's wear is divided into five tiers:

• Factory New — 0.00 to 0.07
• Minimal Wear — 0.07 to 0.15
• Field-Tested — 0.15 to 0.38
• Well-Worn — 0.38 to 0.45
• Battle-Scarred — 0.45 to 1.00

But here's the twist: every skin has its own float cap. A Karambit Doppler caps at 0.08, so a "Battle-Scarred" Doppler doesn't exist. An AK-47 Case Hardened goes the full 0.00–1.00. Always check the per-skin range before paying a premium.

Why 0.00x floats are worth a fortune

Within Factory New, a 0.00–0.01 float looks visibly cleaner than a 0.06 float on certain skins (most famously Asiimov and Hyper Beast). Collectors will pay 5×, 10×, sometimes 50× the normal FN price for a sub-0.01 float on a famous skin. The supply is brutally limited — for a skin with a 0.00 minimum and a uniform float distribution, only about 1 in 100 drops will land below 0.01.

The same applies on the opposite end. A 0.99+ Battle-Scarred AWP Asiimov is a meme item that some collectors specifically hunt. Extremes are valuable. The middle of the tier is where the cheap stock lives.

Float and skin pattern interact

Float decides wear. The pattern index (a separate hidden number 0–999) decides which slice of the texture lands on the model. The combination of low float + rare pattern is where six-figure skins live: a Case Hardened "Blue Gem" (pattern 387) at 0.00 float can sell for the price of a small apartment.

See the lexicon for the full vocabulary around patterns, seeds and "tier 1" gems.

What actually matters when buying

1. Set a float budget, not just a price budget. "I want a Minimal Wear under 0.10" is a better filter than "I want a Minimal Wear."
2. Inspect in-game before buying expensive skins. The screenshot a seller uses is rarely the worst angle.
3. Don't pay FN prices for a 0.069 Field-Tested. Yes, it's nearly MW. It still trades as FT on the next sale.
4. Float locks across trades. The float you buy is the float forever. Choose carefully.

A small reminder

Float matters most on skins where the design shows wear — Asiimov, Hyper Beast, most knives. On skins like Slate or Bright Water, the difference between FN and MW is almost invisible. Pay attention to where each skin lives on that spectrum before chasing a premium float.