CS2 Drop System: An Advanced Guide

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Counter-Strike 2 rewards active players with some pretty great items. You can get a free CS2 case and a weapon skin once per week. All you need to do is play official matchmaking and level up your profile. Exactly what you will get depends on the active CS2 drop pool: the rewards Valve currently has prepared for its community.

There is nothing difficult about how the CS2 drop works. But knowing these principles may be pretty helpful for getting something really great for your inventory. This guide on DMarket Blog explains everything you need to know about the drop system in Counter-Strike 2—including practical tips on what to choose, and what to do with the items you’ve earned in the game.

What is the CS2 Drop System?

In a nutshell, the CS2 drop system is a reward program created by Valve to motivate players to be active in official matchmaking. In a way, it is similar to the daily login bonuses in many free-to-play titles. Still, the system works differently in Counter-Strike 2.

There is a certain active drop pool in CS2: a list of items that drop for players. Each item has its chance to be randomly selected for a drop. You get them once per week after you level up your game profile.

So, you actually don’t need to do anything special to receive a CS2 drop. Just play the game! What you really should focus on is how to become a better player. Practice regularly, use replay controls to notice your mistakes and work on solving them, and watch pro competitions to absorb new tricks. Enjoy Counter-Strike, and you will earn enough XP to reach the next profile rank and get a nice drop.

How Does the CS2 Drop System Work?

There are a few steps you need to take to get CS2 drops.

You should purchase CS2 Prime Status. The game’s reward system works only for Prime players. It is a worthy investment, as in addition to the drops, you will be able to play Premier mode matches and earn your CS2 rating.
Be active in official matchmaking. Participate in competitive and casual CS2 matches to earn XP.
Level up your profile and get a drop. This happens once a week. The gap between profile ranks is 5,000 XP.

Note that we are talking specifically about the profile ranks: from Recruit Rank 1 to Global General Rank 40. Don’t confuse this with the CS2 Ranking system, which works for competitive matchmaking.

The drop system in Counter-Strike 2 is based on Weekly Care Packages. It will suggest you choose two of four item types for your drop: something from the CS2 case drop pool, weapon skins, and graffiti.

You can open the CS2 game shop via the upper menu link and check out the current status of your Weekly Care Package. You will see your profile progress: how many XP points you need to reach the next rank. Also, you will be able to check the items on offer to choose the best. For example, if you see something from our list of the best CS2 skins, don’t hesitate to select it.

Types of Drops in CS2

With the Weekly Care Packages system, you have the freedom to select items you get as a CS2 drop. There are four slots in one package, and you can choose two. Let’s take a closer look at these variants and figure out what would be better to select.

CS2 Case

One of the available slots is always a case. Just select it without hesitation! Not only is this a chance to get a nice rare skin, but CS2 cases also get more expensive with time.

Sure, you will need extra investments to actually open a case and get a real CS2 skin. But there may be something better than the lowest rarity direct skin drops. Check out the list of all cases with knives to understand which cases you may get these exceedingly rare items from. Or just take any case the game offers you, and hope to get the rarest possible skin from it.

To make money from selling CS2 cases, you need to be patient. The active drop pool works in a very specific way that removes older cases from the potential rewards. When this happens, the cases become rare, and their price shoots to the stars. The process takes quite a long time, though.

Skins for CS2 Weapons

Selecting a CS2 skin is also a good decision. You are eligible for two drops, anyway, and only one of them comes from the CS2 case drop pool. Why not get a nice weapon finish? The game is not too generous with this type of CS2 weekly drop. Be prepared to see items of the lowest rarity here. The advantage is that you don’t need to pay for a CS2 case key, and you can use the weapons in the game or sell skins for cash.

Graffiti

In general, it’s the least desirable drop for most players. CS2 graffiti is pretty cheap, and its usage is rather niche.

Still, there are some popular options here too. Take a look at this list of the best CS2 graffiti to know what drop can bring you money and fame in the community.

Active Drop Pool

The exact items the game offers you via the CS2 weekly drop depend on the active drop pool. The list is curated by Valve, and it includes the recently released cases and collections. Here is what you can get as a CS2 drop right now.

The Active CS2 Case Drop Pool

Valve keeps five cases in the active drop pool. Each of them has around an 18–22% drop rate.

Kilowatt Case
Revolution Case
Fracture Case
Recoil Case
Dreams & Nightmares Case

The pattern here is clear. When a new case is released, it’s added to the top of this list, and the one on the bottom is removed. We can expect the Gallery Case to take its place in the active CS2 case drop pool really soon.

Most removed cases go to the rare category, with only a 1% drop rate. The current rare cases are the following.

Snakebite Case
Prisma 2 Case
CS20 Case
Prisma Case
Danger Zone Case
Horizon Case
Clutch Case
Spectrum 2 Case
Operation Hydra Case
Spectrum Case
Glove Case
Gamma 2 Case
Gamma Case
Chroma 3 Case
Operation Wildfire Case
Revolver Case
Shadow Case
Falchion Case
Chroma 2 Case
Chroma Case
Operation Vanguard Weapon Case
Operation Breakout Weapon Case
Huntsman Weapon Case
Operation Phoenix Weapon Case
CS:GO Weapon Case 3
Winter Offensive Weapon Case
CS:GO Weapon Case 2
Operation Bravo Case
CS:GO Weapon Case

A 1% drop chance is a very, very small possibility. Getting one of these cases is extraordinary luck, and therefore they cost a lot on the market.

One category of cases is not included in the CS2 case drop pool at all. These are Discontinued Cases, and they never drop. The limited supply makes them the most expensive.

Shattered Web Case
Operation Broken Fang Case
Operation Riptide Case
eSports 2014 Summer Case
eSports 2013 Winter Case
eSports 2013 Case

Skins in the CS2 Weekly Drop Pool

The situation with skins in the active CS2 drop pool is similar to cases. The game randomly selects items from a few recent weapon collections. Do not expect to get something too rare from them, though. The drops are of the lowest rarity level.

The current skin collections in the Weekly Care Packages are shown on the list below.

Dust 2 Collection
2018 Nuke Collection
2018 Inferno Collection
Italy Collection
Lake Collection
Safehouse Collection
Train Collection
Bank Collection

Three new collections were added to Counter-Strike 2 with the Armory update. Skins from the Sport & Field, Graphic Design, and Overpass 2024 collections may also be added to the CS2 drops.

Weapon and Case Rarity

The quality of the drop you get in the game is based on the skin rarity. It’s the key factor for determining the item’s market price.

We have a detailed guide on Counter-Strike skin quality (rarity). Please, check it out for more details. Here is the list of the rarity tiers you can get as a CS2 drop.

Covert: Very Rare item, almost no chance of drop
Classified
Restricted
Mil-Spec: It’s actually the highest rarity level you can realistically hope to get from the drop. Everything above is an extraordinary stroke of luck.
Industrial Grade
Consumer Grade: Most skins in your CS2 drop will be of this base grade.

Understanding the rarity is pretty important to know exactly what you’ve got from the CS2 weekly drop. It will help you decide what to use in the game, and what to sell.

When you set a price for your items, consider additional factors, such as Fade patterns. Small details on the skin may significantly affect the item’s value. Keep this aspect in mind!

While playing official online CS2 matchmaking, you will get XP and level up your game profile. If you have Prime status, you will get a Care Package for reaching a new level once per week. It’s the CS2 drop system! You can select two of the four drops in the offer. One of them is a guaranteed CS2 case, and the others are skins and graffiti. The exact drops depend on the active drop pool: these are items from the most recent cases and weapon collections.

The best way to get regular CS2 drops is to focus on improving your skills. Pay attention to various aspects, from aim training and map learning to picking up the best crosshair commands to create your most comfortable game environment. The drops are rewards for your progress, not the primary goal in the game.

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