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Difficult to master and boasting insanely high damage, the AWP can be a literal game-changer in any match. And a game-changer deserves to look cool. So, here are our top picks of the best AWP skins in CS2!
Note: Prices provided in this article are approximate and come from the Steam Community Market where possible—skins are likely to be priced slightly differently on third-party websites. We picked the top 15 by analyzing online threads and discussions to identify players’ overall favorites.
Now let’s get to some AWP skins.
1. Gungnir
Price: $6000–$10,000+
Few, if any, CS2 players are unfamiliar with the Gungnir. Highly distinctive, rare, and expensive, it’s the dream skin for many AWPers.
Getting Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla vibes from this one? Well, in Norse mythology, Gungnir is a magical spear that never misses its mark and always returns to the hand of the thrower. The skin’s design goes all-out on Norse references and symbolism, adorning every part of the rifle with traditional patterns. The opalescent finish makes the rifle all the more eye-catching.
Sadly, Gungnir is way beyond the means of the average player. Since there are only around 3300 of them in circulation, they can be hard to find and regularly reach impressive prices, especially in low floats. But hey, if you’re lucky, you can get one here on Key-Drop!
2. Desert Hydra
Price: $1000–$2200+
Although it kind of looks like a Custom Paint Job, Desert Hydra actually has a Gunsmith finish, which means that the design doesn’t wear off at higher floats—colors just lose their vibrancy. Some players actually prefer this skin in Battle-Scarred condition: at the highest floats, the white parts turn completely black, which gives the skin a totally different feel.
Check out this wear preview from CSGOSkins.gg to see for yourself:
Open cases with AWP | Desert Hydra
3. Dragon Lore
Price: $3600–$10,000+
Dragon Lore is another entry on this list that numbers among the most expensive CS2 skins ever. Alongside Gungnir, it’s the Holy Grail of AWP skins for many players, and it features a fairly intricate design reminiscent of old-school RPGs.
If over $10k for Factory New feels excessive, wait until you see the Souvenir prices. There are fewer than 100 Souvenir AWP | Dragon Lore skins in public inventories, including only 12 Factory New ones, which could easily sell for over $400k.
Open cases with AWP | Dragon Lore
4. Asiimov
Price: $80–$160
The Asiimov collection, designed by Steam user Coridium, is among the most distinctive in the game, featuring the now-iconic white, orange, and black combo.
The AWP | Asiimov skin comes in a float range of 0.18–1.00, meaning that it’s not possible to find it in Factory New or Minimum Wear conditions. (You can find out more about float and wear conditions in CS2 in our dedicated post on the topic.) And in fact, many players prefer it Battle-Scarred: above 0.90, the scope and barrel turn completely black, resulting in the affectionately named “Blackiimov”. Most sought-after are Blackiimovs with a lot of paintwork remaining on the sides of the rifle (the design on the sides disappears in random patches at high floats).
Here’s a wear preview to show you how it looks:
The black base colors for many skins have turned more gray in CS2, so the Blackiimov may not be as vibrant anymore, but it’s still an interesting choice.
5. Wildfire
Price: $30–$170
The reigning king/queen of awesome-yet-affordable AWP skins, Wildfire features a vibrant design that depicts a fiery dragon against a dark-red background.
It’s a Custom Paint Job skin, so at the highest floats, much of the paintwork is gone. However, Field-Tested Wildfires still look pretty good, and they cost less than a third of the price of a Factory New skin.
Open cases with AWP | Wildfire
6. Medusa
Price: $1750–$5000+
Introduced with the Gods and Monsters Collection (along with the likes of M4A4 | Poseidon and M4A1-S | Icarus Fell), this design depicts the mythical Medusa, AKA the scary lady with venomous snakes for hair. High floats make this skin appear darker and more green, so arguably it looks best in Factory New condition.
7. Neo-Noir
Price: $20–$35
The combination of interesting sci-fi/anime-inspired design and affordability makes Neo-Noir one of the most popular AWP skins among regular CS2 players. It’s often cited as one of the best cheap AWP skins, too.
The female character depicted in the design is holding a set of dog tags in her hand. According to the skin’s creators, she is transferring “her gained battle-knowledge through her badass cyborg arm to the next generation of upcoming gamers”.
Other Neo-Noir skins in CS2 include:
Open cases with AWP | Neo-Noir
8. Containment Breach
Price: $50–$490
Mutated rats, radioactive forests—what’s not to love about Containment Breach? The creators of this skin also contributed another design to the game: the M4A1-S | Nightmare, which is just as awesome and kept in the same style.
Anyway, colors in this skin turn rather dull at higher floats, but Battle-Scarred Containment Breaches have their enthusiasts nonetheless. See which wear condition you prefer (credit for the video goes to CSGOSkins.gg once more):
Open cases with AWP | Containment Breach
9. The Prince
Price: $2000–$3400+
Here’s another rare gem: The Prince, with its intricate gold-and-red design. There are fewer than 3000 Princes in public inventories at the moment, which goes some way towards explaining its high prices. The writing on the side of the rifle reads Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus, which is Latin for “Peace be with you, Mark, my evangelist”. According to legend, an angel said these words to St. Mark in Venice.
Either way, the design is unique in its level of detail and its aesthetic—The Prince won’t suit every taste or loadout, but it’s a dream AWP for those who like its vibe.
Open cases with AWP | The Prince
10. Oni Taiji
Price: $225–$655
The colorful design of Oni Taiji depicts a samurai and an oni—which is a type of demon in Japanese folklore (that you’ll definitely recall if you’ve ever played Ghost of Tsushima). The dark shade of purple on the barrel and scope is an interesting choice, too.
Open cases with AWP | Oni Taiji
11. Fade
Price: around $1000
AWP | Fade has a float range of 0.00–0.08. This means that it’s mostly available in Factory New, with a very limited number of Minimum Wear skins.
Like with any Fade skin, the exact combination and ratio of colors will depend on the skin’s seed number and fade percentage. Around the 80% mark, the skin’s mostly pink-and-blue, with orange coming into the picture at around 90%. Check out this interactive preview from CSGOfades.com to see the AWP | Fade in different patterns.
12. Atheris
Price: $1.50–$13
Atheris is the go-to budget skin for many AWPers: it’s effective and incredibly cheap (you can find Factory New skins for under $10 on third-party sites). This makes it highly popular—perhaps too popular for those wishing to stand out.
The skin features a viper—the word Atheris refers to a type of bush vipers native to tropical regions of Africa.
13. Duality
Price: $3–$16
Like Atheris, Duality is a highly affordable AWP skin, and it too features snakes, though in an entirely different, decidedly Oriental style.
There are two symmetrical snakes in this design: on one side, the snake is red (pictured above), and on the other, it’s gold. This explains the name of the skin and makes the design fairly unusual. At high floats, most of the gold patterns fade to gray (or to iron, according to the skin’s creator), but luckily this skin is available Factory new for well under $20. Unsurprisingly, it’s commonly mentioned as one of the best cheap AWP skins.
14. Chromatic Aberration
Price: $5–$20
The flavor text for this skin reads “(Not so) easy on the eyes…”, and it couldn’t be more accurate. The patterns in this design are off-set slightly, which makes the skin look kind of like an old-school 3D image—except you’re not wearing 3D glasses.
This effect, combined with the bright colors and crisp white detailing, makes Chromatic Aberration stand out from the crowd. Some love it, some not so much—but you’re bound to remember it.
Open cases with AWP | Chromatic Aberration
15. Hyper Beast
Price: $20–$120
Hyper Beast features a colorful design created by graphic artist Brock Hofer (look him up if you like this style, there are posters and other artworks available to buy!). Like most Custom Paint Job skins, Hyper Beast looks best in Factory New and deteriorates fast as float increases—Field-Tested is already pretty scuffed up.
You can get three matching skins from the Hyper Beast family:
- M4A1-S | Hyper Beast ($13–$175)
- Nova | Hyper Beast ($13–$40)
- Five-SeveN | Hyper Beast ($26–$140)
Open cases with AWP | Hyper Beast
So, do you now have a new favorite AWP skin? …or maybe you opened this post only to check if your favorite made the list, that’s cool too. Hope it did, and if it didn’t, that just means you have unique taste, so either way it’s all good. Have fun exploring AWP skins and opening Key-Drop cases—both Gungnir and Dragon Lore await!
