Have you ever been killed because you dropped your AK-47 for another AK-47 with a really awesome skin? We’ve all at some point faced the crippling realization that we’re the only person on our team with a disappointingly regular gun skin. That can be real demoralizing, huh? Having a super dope gun skin is easily one of the most important parts of Counter Strike: Global Offensive, so let’s talk about the ways to get sick skins. Then you’ll have the confidence to top-frag in every game.
The first place to get skins is pretty standard. You’ve probably noticed that at the end of each game you’ll get experience that fills up the bar. When the bar completely fills, you’ll rank up. The first rank up of each week will reward the player with a skin. This resets every Wednesday, which means you should try to get a rank up each week so you can nab a free skin. It isn’t likely you’ll get a rare skin through this method, but you can at least you’ll ensure yourself something as the other methods aren’t exactly guaranteed…. or free.
Aside from getting skins on ranking up, you’ll also be able to obtain them by just playing the game. At the end of each game, you have a chance to acquire a drop. It could be in the form of either a skin or a case. If you get a skin, you can equip it right away and go about your day fragging in style. If it’s a case, things get a bit more complicated. Cases are how Counter Strike: Global Offensive deals with microtransactions. In order to open a case, you have to buy a key. Keys cost $2.50 each and will open a single case. When a case is opened, you get to spin the roulette wheel. Hope it lands on a rare skin, because that is the one you’ll be getting. You can obtain a max of two skins and two cases as drops per week, with it resetting the same time as the weekly rank up.
The final place to get skins is through trading with or purchasing them from other players. You’ll be able to find just about every skin imaginable on the steam marketplace, with the prices ranging anywhere from a couple cents to a couple hundred dollars. You can sell your own skins and cases on the marketplace as well. There’s even a handy way to do it by clicking on a skin and then pressing “Sell On Marketplace.”
Overall, getting skins in Counter Strike: Global Offensive can be as easy as just playing the game. It may take some time to get the skin you want, but believe us, when someone dies trying to pickup your sweet gun, it’ll be worth it.
