AK-47 Case Hardened: blue gem pattern guide
The AK-47 is the king of Case Hardened. One seed - #661, the "scar pattern" - is near-full blue across the top of the receiver with a chunky blue magazine and a thin gold streak that gives it the nickname. It sits in a tier of its own; everything else is measured against it.
HOW THE PATTERN WORKS
Case Hardened is one big mottled texture of blue, purple and gold patina; the pattern index (0-1000) rolled when the item drops picks which slice of it lands on the model. Blue occupies the smallest share of that texture, so a seed that lands heavy blue on the side you actually see - the playside - is the rare one. The blue never fades with wear: float adds scratches and darkens the golds, but a blue gem stays blue even Battle-Scarred.
Pattern tiers (playside blue)
TIER 1
661, 151, 168, 179, 321, 387, 555, 592, 670, 760, 809, 955
#661 is a tier of its own. Some lists also rank 617 and 828 here.
TIER 2
4, 13, 28, 32, 65, 74, 81, 82, 92, 103, 122, 139, 147, 172, 189, 205, 228, 256, 323, 341, 426, 430, 442, 463, 479, 512, 525, 526, 532, 541, 571, 578, 605, 627, 695, 698, 708, 713, 750, 752, 791, 844, 868, 887, 888, 892, 903, 905, 922, 950, 969, 978, 996
TIER 3
34, 112, 278, 310, 312, 363, 381, 413, 428, 429, 450, 519, 557, 586, 610, 647, 685, 689, 690, 733, 754, 770, 819, 823, 856, 862, 872, 878, 935, 1000
GOLD
784, 219, 473, 538
#784 is the definitive AK gold gem. Golds are chased, but priced well below equivalent blues.
WHAT COUNTS ON THIS ITEM
Tier is decided by blue coverage on the top and centre of the receiver plus the magazine on the playside. Blue on the barrel tip or the back of the stock is decoration, not value.
The lore peak: the one-of-a-kind StatTrak Factory New #661 changed hands in June 2024 for a reported $1,000,000+ - the most expensive CS skin sale ever recorded, after multiple seven-figure offers had already been turned down. Around 149 pattern-661 AKs are publicly known across all wears and qualities.
OBLIGATORY PLUG
You are not pulling a 661 out of a case - statistically you are barely pulling anything out of a case. We run skin draws where the exact pattern index is printed on the draw page before you buy a ticket, which is more than a case ever told you. Browse the draws ->
Knowledge base: Steam guide: AK-47 Case Hardened patterns · csbluegem database
