The AK-47 | Case Hardened is one of the most iconic skins in Counter-Strike history, thanks to its unique appearance and the exclusivity that it provides. If you’re a longtime CS player, then you might have seen a couple of these shiny golden-and-blue skins in the game; but not all Case Hardened AKs are made equal, especially when it comes to the price point. While the regular version of this item may have a somewhat attainable price tag of a few hundred dollars, certain patterns cost upwards of hundreds of thousands dollars. The most expensive skin ever sold was also the AK-47 Case Hardened. More on that in our today’s guide, in which we will reveal the best and most desirable AK-47 Case Hardened patterns.
What Makes the AK-47 Case Hardened So Special
Any player even barely familiar with the game knows how popular and desirable the Case Hardened skins are, especially the “Blue Gems”. The AK-47 | Case Hardened was introduced to CS:GO way back on August 14, 2013, as part of the Arms Deal Collection. Each case costs more than a few hundred dollars today, which makes this skin pretty much unattainable via case unboxing. Aside from the astronomically high price for the case, what makes this skin so expensive is its finish style – the case hardening is a well-known process of strengthening metal through application of extreme temperatures, resulting in this unmistakable spread of blue, purple and yellow patches of color. The other distinct characteristic of the Case Hardened skins is that they don’t scrape or peel off with the increased float value. Instead, the surface darkens and loses its shine while becoming more oxidized.
The player base wasted no time with the release of this skin, and figured out which pattern indexes were the best from the jump. The patterns that featured the most amount of blue color were dubbed “Blue Gems” and are still called that to this day for a majority of other Case Hardened skins. However, the ridiculously high prices only concern the limited number of patterns with dominant blue color, while the majority of regular patterns don’t cost nearly as much. It is extremely hard to pull a decent blue version of this skin, especially with the current prices for the CS:GO Weapon Case. Aside from the “Blue Gems”, some niche collectors tend to appreciate “Gold Gems” and “Blaze” patterns. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular AK-47 Case Hardened skins.
The AK-47 Patterns Tier List
If you are comparing different Case Hardened AKs, they can be separated based on blue or gold percentage and visual appeal.
The Blue Gems AK-47 Case Hardened Tier List
The Blue Gems are by far the most desirable patterns on the market. They feature a substantial amount of blue color on the upper side of the receiver. The best Blue Gem is the pattern #661, also known as the Scar Pattern. In June 2024, this exact 1-of-1 skin was sold to an anonymous buyer for a confirmed price of over $1,000,000 USD.
The Scar Pattern – True Blue Gem #661
Pattern number: 661
Blue Gem Tier 1 Patterns
Pattern number: 151, 955, 321, 387, 670, 179
Blue Gem Tier 2 Patterns
Pattern number: 592, 4, 905, 13, 168, 429
Blue Gem Tier 3 Patterns
Pattern number: 555, 442, 978, 139, 828, 969, 750, 695, 103, 112, 733, 844, 228, 868, 434, 698, 74, 996, 760, 375, 708, 823, 690, 791, 278, 917, 463, 711, 849, 92, 82, 450, 512, 310, 713, 11, 721, 236, 172, 950, 147, 782, 322, 363, 189, 961, 497, 430, 887, 426, 862
Blue Gem Tier 4 Patterns
Pattern number: 770, 648, 28, 575, 73, 798, 557, 627, 532, 541, 935, 453, 479, 872, 522, 525, 664, 622, 494, 344, 965, 775, 847, 209, 689, 306, 803, 169, 577, 381, 878, 2, 888, 526, 879, 126, 605, 468, 269, 891, 481, 985, 715, 248, 456, 420, 681, 32, 397, 493, 788, 256, 470, 418, 927, 182, 178, 685, 407, 507, 65, 200, 694, 922, 795, 809, 296, 842, 194, 431, 341, 447, 130, 205, 428, 230, 458, 1000, 242, 34, 325, 724
The Gold Gems AK-47 Case Hardened Tier List
The Gold Gems are substantially less expensive than the Blue Gems and can be easily found on various marketplaces. Contrary to the Blue Gems, these patterns tend to have little to no blue color on the upper receiver of the rifle.
Gold Gem Tier 1 Patterns
Pattern number: 784, 219
Gold Gem Tier 2 Patterns
Pattern number: 473, 538
The Blaze AK-47 Case Hardened Tier List
The Blaze patterns are known for the high-contrast mix of all traditional Case Hardened colors, including blue, orange and purple. These patterns resemble tongues of fire covering the upper receiver of the AK.
Blaze Tier 1 Patterns
Pattern number: 571, 323, 118
Blaze Tier 2 Patterns
Pattern number: 365, 819
