A few years ago, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive witnessed the introduction of new customization options: agents and patches for them. The CS.MONEY Blog is here to find out what these patches are about, what they are needed for, and whether they’re worth considering as an investment. Here we go.
Patches in history
The habit of decorating uniforms is as old as the hills. For example, knights used to wear the so-called surcoats over their armor. A surcoat is an outer garment similar to a poncho, often embellished with its owner’s coat of arms. A cloak like that performed both a decorative and a practical function, protecting the armor from bad weather and its owner from the heat.
In this day and age, the surcoat’s distant relatives are the multifold patches on today’s military uniforms: the flag, the owner’s name and surname, their blood type, and the emblem of their military unit. And although the practical function has almost entirely superseded the decorative one over time, the form looks blank without patches to this day.
Patches in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive saw the release of patches on February 24, 2020. Since then, the game has received a couple more patch packs. In many ways, they are a lot like stickers. Here are the common characteristics: you can only apply patches once, and they can be placed in different parts of the agents’ clothes (usually, each agent has three such slots). Besides, patches are divided by rarity, and they can’t be crafted — or used in crafting.
However, there are two notable differences. First, the appearance of patches doesn’t depend on rarity. Unlike stickers, there are no Holo patches yet. Second, patches can’t be applied to the standard T and CT agent skins. So if you want to customize your character model, you’ll have to get an agent for each side.
Coolest patches in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
All the patches in-game can be divided into four large groups according to the rarity category assigned to them by the development team. They are as follows, from the most common to the rarest:
- High Grade, blue;
- Remarkable, purple;
- Gold, also purple;
- Exotic, pink.
The rarer the patch, the higher its price. Some of the most expensive and cool patches are The Boss, Health, and Howl. They are priced at about forty, thirty, and twenty-five dollars respectively.
Where can I get patches?
There are three and a half ways to get a patch. The first is to buy one of the patch packs and open it. In return, you get a random patch from the set and, if you’re lucky, it’ll be exactly the one you want. The second option: to buy one from the operation store that only operates for a limited in time. A third option exists as well: to purchase or trade a patch from another player.
Finally, you can get a patch coupled with an agent as a set. When trading or buying an agent from another player, the agent preserves all patches. Given that agents and patches aren’t subject to wear and tear, finding the right combination can be an exciting challenge.
Patches as an investment
Of all the patches currently available in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, only one shows a consistent and noticeable increase in value: The Boss from the CS:GO Patch Pack. The price of the item has quadrupled since it dropped — and continues to rise steadily. This trend doesn’t apply to any other patches.
Whether The Boss is worth investing is up to you. But what will surely come in handy is a subscription to our newsletter. Leave your e-mail address in the box right there, and we’ll regularly send you the best content from the CS.MONEY Blog.
