CS2 Charms and Keychains: Patterns, Rarity, Detachment and Highlight Charms

Charms (keychains in the game files) are removable 3D weapon attachments that Valve added in the Armory update on 2 October 2024, and a weapon holds one charm at a time. As of October 2026 there are 78 regular charms in four Armory collections. Each has a pattern index from 1 to 100,000 and no float. Souvenir Highlight charms from Majors are a separate group.

What are CS2 charms, and how do they differ from stickers?

Charms are dynamic items you apply to a weapon and place precisely by drag and drop. They are purely cosmetic and change nothing about how a weapon shoots. A weapon can have one charm attached at a time.

A charm can be taken off and reused. A sticker is lost when it is removed or scraped. Armory items were scheduled to reach the Steam Market after a trade block expired, and the October 2024 notes added a seven-day re-trade and re-market restriction. The trade lock guide explains how that differs from trade protection.

Feature	Charm	Sticker
Per weapon	One at a time	Several slots
Removal	Charm Detachment, charm returns to inventory	Scraped away or removed, sticker is lost
Wear	None, no float	Scrape levels (SP%)
Appearance	3D, dangles from the weapon, pattern index	Flat decal
Reuse	Yes, each move costs a detachment	No

Sticker values and placement are covered in CS2 Sticker Crafts Explained.

How does the Charm Detachment Pack work?

A Charm Detachment removes an applied charm and returns it to your inventory; the detachment is used up, the charm is not. One Charm Detachment Pack gives 3 Charm Detachments, and each one detaches a single applied charm.

There are three ways to get detachments:

• Armory redemption: Redeeming a charm from the Armory grants three complimentary Charm Detachments. A charm bought on the market does not come with free detachments.
• Weekly drops: After a small update on 8 October 2024, packs began appearing as a weekly drop option, a change Valve did not mention in the patch notes.
• Store purchase: Additional detachments are available for purchase. Third-party guides quote $0.99, while an October 2024 report gave $0.80, so check the store price.

Reports on whether a pack can be traded or sold are inconsistent. Check the item’s status in your own inventory before counting on resale.

Which charm collections exist?

There are four Armory collections with 78 regular charms in total (17 + 16 + 23 + 22). Major Souvenir Highlight charms are not part of them.

Collection	Added	Charms	Theme
Missing Link	2 Oct 2024	17	Valve-made sausage-style characters
Small Arms	2 Oct 2024	16	Miniature weapons and knives
Missing Link Community	1 Oct 2025	23	Workshop artists’ sausage designs
Dr Boom	1 Oct 2025	22	Grenade-shaped charms

Missing Link has 17 charms and Small Arms 16. Valve’s 1 October 2025 patch notes added Missing Link Community (23 charms by Workshop artists) and Dr. Boom (22 charms). Which collections can be redeemed may change, so check the Armory screen in-game.

How do you get charms?

Charms come from Armory credits or from other players on the Steam Community Market and third-party markets. They do not drop from weapon cases.

1. Buy an Armory Pass. It costs $15.99 (€15.19) and requires Prime status.
2. Earn XP on official servers. The first credit is granted on activation and the other 39 are earned through play. Roughly 300 XP yields one credit.
3. Spend 3 credits on a charm. The pull is random within the collection you choose.
4. Alternatively, buy the exact charm you want once its trade restriction ends.

A full pass gives 40 credits, enough for 13 random charms, which works out to about $1.20 per charm at the pass price. Credits cannot be bought directly with money.

Note: Armory pulls are random draws, like case openings, and the rarest charms are a small fraction of results. For how odds work in general, see How CS2 Cases Work. Opening cases is 18+, uses real money and wins are never guaranteed.

What are the charm rarity tiers, and what drives prices?

Charms use four tiers: High Grade, Remarkable, Exotic and Extraordinary. Prices follow rarity, the specific design and, for some designs, the pattern. The Dr Boom collection shows how tiers are spread:

Tier	Colour	Dr Boom charms	Dr Boom example
High Grade	Blue	6	Gritty
Remarkable	Purple	7	Big Brain
Exotic	Pink	5	Eye of Ball
Extraordinary	Red	4	Butane Buddy

Valve’s patch notes do not publish charm odds. One third-party database cites 3.2% as the maximum probability for the Exotic tier, with Extraordinary rarer still. Treat any exact percentage as unverified and compare with CS2 Rarity Tiers and Case Odds.

Prices are skewed toward the cheap end. As of mid-July 2026, 45 of 78 regular charms tracked by SteamAnalyst cost under $1, and the 12 Extraordinary charms ranged from $9.37 to $121. As of early October 2026, Skin.land lists Butane Buddy at about $124.50 and Lil’ Boo at about $78.82.

Prices move. A July 2026 guide put Lil’ Boo at $95–120, so the October figure above is a clear drop. Venue matters too. One tracker showed Lil’ Boo near $116 on Steam against about $73 on BUFF. Sources use different methods, so treat every figure as a snapshot.

What is the charm pattern index and how does it change the look?

Each charm has a hidden pattern (seed) from 1 to 100,000 that sets its colours or effects, and it never changes. Regular skins have 1,000 patterns, charms have 100,000. To get a different look, you need another copy.

How much the index matters depends on the charm:

• Colour shifts: Semi-Precious is described as green from 1 to 25,000, blue from 25,000 to 75,000 and purple from 75,000 to 100,000. Lil’ Ava is roughly green up to 25,000, brown to 55,000, then purple.
• Effect shifts: On Hot Howl, a lower pattern ID gives a less sparkly glitter effect. On Diamond Dog, the higher the index, the brighter the diamonds shine.
• Little change: Some charms barely differ between seeds, so a premium for them is rarely justified.

Community colour ranges are approximate and disagree. For Semi-Precious, another guide says light green up to 10,000 and bright blue at 30,000–50,000. Inspect any specific seed before paying extra. The most-discussed rare seeds are tracked in Steam guides such as the Supreme CS2 Charms Guide. Because charms do not wear out, float values do not apply. Pattern premiums are uneven: Chicken Lil trades at $1–3, but blue seeds are reported at $20+ (July 2026).

What are Souvenir Highlight charms from Majors?

Souvenir Highlight charms carry a video clip of a Major moment and are separate from the Armory collections. They can be attached to any weapon you own.

At Austin 2025, they came with souvenir weapons. Souvenir Highlight Packages were available exclusively for playoff matches and held a souvenir weapon with a charm featuring a highlight from the selected map. They were released on 3 July 2025 as described by HLTV; the earlier announcement is dated 30 May 2025. Weapon-side details are in StatTrak™ vs Souvenir Skins.

Cologne 2026 changed how they are obtained. The Major Hub went live on 22 May 2026, with sticker capsules removed in favour of a token-based shop. Valve then released 61 Souvenir Highlight Charms: 10 highlights from each of the six stages, plus Falcons’ trophy-lifting moment. They are bought directly with Tokens in the Major Shop instead of through playoff Souvenir Packages. Shop availability changes, so verify it in-game.

Each charm names its match, as on the Steam listing for the asap ACE charm, a High Grade charm from a MIBR vs THUNDERdOWNUNDER Stage I match. It was listed from $3.81 in October 2026. Prices vary widely by highlight: SteamAnalyst reported Highlight charms up to about $354 as of mid-July 2026. See the CSGOSKINS.GG write-up for the Cologne release.

Key takeaway: Buy the charm you like, check the seed, and do not count on a resale price. Spend only what you can afford to lose.

FAQ

How many charm collections are there in CS2?

There are four Armory collections: Missing Link, Small Arms, Missing Link Community and Dr Boom. Together they hold 78 regular charms. Souvenir Highlight charms from Austin 2025 and Cologne 2026 are a separate group.

Can you remove a charm from a weapon in CS2?

Yes. A Charm Detachment removes it and returns it to your inventory intact. Redeeming an Armory charm grants three detachments, and more come from weekly drops or the store.

Do charms have float or wear?

No. Charms have a rarity tier and a pattern index from 1 to 100,000, but no float or exterior. A detached charm returns to your inventory unchanged.

What is the most expensive charm in CS2?

As of early October 2026, Skin.land lists Charm | Butane Buddy from Dr Boom at about $124.50, with Charm | Lil’ Boo next at roughly $78.82. Prices differ by marketplace and change quickly, and rare seeds can sell for more.

Can you open charms from cases?

No. Regular charms come from the Armory, paid for with credits earned through an Armory Pass, or from the market. For actual case drops, see the all cases page. Case openings are 18+ and carry a house edge.

Can you change a charm’s pattern?

No. The seed is fixed when the charm is created, so a different look means buying another copy. Compare seeds with an inspect link before paying a premium.