CS2 Doppler Phases: Doppler and Gamma Doppler Explained

Doppler is a knife finish that comes in seven versions: Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Ruby, Sapphire and Black Pearl. Gamma Doppler, its green counterpart, has Phase 1 to Phase 4 plus Emerald, and it also exists on one gun, the Glock-18. Each version is a separate finish that is fixed when the item is created, and CS2 shows which one you have as a Finish Catalog number.

Doppler phases and their colors

All seven versions share one name, both in game and on the Steam Market, so a listing never says « Phase 2 » or « Ruby ». You tell them apart by color or, more reliably, by the catalog number on the item certificate. Every Doppler knife is Factory New or Minimal Wear, because the finish has a float range of 0.00 to 0.08.

A few knives use other catalog numbers for the same versions. The Butterfly Knife and Shadow Daggers show Black Pearl as 617, Phase 2 as 618 and Sapphire as 619, and the Talon Knife shows Phases 1 to 4 as 852 to 855.

Colors in CS2 do not always match older CS:GO screenshots. Phase 1 in particular is brighter than it used to be, and Valve’s release notes of May 24, 2024 list a fix to « the appearance of Doppler, Gamma Doppler, and Marble Fade finishes ». Compare against current images, such as those on the phase pages linked in the tables.

Gamma Doppler phases and their colors

Valve uses the same description for Gamma Doppler as for Doppler: black and silver metallic paint applied with a marbleizing medium, then candy coated. The difference is the palette, which runs through greens, turquoise and blue. On knives the float range is again 0.00 to 0.08. The Glock-18 version runs from 0.00 to 0.50, so it exists in every exterior from Factory New to Battle-Scarred.

Does the pattern index decide the phase?

No, although this is a common belief. In the game’s item data, each phase is its own paint kit with its own catalog number, and the kits are grouped under the single display name « Doppler » or « Gamma Doppler ». An item gets one of them when it is created, and that never changes.

The pattern index is a separate value: a number from 0 to 1000 that sets the offset and rotation of the texture on the model. Within a phase it moves the colors around, which is why two Phase 2 knives can show different amounts of pink and purple. It cannot turn a Phase 3 into a Sapphire.

To read both values, inspect the item from your CS2 inventory and hover over the small « i » icon at the bottom of the screen. The Item Certificate that appears lists:

• Finish Catalog: the number that identifies the phase, as listed in the tables above.
• Pattern Template: the pattern index.
• Wear Rating: the float value.

For an item on the Steam Market, the listing’s Inspect in Game button opens the same screen.

Which knives and weapons have Doppler finishes

Doppler arrived with the Chroma Case in January 2015 as one of six Chroma finishes, together with Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, Damascus Steel, Rust Coat and Ultraviolet. Gamma Doppler followed in the Gamma Case in June 2016 as one of six Gamma finishes, with Lore, Black Laminate, Autotronic, Bright Water and Freehand.

• Doppler, 18 knife types: Karambit, Bayonet, M9 Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Butterfly Knife, Huntsman Knife, Falchion Knife, Bowie Knife, Shadow Daggers, Navaja Knife, Stiletto Knife, Talon Knife, Ursus Knife, Nomad Knife, Paracord Knife, Skeleton Knife and Survival Knife.
• Gamma Doppler, 10 knife types: Karambit, Bayonet, M9 Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Butterfly Knife, Huntsman Knife, Falchion Knife, Bowie Knife and Shadow Daggers.
• Gamma Doppler, one gun: the Glock-18, in all five versions from Glock-18 | Gamma Doppler Phase 1 to Emerald. It is a Covert skin from the 2021 Train Collection, released with Operation Riptide, and it does not drop from a case.

The Classic Knife and Kukri Knife have no Doppler or Gamma Doppler version, and no gloves carry either finish.

Which cases drop Doppler knives

Knives are a case’s rare special items. Each case offers a fixed group of knife types in one finish family, so Doppler or Gamma Doppler is one of six finishes each of those knives can have.

The Fever Case brought Chroma knives back five years after Prisma 2; Valve’s Spring Forward announcement describes it as having « Shattered Web knives in Chroma finishes ». There is also a route that skips cases: the October 22, 2025 update lets you trade up five Covert skins for a knife or gloves from the collection of one of those skins.

FAQ

Which Doppler phase is the rarest?

Valve does not publish drop odds for individual phases. The market treats Ruby, Sapphire and Black Pearl, and Emerald for Gamma Doppler, as the rare versions and prices them well above Phases 1 to 4.

Can a Doppler knife change phase?

No. The phase is part of the item’s finish and stays the same for as long as the item exists.

How do I see the phase of a knife on the Steam Market?

The listing name will not tell you. Click Inspect in Game, hover over the « i » icon and read the Finish Catalog number, then match it with the tables above.

Do Doppler knives come in Field-Tested?

No. Doppler and Gamma Doppler knives have a float range of 0.00 to 0.08, which covers only Factory New and Minimal Wear. The Glock-18 | Gamma Doppler is the exception, with a range of 0.00 to 0.50.