Counter-Strike 2’s Season 5 update introduced a new way to earn weapon finishes through the Armory, and among the first two collections to arrive is Arabesque. While the Spy Tech collection leans on covert-ops aesthetics, Arabesque takes a conspicuously opulent direction: gold leaf, jewel tones and carved ornamental patterns dominate its 17 skins. The collection is the latest themed drop following Operation Shattered Web’s Norse line, and it makes heavy use of Valve’s updated gold and indigo texture technology to create a unified, regal look across a wide range of weapon platforms.
Acquiring Arabesque skins is straightforward but random. Each Armory drop costs four Stars and yields one of the 17 skins at random. Stars are earned by levelling your account while an Armory Pass is active; you can stack up to five passes to accelerate the grind. Because the drop is randomised, chasing a specific skin—especially the rare Covert (Red) tier items—can take many drops. Valve does not sell individual skins directly, so players who want a particular finish often turn to the Steam Community Market or third-party marketplaces. Prices for new collection items are typically volatile in the first weeks after release, so waiting for the market to stabilise is advisable if you are not in a hurry.
Covert and Classified highlights
The four Covert-rarity skins are the collection’s showpieces, each featuring the most intricate goldwork and gemstone accents. The AK-47 | Al-Sudais is the centrepiece, with a deep gold body and blue jewel inlays that catch light dramatically during inspection. The AWP | Sultan’s Gaze uses a similar colour palette but with a more restrained geometric pattern, making it a strong pairing for the AK-47 in a loadout. The M4A4 | Falak trades blue for crimson, combining red and gold in a design that many early previews singled out as the most visually striking of the four. The Desert Eagle | Caliph rounds out the Covert tier with a gold-and-black motif that fits the collection’s regal theme without being as flashy as the AK or M4A4.
Below the Covert tier, the Classified skins offer a similar level of detail at a lower rarity. The AUG | Vizier uses a gold base with green gem inserts, while the P250 | Emir features a more subdued gold finish with blue accents. The Tec-9 | Sultan is expected to become a popular budget pick because of its vivid blue-and-green pattern that covers most of the slide. The MP9 | Sandstorm and the FAMAS | Caliphate round out the Classified tier with gold-and-white colour schemes that tie back to the collection’s overall aesthetic.
Restricted, Mil-Spec and glove pairings
The Restricted tier contains five skins that maintain the gold-and-gem theme but with simpler patterns. The MAC-10 | Vizier, the Galil AR | Sultan’s Guard, the MP5-SD | Caliph’s Decree, the SSG 08 | Emir’s Eye, and the SG 553 | Sand King all use gold as a primary colour, with accents in blue, green or red depending on the pattern. These skins are likely to be the most common high-quality drops from the Armory, offering an accessible entry point into the collection’s look.
Mil-Spec skins—the lowest rarity in the collection—consist of the P2000 | Sandstorm, the UMP-45 | Caliph’s Decree, the M249 | Sultan’s Guard, and the Nova | Emir’s Eye. All four use gold as a base colour with simpler geometric or sand-textured patterns. While they lack the gem accents of higher tiers, they still fit the collection’s unified colour scheme.
- Covert (Red): AK-47 | Al-Sudais, AWP | Sultan’s Gaze, M4A4 | Falak, Desert Eagle | Caliph
- Classified (Pink): AUG | Vizier, P250 | Emir, Tec-9 | Sultan, MP9 | Sandstorm, FAMAS | Caliphate
- Restricted (Purple): MAC-10 | Vizier, Galil AR | Sultan’s Guard, MP5-SD | Caliph’s Decree, SSG 08 | Emir’s Eye, SG 553 | Sand King
- Mil-Spec (Blue): P2000 | Sandstorm, UMP-45 | Caliph’s Decree, M249 | Sultan’s Guard, Nova | Emir’s Eye
Valve also added new gloves in the Dead Hand Terminal collection that complement the Arabesque skins. The Driver Gloves | Brocade Crane combine a gold print with a deep red base, which pairs naturally with the AK-47 | Al-Sudais and AWP | Sultan’s Gaze. The Sports Gloves | Occult use a yellow-gold design featuring snakes, pyramids and Illuminati-style eyes, offering a more unusual option. For players who prefer fingerless gloves, the Broken Fang Gloves | Yellow-banded and the Bloodhound Gloves | Snakebite are both available in the same collection.
| Skin name | Weapon | Rarity tier |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Sudais | AK-47 | Covert |
| Sultan’s Gaze | AWP | Covert |
| Falak | M4A4 | Covert |
| Caliph | Desert Eagle | Covert |
| Vizier | AUG | Classified |
| Emir | P250 | Classified |
| Sultan | Tec-9 | Classified |
| Sandstorm | MP9 | Classified |
Because the Armory drop system assigns skins randomly within the collection, the odds of pulling a specific Covert skin are low—roughly one in 17 per drop, with no duplicate protection. Players who want the AK-47 | Al-Sudais or the M4A4 | Falak should expect to spend either many Stars or a significant amount of real money on the marketplace. As of the Season 5 launch, no skin from the Arabesque collection has a confirmed float range or pattern template published by Valve, so market prices may shift once those details become known. The collection’s 17 skins form a cohesive set that brings a distinctly golden, royal aesthetic to CS2’s Season 5 Armory.
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