A new set of Counter-Strike 2 patch notes were released overnight, with the latest update adding weapon charms to the series for the first time, as well as a whole host of other new skins and cosmetics, and a way to earn some of them for free in game.
After being teased a few times over recent months, weapon charms have been added to CS2 in the new patch notes, allowing you to attach small little 3D charms to your gun for further personalisation. The first charms include designs of small sausage like characters, which look pretty cool, and some small versions of iconic CS2 weapons that look a little less cool but are still fun.
Like charms in other games, these appear to have a full physics system around them, so will move around in game as your real weapon moves, adding a further bit of personality and customisation to your kit.
The other big addition in the patch is the new Armory Pass system, which allows you to earn in game cosmetics for free without the luck of random drops. When you next boot up CS2 you can select one, or even up to five, armory passes to work towards. When active, these will track the XP you earn from playing the game and when you complete them they can be exchanged for in game items. This should make it a little easier to expand your cosmetic range in the game.
Elsewhere in the patch notes, three new cases have been added and they both look pretty cool. The Overpass collection adds a ton of skins that are based on the map of the same name, with the B The Monster AK skin being a particular highlight given it’s designed on the monster artwork on the map.
Another new case is the Graphic Collection, which brings some more muted but stylish designs based on print media techniques. They look really nice, especially the CMYK AWP skin, but I feel these will be a little underappreciated given how simple they look.
Finally, there’s the Sport and Field Collection, which I think is trying to make weapons look like ones that might be used in athletic competitions, but I don’t know enough about guns to say that for sure. For me, this is the most underwhelming case, as a lot of the designs look very similar and feel like ones already in the game. But some people will no doubt love them.
The full patch notes also include a few changes to the game, but are mostly based on the cosmetics and animations for new items.
