The Universelle Selbstadepisole, which roughly translates to “universal self-loading pistol,” and more commonly referred to as USP, is a handgun developed by the German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH. It was introduced in 1993, with the primary users being law enforcement groups in the United States.
Since then, the USP has been a very popular handgun for both civilian and police usage, and a variety of variants have been developed for different markets. It has been adopted by a number of police and military groups in different countries, with the most popular caliber being 9mm.
In CS2, the USP-S is the silenced version of the USP45, chambered in .45 ACP. This is the starting pistol for the Counter-Terrorists, and is interchangeable with the Heckler & Koch P2000, which is a more recent handgun based off of a USP variant.
How good is the USP?
The USP-S is a fan favorite in CS2, despite it being a starting pistol. It is used by the vast majority of the player base over the P2000, even though their stats are nearly identical. The primary differences between the two are that the USP-S is silenced and is slightly more accurate, whereas the P2000 holds one more shot in a magazine and comes with a lot more reserve ammunition.
In the pistol round, the USP-S has a clear advantage over the Terrorists’ Glock-18s. The most important difference is that the USP-S can one-shot headshot any unhelmeted opponent at ANY range, whereas the Glock can only do so up to medium range. This combined with a higher accuracy makes the USP-S a gun that performs remarkably well in skilled hands.
Keeping your distance and discharging a well-placed shot is the best way to use this gun, and both hearing and seeing the blood gush out of a Terrorist from a headshot is oh-so satisfying. Just be aware that the gun holds 36 shots in total, so it can be easy to run out of bullets if you spam too much (though you shouldn’t be doing that anyways…). It should also be noted that the first-shot accuracy while running is very high, so use that to your advantage.
Outside of the pistol round, the USP-S still holds its ground as a usable weapon. It is significantly better than the Glock in eco-rounds, as it can reliably two shot a helmeted opponent. And due to the reasons aforementioned the USP-S sees a lot more usage throughout a game than the Glock. So if you want to quietly headshot your opponents in style then here is a list of the 15 best looking USP-S skins in CS2. Keep in mind that this is my opinion though! Appearance is always subjective so go with what you think looks best.
What are the best USP-S skins in CS2? (All prices for Factory New condition)
15. Desert Tactical ($.75)
Desert Tactical in action:
The Desert Tactical covers the gun in a subtle brown desert camouflage, and adds a variety of different details. The silencer gets updated to feel more military-esque, the grip gets a new texture, and there is even a tag added onto the gun. This is the most tactical looking USP-S skin out there, and looks exactly like something a desert strike team would bring along with them.
If you are a fan of these types of skins, well do I have good news for you. This skin is one of the cheapest in the game, the wear of the gun only makes it darker—and even the Battle Scarred variant still looks amazing.
14. Guardian ($5.31)
Guardian in action:
A simple but very clean looking skin, the Guardian covers the slide of the gun in a deep blue with a black Counter-Terrorist logo added on. Additionally a bit of white text is added onto the silencer. It has a subdued tactical feel to it, and sometimes simple is better. This pairs excellently with its M4A1-S counterpart, and the combo of those two is something I personally ran for many years.
13. Blueprint ($38)
Blueprint in action:
The Blueprint wraps the grip and silencer of the USP-S in a Royal Blue, with a pattern resembling those of architectural drawings. The best part of the gun is the slide, which instead gets its edges highlighted in a similar shade of blue. The slide is what is seen the most while in game, and having this style gives off Tron vibes… only thing that’s missing is a more neon shade of blue.
Nonetheless this skin looks great, but do be warned it comes from the rather scarce Operation Hydra Collection, so be prepared to pay a high price for a blue-tier skin.
12. Torque ($1.75)
Torque in action:
The Torque is the first skin in this list that is part of an assortment of “Sci-Fi esque” USP-S skins. This one has an interesting color scheme, and personally I don’t think yellow was the best choice. The rest of the design is nice though and this is a solid choice for a USP-S skin if you are on a budget. Though once you get to Field-Tested wear a lot of the gun does get really scratched up, so try to get at least Minimal Wear Torque if you are able to.
11. Cortex ($11.27)
Cortex in action:
The Cortex USP-S skin paints on an image of a skeleton onto the grip of the gun. Its brain matter spills out towards the top of the gun and forms a “USPS” on the silencer. This artwork is already pretty amazing, though what holds this skin back from a higher spot is the underwhelming base coat. The silver on the slide and mix of brown on the grip and silencer don’t mix well in my opinion. But the main artwork alone gets this skin onto this list, and it’s great that barely any of it gets touched in higher wear conditions.
10. Dark Water ($89 for Minimal Wear)
Dark Water in action:
The Dark Water was part of the original CS:GO Weapon Case—the first to be added to the game—alongside an M4A1-S variant. The skin has a chrome base coat with some dark gray accents added onto it. This gun, alongside the M4A1-S variant, got a large upgrade in CS2 with the new material lighting system, so now it makes the gun look like it’s truly made of metal, instead of it clearly being a paint coat. This gives it an incredible looking shine.
The caveat to this is that the skin scratches VERY easily. You cannot get this skin in Factory New condition, as Minimal Wear is the lowest float value for the skin. And even at the lowest float value obtainable there’s still noticeable scratches. This is true for all Dark Water skins… not just the USP-S. Shame.
9. Black Lotus ($9)
Black Lotus in action:
The Black Lotus looks too good to be blue skin… which is why it isn’t priced like one either. This skin paints the slide and parts of the grip with a rich purple, and a beautiful looking black lotus flower is added onto it. The silencer is a nice touch too, as ventilator holes and other details have been added.
This skin is a reference to the famous Magic: The Gathering card of the same name, which by the way is the most expensive card in that game. A perfect condition Black Lotus signed by the original artist sold for a whopping $540,000 dollars, which is fitting as this skin is significantly more expensive than the rest of the blue-tiers in the same case. An M4A1-S Black Lotus was recently released, and that skin looks absolutely fantastic (and is also very expensive for its tier…).
8. Purple DDPAT ($16.93)
Purple DDPAT in action:
Yet another blue skin that is very expensive… though this time it’s from a map collection, which is more understandable. The Purple DDPAT is like the Dark Water as its shine looks fantastic in the Source 2 engine. The gun comes painted in a mix of purple and lavender that compliment each other well, and comes in a Digital Disruptive Pattern.
And just like the Dark Water… this skin scratches quite a bit as well. Although now it comes in Factory New condition, and both that in Minimal Wear look quite decent. Once you get past Field-Tested though… it starts looking unrecognizable.
7. Ticket to Hell ($1.95)
Ticket to Hell in action:
The Ticket to Hell is another sci-fi style gun, though this time in a more abstract sense. The gun gets covered in a matte black, and a variety of stylized technical messages and logos have been boldly painted in white. There’s even sets of monster teeth on different parts of the slide, which add to a menacing aesthetic that the gun provides. As part of the larger Dreams and Nightmares collection, I think it gets the job done nicely.
6. Cyrex ($3.40)
Cyrex in action:
Back to traditional sci-fi, the Cyrex is as traditional as they come. The skin has a black and white color palette, with bright red accents plastered all over. This makes the gun look like some sort of blaster from any stereotypical sci-fi film, which would have paired even better with the old USP-S firing sounds—as that pretty much sounded like a laser gun. This is part of a bigger collection with an M4A1-S variant (noticing a trend yet?), though this is the only purple-tiered skin out of them. Undertiered in my opinion, but that makes this gun pretty cheap for such a good looking skin.
5. Orion ($80)
Orion in action:
Yet another sci-fi skin, and another amazing looking one too. This time it comes accented with a neon orange that really pops. The silencer looks especially great on this skin, and will definitely catch the eyes of spectators. Additionally this color scheme pairs nicely with the M4A1-S Atomic Alloy from the same collection.
Unfortunately this skin has a bit of a troubled past. One of its creators was involved in the creation of the famous M4A4 Howl, which became contraband due to the original version having stolen artwork on it. However, unlike the Howl, the Orion is still obtainable through trade up contracts—it just cannot be obtained through case openings. The skin that replaced it was the USP-S Caiman, which is a bit underwhelming in my opinion.
4. Kill Confirmed ($184)
Kill Confirmed in action:
Take everything I said about the Cortex and bring it to the next level… you get the Kill Confirmed. The primary artwork looks so good—an absolutely frightening skull with bright eyes, the detailed bone shards flying out of its head, and the bullet with a fantastic spiraling flame trail. It’s a chef’s kiss in representing what you’ll be doing to enemies with this gun. And the background color fits the gun nicely as well; it’s a dark maroon which contrasts the bright red near the end of the silencer, as well as the scarlet blood coming out of the skull. This one costs a pretty penny though, but keep in mind higher wear versions still look amazing.
3. Neo-Noir ($50)
Neo-Noir in action:
The USP-S Neo-Noir was the first in the line of skins to be added to the game. And with that, it introduced one of the best sets of skins to ever be introduced, so I hold a lot of respect for it in that regard. Plus, it looks amazing as well. The highly detailed artwork is perfectly shaded with a terrific pink-blue gradient. My only complaint is the silencer, as the single black stripe doesn’t blend nicely into the primary artwork on the slide. I also think the other Neo-Noir skins look better (especially the spectacle that is the M4A4), but still this is one of the best looking USP-S skins in the game.
2. Printstream ($123)
Printstream in action:
The last skin on this list with an accompanying M4A1-S design, the Printstream is a reminder that sometimes, simplicity is best. The skin comes in a bold black and white design that looks very clean, as there isn’t too much going on. On the flip side, there’s just enough details throughout the skin to not make it feel plain, unlike the Whiteout.
The best part of the skin is the subtle pearlescent finish it has. What this means is that in certain lighting conditions, the white will appear with a slight rainbow hue. It’s not enough to be distracting when using it, but the effect makes the skin look fantastic when inspecting it. Additionally some of the detailing has been given a much more vibrant pearlescent effect, such as around the silencer and on the slide.
1. The Traitor ($59)
The Traitor in action:
A bit of an unpopular pick for first place, but I hold the opinion that The Traitor is the best looking USP-S skin in CS2. The primary reason is just the fact that the base red coat looks so good. It’s in a nice shade that’s not too bright or dark and comes with a finish that makes it have this brilliant luster. Combine this with a beautiful blue and gold tree design and a reference to the Hanged Man arcana, and you get a skin where everything just clicks.
I do hold a bit of a bias as I am a fan of all the Major-Arcana themed skins in the game. But take a look at all of them, and you will find that they all look magnificent. The Traitor is one of the best out of the set and I will proudly defend it as the best USP-S skin. As a nice bonus, the wear value of the skin doesn’t do much to it, so you can pick up a Battle-Scarred one and it will look amazing. If anything, all the wear pretty much does is add a slight gold hue to the skin, which actually might look better to some people.
