How to Profit from the Arsenal Operation? How to Farm Stars, Where to Spend Them, and How Many Passes to Buy?
It hasn’t even been a week, and VALVE’s event has already captivated the entire community, holding everyone’s attention. Player numbers are rising daily, and many are lost in the chaos that has erupted on Steam’s marketplace and CS2 servers. Operations haven’t been released for over three years, and a significant portion of players have no experience dealing with this activity. In this article, we’ll break everything down and help you navigate the nuances and pitfalls.
How Many Passes Should You Buy and What Do They Affect?
You can activate up to 5 passes on one account, with each containing 40 stars. The process of earning stars is synchronized across all passes and essentially just multiplies the number of coins you earn. Previously, it was unclear what happened to the passes after they were completed, but now it’s clear—you can buy more. So, having more passes simply increases your star farming speed.
So, how many passes should you buy? It all depends on your budget and, most importantly, how much time you’re willing to dedicate to earning coins. After completing your first pass, you’ll still be encouraged to buy a second, third, and so on. You earn the first 40 coins, evaluate your haul, sell what you can, and invest in a new pass. It’s important to understand that spending stars doesn’t guarantee a rare item drop—luck might be on your side on the first try or not at all.
Our advice: Level up passes one by one without chasing speed or quantity. Rumor has it the operation will last a while, so eventually, you’ll run out of passes, and you’ll still face the moment when you have to reset them. This tactic helps you analyze the market and make more informed decisions on how to use your stars.
What’s the Most Profitable Way to Earn Stars?
You earn stars by leveling up in Counter-Strike, which requires playing on official servers in various game modes. Deathmatch can be skipped right away because even if you win, you’ll only get around 25% of the experience needed for one star, and winning there is tough.
The key point: only play with the active weekly bonus, which significantly boosts the experience you earn. This will speed up your pass completion while also allowing you to earn the default weekly experience, which could drop a valuable case or weapon. Once the boost stops working, it’s best not to waste time on any modes other than Competitive or Premier.
With the boost active, you can earn up to one and a half stars per full match in these modes. Given that an average match lasts 30–40 minutes, this is the most profitable method. Here’s another tip that not everyone knows: your experience gain heavily depends on your points in the game (kills, assists, etc.). As much as this might hurt team play, focus on guaranteed kills rather than helping a teammate with a grenade and then dying to gather information.
Deathmatch and Casual are decent options, but right now, chaos reigns on those servers. Players have come up with various ways to farm points quickly, and if you don’t play by their rules, they’ll just kick you, wasting your time. There’s also a risk of getting banned for participating in rule-bypassing methods, something VALVE is already enforcing.
What’s the Best Way to Spend Stars?
By doing some simple math, you can calculate how much one opening of each operation collection costs. Then, you can allocate your budget and start forming a plan for spending them. The fastest players have already cashed in, and you’ve likely missed that window. Now you can think about long-term investments for the next two to three years.
Right now, it’s only profitable to sell high-value items to cover previous expenses and purchase additional passes. It’s better to hold onto cheap items for the long term and later use some of them in 50/50 trade-ups with items from other collections. You likely have similar weapons from weekly rewards, or you can buy them for as little as $0.03. Use Steam Inventory Helper to find the most profitable items because when crafting, the final appearance of the item is heavily influenced by the float value, and this extension will help you choose the best one.
Cases
When it comes to in-game items for stars, cases are the most stable investment. They cost just 2 stars and are constantly being opened, meaning their supply will decrease, not just flood the market. Cases are also great for long-term investments, as every case from previous operations has seen a significant price increase. While it’s impossible to predict the final numbers—especially with unknown event end dates—this isn’t a big concern, as past cases have always become scarce over time.
Charms
Charms, however, face a greater risk regarding the operation’s end date. The biggest downside to this investment is that VALVE has allowed players to detach applied items, meaning their quantity won’t decrease. While some players may hesitate to part with their attached charm, over time, everyone gets bored, and the very possibility of detachment is concerning.
Collections
When it comes to collections, opening them is profitable, and we wouldn’t recommend rushing to sell the items you get. Instead, follow the crafting strategy we discussed earlier. The drop rates are well-known, and considering that one opening costs around $1.80, this is twice as profitable as any case. Don’t overlook the Graffiti Collection, as it’s currently being viewed with skepticism, and there’s a chance those items will be scarce once the operation ends. The stats back this up, and the trend is unlikely to change. As for the Desert Eagle, we believe its price won’t fluctuate much over time, and the cost of one opening is too high. If you don’t plan on buying more than one pass, it’s better to take a chance on something more exciting rather than spending all your stars on a breakeven item (at best).
Stickers
Many have written off stickers as an investment, but we believe this is a mistake, as opening a sticker only costs 1 star. Given the popularity of sticker crafts after the update, they’ll continue to be used, bought, and disappear over time, which will inevitably increase their price. Just look at the prices of stickers from the previous operation, and all your doubts will vanish. The skin designs practically shout at us to “Collect the figure,” hinting that they are perfect for crafts.
Will the Operation Duration Decide Everything?
Expect the worst but hope for the best. VALVE doesn’t disclose event end dates, which is crucial for planning investments. However, when have the developers ever stuck to their schedules? Almost all operations have remained in the game after their official end, and Major stickers have been available for purchase months after tournaments ended. So, we wouldn’t be pessimistic. The main argument for optimism is that stars can’t be bought with real money. Over time, people will tire of endless grinding, and various accounts will be banned for exploiting or bypassing the rules. So, don’t blow all your money, but don’t ignore the first event in CS2’s history either. Make a plan, adjust it according to market trends, and may the God of RNG bless you! BlessRNG!
