Pump it up: CSGO Nova skins in 2020
(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
In comparison to its earlier releases, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive boasts a wider range of choice when it comes to shotguns. Among several pump-action models (and two automatic ones), Nova stands out as the most budget option, obtainable at the low price of $1050.
With its low price also comes low power, but it doesn’t mean Nova is useless. On the contrary, it’s a perfect anti-eco choice for mid-range combat and tight clutches, as recommended in this Zyox’s article from while back. Although one pellet of Nova does relatively low damage, a close-range shot to an unarmored head means an instakill. Top it up the with the 3x kill reward multiplier and you can picture scenarios where Nova is the only logical choice.
Overall, there are 28 CSGO Nova skins obtainable in the whole spectrum of rarities and qualities. Today, we’ll focus on five of those we consider to be more of a treat than others.
Best Nova skins
Get your 12-gauge ready, we’re about to set our eyes on Nova CSGO skins that will make you pump that rail.
Hyper Beast
One of four Hyper Beast skins along AWP, M4A1-S and Five-SeveN. The Nova render looks surprisingly flashy with its exposed monstrous jaw full of sharp teeth. If you find CS:GO’s basic aesthetic too dull and want to add extra fierceness to your point-blank combat, Hyper Beast is there to drill that color into your enemy’s head. It ranges from $3 to $8 depending on the wear, as it loses a bit of its fang on higher floats. A StatTrak version gets two or three times more jiggy, or even go up to almost $40 with Factory New wear.
Bloomstick
Guys, its 2020, we don’t consider reddish pink and flowers “girly” anymore and every lumbersexual fragger out there can run around and kill with glam. The high gloss adds even more to the fab feeling of it. Don’t let the more-or-less subtle wordplay of the name (boomstick, with a bloom) deceive you, it’s not a laughing matter. Over $30 for a regular Factory New is something to consider if you like your collection to shine with price tags as much as with its visages. Triple that price on a StatTrak. Other versions still get you a couple of bucks.
Antique
How about some old fashioned style… but in a pawnshop aesthetic? I’m sure someone’s grandpa has a similar thing hanging above their fireplace, bought for less than these CSGO skins Nova series we’re talking about here. Even so, it has this bittersweet cynical thing to it. The Factory New ones can serve as a proper retro collectable, whereas the Well-Worn and Battle-Scarred remind us that not all that glitters is gold. Prices range from $3 to $12… but don’t tell your grandpa.
Rising Skull
In Japan, white is associated with mourning and death. This skin surely makes the good old Nova look like a harbinger of death. On one hand, it might suit a Punisher kind of collection, even more with some masked, dark-clothed Agent skin, on the other, it would fit nicely among some neo-tec skins like CZ75-Auto | Eco or SCAR 20 | Cyrex. Most non-StatTrak Rising Skulls can be obtained for just above $2, yet StatTrak ones go around between $4 and $7.
Tempest
As the skin’s description says, a storm is coming. You can get into a real storm of WTFs when you find out a Mil-Spec skin for a peripheral weapon can cost almost $30, especially one with a seemingly simple design. Part of it is thanks to the Bravo Case, in which you can find it, and which is no longer dropping, making the case alone go for around $20. The blue hydrographic swirls look really cool ingame, even in smaller wears and there’s plenty of them on the market.
Where do you find most Nova skins?
If you were interested in lower level skins, like Mil-Specs, playing regular matches would be a good source within CSGO all Nova skins below Covert could drop from. However, getting those above might require some cherry-picking. Operation Wildfire Case costs only $0.10, so you can buy more of those to try and drop Nova | Hyper Beast. Bloomstick drops from eSports 2014 Summer Case, which is a tad more expensive (around $1.2), but the case generally has some other worthy skins in there, so it might help mitigate the expenses. Operation Phoenix Weapon Case drops not only Nova | Antique, but also highly anticipated AK-47 | Redline and AWP | Asiimov, so it’s also worth a shot. When it comes to Rising Skull and Tempest, their cases are quite expensive so it’s probably better to go to the skin market and buy it instantly instead of pushing your luck.
Trading CSGO Nova skins
If you’re interested in buying new pump-action shotguns or selling Nova skins CSGO brought your way, your first choice is to hit the Steam Marketplace. Most of those are not specialized skins and there’s no point in scavenging the whole internet in search of a copy with exact float – however, looking at external marketplaces like Skinwallet Market might result in finding a good price for a Nova skin.
Skinwallet also allows you to deposit your CSGO Nova skins in a matter of several clicks and get cash money for faster than you can put all 8 shells into your anti-eco round Nova. if you want to see the whole process, head to our homepage and watch the introduction video.
Nova is a cheap heavy gun in CS:GO. Do these skins matter?
There’s always a lot of simplification when it comes to online discussions about which skins are worth your time and which aren’t. There’s no simple answer to this. Of course, there is some meta loadout which some people treat as the bible of CS, but, truth be told, a good gamer needs to be proficient with all weapons available. Plus, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t just like to play with budget weapons. The prices on some of those skins show that heavy weapon skins aren’t something to be dismissed that easily.
Close range shot
Nova skins for CSGO may sometimes be overlooked and shunned upon, but their collections are rich with interesting designs and fun alterations. They serve a perfect role in completing wider loadouts of stylistically adapted skins or just give you something less dull to hold on to before you move to your final phase in later rounds of the match. Either way, there’s plenty to choose from and we did our best to represent it with those five skins.
