Desert Eagle Guide for Counter-Strike 2
Damage, the helmet one-tap, recoil, and what $700 buys on a force buy.
The Desert Eagle is the pistol that kills like a rifle. It does 53 damage with 93.2% armour penetration, so a headshot kills a helmeted opponent out to about 51 metres, and an armoured chest takes three hits where a P250 needs five. It is also the most accurate pistol standing still, 24.6 metres, and both sides can buy it for $700.
The trade-off is everything about the second shot. It fires once every 0.22 seconds, holds 7 rounds, and its running inaccuracy is 54.3 - the worst of any pistol. The headshot multiplier is 3.9x rather than the 4x every other gun gets. This page goes through the numbers, the recoil, when to buy it, and the skins and cases.
September 2026
Weapon stats checked against CS2 build 1.41.7.6.
Desert Eagle at a Glance
The full stat sheet, straight from the game.
Every number below comes from the game build of 18 March 2026. Two of them define the Desert Eagle: a 2,017-unit helmet one-tap and 7 rounds a magazine. It kills a full-buy opponent with one headshot from about 51 metres, and it gives you seven chances to land one.
Damage and money
| Price | $700 |
| Kill reward | $300 |
| Side | CT and T |
| Base damage | 53 |
| Armour penetration | 93.2% |
| Headshot multiplier | 3.9x |
| Damage lost at 500 units | 15% |
| Wall penetration | 200% |
| One-tap range, helmet | 2,017 u (about 51 m) |
| One-tap range, no helmet | 2,234 u (about 57 m) |
Handling and ammo
| Rate of fire | 267 RPM (one shot every 0.22 s) |
| Magazine | 7 |
| Reserve | 21 (28 total) |
| Reload | 2.20 s (mag in at 0.87 s) |
| Deploy | 1.00 s |
| Mobility | 230 (knife is 250) |
| Tagging power | 60% |
| Accurate range, standing | 24.6 m |
| Running inaccuracy | 54.3 |
| Recoil | No set pattern |
| Console command | give weapon_deagle |
Three numbers set the Deagle apart from every other pistol. Its headshot multiplier is 3.9x, not the 4x everything else gets. Its wall penetration is 200%, twice a pistol's usual 100% and the same as a rifle's. And its running inaccuracy, 54.3, is the worst of any pistol - this is a gun for standing still.
Desert Eagle Damage & Armour
What one bullet does, and how many it takes.
Everything here assumes a full-health player at close range. Armour means kevlar on the body and a helmet on the head. The general rules behind these numbers are on the weapons hub.
Damage per bullet
| Hitbox | No armour | Armour | Bullets to kill, no armour | Bullets to kill, armour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | 206.7 | 192.6 | 1 | 1 |
| Chest and arms | 53 | 49.4 | 2 | 3 |
| Stomach | 66.25 | 61.8 | 2 | 2 |
| Legs | 39.75 | 39.75 | 3 | 3 |
Two chest hits through armour add up to 98.8 - one and a bit short of a kill, so the chest takes three where the stomach takes two. The head is the point of the gun: 192.6 through a helmet, nearly twice what it needs.
Where the Desert Eagle drops off
The Desert Eagle loses 15% of its damage for every 500 units of distance, but it starts so high that the counts hold a long way out:
| Shot | Works up to |
|---|---|
| Head, no helmet - 1 bullet | 2,234 u (about 57 m) |
| Head, helmet - 1 bullet | 2,017 u (about 51 m) |
| Stomach through armour - 2 bullets | 649 u (about 16 m) |
| Chest, no armour - 2 bullets | 179 u (about 4.5 m) |
| Legs - 3 bullets | 542 u (about 14 m) |
| Chest through armour - 3 bullets | 1,210 u (about 31 m) |
Past each of those distances the count goes up by one. Damage is multiplied by 0.85 for every 500 units of distance, and it drops smoothly in between. Four chest hits through armour kill out to 2,167 units, about 55 metres.
What this means in a fight
The Deagle is a one-shot gun to the head and a three-shot gun to the chest, with 0.22 seconds between shots. Three chest hits take 0.44 seconds - slower than a Tec-9's four at 0.36 - so the body is the fallback, not the plan. One headshot inside 51 metres ends the round against anyone, armour or not.
Desert Eagle Recoil & Accuracy
The first shot is the gun. Everything after it is a compromise.
The Desert Eagle has no set recoil pattern. Every shot after the first lands somewhere in a widening cone rather than along a path you can learn, which is why there is no spray viewer on this page. With 0.22 seconds between shots and a kick that size, the second bullet is far less reliable than the first.
Standing still
Accurate range is 24.6 metres, the longest of any pistol - further than a P2000 or Tec-9 (22.1), twice a P250's 13.7. Inside that range a standing first shot goes where you point it, and one headshot kills a helmeted opponent out to 51 metres.
On the move
Running inaccuracy is 54.3, the worst of any pistol - still better than any rifle, but five times the Tec-9's 10.7. At 230 mobility the Deagle is also one of the slowest pistols to carry. Moving and shooting with it is a lottery.
Waiting between shots
Firing again immediately throws the second bullet wide. Waiting is expensive - 0.22 seconds is already the slowest pistol cycle after the R8 - but a tapped second shot has a far better chance than a rushed one.
Stopping before you shoot
With 54.3 running inaccuracy, stopping matters more on the Deagle than on any other pistol. Tapping the opposite movement key - counter-strafing - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.
When to Buy the Desert Eagle
Force buys, eco rounds, and what $700 is worth next to an SMG.
The Desert Eagle is the most expensive pistol in CS2 and the only one that kills a full-buy opponent with a single bullet at rifle range. Whether that is worth $700 depends on what else the round needs.
What it changes
One headshot kills a helmeted opponent out to 51 metres. No other pistol comes close: the Five-SeveN manages 9 metres and the Tec-9 9.6, and the rest never do it at all. Against the body it is three chest hits through armour, where a P250 needs five.
On an eco
A Deagle alone costs $700 and leaves most of a save intact. Against a full buy, one landed headshot turns the round around and gives you a rifle to pick up. That is the case for it - and it rests entirely on landing the shot, because seven rounds and 0.22 seconds between them do not forgive much.
On a force buy
With armour ($1,000) a Deagle round costs $1,700 - $350 less than a MAC-10 with armour and $450 less than an MP9 with armour. The SMG pays $600 a kill against the pistol's $300 and holds far more ammo; the Deagle wins any fight it starts with a head hit. If the plan is to hold one angle, the pistol works; if the plan is to take space, the SMG does more.
When not to buy it
If the fight will be close and moving, the $700 is badly spent: 54.3 running inaccuracy is the worst of any pistol, and 230 mobility is among the slowest. A $500 Tec-9 or Five-SeveN kills an armoured opponent in four body hits and shoots while you move.
Desert Eagle vs Other Pistols
What the Desert Eagle does better, and what it gives up.
The Desert Eagle stands out for range, accuracy and its long-range helmet one-tap, and loses on rate of fire, ammo and everything to do with movement. The table below has all ten pistols side by side.
vs R8 Revolver
$100 cheaper and the only other pistol that hits this hard: 86 damage with the same 93.2% armour penetration, and a helmeted headshot that kills at any distance you will meet. The catch is the trigger - one shot every 0.50 seconds against the Deagle's 0.22 - and 8 rounds a cylinder with 24 in total against 7 and 28. Details in the R8 Revolver guide.
vs Five-SeveN and Tec-9
The $500 pistols. Both get over 90% through armour and kill an armoured opponent in four chest hits, against the Deagle's three - but their helmet one-taps run out at about 9 metres where the Deagle's reaches 51. They also shoot far better on the move: 10.7 for the Tec-9 and 51.1 for the Five-SeveN against 54.3. Details in the Five-SeveN and Tec-9 guides.
vs P250
$400 cheaper and the standard eco buy. 38 damage with 64% armour penetration: five chest hits through kevlar against three, and no helmet one-tap at any range. It fires every 0.15 seconds against 0.22, holds 13 rounds against 7, and is better on the move, 31.1 against 54.3. Details in the P250 guide.
vs the starting pistols
The Glock-18, USP-S and P2000 cost $200 and need six to eight chest hits through armour. Their headshots kill unhelmeted opponents - the USP-S and P2000 out to 45 metres - but none of them takes a helmet. Only the Deagle and the R8 keep a long-range helmet one-tap against a full buy. More in the Glock-18, USP-S and P2000 guides.
Pistol Stats Table
All ten pistols side by side, with the Desert Eagle already open.
This is the same table as on the weapons hub, but filtered down to pistols. The Desert Eagle row is open with its damage per hitbox and full stats, and it is already ticked for comparison with the R8 Revolver, Five-SeveN and P250. Untick any of them, or tick the Glock-18, USP-S, P2000, Dual Berettas, Tec-9 or CZ75-Auto instead - up to four at a time.
Click a column header to sort. The full table with all 36 weapons is on the weapons hub.
Click any weapon for damage per hitbox, full stats and variants.
| Weapon | Type | Price | Kill $ | Damage | Armour pen | RPM | Mag | Total ammo | HS kill vs helmet |
|---|
Comparing 0 of 4
Stats from the CS2 Weapon Spreadsheet, game build of 18 March 2026. Shotgun damage is per pellet. Headshot ranges are converted from game units at 39.4 units per metre. Zeus and knife values come from the game files rather than the sheet.
Desert Eagle Skins & Cases
Desert Eagle skins by market listings and price, and where they come from.
Three ways to look at Desert Eagle skins. Most listed are the ones with the most offers across the markets I track, in other words the ones currently offered most often. Most expensive are the skins that stay expensive even in their cheapest wear. Cheapest are the ones that stay cheap even in their best wear. Prices update every 15 minutes, and the range on each card runs from the cheapest variant to the most expensive one, wear and StatTrak included.
Tilted
$0.08 - $4.81
View prices →
Serpent Strike
$0.37 - $16.94
View prices →
Heat Treated
$0.88 - $281.53
View prices →
Blue Ply
$0.26 - $6.08
View prices →
Printstream
$29.47 - $131.85
View prices →
Mudder
$0.05 - $6.29
View prices →
Calligraffiti
$0.17 - $5.27
View prices →
Trigger Discipline
$0.48 - $9.19
View prices →
Blaze
$513.96 - $740.77
View prices →
Sunset Storm 弐
$411.50 - $562.01
View prices →
Sunset Storm 壱
$402.23 - $880.79
View prices →
Emerald Jörmungandr
$308.00 - $680.00
View prices →
Hand Cannon
$260.00 - $617.98
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Golden Koi
$160.00 - $304.58
View prices →
Hypnotic
$127.46 - $215.00
View prices →
Fennec Fox
$108.83 - $312.91
View prices →
The Daily Deagle
$0.14 - $0.58
View prices →
Mint Fan
$0.14 - $0.68
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Meteorite
$0.86 - $1.02
View prices →
Bronze Deco
$0.24 - $1.40
View prices →
Oxide Blaze
$0.34 - $2.00
View prices →Tilted
$0.08 - $4.81
View prices →Calligraffiti
$0.17 - $5.27
View prices →Blue Ply
$0.26 - $6.08
View prices →All of them, with a price for every wear, are on the Desert Eagle skins page.
Cases with Desert Eagle skins
Every case that can drop a Desert Eagle skin, newest first. The number under each case is how many Desert Eagle skins it holds.
Fever Case2025 · 1 skin
Gallery Case2024 · 1 skin
Operation Riptide Case2021 · 1 skin
Snakebite Case2021 · 1 skin
Fracture Case2020 · 1 skin
Prisma 2 Case2020 · 1 skin
Prisma Case2019 · 1 skin
Danger Zone Case2018 · 1 skin
Horizon Case2018 · 1 skin
Spectrum Case2017 · 1 skin
Gamma 2 Case2016 · 1 skin
Operation Wildfire Case2016 · 1 skin
Revolver Case2015 · 1 skin
Chroma 2 Case2015 · 1 skin
Chroma Case2015 · 1 skin
eSports 2014 Summer Case2014 · 1 skin
Operation Breakout Weapon Case2014 · 1 skin
CS:GO Weapon Case 32014 · 1 skin
eSports 2013 Winter Case2013 · 1 skin
Operation Bravo Case2013 · 1 skin
CS:GO Weapon Case2013 · 1 skinDesert Eagle skins that never came from a case
Some Desert Eagle skins come from map collections, operations, or the Armory instead of cases. Collections marked "souvenir" also come in souvenir packages from Majors.
Limited Edition Item1 skin
The 2021 Mirage Collection1 skin · souvenir
The 2021 Train Collection1 skin
The Achroma Collection1 skin
The Arabesque Collection1 skin
The Ascent Collection1 skin
The Baggage Collection1 skin
The Bank Collection1 skin
The Chop Shop Collection1 skin
The Cobblestone Collection1 skin · souvenir
The Control Collection1 skin
The Dead Hand Collection1 skin
The Dust Collection1 skin
The Graphic Design Collection1 skin
The Havoc Collection1 skin
The Lake Collection1 skin · souvenir
The Norse Collection1 skin
The Overpass 2024 Collection1 skin · souvenir
The Overpass Collection1 skin · souvenir
The Radiant Collection1 skin
The Rising Sun Collection3 skins
The Train Collection1 skin · souvenirBrowse all CS2 cases and all collections, or check what your own skins are worth with the Inventory Value Calculator.
Common Desert Eagle Mistakes
Small habits that cost rounds, and what the numbers say instead.
Firing the second shot immediately
The Deagle can shoot every 0.22 seconds, but the kick throws the second bullet wide. A short pause between shots lands more of them, and with 7 rounds a magazine there is no room for a stream. More in Recoil & Accuracy.
Shooting while moving
Running inaccuracy is 54.3, the worst of any pistol, and mobility is 230, among the slowest. The Deagle is a gun for a stopped crosshair. Counter-strafing - tapping the opposite movement key - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.
Aiming at the chest
Three chest hits through armour take 0.44 seconds and use almost half the magazine. One headshot kills a helmeted opponent out to 51 metres. The whole $700 is for that shot. The numbers are in Damage & Armour.
Buying it for close, moving fights
In a corridor fight a $500 Tec-9 kills an armoured opponent in four hits and shoots while you move; the Deagle asks you to stop and hit a head. If the round is a rush, the cheaper pistol is the better buy. More in When to Buy.
Forgetting it shoots through walls like a rifle
The Deagle has 200% wall penetration, twice what other pistols get and the same as an AK or M4. Common wooden doors and thin walls that stop a P250 do not stop this.
Reloading after every fight
Since the 18 March 2026 update, a reload throws away whatever is left in the magazine and takes a full one from your reserve. The Desert Eagle has three spare magazines of 7, so a reload with three rounds in the gun throws away more than a tenth of your ammo for the round.
More Pistols
The other nine pistols in CS2, starting with the other hard hitter.
R8 Revolver
The R8 Revolver delivers a highly accurate and powerful round at the expense of a lengthy trigger-pull. Firing rapidly by fanning the hammer may be the best option when point-blank stopping power is required.
Read the guide →
Five-SeveN
Highly accurate and armor-piercing, the pricy Five-Seven is a slow-loader that compensates with a generous 20-round magazine and forgiving recoil.
Tec-9
An ideal pistol for the Terrorist on the move, the Tec-9 is lethal in close quarters and features a high magazine capacity.
P250
A low-recoil firearm with a high rate of fire, the P250 is a relatively inexpensive choice against armored opponents.
CZ75-Auto
A fully automatic variant of the CZ75, the CZ75-Auto is another inexpensive choice against armored opponents. But with very little ammo provided, strong trigger discipline is required.
USP-S
A fan favorite from Counter-Strike: Source, the Silenced USP Pistol has a detachable silencer that gives shots less recoil while suppressing attention-getting noise.
