CS2 Viewmodel Settings Guide

In Counter-Strike 2, you can’t customize everything, but you can change a lot. From the size and shape of your crosshair to some really strange key binds. You can even change your hands in CS2. How? The CS.MONEY Blog explains everything you need to know about the viewmodel, how to set it up correctly, and why some pros have their gun sticking right out in the middle of the screen. Let’s go!

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What is viewmodel?

Viewmodel is the position of your hands and weapon on your screen in first-person view. This is a purely cosmetic setting. If you change the hand position in CS2, the changes will be visible only to you. All other players will still see your agent model with the default hand and weapon position. 

Why change the viewmodel?

If the hand position is only visible in first-person and is just cosmetic, why touch it at all? There are two answers to this question:

• first, you can set up a viewmodel that looks nice and feels comfortable for you.
• second, by moving your hands to the edge of the screen or lower, you can make the weapon take up less space on your screen. In some positions, this can give you a small in-game advantage.

There is one more, not so obvious, feature of the hand position: using the viewmodel for grenade lineups. Since CS2 does not have idle animations for guns and grenades, you can use your hands as a reference point when throwing grenades.

How to set up hand position in CS2?

You can change hands in CS2 in two ways. The first one is through the settings menu. The game has two presets that are slightly different from each other. You can find them in the game settings. There you can also choose which hand will be your default, left or right.

For more precise and flexible viewmodel customization, console commands are used: 

• viewmodel_fov from 54 to 68;
• viewmodel_offset_x from -2.5 to 2.5;
• viewmodel_offset_y from -2 to 2;
• viewmodel_offset_z from -2 to 2.

The first command changes the viewmodel “field of view.” The lower the value, the closer your hands are to the first-person camera. The three commands below move the viewmodel along one of three axes: viewmodel_offset_x moves it left and right, viewmodel_offset_y moves it forward and backward, and viewmodel_offset_z moves it up and down.

To make the weapon take up as little space on the screen as possible, all three offset commands should have minimum values. This way, the hands and gun will be moved as much as possible toward the center and as close to the camera as possible. All four commands are not protected by sv_cheats 1 and always work.

How to change hands in CS2?

To switch from the right hand to the left hand, you can open the game settings and choose the needed option there. You can also use the console command switchhands or press the hotkey, which is “H” by default. There is an important detail: switching hands in CS2 does not work the same way as in CS:GO. When you switch, your current weapon is re-equipped, meaning there will be a short delay before you can shoot again.

What viewmodels do pros use? ZyWoo, S1mple, donk, m0nesy

Professional players are split into two big groups when it comes to hand position. Some use the default viewmodel, while others experiment with custom settings. In the end, it’s all about personal preference, so we’ve collected the viewmodels of some of the most successful esports players below, so you can choose one for yourself.

ZywOo viewmodel

• viewmodel_fov 68;
• viewmodel_offset_x 2.5;
• viewmodel_offset_y 0;
• viewmodel_offset_z -1.5.

s1mple viewmodel

• viewmodel_fov 68;
• viewmodel_offset_x 2.5;
• viewmodel_offset_y 0;
• viewmodel_offset_z -1.5.

m0NESY viewmodel

• viewmodel_fov 68;
• viewmodel_offset_x 2.5;
• viewmodel_offset_y 0;
• viewmodel_offset_z -1.5.

NiKo viewmodel

• viewmodel_fov 68;
• viewmodel_offset_x 2;
• viewmodel_offset_y 0;
• viewmodel_offset_z -1.5.

donk viewmodel

• viewmodel_fov 68;
• viewmodel_offset_x 2.5;
• viewmodel_offset_y 0;
• viewmodel_offset_z -1.5.

Setting the “right” hands in CS2 is a good idea, but to win games you also need to understand the theory. For example, how does the economy and money system work in CS2? This is a serious topic, because if you count your opponent’s money, you can predict their actions in the next round. So follow the link right now and level up your game knowledge with this vital information.