Unlike the majority of online shooters, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive allows configuring both the interface and the position of your weapon on the screen. The latter is referred to as the viewmodel. From this CS.MONEY Blog post, you’ll find out how and why do you adjust viewmodel settings, and should you really change them in the first place?
What’s the viewmodel?
The position of your hands and weapons on the screen is called the viewmodel. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has three preset viewmodel configurations: desktop, couch, and classic. These can be selected in the “Game” tab of the game settings, under “Item.”
How do I customize my viewmodel?
In addition to the three presets, you can change the parameters yourself through the console. There are a total of ten useful commands for that. Here they are:
- cl_righthand;
- viewmodel_offset_x;
- viewmodel_offset_y;
- viewmodel_offset_z;
- viewmodel_fov;
- cl_bobamt_lat;
- cl_bob_amt_vert;
- cl_bob_lower_amt;
- cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt;
- cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt.
To make the commands work, you have to enter them into the console with a certain parameter. For each command, the value of the parameter will be different (see below). For now, here’s one more crucial command: viewmodel_presetpos 1. Use it to reset the viewmodel to default settings in case you don’t like the results of your experiments 🙂
Console commands
The first five commands adjust the position of your arms and weapons on the screen, while the last five control their “behavior”.
Positioning
- cl_righthand: this command determines in which hand the character holds the weapon. At “0,” the weapon will be in the left hand; at “1,” it will be in the right hand;
- viewmodel_offset_x: the minimum and maximum values are -2 and 3, respectively. The command determines how close to the center of the screen the arms and gun are on the horizontal axis;
- viewmodel_offset_y: the minimum and maximum values are -2 and 2, respectively. The command determines how close to the camera the arms and weapons will be: the lower the value, the closer to the camera;
- viewmodel_offset_z: the minimum and maximum values are -2 and 2, respectively. The command defines how high the arms and the weapon are positioned on the screen. The lower the value, the lower the arms and the gun will be;
- viewmodel_fov: determines the FOV (Field of View) of the arms and the weapon. IMPORTANT: This is not the FOV of the in-game camera — the command only regulates the viewmodel. The values of the command range between 68 and 54. The higher the value, the farther from the edge of the screen the hands will be.
Movement
- cl_bobamt_lat: the command affects how the gun moves on the horizontal axis while you’re running. The minimum and maximum values are 0 and 2.0, respectively. The higher the value, the higher the intensity of the gun’s shaking.
- cl_bobamt_vert: affects the weapon’s movement toward and from the camera while you’re running. The values range between 0 and 2.0. The higher the value, the more the gun shakes;
- cl_bob_lower_amt: affects the position of the gun while running. The higher the value, the lower the weapon is positioned. The minimum value is 5, and the maximum value is 30;
- cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt: determines how much the weapon moves to the left when accuracy is increased: for example, when crouching. The minimum and maximum values are 0.5 and 2.0, respectively.;
- cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt: determines how much the weapon tilts to the right when accuracy is decreased: for example, when you’re running. The minimum value is 0.25, and the maximum value is 2.0.
Should I tweak the viewmodel?
Unlike the issue with increasing your FPS, it’s is totally up to you whether to customize the position of your hands and weapons on the screen. But if you’re a regular try-hard, we suggest that you stick with the default preset. Fact is, with some tricky throws, it’s easier to aim with the viewmodel (for example, with a grenade pin) than with the crosshair.
However, if you’re not a throw nerd, changing your viewmodel won’t cause any problems. At first, the new position of your hands and weapon on the screen might distract you. But you’ll stop noticing this after few matches. Also, note that the viewmodel settings don’t affect any of the game mechanics, so the spray pattern and accuracy of the gun will always stay the same.
Examples of the viewmodel
So you’ve decided to toy around with viewmodel settings a little? Here’s some useful advice and a few examples.
One tip first: create a bind for changing cl_righthand. While holding particular positions, the gun on the right or left can block important view areas. So being able to quickly remove the obstruction is absolutely vital. The cl_righthand 0/1 commands are often bound to side mouse buttons.
Now, let’s look at some examples of viewmodel settings:
- Minimal interference: viewmodel_offset_x 2, viewmodel_offset_y -2, viewmodel_offset_z 2. With these settings, the gun will be pressed to the corner of the screen and won’t obstruct the view. The main problem about this configuration — you see less of the skin! If you’re as much into nice-looking devices as we are, we suggest that you try one of the two following options.
- A 90s shooter: viewmodel_offset_x -2; viewmodel_offset_y 2; viewmodel_offset_z -1.5; viewmodel_fov 54. This configuration places your weapons very close to the center of the screen, just like in 90s shooters along the lines of Quake or DOOM.
Settings from the pros:
If you’re an esports fan or simply don’t want to dive deep into all of these settings, you can always copy some of the commands from the star player’s config.
Oleksandr s1mple Kostyliev, for example, uses the followin viewmodel settings:
viewmodel_fov 68; viewmodel_offset_x 2.5; viewmodel_offset_y 0; viewmodel_offset_z -1.5; viewmodel_presetpos 3; cl_viewmodel_shift_left_amt 1.5; cl_viewmodel_shift_right_amt 0.75; viewmodel_recoil 0; cl_righthand 1.
By the way, HLTV.org’s “Best CS:GO Player 2020”, Mathieu ZywOo Herbaut uses the same viewmodel settings.
Now you know everything there is to know about customizing the position of the arms and weapons on the screen. If you liked this post, be sure to share it with a friend and subscribe to our newsletter. The field for your email is right here!
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