Viewmodel

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Now that is what I wanna see!
The Soldier, upon seeing his new weapon's viewmodel

Viewmodels are models that represent the player's hands holding their current weapon. By default, viewmodels in Team Fortress 2 have a Field of View (fov) of 54 and are mostly right handed, but this can be changed through the Advanced Options or through the usage of console commands. In the Advanced Options menu, the viewmodel's fov can be adjusted to a maximum of 70, but using the console command viewmodel_fov the maximum possible value can be 179. Setting r_drawviewmodel to 0 disables the viewmodels entirely, but does not disable some some particles such as fire. Some viewmodels feature jiggle bones, and it is possible for multiple weapons to be visible at once (such as Demoman shields).

For a list of individual viewmodels, see the gallery on the individual weapon articles.

Flipped viewmodels

By default all viewmodels, except for the Spy's watches, are right handed. Viewmodels can be flipped in the Advanced Options menu or by setting cl_flipviewmodels to 1, making the viewmodels left handed. Switching the viewmodel makes some projectiles, such as rockets (except for the Original's rockets), originate from the left side of the screen instead of the right side. This can only be done in Spectator or outside of a server.

Minimized viewmodels

In the Meet Your Match Update, minimized viewmodels were added. Enabling them in the Advanced Options (or using tf_use_min_viewmodels) lowers the viewmodel to take up less space on screen. This option allows players to see more of the battlefield while not entirely disabling the viewmodels.

Customization

Players can download custom viewmodels to replace the game's default ones, often changing animations or the appearance of weapons, as well as being able to turn viewmodels semi-transparent. Custom viewmodels cannot be used in Casual or Competitive Mode, but can be used in community servers.

Update history

December 20, 2007 Patch
  • Fixed first person spectator view of the Spy watch not showing the correct cloak value

June 23, 2008 Patch

  • Fixed Spy Sapper viewmodel animation popping

August 20, 2008 Patch

  • Fixed a viewmodel related crash when switching classes away from Medic

February 2, 2009 Patch

  • Added Viewmodel FOV slider to advanced multiplayer options
  • Added a hide viewmodel option to advanced multiplayer options

February 16, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed muzzle flashes & shell ejections still playing when viewmodels are hidden
  • [Undocumented] Removed Natascha's ammo belt in first person view model

March 13, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Natascha's chain not being drawn on the view model

May 21, 2009 Patch (Sniper vs. Spy Update)

  • Made it more obvious on first person view model when your motion cloak is out of juice and you are partially visible.
  • Also made it more obvious on first person view model when you're bumped while cloaked.

June 23, 2009 Patch

  • Added an option to the advanced multiplayer menu to select left or right handed view models

June 25, 2009 Patch

  • Changed cl_flipviewmodels so it can no longer be set while connected to a server
  • Fixed a case where an observer could set the observed player's view models
  • Fixed the Heavy's punches not matching mouse button presses when the view models are flipped

September 15, 2009 Patch

  • Added check to prevent clients using the "firstperson" command to get out of thirdperson view while they're phasing, taunting or control stunned
  • Fixed several player & viewmodel simulation issues that occurred when the game was paused

January 6, 2010 Patch

  • Added min/max values to viewmodel_fov convar to match the settings in the slider

January 13, 2010 Patch

  • Removed the clamps on the "viewmodel_fov" convar
  • Added "viewmodel_fov_demo", a convar that controls viewmodel fov during demo playback

September 30, 2010 Patch

  • [Undocumented] The Tribalman's Shiv view model was updated to match the world model.

October 6, 2010 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Attached weapon particle effects removed from viewmodel (still present in 3rd person)

December 17, 2010 Patch

January 19, 2011 Patch

  • Fixed the Sniper Rifle and SMG view models having Red skins while on the Blue team.
  • Fixed the Engineer PDA view models (build/destroy) having Red skins while on the Blue team.
  • [Undocumented] Fixed the Sydney Sleeper view models having RED skins while on the BLU team.

February 14, 2011 Patch

March 21, 2011 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Updated Demoman two-handed melee weapon 3rd-person views in the loadout screen.

May 10, 2011 Patch

  • Fixed a viewmodel fov bug during rendering

September 15, 2011 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Fixed a bug where lit Huntsman arrows would visually lose their flame in first person view if the arrow was charged.

April 23, 2013 Patch

  • Removed range restrictions from viewmodel_fov_demo

March 5, 2014 Patch

  • Fixed Natascha using the wrong material for the viewmodel

July 8, 2014 Patch

September 17, 2014 Patch

  • Fixed the Festive Bat using the lowest LOD for the first person view

February 11, 2015 Patch

  • Fixed a client crash related to extreme viewmodel_fov settings
    • The viewmodel_fov convar is now clamped to valid values. Users who were using this to hide the viewmodel and tracers should use r_drawtracers_firstperson 0 and r_drawviewmodel 0 to achieve the same effect.

July 2, 2015 Patch 1 (Gun Mettle Update)

  • Inspect Target has been changed to Inspect Target or Item. While having a decorated weapon deployed with no target under the cross hair and then pressing the bound inspect key (+inspect), an interruptible view model animation will play.

August 18, 2015 Patch

  • Fixed left-hand view models not displaying Stat Clocks correctly

October 28, 2015 Patch (Scream Fortress VII)

  • Fixed viewmodel/worldmodel when tf_passtime_ball_model is set

December 22, 2015 Patch

  • Updated PASS Time
    • Experimenting with new viewmodel animations

January 7, 2016 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Fixed Festive Wrenches not showing the lights in client view.

April 25, 2016 Patch

  • Added the class viewmodel animation files to the list of files allowed on servers using sv_pure 1

July 7, 2016 Patch 1 (Meet Your Match Update)

  • Art Changes
    • New view model animations
  • [Undocumented] Added option to use minimized viewmodels

July 8, 2016 Patch

  • Fixed the Bonesaw not working properly while using viewmodel minmode

July 28, 2016 Patch

  • Weapon viewmodels
    • The field-of-view slider has been re-added to Adv. Options menu (range: 54 to 70 degrees)
      • This feature is now allowed in Competitive Mode
    • Improved and fixed many animations when using a higher viewmodel field-of-view
    • Removed custom animations from the sv_pure whitelist because it was being exploited
    • Adjusted The Cow Mangler and Black Box reload animations to be slightly faster (they now match the default Rocket Launcher)
  • [Undocumented] Fixed Rocket Jumper viewmodel not being affected by the Use minimized viewmodels option

August 3, 2016 Patch

  • More fixes and improvements to weapon viewmodels when using wider/larger weapon field-of-view settings

August 16, 2016 Patch

  • Updated PASS Time view model positions to support using FOV 70

October 24, 2017 Patch

  • Fixed The Fishcake not honoring the viewmodel minmode setting

March 28, 2018 Patch

  • Fixed the Engineer's PDA not always honoring the "Use minimized viewmodels" option
  • Fixed the Community Sparkle particle effect not drawing on the viewmodel for players with Community and Self-Made weapons

April 12, 2018 Patch

  • Fixed the Golden Wrench not having an offset when using minimized viewmodels

August 11, 2022 Patch

  • Fixed some view model draw animations not using the snap command

January 5, 2023 Patch

  • Fixed syringes triggering false hits on the client when minimal view models are enabled or a custom view model FOV is set

December 7, 2023 Patch

  • Fixed broken lighting for viewmodels in tight spaces (community fix from Stuffy360)

February 18, 2025 Patch

  • Client-side prediction fixes (these fix 'jank'/rollback in certain situations)
    • Made certain client-side entities only trigger local prediction errors
      • e.g. If the viewmodel experiences a prediction error, the player will not experience a prediction error
    • Fixed prediction of viewmodel sway
  • Fixed lighting position discrepancies for cosmetic items, weapons, and viewmodels (community fix from ficool2)

December 9, 2025 Patch (Smissmas 2025)

March 6, 2026 Patch

  • Fixed Short Circuit projectile offset ignoring cl_flipviewmodels (community fix from birchish)
  • Fixed for mismatched cl_flipviewmodels values between client and server (community fix from birchish)

Bugs

  • The Engineer's glove uses the RED team's coloring regardless of team.
  • The Hot Hand's viewmodel is not affected by the "Use minimized viewmodels" option.
  • When viewmodels are flipped, some viewmodels do not appear correctly:
    • The Spy's watch animation is not visible, unless looking down. The white meter on the HUD is still visible.
    • The Holy Mackerel's first person viewmodel becomes twisted, making the upper half of the weapon inside out.
    • The Sandman's and Wrap Assassin's baseball and bauble are displaced, merging into the Scout's right hand.
    • The Ham Shank, Bat Outta Hell, and the Disciplinary Action's popper appear to be partially hollow.

Gallery