The FoV command can improve your CS2 gameplay more than you think

Field of view, or FOV, is a crucial aspect of player experience in first-person shooters, and CS2 is no different. Adjusting the field of view can influence your visual range and depth perception within the game.

Even though you can’t change the physical FOV in competitive modes in CS2, it’s possible to change your viewmodel FOV and play around with the real field of view on private servers by using console commands.

The ability to tweak FOV allows you to optimize how you perceive the battlefield, potentially offering tactical advantages by expanding the scope of what you can see at any given moment and how you see it.

That’s precisely why it is not possible to change your Field of View in matchmaking or competitive environments, but you can still change it in private matches.

Understanding FOV in Games and CS2

Games have a collective “issue”: What you see on the screen has to be warped to allow you to take in your surroundings. If it wasn’t altered, the angle you could see on your monitor would be very small, so developers developed the Field of View angle, which determines how the world gets rendered from the player’s position.

For most games this is 90°, but it can be changed, a wider FOV results in the center of the screen feeling “further away”, while the edges get more stretched the center is more condensed to fit all the info onto our screens.

If you choose a smaller angle, the world seems like it is closer, your own movement will feel slower, and objects will be bigger. It’s a fascinating topic - and maybe for another article. But we are here to discuss FOV and what you can change about it in CS2, so let’s get into that.

The Viewmodel or FOV in CS2 and how to change it

CS2 has split Field of View into two parts: one is how you see your hands and gun, and the other is the real FOV angle, which you can only change in private matches.

The “fov_cs_debug” command directly tells the game’s engine how wide your angle of vision should be. This changes how much you can see and influences other things, too, like the feeling of your movements or your mouse sensitivity, which could feel different, too.

Of course, this would change many dynamics in competitive play, so it is not allowed there and can only be used with “sv_cheats true” on a private match.

On the other side, we have the command “viewmodel_fov” that ranges from 54 to 68 and changes how “close” your gun and hands are to the camera (seen above).

Some players feel as if their hands obstruct too much of their view when they play with a viewmodel_fov that is too narrow and want to change their viewmodel so that they see more, or they are paranoid about missing a player sneaking by them in certain positions.

Others want to be able to kind of “feel” the gun and prefer the narrow viewmodel so that the gun is closer and bigger.

Like many things in CS2, it is up to your own feelings and what makes you more comfortable. Testing is essential, so make sure to experiment with the different viewmodel commands sizes to make sure you get your settings perfectly right for your own needs!

What are the different viewmodels in CS2?

As we described above the viewmodel and it’s position determines how your hands and gun gets displayed, it can look quite ridiculous at times, check out our screenshots below.

The viewmodel is a crucial part of how you will perceive the gun’s recoil and also determines how much you can see. Smaller might be better, but it might also detach you too much from the gun's mechanics. Make sure to really give each setting a good try until you know if it’s the right one for you.

Here are all the viewmodel attributes that players customize in CS2:

• viewmodel_fov (Field of View): Determines how the gun and hands are positioned, how “big” they are.
• Viewmodel_offset_x: the position of the viewmodel on the left-to-right axis (ranges from -2.5 to 2.5)
• Viewmodel_offset_y: the depth of the position (ranges from -2 to 2)
• Viewmodel_offset_z: the vertical position (ranges from -2 to 2)

While customization is normal in CS2, there are restrictions to ensure fair play. These limitations prevent any player from gaining an unjust advantage simply due to his or her viewmodel adjustments. So it’s not possible to hide the gun completely for example.

What is the Best Viewmodel?

As we mentioned above, it’s a highly subjective topic; while certainly, only a very few people want to play with “offset_z 2” and “offset_x 0” (but try it; it’s enjoyable!), the nuances are important.

As always many chose a viewmodel that their favorite player also uses, or are influenced by their opinion, just like in any other sport CS2 fans adjust according to their idols.