On the official release day of Counter-Strike 2, the community was shocked by the absence of an option to switch hand orientation in the game. After six months and numerous requests, the developers finally reintroduced this feature. In this article, we’ll explain how to switch to a left-handed view in CS2.

By default in CS2, weapons are displayed on the right side of the screen. Many players don’t like this since they’re accustomed to a different hand position from previous versions of CS.

How did hand-switching work in CS:GO?

In CS:GO, it was quite straightforward. The console command cl_righthand controlled the hand orientation. Setting the parameter to “1” placed the hands on the right, while “0” moved them to the left. You could also easily bind this command to any convenient button, allowing you to switch hands without even opening the console.

Setting the Left Hand in CS2

Seven months after the official release of CS2, the developers have finally added a feature that allows players to switch their dominant hand from right to left. You can change the primary hand both before a match starts and during gameplay. Valve has added a special bind for this feature, which is set by default to the English letter “H”. When switching hands mid-match, a short weapon-draw animation will play, so you won’t be able to fire immediately after pressing the button.

You can also set the left hand as the default permanently. Go to “Settings,” then “Game,” followed by “Item,” and find the field “Preferred Hand View Model.” Choose either right or left, according to your preference.

In CS2, the smoke system, graphics, audio, and tick rate system have been completely reworked. The developers even considered removing the option to switch the dominant hand from right to left, but fortunately, they reconsidered and brought it back. Now the game looks much better!