Riot outlines plan to finally add left-hand view models to Valorant

Riot has long dodged questions about adding left-hand view models to Valorant, a much-loved feature from CS:GO. However, in their recent “Ask Valorant” thread, they’ve finally heeded the community’s calls, outlining a plan to add the feature.

Left-hand view models have been a staple of CS:GO. The spiritual predecessor to Valorant has had the feature for decades, allowing players to put their gun model on the left hand side of their screen.

This has its benefits depending on how you view the game. While most people are right-side dominant, those who are left-side dominant might find some advantage to swapping the models around. Its absence in Valorant has been sorely noted by avid users of the switched model.

However, Riot have laid out a path to adding left-hand view models to Valorant in the future. It won’t be soon though, as there are many problems that lay in wait.

“We’re currently in the process of validating how this would work from not just a technical side, but from a competitive and artistic front as well. While this may seem like a small technical challenge, we want to make sure this is done right for players,” senior Valorant producer Steven Eldredge admitted on September 24.

• Read more: Riot investigating issues with Valorant hitboxes and movement inaccuracy

It’s not just as simple as flipping the x-axis and calling it a day, though: Riot has to consider how weapon skins and abilities will fit in with the flipped view model, as well as how character models look in-game with the feature enabled.

“We don’t frequently get to see different camera views of our first person weapons and viewarms, so we’ll need to make sure our art still holds up when we switch hands for players,” Eldredge stated.

They are also concerned about competitive integrity. They want to make sure that playing with either view model is fair and balanced.

“We want to ensure that there are no advantages or disadvantages to playing with a left-handed view model and that we maintain a fair competitive playing field. We want to make sure that left-hand view isn’t the new meta or that players with this preference aren’t nerfed,” he added.

• Read more: Valorant G.U.N. skin bundle revealed

If you were hoping the option would be coming soon, we have some bad news. Sadly, Riot hasn’t put a time frame on implementing left-hand view models. They still need to go “rigorous competitive and artistic testing.”

However, there’s no need to have your fingers crossed about Riot potentially adding it. It’s now just a question of when, not if.