Unusual

See also: Particle effects

Unusual Napper's Respite
Level 73 Hat
★ Unusual Effect: Circling Heart
After a long day of burning scouts.

“

There is nothing unusual about this man's head! Click to listen — The Soldier on Unusual hats

”

The Unusual quality is an item quality used on cosmetic items, taunts, and weapons. Unusual quality items have special particle effects attached to them, and are considered to be some of the rarest items in Team Fortress 2. There are currently 631 cosmetic items that can have one of 307 total effects, 106 taunts that can have one of 155 total effects, and 44 weapons that can have one of 5 effects. Unusual items can be obtained mainly by opening Mann Co. Supply Crates. You have less than a 1% chance of uncrating an Unusual quality item. Unusual quality items can be obtained in any Mann Co. Supply Crate, but the effect pools may vary from depending on the crate series. These effect pools are most often referred to as "generations".

The hexadecimal color code for Unusual items is #8650AC.

Unusual Effects

Standard Series

Standard Unusual effects can be found in specific crate series.

Gen 1

The first generation of standard Unusual effects was added in the Mann-Conomy Update. They can be obtained in crates Series #1 onward.

Gen 2

The second generation of standard Unusual effects was added in the August 18, 2011 Patch. They can be obtained in crates Series #26 onward.

Gen 3

The third and current generation of standard Unusual effects was added in the June 19, 2013 Patch. They can be obtained in crates and cases Series #59 onward.

Community Sparkle

An exclusive Unusual effect was added in the First Community Contribution Update. It is automatically applied to Community and Self-Made items.

Community Sparkle Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects		Taunt effects		Weapon effects
	Community Sparkle		Community Sparkle		Community Sparkle

Summer Series

Summer Unusual effects can be found in specific Summer crates. During Summer events, they're available in all other crate series.

Summer 2020

The first and current Summer generation of Unusual effects was added in the Summer 2020 update. Currently, they can be obtained in any crate.

Scream Fortress Series

Scream Fortress Unusual effects can be found in specific Scream Fortress crates. During Scream Fortress events, they're available in all other crate series.

Very Scary Halloween Special

The first Scream Fortress generation of Unusual Effects was added in the Very Scary Halloween Special. They could be obtained in any crate during the event.

Very Scary Halloween Special Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Flaming Lantern	Cloudy Moon	Cauldron Bubbles	Eerie Orbiting Fire

Spectral Halloween Special

The second Scream Fortress generation of Unusual Effects was added in the Spectral Halloween Special. They could be obtained in any crate during the event.

Spectral Halloween Special Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Knifestorm	Misty Skull	Harvest Moon	It's a Secret to Everybody	Stormy 13th Hour

Scream Fortress V

The third Scream Fortress generation of Unusual effects was added in the Scream Fortress V update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event.

Scream Fortress V Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Arcana	Spellbound	Chiroptera Venenata	Poisoned Shadows	Something Burning This Way Comes	Hellfire
	Darkblaze	Demonflame

Scream Fortress VI

The fourth Scream Fortress generation of Unusual effects was added in the Scream Fortress VI update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event.

Scream Fortress VI Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Bonzo the All-Gnawing	Amaranthine	Stare from Beyond	The Ooze	Ghastly Ghosts Jr	Haunted Phantasm Jr
Taunt effects
	Haunted Phantasm	Ghastly Ghosts

Scream Fortress VII

The fifth Scream Fortress generation of Unusual effects was added in the Scream Fortress VII update. They could only be obtained by opening a Gargoyle Case during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Gargoyle Case.

Scream Fortress VII Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Death by Disco	It's a Mystery to Everyone	It's a Puzzle to Me	Ether Trail	Nether Trail	Ancient Eldritch
	Eldritch Flame

Scream Fortress VIII

The sixth Scream Fortress generation of Unusual effects was added in the Scream Fortress VIII update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Creepy Crawly Case.

Scream Fortress VIII Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Neutron Star	Tesla Coil	Starstorm Insomnia	Starstorm Slumber
Taunt effects
	Hellish Inferno	Spectral Swirl	Infernal Flames	Infernal Smoke

Scream Fortress X

The seventh Scream Fortress generation of Unusual effects was added in the Scream Fortress X update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Violet Vermin Case.

Scream Fortress X Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Brain Drain	Open Mind	Head of Steam	Galactic Gateway	The Eldritch Opening	The Dark Doorway
	Ring of Fire	Vicious Circle	White Lightning	Omniscient Orb	Clairvoyance
Taunt effects
	Acidic Bubbles of Envy	Flammable Bubbles of Attraction	Poisonous Bubbles of Regret	Roaring Rockets	Spooky Night	Ominous Night

Scream Fortress XI

The eighth Scream Fortress generation of Unusual effects was added in the Scream Fortress XI update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Spooky Spoils Case.

Scream Fortress XI Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Fifth Dimension	Vicious Vortex	Menacing Miasma	Abyssal Aura	Wicked Wood	Ghastly Grove
	Mystical Medley	Ethereal Essence	Twisted Radiance	Violet Vortex	Verdant Vortex	Valiant Vortex
Taunt effects
	Bewitched	Accursed	Enchanted	Static Mist	Eerie Lightning	Terrifying Thunder
	Jarate Shock	Nether Void

Smissmas Series

Smissmas Unusual effects can be found in specific Smissmas crates. During Smissmas events, they're available in all other crate series.

Smissmas 2019

The first Smissmas generation of Unusual effects was added in the Smissmas 2019 update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Winter 2019 Cosmetic Case.

Smissmas 2019 Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Sparkling Lights	Frozen Icefall	Fragmented Gluons	Fragmented Quarks	Fragmented Photons	RED
						Defragmenting Reality
	BLU	Fragmenting Reality	Refragmenting Reality	Snowfallen	Snowblinded	RED
	Defragmenting Reality					Pyroland Daydream
	BLU
	Pyroland Daydream
Taunt effects
	Good-Hearted Goodies	Wintery Wisp	Arctic Aurora	Winter Spirit	Festive Spirit	Magical Spirit

Robotic Boogaloo

An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the Robotic Boogaloo update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Robo Community Crate.

Robotic Boogaloo Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Phosphorous	Sulphurous	Memory Leak	Overclocked	Electrostatic	Power Surge
	Anti-Freeze	Time Warp	Green Black Hole	Roboactive

Love & War Update

An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the Love & War Update. They can be obtained through Taunt Unusualifiers.

Love & War Update Unusual effects
Taunt effects
	RED	BLU	Holy Grail	'72	Fountain of Delight	Screaming Tiger
	Showstopper
	Skill Gotten Gains	Midnight Whirlwind	Silver Cyclone	Mega Strike

End of the Line Update

An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the End of the Line Update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening an End of the Line Community Crate.

End of the Line Update Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Frostbite	Molten Mallard	Morning Glory	Death at Dusk

Gun Mettle Update

An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the Gun Mettle Update. They can be obtained through Decorated cases.

Gun Mettle Update Unusual effects
Weapon effects
	Hot	Isotope	Cool	Energy Orb Removed from all Unusual pools

Invasion Community Update

An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the Invasion Community Update. They could be obtained in any crate during the event. They can still be obtained by opening a Confidential Collection Case or a Quarantined Collection Case.

Invasion Community Update Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	Abduction	Atomic	Subatomic	Electric Hat Protector	Magnetic Hat Protector	Voltaic Hat Protector
	Galactic Codex	Ancient Codex	Nebula

Other Unusual Items

Two special items of Unusual quality were introduced in the Scream Fortress Update: the Haunted Metal Scrap and Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker. The Haunted Metal Scrap is given to any player who has taken part in defeating the Horseless Headless Horsemann with a melee weapon during a Halloween event. The Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker can be obtained by crafting, and is statistically identical to the Eyelander. Despite having the Unusual quality, these items have no unique particle effects.

Unusual Haunted Metal Scrap Level 4 Craft Item This scrap metal was taken from the Horseless Headless Horsemann. It whispers faintly...'heads'... ( Achievement Item: Not Tradable or Marketable )

Unusual Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker Level 1-100 Axe This weapon has a large melee range and deploys and holsters slower No random critical hits -25 max health on wearer Cursed by dark spirits similar to those that dwell within the Eyelander. ( Not Tradable or Marketable )

Unused content

Unused Unusual effects

These effects either currently or previously existed in the game's files, but were left unused. They are named by their internal filenames, as they have no official names. Please note that certain effects have been modified to display correctly.

Currently unused effects

These effects currently exist in the files of the game, and aren't used anywhere.

Currently unused Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	AAA_AAA	balloon	beams1_newstyle	beany_green	beany_hearts	beany_target
	beany_tf	circling_glow	circling_skull	crisp_spotlights_cones03	halo	orbit
	orbit_fullmoon_cloudy	sparkler_green	sparkler_orange	sparkles1	sparkles2	sparkles3
	spray_confetti	storm_blood	stormcloud	symbols_parents_ice	test

Removed unused effects

These effects previously existed in the files of the game, but went unused. They have since been removed.

Removed Unusual effects
Cosmetic effects
	orbit_shells

Update history

September 30, 2010 Patch (Mann-Conomy Update)

• [Undocumented] Added Unusual quality, along with the following Gen 1 effects: Burning Flames, Circling Heart, Circling Peace Sign, Circling TF Logo, Green Confetti, Green Energy, Haunted Ghosts, Massed Flies, Purple Confetti, Purple Energy, Scorching Flames, Searing Plasma, Sunbeams, Vivid Plasma

August 18, 2011 Patch (Manno-Technology Bundle)

• [Undocumented] Added the following Gen 2 effects: Blizzardy Storm, Bubbling, Nuts n' Bolts, Orbiting Fire, Orbiting Planets, Smoking, Steaming, Stormy Storm

August 23, 2011 Patch

• Fixed the sunbeams hat effect

October 27, 2011 Patch (Very Scary Halloween Special)

• Any unusual hats uncrated during the event will be Halloween-themed
• [Undocumented] Added the following Very Scary Halloween Special effects: Cauldron Bubbles, Cloudy Moon, Eerie Orbiting Fire, Flaming Lantern

October 26, 2012 Patch (Spectral Halloween Special)

• [Undocumented] Added the following Spectral Halloween Special effects: Harvest Moon, It's A Secret To Everybody, Knifestorm, Misty Skull, Stormy 13th Hour

May 17, 2013 Patch (Robotic Boogaloo)

• [Undocumented] Added the following Robotic Boogaloo effects: Anti-Freeze, Electrostatic, Green Black Hole, Memory Leak, Overclocked, Phosphorous, Power Surge, Roboactive, Sulphurous, Time Warp

June 5, 2013 Patch

• Unusual effects:
  • Attachment point and offset for particle effects on unusual hats can now be adjusted from the character loadout screen
  • Fixed a bug that would cause unusual effects to float in the air over dead players
  • Fixed a bug that would cause unusual effects to show incorrectly sometimes when spectating other players

June 19, 2013 Patch

• [Undocumented] Added the following Gen 3 effects: Aces High, Cloud 9, Dead Presidents, Disco Beat Down, Kill-a-Watt, Miami Nights, Terror-Watt

July 11, 2013 Patch

• Fixed Disco Beat Down unusual effect showing through walls

October 29, 2013 Patch (Scream Fortress V)

• Enabled Halloween themed Unusual Effects to be found from Mann Co Supply Crates
• [Undocumented] Added the following Scream Fortress V effects: Arcana, Chiroptera Venenata, Darkblaze, Demonflame, Hellfire, Poisoned Shadows, Something Burning This Way Comes, Spellbound

December 20, 2013 Patch (Smissmas 2013)

• Unusual effect positioning can now be adjusted for all Cosmetic-slot items
• Unusual Circling Effects have been given a new origin
• Unusual effects for all Cosmetic-slot items are now visible in the loadout panel and character HUD

June 18, 2014 Patch (Love & War)

• Added the Mann Co. Audition Reel. Contains taunts and a rare chance at an unusual taunt
• Updated Mann Co. Crates to display which Unusual Series they can potentially output
• [Undocumented] Added the following Love & War effects: '72, Fountain of Delight, Holy Grail, Mega Strike, Midnight Whirlwind, Screaming Tiger, Showstopper, Silver Cyclone, Skill Gotten Gains

October 29, 2014 Patch (Scream Fortress VI)

• All Unusual hats and taunts that are unboxed during the event will receive Halloween-themed Unusual effects
• [Undocumented] Added the following Scream Fortress VI effects: Amaranthine, Bonzo The All-Gnawing, Ghastly Ghosts Jr, Haunted Phantasm Jr, Stare From Beyond, The Ooze

November 4, 2014 Patch

• [Undocumented] Renamed two Unusual effects
  • Haunted Phantasm Jr to Ghastly Ghosts Jr
  • Attrib_Particle86 to Haunted Phantasm Jr

December 8, 2014 Patch (End of the Line Update)

• [Undocumented] Added the following End of the Line Update effects: Death at Dusk, Frostbite, Molten Mallard, Morning Glory

January 9, 2015 Patch

• Fixed the Mega Strike unusual taunt effect showing through walls

February 18, 2015 Patch

• Fixed some Unusual particle effects not drawing correctly

July 2, 2015 Patch (Gun Mettle Update)

• Fixed not seeing unusual effects during demo playback and while connected to SourceTV
• [Undocumented] Added the following Gun Mettle effects: Cool, Energy Orb, Hot, Isotope

August 18, 2015 Patch

• Fixed character loadout menus so they display the particle effects for all equipped Unusual items

October 6, 2015 Patch (Invasion Community Update)

• [Undocumented] Added the following Invasion Community Update effects: Abduction, Ancient Codex, Atomic, Electric Hat Protector, Galactic Codex, Magnetic Hat Protector, Nebula, Subatomic, Voltaic Hat Protector

October 12, 2015 Patch

• Fixed Unusual versions of the Taunt: Burstchester not displaying their Unusual effects

October 28, 2015 Patch (Scream Fortress VII)

• Mann Co Supply Crates will have a chance for a classic Halloween Unusual effect
• [Undocumented] Added the following Scream Fortress VII effects: Ancient Eldritch, Death by Disco, Eldritch Flame, Ether Trail, It's a mystery to everyone, It's a puzzle to me, Nether Trail

October 29, 2015 Patch

• Fixed the Invasion Unusual effect "Subatomic" being off-center

July 28, 2016 Patch

• Fixed not seeing particle effects for Unusual versions of Baseball Bill's Sports Shine, Ritzy Rick's Hair Fixative, and Texas Slim's Dome Shine

December 17, 2015 Patch (Tough Break Update)

• [Undocumented] Removed Energy Orb Unusual effect from all decorated cases.

October 21, 2016 Patch (Scream Fortress VIII)

• Added a taunt Unusualifier
  • A new tool that will Unusualify the specified taunt with the Unusual effect listed in the tool's description
  • Can be found as a random bonus item when opening a Creepy Crawly Case
• Added 8 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 4 new effects for Unusual hats
  • 4 new effects for Unusual taunts
• All cases and Mann Co. Supply Crates will grant Halloween 2016 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects
• [Undocumented] Added the following Scream Fortress VIII effects:
  • Cosmetic effects: Neutron Star, Starstorm Insomnia, Starstorm Slumber, Tesla Coil
  • Taunt effects: Hellish Inferno, Infernal Flames, Infernal Smoke, Spectral Swirl
• [Undocumented] Doubled the unbox rate of Unusual items

November 18, 2016 Patch

• Returned Unusual drop chances and possible particles effects to their original values now that Halloween has ended

November 21, 2016 Patch

• Returned Unusual drop chances and possible particles effects to their original values now that Halloween has ended

June 2, 2017 Patch

• Fixed the Neutron Star unusual effect being occasionally displaced after the player respawns

December 13, 2017 Patch

• Fixed a rendering issue with the Spectral Swirl unusual effect

December 21, 2017 Patch (Smissmas 2017)

• Fixed a rendering issue with the Misty Skull unusual effect

October 19, 2018 Patch (Scream Fortress X)

• Added 17 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 11 new effects for Unusual hats
  • 6 new effects for Unusual taunts
• All cases will grant Halloween 2018 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the event
• [Undocumented] Added the following Scream Fortress X effects:
  • Cosmetic effects: Brain Drain, Clairvoyance, Galactic Gateway, Head of Steam, Omniscient Orb, Open Mind, Ring of Fire, The Dark Doorway, The Eldritch Opening, Vicious Circle, White Lightning
  • Taunt effects: Acidic Bubbles of Envy, Flammable Bubbles of Attraction, Ominous Night, Poisonous Bubbles of Regret, Roaring Rockets, Spooky Night
• [Undocumented] Doubled the unbox rate of Unusual items

October 25, 2018 Patch

• Updated the Roaring Rockets unusual taunt particle effect

October 30, 2018 Patch

• Updated the Roaring Rockets unusual taunt particle effect

December 19, 2018 Patch (Smissmas 2018)

• Updated the Starstorm Slumber unusual effect to fix a display problem

October 10, 2019 Patch (Scream Fortress XI)

• Added 20 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 12 new effects for Unusual hats
  • 8 new effects for Unusual taunts
• All cosmetic and taunt Cases will grant Halloween 2019 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the event. This does not include Crates.
• [Undocumented] Added the following Scream Fortress XI effects:
  • Cosmetic effects: Abyssal Aura, Ethereal Essence, Fifth Dimension, Ghastly Grove, Menacing Miasma, Mystical Medley, Twisted Radiance, Valiant Vortex, Verdant Vortex, Vicious Vortex, Violet Vortex, Wicked Wood
  • Taunt effects: Accursed, Bewitched, Eerie Lightning, Enchanted, Jarate Shock, Nether Void, Static Mist, Terrifying Thunder
• [Undocumented] Doubled the unbox rate of Unusual items

December 16, 2019 Patch (Smissmas 2019)

• Added 17 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 11 new effects for Unusual hats
  • 6 new effects for Unusual taunts
• [Undocumented] Added the following Smissmas 2019 effects:
  • Cosmetic effects: Defragmenting Reality, Fragmented Gluons, Fragmented Photons, Fragmented Quarks, Fragmenting Reality, Frozen Icefall, Pyroland Daydream, Refragmenting Reality, Snowblinded, Snowfallen, Sparkling Lights
  • Taunt effects: Arctic Aurora, Festive Spirit, Good-Hearted Goodies, Magical Spirit, Winter Spirit, Wintery Wisp

August 21, 2020 Patch (Summer 2020 Cosmetic Case)

• Added 4 new community-created Unusual effects
  • 9 new effects for hats
• [Undocumented] Added the following Summer 2020 effects:
  • Cosmetic effects: Bee Swarm, Kaleidoscope, Verdatica, Aromatica, Chromatica, Prismatica, Frisky Fireflies, Smoldering Spirits, Wandering Wisps

Bugs

• With enough player movement, Unusual effects from the Invasion update (Subatomic, Atomic) will become off-center from the player's head.
  • Unusual effects from the End of the Line update (Morning Glory, Death at Dusk, Molten Mallard) also show similar bugs, except parts of the particle effect (sun, duck respectively) drift a huge distance away from the player.
• One end of the particle effect on Kill-a-Watt and Terror-Watt may randomly attach to temporarily random areas of a map, causing the effect to stretch from the point through any walls to the wearer's head.
• Sometimes an Unusual effect floats in the air separated from the player's model instead of sticking to the cosmetic item.
  • This can occur when a player taunts.
  • Effect may also appear on the player's abdomen, or chest; it may also disappear along with the cosmetic.

Notes

• Community contributors whose Unusual effects are accepted through the Steam Workshop are awarded a Self-Made Unusual Cap.
• Some unusual items cannot be unboxed, such as the Finder's Fee, items with Community Sparkle, and World Traveler's Hat.

Trivia

• The first Unusual ever uncrated was a Circling Peace Sign Stout Shako.
• The effects Kill-a-Watt and Terror-Watt's names reference certain measures of electrical power, these being kilowatts and terawatts respectively.
• The effect Dead Presidents' name refers to a slang term used to describe U.S. currency, which comes from the fact that most U.S. banknotes depict deceased presidents.
  • The effect itself uses a $100 bill with Benjamin Franklin's face on it.
• The effect It's a secret to everybody's name is a reference to a popular phrase in the video game series The Legend of Zelda. The appearance of the effect paired with the name seems to be a reference to the moon in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
• The effect Massed Flies is based on a stereotype frequently used in cartoons that something with an unpleasant or very pronounced odor will attract flies.
• The effect Stormy 13th Hour's name is a reference to the fact that the 13th hour is commonly associated with paranormal happenings.
• The effect Chiroptera Venenata's name is rough Latin for "poisonous bat".
• The effect Something Burning This Way Comes's name references the fantasy horror novel by the name Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury; the title is itself a reference to the Shakespeare piece Macbeth, towards a specific line in Act 4, Scene 1.
• The effect Bonzo The All-Gnawing is a small version of the tent monster seen in Carnival of Carnage.
• The entire Death by Disco effect is a reference to the Undertale character, Papyrus. This is clearly showcased in the effect's workshop trailer.
• The effects It's a mystery to everyone and It's a puzzle to me are references to two emotes from the Something Awful forums. The effect itself has a ghost orbiting around.
• The effects Sulphurous and Phosphorous' names are references to the chemical elements Sulfur (or sulphur) and Phosphorus.
• The effect Skill Gotten Gains is a play on the phrase 'ill gotten gains' meaning money obtained through illegal acts.

See also

• Hats
• Particle effects