Unusual
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
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” |
Unusual quality is an item quality used on cosmetic items, taunts, and weapons. Unusual items have special attached particle effects, and are considered to be some of the rarest items in Team Fortress 2. There are currently 740 cosmetic items that can have one of 86 total effects, 56 taunts that can have one of 15 total effects, and 10 weapons that can have one of 4 effects. The only methods of obtaining an Unusual item are by unlocking a Mann Co. Supply Crate with a Mann Co. Supply Crate Key (at an about one in one hundred, or 1.00%, chance of unboxing[1]), purchasing one on the Steam Community Market, getting a Taunt Unusualifier as a bonus for unboxing a case, or via trading.
Unlike regular items which can only be obtained from specific crates, any item obtainable in Unusual quality can be unboxed from any given crate, however the particle effects obtained depends on the series of crate the unusual item was obtained from. So, to unbox a cosmetic item with a "Series One" effect, a "Series One" crate must be opened, and so forth.
People in the TF2 community, mostly traders, call effects in generations or gens. Gen 1 unusual effects are the 14 effects from crates of Series #1 to Series #25. Gen 2 effects are all the unusual effects from crates of Series #26 to Series #57. Gen 3 is the last generation of effects from crates of Series #59 onwards. Other series such as the Robotic Boogaloo and the Scream Fortress effects are simply classified as their own effect sets.
The hexadecimal color code for Unusual items is #8650AC.
Contents
- 1 Other Unusual Items
- 2 Unusual Effects
- 3 List of Unusual Items
- 4 Major Bug
- 5 Update history
- 6 Bugs
- 7 Unused content
- 8 Trivia
- 9 References
- 10 See also
Other Unusual Items
Two special items of Unusual quality were introduced with the Scream Fortress Update: the Haunted Metal Scrap, and the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker. However, unlike regular Unusual items, the Unusual Metal Scrap is dropped for any player who has taken part in defeating the Horseless Headless Horsemann with a melee weapon, while the Headtaker can be obtained by crafting it from a blueprint that includes the Unusual Metal Scrap. Besides bearing the Unusual quality, the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker is statistically identical to the Eyelander. In addition, neither of these items has an attached particle effect. Due to these characteristics, these two Unusual items are not considered as valuable as regular Unusual items.
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.
Series 1 Unusual effects | ||||||
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Cosmetic effects | ||||||
Green Confetti | Purple Confetti | Haunted Ghosts | Green Energy | Purple Energy | Circling TF Logo | |
Massed Flies | Burning Flames | Scorching Flames | Searing Plasma | Vivid Plasma | Sunbeams | |
Circling Peace Sign | Circling Heart |
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.
Series 2 Unusual effects | ||||||
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Cosmetic effects | ||||||
Stormy Storm | Blizzardy Storm | Nuts n' Bolts | Orbiting Planets | Orbiting Fire | Bubbling | |
Smoking | Steaming |
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.
Series 3 Unusual effects | ||||||
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Cosmetic effects | ||||||
Kill-a-Watt | Terror-Watt | Cloud 9 | RED | BLU | Dead Presidents | |
Aces High | ||||||
Miami Nights | Disco Beat Down |
Community Sparkle
An exclusive Unusual effect was added in the First Community Contribution Update. It is automatically applied to Community and Self-Made items.
List of Community Sparkle effects | |||||||
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Cosmetic items | Taunt | Weapon |
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.
List of Very Scary Halloween Special Unusual effects | |||||||
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Cauldron Bubbles | Cloudy Moon | Eerie Orbiting Fire | Flaming Lantern |
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.
List of Spectral Halloween Special Unusual effects | |||||||
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Harvest Moon | It's a Secret to Everybody | Knifestorm | Misty Skull | 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.
List of Scream Fortress V Unusual effects | |||||||
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Arcana | Chiroptera Venenata | Darkblaze | Demonflame | Hellfire | Poisoned Shadows | Something Burning This Way Comes | Spellbound |
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.
List of Scream Fortress VI Unusual effects | ||||||||
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Cosmetic items | ||||||||
Amaranthine | Bonzo the All-Gnawing | Ghastly Ghosts Jr | Haunted Phantasm Jr | Stare from Beyond | The Ooze | |||
Taunts | ||||||||
Ghastly Ghosts | Haunted Phantasm |
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.
List of Scream Fortress VII Unusual effects | |||||||
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Ancient Eldritch | Death by Disco | Eldritch Flame | Ether Trail | It's a Mystery to Everyone | It's a Puzzle to Me | Nether Trail |
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.
List of Scream Fortress VIII Unusual effects | ||||||||
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Cosmetic items | ||||||||
Neutron Star | Starstorm Insomnia | Starstorm Slumber | Tesla Coil | |||||
Taunts | ||||||||
Hellish Inferno | Infernal Flames | Infernal Smoke | Spectral Swirl |
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.
List of Scream Fortress X Unusual effects | ||||||||
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Cosmetic items | ||||||||
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 | ||||||
Taunts | ||||||||
Acidic Bubbles of Envy | Flammable Bubbles of Attraction | Ominous Night | Poisonous Bubbles of Regret | Roaring Rockets | Spooky 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.
List of Scream Fortress XI Unusual effects | ||||||||
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Cosmetic items | ||||||||
Abyssal Aura | Ethereal Essence | Fifth Dimension | Ghastly Grove | Menacing Miasma | Mystical Medley | Twisted Radiance | Valiant Vortex | |
Verdant Vortex | Vicious Vortex | Violet Vortex | Wicked Wood | |||||
Taunts | ||||||||
Accursed | Bewitched | Eerie Lightning | Enchanted | Jarate Shock | Nether Void | Static Mist | Terrifying Thunder |
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 and current Smissmas generation of Unusual effects was added in the Smissmas 2019 update. Currently, they can be obtained in any crate.
List of Smissmas 2019 Unusual effects | ||||||||
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Cosmetic items | ||||||||
RED | BLU | Fragmented Gluons | Fragmented Photons | Fragmented Quarks | Fragmenting Reality | Frozen Icefall | RED | |
Defragmenting Reality | Pyroland Daydream | |||||||
BLU | Refragmenting Reality | Snowblinded | Snowfallen | Sparkling Lights | ||||
Pyroland Daydream | ||||||||
Taunts | ||||||||
Arctic Aurora | Festive Spirit | Good-Hearted Goodies | Magical Spirit | Winter Spirit | Wintery Wisp |
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.
List of Robotic Boogaloo Unusual effects | |||||||
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Anti-Freeze | Electrostatic | Green Black Hole | Memory Leak | Overclocked | Phosphorous | Power Surge | Roboactive |
Sulphurous | Time Warp |
Love & War Update
An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the Love & War Update. They can be obtained through Taunt Unusualifiers.
List of Love & War Update Unusual effects | |||||||
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'72 | Fountain of Delight | Holy Grail | Mega Strike | Midnight Whirlwind | Screaming Tiger | RED | BLU |
Showstopper | |||||||
Silver Cyclone | Skill Gotten Gains |
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.
List of End of the Line Update Unusual effects | |||||||
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Death at Dusk | Frostbite | Molten Mallard | Morning Glory |
Gun Mettle Update
An exclusive generation of Unusual effects was added in the Gun Mettle Update. They can be obtained through Decorated cases.
With the introduction of the Jungle Inferno Update, the Energy Orb effect has been removed from the Unusual effect pool due to issues with it disappearing and/or not fitting some weapons properly. Only the three remaining effects can be obtained now.
List of Gun Mettle Update Unusual effects | |||||||
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Cool | Energy Orb | Hot | Isotope |
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.
List of Invasion Community Update Unusual effects | |||||||
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Abduction | Ancient Codex | Atomic | Electric Hat Protector | Galactic Codex | Magnetic Hat Protector | Nebula | Subatomic |
Voltaic Hat Protector |
List of Unusual Items
Major Bug
Since the recent Summer 2019 update, the price for the Unusuals have dramatically decreased. The term 1% chance for the unusuals when unlocking a crate is no longer in effect as players can almost get an Unusual cosmetic every time they open a crate. The crates that were once about 0.03 cents(US) on the Steam Community Market but they have also increased dramatically increased as more people buy it to get more Unusuals.
Update history
- [Undocumented] Added Unusual quality.
August 18, 2011 Patch (Manno-Technology Bundle)
- [Undocumented] Added Stormy Storm, Blizzardy Storm, Nuts n' Bolts, Orbiting Planets, Orbiting Fire, Bubbling, Smoking, and Steaming unusual effects.
- Fixed sunbeams effect.
October 27, 2011 Patch (Very Scary Halloween Special)
- [Undocumented] Added Cloudy Moon, Eerie Orbiting Fire, Flaming Lantern, and Cauldron Bubbles unusual effects.
October 26, 2012 Patch (Spectral Halloween Special)
- [Undocumented] Added Knifestorm, Misty Skull, Harvest Moon, It's A Secret To Everybody and Stormy 13th Hour unusual effects.
May 17, 2013 Patch (Robotic Boogaloo)
- [Undocumented] Added Anti-Freeze, Electrostatic, Green Black Hole, Memory Leak, Overclocked, Phosphorous, Power Surge, Roboactive, Sulphurous, and Time Warp 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.
- [Undocumented] Added Aces High, Cloud 9, Dead Presidents, Disco Beat Down, Kill-a-Watt, Miami Nights, and Terror-Watt unusual effects.
October 29, 2013 Patch (Scream Fortress 2013)
- [Undocumented] Added Arcana, Chiroptera Venenata, Darkblaze, Demonflame, Hellfire, Poisoned Shadows, Something Burning This Way Comes, and Spellbound unusual effects.
- 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)
- [Undocumented] Added '72, Fountain Of Delight, Holy Grail, Mega Strike, Midnight Whirlwind, Screaming Tiger, Showstopper, and Skill Gotten Gains unusual taunt effects.
- 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.
October 29, 2014 Patch (Scream Fortress 2014)
- [Undocumented] Added Amaranthine, Bonzo The All-Gnawing, Ghastly Ghosts, Ghastly Ghosts Jr., Haunted Phantasm, Haunted Phantasm Jr., Stare From Beyond, and The Ooze unusual effects. Also added Ghastly Ghosts, and Haunted Phantasm unusual taunt effects
- 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 Death at Dusk, Frostbite, Molten Mallard and Morning Glory unusual effects.
- Fixed the Mega Strike unusual taunt effect showing through walls
- Fixed some Unusual particle effects not drawing correctly.
July 2, 2015 Patch (Gun Mettle Update)
- [Undocumented] Added Isotope, Hot, Cool, and Energy Orb unusual effects.
- Fixed character loadout menus so they display the particle effects for all equipped Unusual items.
October 6, 2015 Patch (Invasion Update)
- [Undocumented] Added Abduction, Atomic, Subatomic, Electric Hat Protector, Magnetic Hat Protector, Voltaic Hat Protector, Galactic Codex, Ancient Codex, and Nebula unusual effects.
- Fixed Unusual versions of the Taunt: Burstchester not displaying their Unusual effects.
October 28, 2015 Patch (Scream Fortress 2015)
- [Undocumented] Added Death by Disco, It's a mystery to everyone, It's a puzzle to me, Ether Trail, Nether Trail, Ancient Eldritch, and Eldritch Flame unusual effects.
- Fixed the Invasion Unusual effect "Subatomic" being off-center.
- 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.
October 21, 2016 Patch (Scream Fortress 2016)
- The chance to receive an Unusual item from a case opening has been increased during the event
- All cases and Mann Co. Supply Crates will grant Halloween 2016 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects
- [Undocumented] Added Neutron Star, Tesla Coil, Starstorm Insomnia, Starstorm Slumber, Hellish Inferno, Spectral Swirl, Infernal Flames, and Infernal Smoke unusual effects.
- Returned Unusual drop chances and possible particles effects to their original values now that Halloween has ended.
- Taunt Unusualifiers apply non-Halloween Unusual effects now that Halloween has ended.
- Fixed the Neutron Star unusual effect being occasionally displaced after the player respawns.
- 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 2018)
- Added Brain Drain, Open Mind, Head of Steam, Galactic Gateway, The Eldritch Opening, The Dark Doorway, Ring of Fire, Vicious Circle, White Lightning, Omniscient Orb, and Clairvoyance unusual cosmetic effects.
- Added Ominous Night, Flammable Bubbles of Attraction, Acidic Bubbles of Envy, Roaring Rockets, Cauldron Bubbles, and one more unusual taunt effects.
- Updated the Roaring Rockets unusual taunt particle effect.
- 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.
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 abdobmen, or chest; it may also disappear along with the cosmetic.
Unused content
Currently unused Unusual effects | ||||||
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Cosmetic effects | ||||||
AAA_AAA
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balloon
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beams1_newstyle
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beany_green
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beany_hearts
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beany_target
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beany_tf
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circling_glow
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circling_skull
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crisp_spotlights_cones03
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halo
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orbit
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orbit_fullmoon_cloudy
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sparkler_green
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sparkler_orange
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sparkles1
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sparkles2
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sparkles3
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spray_confetti
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storm_blood
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stormcloud
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symbols_parents_ice
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test
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Trivia
- The effect named "It's A Secret To Everybody" is a reference to a popular phrase in the video game series The Legend of Zelda. The effect itself appears to be a reference to the moon in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
- The effect named "Something Burning This Way Comes" 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 named "Dead Presidents" 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 effects named "Sulphurous" and "Phosphorous" are references to the chemical elements Sulfur/Sulphur and Phosphorus.
- The effect named "Chiroptera Venenata" is rough Latin for "Poisonous Bat".
- The effects named "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.
- One of the dances the skeletons does in the effect "Death By Disco" might be a reference to the battle stance of Papyrus, a character in Undertale.
- The effects named "Kill-a-Watt" and "Terror-Watt" are references to the measures of electrical power kilowatts and terawatts.
- Community contributors whose Unusual effects are accepted through the Steam Workshop are awarded a Self-Made Unusual Cap.
- Some unusual items (such as the Finder's Fee, or items with the Community Sparkle effect) cannot be unboxed and are given to certain players for finding major bugs in the game, or somehow contributing to the game in some form.
- The effect named "Skill gotten gains" is a play on the phrase 'Ill gotten gains' meaning money obtained through illegal acts.
- The first ever unusual ever unboxed was a Stout Shako with the effect of Circling Peace Sign.
References
See also
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