Console commands can be useful in any game but Left 4 Dead 2 has a few that really shine whether you’re playing alone, exploring the game, or even wanting to give yourself an edge in multiplayer without getting banned.
Some of these are obviously cheats, but there are many commands that are perfectly acceptable by the game’s community given they are more of quality of life changes or ways to improve the game’s performance on slower computers. There are lots of console commands to use, but these are by far the most helpful for players.
10 Mute Other Players
For anyone who has ever played Left 4 Dead 2’s multiplayer you’ll be familiar with the screeching teens, the blaring music, the unnecessary profanity, American Idol wannabes, and other annoying and ear wrenching sounds that sometimes come from other players.
This console command is an absolute lifesaver as it allows you to mute all or specific players in the game. Simply open the command console, type in “voice_show_mute” which will bring up a list of players with their name and associated number. Identify the one you wish to mute, type in “voice_mute” with the number of the player and voila you have blissful silence.
9 Stop Loading
One of the plagues of Left 4 Dead 2 are the brutal loading screens that cannot be canceled once started. The player is forced to let the loading screen finish or wait for the server to time out before they’re free to do something else.
But with a simple console command, players can bind a specific key, say F9, that when pushed allows them to abort loading screens. To do it simply open the console and type in “bind F9 (or whatever key you desire) disconnect”. Now you have the power to free yourself from obscene loading screens.
8 Low Violence
This is probably the most controversial console command on the list as many players feel censoring a game’s violence is a slap in the face to the artists who created it, while others feel gratuitous violence is nothing more than cheap eye candy. In any case, there’s no denying that violent displays can have a dramatic effect on a game’s frame rate, especially when the bodies start piling up in the background.
To give yourself a nudge in framerate simply go into the game’s launch settings and in Launch Options type in “LV”. This will eliminate blood splatter, mutilated limbs, burning bodies, corpses, and even the mudmen’s mud splatter.
7 Change Outline Of Infected
When playing as infected during Versus matches it’s an annoying design choice in the game that active players have the same outline as players who are still ghosting and haven’t spawned in the game. This can cause problems when you believe the hunter nearby is ready to back you up, only to attack and find out they haven’t joined the fight yet.
To solve this problem open the console and type in “cl_glow_ghost_infected_g 1” and after entering that command type in “cl_glow_ghost_infected_r 1”. Players that haven’t spawned in will now have a more solid white outline, while active players will have a more bluish outline.
6 Third Person
This is more of an aesthetic change or playstyle preference, but it can be helpful for players who either aren’t accustomed to first-person games or would simply rather be in third person. Some players also swear by third person mode competitively as it supposedly gives them a greater awareness of their character’s surroundings.
If you’d prefer to play in third person mode simply open the console, type in “thirdperson” and you’ll be given a behind the back look of your character.
5 Net Graph
This console command is helpful for players on multiplayer who want to keep tabs on the game’s performance by seeing the live data on things like ping and fps. It’s also handy for those who are trying to improve their computer’s ability to handle the game by stripping some of its graphical features and need to know what the worst offenders are.
To do this simply open the console and type in “net_graph 4”. This populates a window in the bottom right corner of the screen that spits out a live stream of data on how the game’s performing on your computer.
4 Search Servers By Ping Caps
Left 4 Dead 2’s default setting for finding the best servers seems to be lacking as players can find themselves stuck in a game with over 100 ping and are unable to play properly. To avoid this problem the player can use a console command to put a ping cap on which dedicated servers the game is allowed to connect to.
To do this simply open the console and type in “mm_dedicated_search_maxping” and then the desired number. With the max ping set to say 50, the player will then only connect to servers that at most will cause 50 ping.
3 Server Browsing
If players want a little more control over which server they want to connect to, or if there is a particular server with custom rules that they would rather play on and don’t feel like game hopping until they find it, there is a way to populate a list of available servers to browse through.
Simply open the console, type in “openserverbrowser” and the game will populate a list of all servers the player can use. There are also filters at the bottom so players can search servers by location, latency, etc.
2 God Mode
The last two entries on this list are considered cheats and will result in bans on many servers, assuming you’re able to implement them in the first place. The first cheat you can use via console is the ever popular god mode which makes the player’s character impervious to damage. To do this simply open the console and type in “god 1”.
For players who want to troll their friends on a local game or if the player wants the sense of danger without ever actually being in it. They can also use Buddha mode, which enables damage, but does not permit death by typing in “buddha 1”.
1 No Clip
Also considered a cheat, but useful for players who wish to explore the map in order to find better paths to use as a survivor, find easter eggs, or potential ambush sites as the infected. No clipping allows the player to bypass objects in the game such as walls, floors or ceilings. This can enable the player to access sites that would be impossible to reach or shortcut long routes by simply passing through walls.
To do this open the console and type “noclip”. Keep in mind that with this command activated you’ll still be susceptible to things like fire, bullets, and infected attacks.
