"Unique-r" Cosmetics with Extra Effects

Cosmetic items (commonly known as hats and misc/miscellaneous items) are items that can be equipped in any of the three misc slots in the loadout screen. They merely serve as simple decorations to wear on your character and do not affect the gameplay at all.

But some of them do more than just that, through extra small tiny cosmetic effects and details that are not otherwise present in other items, making these specific items a bit more "unique" than usual.

Emphasis on the word "Unique" aka the cheapest item quality in this game, as most of these items down here are pretty cheap to obtain (with a few exceptions), and some of you might already be aware of them, but not everyone is, so it's still nice to address them.

In this guide we will go through almost all of them (to my knowledge. Feel free to add more in the comments if you know.)

Introduction

NOTE: THIS GUIDE IS STILL WIP (WORK IN PROGRESS) NOT ALL ITEMS ARE ADDRESSED YET AS OF THIS MESSAGE 1/27/2022.

What are these "Special" cosmetics then? What is it exactly that they do that make them more than just mere clothes and hats? As said above, the "special effects" that come with them are still purely cosmetic just like the items themselves, and these "special effects" come in variety from calling cards, props, sound effects, voicelines, taunts, etc... And this guide will be showcasing all of them to my best knowledge.

Let's begin by showing an example of what we're looking at here:

Take a look at the following: what do you see?

It's an all-class bowler hat! you can wear it on your head! but... that's about it... it's just a hat.


Now take a look at this: what do you see?

It's a bird head for the Soldier! wow that's more gimmicky and less boring than a regular bowler hat... so what?

I'll tell you what: this bird head isn't just wearable, it also allows the Soldier to speak new voicelines! but only during Halloween!


See? this is the kinda effect we're going at here.

During this guide, you'll be looking at tons of hats and miscs that aren't just merely wearable cosmetics, but come with similar effects as shown above, be it particle effects like smoke, extra sound effects, extra voicelines, or even taunts.

I hope you enjoy reading this. Let's begin.

Item Sets

Item Sets are a group of cosmetics (and sometimes, weapons too) that are specifically designed to be worn and used together. Doing so would usually have a special effect alongside it, as a bonus for using the full set.

In the past, those effects could affect gameplay through additional stats on wearer, though Valve quickly changed it later as that was not fair for those who did not own the Item Sets too (aka Pay 2 Win, if you will.)

Nowadays, those Item Set bonus effects have been reduced to just merely cosmetic ones or even nothing in some cases.

Here are a list of them:

Scout:

-The Special Delivery Item Set:

The Special Delivery is an item set for the Scout.

The set includes the following items:

Shortstop
Mad Milk (or the Mutated Milk)
Holy Mackerel
Milkman

When you kill an enemy while using this set, a "Calling Card" will be left on their dead bodies. A "Calling Card" is a grave tombstone that appears on the corpse of any player you killed while using this item set.

-The Isolationist Pack Item Set:

The Isolationist Pack is an item set created for the Scout. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

This set includes the items listed below:

Alien Cranium
Biomech Backpack
Xeno Suit

Wearing this item set will grant you 5x more melee damage to deal ONLY against players wearing the "The Isolated Merc" Item Set (see Pyro below). However it also increases the damage YOU receive ONLY from players using the "Isolated Merc" Item Set's Nostromo Napalmer by 3x (see Pyro Below).




Soldier:

-The Tank Buster Item Set:

The Tank Buster is an item set for the Soldier.

The set includes the following items:

Black Box
Battalion's Backup
Grenadier's Softcap

When you kill an enemy while using this set, a "Calling Card" will be left on their dead bodies. a "Calling Card" is a grave tombstone that appears on the corpse of any player you killed while using this item set.

-The Tin Soldier Item Set:

The Tin Soldier is an item set for the Soldier. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

The set includes the following items:

Idiot Box
Steel Pipes
Shoestring Budget

While wearing this item set, the Soldier will have new special robot related voicelines to speak. It also adds a robot imitation taunt that replaces the Soldier's default taunts.

Pyro:

-The Isolated Merc Item Set:

The Isolated Merc is a community-created promotional item set for the Pyro.

The set includes the following items:

Nostromo Napalmer
MK-50

Wearing this item set will grant you 3x more flame primary damage to deal ONLY against players wearing the "The Isolationist" Item Set (see Scout above). However it also increases the melee damage YOU receive ONLY from players using the "The Isolationist" Item Set by 3x (see Scout above).

-The Gas Jockey's Gear Item Set:

The Gas Jockey's Gear is an item set for the Pyro.

The set includes the following items:

Degreaser
Powerjack
Attendant

When you kill an enemy while using this set, a "Calling Card" will be left on their dead bodies. a "Calling Card" is a grave tombstone that appears on the corpse of any player you killed while using this item set.

Demoman:

-Highland Hound Item Set:

The Highland Hound is an item set for the Demoman. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

The set includes the following items:

Hair of the Dog
Scottish Snarl
Pickled Paws

While wearing this item set, the Demoman's default taunt will be replaced by a werewolf howling taunt.

Heavy:

-The FrankenHeavy Item Set:

The FrankenHeavy is an item set for the Heavy. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

The set includes the following items:

Can Opener
Soviet Stitch-Up
Steel-Toed Stompers

While wearing this item set, the Heavy's default taunts will be replaced with a yelling taunt.

-The Grand Duchess Item Set:

The Grand Duchess is an item set for the Heavy. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

The set includes the following items:

Grand Duchess Tiara
Grand Duchess Fairy Wings
Grand Duchess Tutu

While wearing this item set, the Heavy will have new special fairy princess-related voicelines to speak.

Engineer:

-The Brundle Bundle Item Set:

The Brundle Bundle is an item set for the Engineer. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

The set includes the following items:

Buzz Killer
Frontier Flyboy
Legend of Bugfoot

While wearing this item set, the Engineer voice will become high pitched by 145%.

Sniper:

The Croc-o-Style Kit Item Set:

The Croc-o-Style Kit is a community-created item set for the Sniper.

The set includes the following items:

Sydney Sleeper
Darwin's Danger Shield
Bushwacka
Ol'Snaggletooth

When you kill an enemy while using this set, a "Calling Card" will be left on their dead bodies. a "Calling Card" is a grave tombstone that appears on the corpse of any player you killed while using this item set.

Spy:

Saharan Spy Item Set:

The Saharan Spy is a community-created item set for the Spy.

The set includes the following items:

L'Etranger
Your Eternal Reward
Familiar Fez

While wearing this item set, the Spy default taunts will have a smoking dust effect on them.

Facial Animation Cosmetics

This refers to cosmetic items, usually in the form of animals or characters rather than objects, that are designed and rigged to have live changing facial expressions imitating that of your own character.

Here's a list of them:

Soldier:

-The Private Maggot Muncher:

The Private Maggot Muncher is a community-created cosmetic item for the Soldier.

Any facial expressions your character makes will also be shown on the item's bird face, imitating your class current mood. Also, any unassisted kill you make will be shown as assisted by this item's name in Pyroland's Vision kill-feed, and if it has a custom Name Tag on it, it will be shown as well. (See Pyroland Pet Items Below).

Engineer:

-Beep Man:

The Beep Man is a community-created cosmetic item for the Engineer. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, any facial expression your character makes will also be shown on the item's screen monitor, imitating your character current mood.










-Clubsy the Seal:

Clubsy The Seal is a community-created cosmetic item for the Engineer.

While wearing this item, any facial expression your character makes will also be shown on the baby seal in your pocket, imitating your character current mood.










Medic:

-Archimedes:

Archimedes is a cosmetic item for the Medic.

Any facial expressions your character makes will also be shown on the item's bird face, imitating your class current mood. Also, any unassisted kill you make will be shown as assisted by this item's name in Pyroland's Vision kill-feed, and if it has a custom Name Tag on it, it will be shown as well. (See Pyroland Pet Items Below).

Multi-Class:

-The Beep Boy:

The Beep Boy is a community-created cosmetic item for the Scout, Pyro and Engineer.

While wearing this item, any facial emotions your character makes will also be shown on the item's screen monitor, imitating your character current mood











-The Special Eyes:

The Special Eyes is a community-created multi-class cosmetic item for the Pyro and Engineer.

While wearing this item, any facial expression your character makes will also be shown on the item's lens, imitating your character current mood.






All-Class:

-Haunted Hat:

The Haunted Hat is a community-created cosmetic item for all classes. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, any facial expression your character makes will also be shown on the hat's ghost face, imitating your character current mood. Also has new special voicelines but only on Scout (see Voicelines cosmetics below)









BINOCULUS!:

The BINOCULUS! is a community-created cosmetic item for all classes.

While wearing this item, any facial expression your character makes will also be shown on the item's eyeballs, imitating your character current mood.

Voicelines Cosmetics

This refers to cosmetic items that when worn, will add new additional special voicelines for your character to speak. They're usually Halloween/Full-Moon restricted.

Here's a list of them:

Scout:

-Voodoo-Cursed Scout Soul:

The Voodoo-Cursed Scout Soul is a cosmetic item for the Scout. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Scout will have new special zombie-related voicelines to speak.

Soldier:

-Voodoo-Cursed Soldier Soul:

The Voodoo-Cursed Soldier Soul is a cosmetic item for the Soldier. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Soldier will have new special zombie-related voicelines to speak.

Freedom Feathers:

The Freedom Feathers is a community-created cosmetic item for the Soldier. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Soldier will have new special bird-related voicelines to speak.

Larval Lid:

The Larval Lid is a community-created cosmetic item for the Soldier. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Soldier will have new special maggot-related voicelines to speak.

Spellbinder's Bonnet:

The Spellbinder's Bonnet is a community-created cosmetic item for the Soldier. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Soldier will have at least two new special wizard-related voicelines to speak.








Heavy:

-Chicken Kiev:

The Chicken Kiev is a community-created cosmetic item for the Heavy. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Heavy will have new special bird-related voicelines to speak.

-Grand Duchess (see Item Set above):

Medic:

-Medi-Medes:

Medimedes is a community created cosmetic item for the Medic. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Medic will have new special bird-related voicelines to speak.

-Second Opinion:

The Second Opinion is a community-created cosmetic item for the Medic. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Medic will have new special dual evil personality-related voicelines to speak.

-Archimedes the Undying:

Archimedes the Undying is a community created cosmetic item for the Medic. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Medic will have new special dialogue voicelines to speak with the zombie bird on his shoulders.

Sniper:

-Sir Shootsalot:

The Sir Shootsalot is a community-created cosmetic item for the Sniper. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, the Sniper will have new special bird-related voicelines to speak.

All-Class:

-Haunted Hat:

The Haunted Hat is a community-created cosmetic item for all classes. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, only the Scout will have new special hat-related voicelines to speak. Also has facial animations (see Facial Animation cosmetics above).

-Magical Mercenary:

The Magical Mercenary is a community-created cosmetic item for all classes. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, most of the classes will have new special pony-related voicelines to speak. Based on the My Little Pony series.

Sound Effect Cosmetics

This refers to cosmetic items that when worn, will have a special sound effect playing, usually when taunting. Here's a list of them:

Scout:

Boston Boom-Bringer:

The Boston Boom-Bringer is a community-created cosmetic item for the Scout.

Wearing this item will come with a special effect.

While wearing this item, whenever you default taunt, four different short music tunes will play.

Sprinting Cephalod:

The Sprinting Cephalopod is a community-created cosmetic item for the Scout. It can be only worn during Full-Moon days and Halloween events.

While wearing this item, your footsteps sound will be replaced by a squishy wet sound whenever you walk around.






Soldier:

Lumbricus Lid:

The Lumbricus Lid, is a promotional cosmetic item for the Soldier.

While wearing this item, doing the "Kamikaze" taunt (aka Soldier grenade suicide taunt with any pickaxe melee weapon) will play a "Hallelujah" sound effect and display a different grenade kill icon in the kill-feed.

Pyro:

Infernal Orchestrina:

The Infernal Orchestrina is a cosmetic item for the Pyro.

While wearing this item, whenever you default taunt, a short music tune will play. Also, while wearing this item, Pyroland Vision will be activated (See Pyroland Vision Cosmetics below).

Jingling Cosmetics

This refers to certain cosmetic items that have a jingle bell sound effect whenever you walk around with them equipped. They're usually Christmas-themed.

Here's a list of them:

Scout:
-Bootie Time
-Seasonal Employee

Soldier:
-Elf Defense

Pyro:
-Jingle Belt
-Elf Ignition

Medic:
-Elf Care Provider

All Class:
-Jolly Jingler
-Reindoonibeanie
-Elf-Made Bandana

Smoking Particle Effect

Also called "Genteel Smoke". This refers to some cosmetics that produce a small smoking and trailing particle effect on a specific part of their model, usually a cigarette. Since there are many of them in this game, I chose to compile them all in this one section.

Here's a list of them:

Scout:
-Punk's Pomp

Soldier:
-Lord Cockswain's Novelty Mutton Chops and Pipe
-Soldier's Stogie
-Soldier's Sparkplug
-Shellmet

Pyro:
-Bubble Pipe
-Waxy Wayfinder
-Backpack Broiler

Demoman:
-Aladdin's Private Reserve
-Bearded bombardier
-Bomber Knight

Heavy:
-Convict Cap

Engineer:
-El Patron
-Train of Thought

Medic:
-Nine Pipe Problem
-Steam Pipe

Sniper:
-Handsome Hitman
-Outback Intellectual

Spy:
-Crabe de Chapeau
-Avian Amante (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)

Multi-Class:
-Cuban Bristle Crisis
-Sophisticated Smoker

All-Class:
-Gentle Munitionne of Leisure

Pyroland (Vision) Cosmetics

Wearing these cosmetics will activate Pyroland Vision, without the need of using the Pyroland Vision Goggles.

List:

Pyro:
-Burning Bongos
-Infernal Orchestrina

All-Class:
-Balloonicorn
-Reindoonicorn

Pyroland (Pet) Cosmetics

These cosmetics come in the form of animal pets or plushies that sit on your shoulder, pockets, other body parts or float around you. Since there are many of them in this game, I chose to compile them all in one section here:

While wearing these items, any unassisted kill you make will be shown as assisted by the item's name in Pyroland's Vision kill-feed, and if it has a custom Name Tag on it, it will be shown as well.

This is only visible for you and others if you or they have Pyroland Vision active (whether through wearing Pyrovision Goggles or other Pyroland cosmetics listed above).

List of Pet cosmetics:

Scout:
-Chucklenuts
-Pocket Pauling
-Catcher's Companion

Soldier:
-Compatriot
-Lieutenant Bites
-Lieutenant Bites the Dust (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Larval Lid (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted, the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)
-Grub Grenades (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Semi-tame Trapper's Hat
-Private Maggot Muncher (Also has extra facial-animation effects, see above.)

Pyro:
-Birdcage
-Triboniophorus Tyrannus (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)
-Cremator's Conscience
-Metal Slug (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)
-Carrion Companion (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Pocket Pardner
-Fiery Phoenix
-Sole Mate
-Nabler (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)

Demoman:
-Bird-Man Aberdeen
-Polly Putrid (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)

Heavy:
-Red Army Robin
-Ivan the Inedible (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Little Bear
-Sucker Slug (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)
-Momma Kiev

Engineer:
-Teddy Roosebelt
-Teddy Robobelt
-Pocket Purrer
-Prize Plushy
-Pocket Pyro
-Ein
-Clubsy the Seal (also has extra facial-animation effects, see above.)
-Tropical Toad
-Aim Assistant
-Mini-Engy
-Puggyback

Medic:
-Archimedes
-Archimedes the Undying (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Mecha-Medes
-Pocket-Medes
-Pocket Heavy

Sniper:
-Koala Compact
-Sir Hootsalot
-Steel Songbird
-Li'l Snaggletooth
-Cobber Chameleon
-Carious Chameleon (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Elizabeth the Third
-Glow from Below

Spy:
-Backstabber's Boomslang
-Spycrab
-Aristotle
-Bird's Eye Viewer

Multi-Class:
-Pocket Medic
-Deadliest Duckling
-Scrap Pack
-Hillbilly Speed-Bump
-Harry

All-Class:
-Alien Swarm Parasite (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)
-Hat of Undeniable Wealth and Respect
-Balloonicorn
-Reindoonicorn
-RoBro 3000
-Boo Balloon (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Dead Little Buddy (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Unknown Monkeynaut (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Accursed Apparition (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Guano (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Pocket Horsemann (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Unidentified Following Object (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Quoth (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Sacksloth Spook (Halloween/Full-Moon restricted)
-Grim Tweeter
-Catastrophic Companions
-Pocket Raiders
-Pocket Villains
-Space Hamster Hammy
-Croaking Hazard
-Pocket Saxton
-Quizzical Quetzal
-Slithering Scarf
-Pocket Santa
-Pocket Yeti
-Sledder's Sidekick
-Terror-antula
-Polar Pal
-Pocket Halloween Boss
-Gingerbread Mann
-Pebbles the Penguin
-Breadcrab (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)
-A Handsome Handy Thing
-Balloonicorpse
-Ominous Offering
-Tux

Other Cosmetics:

Here are some other unique cosmetics with special effects that I could not categorize into the sections above since they're far too different from everything else mentioned so far.

Scout:

Ball-Kicking Boots:

The Ball-Kicking Boots are a promotional cosmetic item for the Scout.

While using this item, the footstep sound noise you make while running/walking is changed to sound like you're walking on grass, and furthermore, a team-colored soccer ball will spawn alongside you in the Respawn room whenever you equip this item. This soccer ball has physics and thus can be kicked and moved around by you or other players through shooting at it or running over it.

Engineer:

Pip-Boy:

The Pip-Boy is a promotional cosmetic item for the Engineer.

While wearing this item, the HUD interface of the Engineer's Construction PDA, Destruction PDA and Eureka Effect's teleportation will be changed to a green digital screen, based on the Fallout franchise.

Hot Rod:

The Hotrod is a community-created cosmetic item for the Engineer.

While wearing this item, the helmet/visor will flip back on and forth on the Engineer's head while hauling buildings or deploying/viewing PDAs.







All-Class:

Hardy Laurel:

The Hardy Laurel is a community-created promotional cosmetic item for all classes.

While wearing this item or having it in your inventory in Mann VS Machine gamemode, "Romevision" will be activated for you and the entire server, causing the robots models to be changed to Ancient Roman style warrior clothings.










Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head:

The Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head is a cosmetic item for all classes. It can only be worn during Halloween or Full-Moon days.

While wearing this item, you become immune to the Horseless Headless Horsemann's "Boo" scare stunt taunt.








Saxton Hale Mask:

The Saxton Hale Mask is a cosmetic item for all classes.

While wearing this item, you become immune to the Horseless Headless Horsemann's "Boo" scare stunt taunt.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: Do any of these cosmetics affect gameplay?

A: No, the extra effects that come with these items are all purely cosmetic. The only items in this guide that alter gameplay in any capacity are the "Isolationist" and "Isolated Merc" item sets, but those can be arguably considered insignificant as they ONLY apply to players wearing the item sets (and one of them is Halloween-restricted too.)

Q: Why are other cosmetic items that include jiggle-bone physics and self-illuminating glowing textures not included here?

A: Because those traits revolve around the item's technical assets itself, aka model, rigging and textures. As such, I believe it's not noteworthy to list them here. In addition, it would take a long time to do so since there are too many of them, which in turn makes them more common and not as unique as the ones listed above.

Q: Why is the bird-head cosmetic for Demoman "Mann-Bird of Aberdeen" not included in here?

A: Because unfortunately, it's the only bird-head cosmetic that does NOT feature new voicelines alongside it. Making it a regular plain gimmicky Halloween cosmetic (which is curious since the voice actor for Demo is the same for Heavy: Gary Schwartz. Yet he opted to record lines for the latter rather than the former? really weird.)

Q: Why are the rest of the Voodoo-Cursed zombie cosmetics for other classes not included here?

A: Because like the one above, they too, unfortunately, do not include new voicelines either.

Q: Are there more items like this or does this guide describe them all?

A: Yes, there is more, though I haven't found the time to put them here yet, as this guide is still WIP (Work In Progress). My main source of information for these items comes from the TF2 official wiki as well as some ingame testing and research that I've been doing for a while now.

Thanks for reading

Hope this guide helped to open your eyes to appreciate some hats that are pretty underrated and overlooked. It's always the tiny small details that make any game more perfect than it already was. If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments below.

[Roman108]

@Projectile Disfunction
Thanks again. All added

[Projectile Disfunction]

Oh and Sucker Slug)

[Projectile Disfunction]

Alien Swarm Parasite, Larval Lid, Triboniophorus Tyrannus, Metal Slug (the kill goes to this item, while the player gets the assist instead.)

[Projectile Disfunction]

Players wearing the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head or Saxton Hale Mask are immune to being stunned by the Horseless Headless Horsemann's taunt.(idk if it suits you, but why not)

[Projectile Disfunction]

Maybe later i add more.

[Projectile Disfunction]

Haunted Hat mimic face animations.

[Roman108]

@Projectile Disfunction
Thank you for the notification. Added all of them.

[Projectile Disfunction]

Kill with Croc-o-Style Kit equiped also leave a Calling Card.

[Projectile Disfunction]

Also you can add the Hardy Laurel.

[Projectile Disfunction]

@CVIII
Add The Saharan Spy item set.