We love Valorant. Our fans love Valorant. They love Valnorant so much, in fact, that we often get questions like: What's the best keyboard for Valorant? How do I pwn n00bs in Valorant? That's the genesis for this roundup review guide.
Your keyboard can make or break your Valorant game. It's one of a slew of Human Interface Devices you use to slay your opponents. Your playstyle will gravitate to a specific kind of keyboard with heavy or light keypresses, high or low travel, and other key factors.
Here at Gravastar, we did extensive research so you don't have to. We tried numerous keyboards and scoured the web for user reviews. Combining that with our love for FPSes like Valorant, we think that the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL is the best for Valorant.
How We Picked
We picked keyboards based on a few qualities that catered to different Valorant user preferences. Here are the main factors we used when selecting keyboards.
Type
All the keyboards we recommended are mechanical keyboards. Mechanical keys are more robust than membrane keyboards and can sustain many a play session under extreme conditions. Mechanical keys also provide more varied experiences than rubber dome keyboards which realistically offer a singular experience.
Tactility
Mechanical keyboards are in the midst of a veritable renaissance. If there's a keypress feel you want, you can likely find or build a switch to accommodate. We think linear is best for Valorant because of its lower response time and quick travel.
Travel
Switches have very short to very long travel. Depending on your play style, you may prefer one over the other. The jury's out on which is objectively better, so we recommended both kinds of keyboards for you to try.
Lighting
Let's be honest, keyboards are as much a showpiece nowadays as they are practical. Some people love to be bombarded by copious RGB while others prefer understated elegance. Fortunately, most keyboards can provide the best of both worlds.
Size
Some people want a full-sized keyboard, while others want a 40%. How you reasonably play an FPS that doesn't qualify as an elder millennial with a 40% keyboard is questionable, at best. Still, smaller keyboards can rock Valorant, so we looked at those too.
Best Overall: SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL
- Connectivity: Wired
- Switch Tactility: Linear
- Switch Travel: Variable
- Size: Ten KeyLess
If the power of magnets compels you, then the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL is your keyboard. The Omnipoint 2.0 Adjustable HyperMagnetic Switches are reportedly the fastest switches available. That makes sense: they're based entirely on magnetic field changes.
That means super resilient mechanical switches with practically infinite actuation points. SteelSeries lets you pick a long or short keypress and experiment with everything in between. You can also apply multiple action macros per key. Did I mention the RGB customization?
SteelSeries also claims that these switches are the most responsive available. Considering that magnetism propagates at the speed of light, it's tough to argue with that. When it comes to Valorant, your actions are by far the quickest. You're only limited by how fast your fingers move.
There's even a mini-oled display to tell you the speed of your response time. It also lets you configure settings on the fly using buttons on the keyboard, should you need to do that.
The main drawback: you can't use this close to rare earth magnets or MRIs. Also, this keyboard is one of the more expensive in the lineup. Can you really put a price on peak responsiveness though?
Also Great: Razer Huntsman V2
- Connectivity: Wireless
- Switch Tactility: Linear, Clicky, and Analog
- Switch Travel: Short
- Size: Full Sized or Ten KeyLess
The Razer Huntsman V2 offers an exceptional gaming experience. Its optical keys provide granular feedback and low actuation at the speed of light. Combined with its 8000 Hz polling rate, it may even be faster than the Apex Pro (which is recommended above).
Still, like the Apex Pro, reaction speed is limited by the speed of your keypresses, not the hardware. For games like Valorant, that's critical for peak competitiveness where reaction time is measured in milliseconds.
The Huntsman also offers unique features that could up your Valorant game. Foremost is the Analog key offering, which registers the intensity of your key presses. That can reduce the number of key combinations you need to use.
The Huntsman is pricey, but if you're willing to sacrifice the numerical pad and sound dampeners, you can bring that price down significantly. If you're a Linux Valorant gamer, you also lose some of the expanded features provided by the Razer Synapse platform.
Best Wireless: Logitech G915 TKL
- Connectivity: Wireless
- Switch Tactility: Linear
- Switch Travel: Short
- Size: Ten KeyLess
The Logitech G915 TKL is a super thin, super wireless keyboard designed for travel and low travel. Its compact mechanical keys provide the veritable portability of laptop keyboards while still providing the feel and responsiveness of a capable mechanical keyboard.
For Valorant, that means an exquisitely responsive mechanical keyboard that you can take anywhere. It also incorporates Logitech's LIGHTSYNC RGB which provides an advertised 16.8 million colors in a seductive and reserved package.
The G915 TKL shines with Logitech's proprietary G HUB but can also operate independently with three saved profiles and a game mode that disables superfluous keys. For travel, you can connect to multiple devices and the keyboard is self-serving with multiple variable controls.
The G915 TKL is pricey–it's one of the most expensive options on this list. That's the tradeoff for true portability. It also has limited reprogrammability. While that might not be a dealbreaker for Valorant, it might be a dealbreaker for other games and uses.
Best Budget: Redragon K556
- Connectivity: Wired
- Switch Tactility: Soft Tactile or Linear
- Switch Travel: Long
- Size: Full Sized
The Redragon K556 is our pick for the best budget keyboard, considering it's often on sale. It's a solid all-around keyboard with an aluminum base packed with noise-insulating foam. That makes it quieter than other options on this list, but it's not as silent as a membrane keyboard.
You can buy the Redragon K556 with either Redragon Brown switches, which are linear with some tactility if bottomed-out, or Redragon Red switches, which are full linear. The thing we love about the Redragon K556 is that you don't have to keep them: all keys are hot swappable.
For the new Valorant player, that means that you can test other kinds of mechanical switches to suit your playstyle. Veterans can also benefit from the same and tweak their keyboard if they want to try something new.
The Redragon K556 also has RGB LEDs with multiple built-in RGB modes. Desktop software provides additional customization for both lighting and macros. There isn't inbuilt macro memory, but since it's a budget keyboard that's to be expected.
That hot swapability is the Keyboard's main drawback. It can quickly spiral from a budget keyboard to a budget frame of a very expensive keyboard. Some users also complain that the lighting for some keycaps is inconsistent and muted due to the font selected.
Best 40%: Redragon K585 Pro Wireless
- Connectivity: Wired or Wireless
- Switch Tactility: Soft Tactile, Linear, and clicky
- Switch Travel: Moderate
- Size: 40%
The Redragon K585 Pro Wireless is a fully customizable 40% keyboard designed to be used one-handed. Where most 40% keyboards focus on the full keyboard of text characters, a space bar, and a couple of other keys, the Redragon K585 effectively provides you with the left half of the keyboard.
That's a good thing for games like Valorant. Instead of hunting and pecking across an unfamiliar layout, you can just place your hand as you would on a full-sized keyboard. You can also remap every key and change lighting settings with the Redragon software.
Like the Redragon K556, all the keys are hot-swappable. If you don't want to experiment, though, the Redragon K585 comes with clicky Redragon Blue switches, linear Redragon Red switches, or slightly tactile Redragon Brown switches.
The Redragon 585 can be used wirelessly with a dongle or Bluetooth. It can also be used wired by plugging in the included USB-C cable. This provides extreme flexibility of use. Combined with its small size, you can use it to play Valorant practically anywhere.
The Redragon K585's layout makes it limitedly useful outside of playing Valorant and other FPSes. You can program the keys to emulate a full keyboard and get used to typing one-handed, but that could interfere with your ability to use a standard keyboard.
The Competition
Razer Huntsman V3 Pro: The next iteration of the Huntsman line doubled down on linear analog switches as the only option. It's also significantly more expensive than most mechanical keyboards. It's a solid keyboard, but will break the bank. ASUS
ROG Strix Scope II: Available in full sized or tenkeyless, the Rog Strix Scope II is a solid gaming keyboard contender. Like the Redragon 556, it uses hot-swappable switches. It's a tough recommendation, given cheaper contenders unless you've bought into the ROG ecosystem and want to use the universal wifi module.
Corsair K60: There are a few iterations of the K60 offering tenkeyless and RGB. We like these for their low price point and the use of genuine Cherry switches, which are the benchmark for quality. The build quality is solid too with an aluminum frame.
Frequently Asked Questions
We also get numerous questions related to the best keyboard for Valorant. Here is a sampling with some answers.
Do Pro Gamers Use Razer?
Absolutely. Razer states that they work with and test their gaming keyboards with pro gamers, who also use those keyboards competitively.
Why Do Pro Gamers Use Mechanical Keyboards?
Lower actuation than membrane keyboards, better tactility, and more customizability.
What is the Best Keyboard Position for Gaming?
For long gaming sessions, you want to avoid forearm pronation, which is where you rotate your forearm so the thumb is sitting flat on the keyboard and/or where you rest your wrists on the keyboard while also using it. That can lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Final Thoughts
You should always choose the right keyboard based on keyboard specifications and feel. Choosing a keyboard because it's popular, or used by a specific eSports player, might give you a suboptimal Valorant experience.
Make sure you're not taking out your frustration at losing a match on your keyboard. Whether expensive or budget, your keyboard is a precision machine and can break if you mistreat it. That means no playing Valorant at all.
You should also care for your keyboard by cleaning it periodically. All of the keyboards mentioned here have removable keycaps, which can be cleaned separately, and which allow you to clean in and around switches. Be careful not to damage the switches, though.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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