The Best Keyboard for VALORANT
If you're serious about your VALORANT gameplay, the right keyboard can make all the difference in your performance—whether that’s ascending ranks, or professional competition. From swift movement to precise aim, every keystroke matters.
For this list, we’re focusing on 60-65% keyboards. Its compact shape and size makes this form-factor the best for hyper-focused gameplay. No need for a numpad in VALORANT.
Top Analog
- Higround Performance Base 65
- Wooting 60HE+
- Apex Pro Mini Wireless
Top Mechanical
- Higround Basecamp 65
- Corsair K65 PRO MINI
- ASUS ROG Falchion NX
Top Analog
At the top of our list are Hall Effect (magnetic) keyboards. Using analog switches, these keyboards enable you to determine the exact point of actuation to correspond to your playstyle. This keyboard is meant to adapt to how quickly or slowly you hit keys, allowing players to move fluidly and actuate keypresses faster and more efficiently than non-analog keyboard users.
So, if they all function relatively the same, what sets them apart?
- Higround Performance Base65: At the top of our list stands the Higround Performance Keyboard, a formidable weapon in the arsenal of professional VALORANT players like Cryo, Stellar, and DerrekOW.
This keyboard’s pre-lubed Gateron switches offer lightning-fast response times and pinpoint accuracy, ensuring you stay one step ahead of your adversaries. They also have the added benefit of sounding magnificent and eliminating any scratching or pinging noises.
We chose this as our top for its price point as well as the subtle but elegant design featured on the keycaps. At $165, this is not only the cheapest analog keyboard on our list, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a magnetic keyboard that looks, sounds, and feels as good.
- Wooting 60HE+: The Wooting 60HE+ takes innovation to new heights with its analog input technology, allowing for precise control and fluid movement in VALORANT.
Equipped with Lekker switches, this keyboard is for the serious gamer looking to ascend the ranks of VALORANT gameplay. Clocking in at $174.99, this keyboard features a ton of customizable options and software.
We love the additional aesthetic aspects like the wrist strap and option to customize (at additional cost).
- Apex Pro Mini Wireless: SteelSeries' Apex Pro Mini Wireless is among the top contenders with its all-black frame and OmniPoint 2.0 Adjustable HyperMagnetic switches.
This is the only analog keyboard on this list whose switches are made in-house by SteelSeries themselves, which is an admirable feat. Clocking in just over $200, this keyboard is the priciest of our list for what it offers.
If a straightforward black keyboard with no bells and whistles is your thing, then this is really the perfect gaming keyboard for you.
Top Mechanical Overall
The best VALORANT keyboard doesn’t have to just be for gaming! While an analog keyboard can complete daily tasks, they often don’t sound and look as nice as a keyboard meant for daily use. That’s why we prefer standard gaming keyboards that can not only perform in-game, but also IRL.
Because sometimes you need to answer emails between matches.
- Higround Basecamp 65: In our opinion, the best balance of professional-level gaming and everyday use. Not only do the linear switches make it optimal for ranking up in VALORANT, the dual dampening makes it optimal for daily use. The Basecamp 65 sounds, performs, and feels perfect right out of the box.
The Higround Basecamp 65 comes equipped with pre-lubed TTC White Flame switches with a 1.6mm actuation point, making it faster than the average Cherry switch (which average around 2.0mm). For a fast-paced game like VALORANT, every millimeter counts.
Higround is synonymous with chic designs that make their keyboards stand out, and the Basecamp 65 line is the perfect place to start expressing yourself on your keycaps. You can get one for as low as $120, and it comes stocked with everything you need for both daily driver and gaming keyboard.
- Corsair K65 PRO MINI: This keyboard leans more towards gaming, with its optical switches. Optical switches use a laser to actuate presses, rather than letting two metal plates connect. This allows for much more accurate presses. However, optical switches don’t allow you to determine actuation point.
You can buy this keyboard for just under $130, and it comes built into an aluminum frame, making it a heavier and sturdier option. Combined with the optical switches, this keyboard is a great, understated piece that
- ASUS ROG Falchion NX: Last but certainly not least. The ASUS ROG Falchion NX is a stunning gaming keyboard that boasts wireless connectivity—allowing players to move their keyboard around without tangling themselves in chords.
The ROG Falchion NX offers customizable switch selection, enabling users to pick between linear, tactile, and clicky switches. Their fastest switch, the ROG NX Red Mechanical Switch actuates at 1.8mm.
This keyboard comes in at just under $150, enabling users to customize their switch options for the right fit.
In conclusion, when it comes to mastering VALORANT, the keyboard you choose can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. While Hall Effect keyboards like the Higround Performance Keyboard reign supreme across multiple categories, other options like the Wooting 60HE+ and SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini Wireless offer compelling alternatives.
If analog keyboards meant solely for improving your gameplay aren’t your vibe, then the best alternative is a standard mechanical keyboard that can be used for both gaming and everyday typing. In that aspect, the Higround Basecamp 65 offers the most well-rounded keyboard that can serve multiple purposes—rather than focus on just one.