A guide to the best controls and settings in VALORANT

Make the most out of the settings menu.

Viper holding the Spike during a firefight in VALORANT
Image via Riot Games

VALORANT is all about finding an edge over your opponent. There’s always room for improvement, even if you have pinpoint accuracy, the perfect game sense, and extensive knowledge of each of the maps.

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Controls and settings in VALORANT, believe it or not, have a real impact on your gameplay. If you aren’t using the optimal settings, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Here are the best VALORANT PC controls and settings.

Best mouse settings in VALORANT

Low mouse sensitivities are generally considered the best in tactical shooters. But a low sens certainly isn’t essential.

If you have a large mouse pad and plenty of space on your desk, choosing a low to medium sens is your best bet. You might have to move your wrist around a fair amount, but it should help you improve your accuracy in the long run. If you have limited desk space or you’re stuck with a tiny mouse pad, crank up your sensitivity.

Here’s an example of a reasonably low sensitivity.

DPI800In-game Sensitivity0.625
eDPI250 — 300Scoped Sensitivity1
Polling Rate1000Windows Sensitivity6

Best crosshair settings in VALORANT

Crosshairs are entirely down to personal preference. There’s no “best” crosshair. But you should look to find a crosshair that’s easily visible on your screen. Using colors that stand out, like green or cyan, is often the way to go.

Below is an example of a simple crosshair that will work in almost any scenario.

ColorCyanInner Lines1 / 6 / 2 / 2
OutlinesOffOuter LinesOff
Center Dot OffFade / Movement / Firing ErrorOff / Off / Off

Best key bindings in VALORANT

ForwardW
BackwardS
Strafe LeftA
Strafe RightD
Default Movement ModeWalk
WalkLeft Shift
JumpMouse Wheel Down
CrouchLeft Shift
Toggle CrouchOn
FireLeft Mouse Button
Alternate FireRight Mouse Button
Aim Down SightsHold
Sniper Rifle AimHold
Operator ZoomCycle
Auto Re-enter ScopeOn
ReloadR
Equip Primacy Weapon1
Equip Secondary Weapon2
Equip Melee Weapon3
Equip Spike4
Cycle to Next WeaponUnbind
Cycle to Previous WeaponUnbind
Drop Equipped WeaponG
Inspect WeaponY
Use ObjectF
Ability 1C
Ability 2Q
Ability 3E
Ultimate AbilityX

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the default keybindings in VALORANT, especially when it comes to your abilities. If you want a change of pace, mouse buttons four and five are good options, however.

One thing you should consider changing is your jump keybinding. If you bind jump to Mouse Wheel Down (or up), rather than the space bar, you’ll have a much easier time bunny hopping. You can also bind jump to both the spacebar and the mouse wheel if you’re having trouble adjusting.

If you do decide to bind jump to Mouse Wheel Down, though, remember that Jett can only hover with the space bar.

Best video settings in VALORANT

VALORANT has been designed to look as minimalistic as possible so it can thrive in a competitive environment and run smoothly on almost anyone’s computer.

In tactical shooters, you ideally want to avoid unnecessary textures or colors in your line of sight. In this case, lower-end video settings are generally the way to go.

The difference between low and high settings shouldn’t make a great deal of a difference to your gameplay, but low settings could give you a slight edge.

Here’s an example of low to medium video settings.

Material QualityLowAnti-AliasingNone
Detail QualityLowAnisotropic Filtering1x
Texture QualityLowImprove ClarityOn
UI QualityLowEnhanced Gun Skin VisualsOff
VignetteOffDistortionOff
VsyncOffShadowsOff

Best map settings in VALORANT

The default map settings in VALORANT give you just a small proportion of the full map. If you’re on one site and your enemies are on the other, it can be difficult to make out their positions. This could lead to you missing out on vital information.

The settings below should give you more clarity and allow you to see the entire map at all times. It might take some time to get used to, but it’s well worth the effort.

RotateRotate / Based on Side
Keep Player CenteredOff
Minimap Size0.8
Minimap Zoom0.6
Minimap Vision ConesOn
Show Map Region NamesAlways

You can always fiddle around with the settings to find what works for you, but everything we’ve outlined here are the best VALORANT PC controls and settings.


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Author
Image of Jerome Heath
Jerome Heath
Jerome Heath is a senior editor at Dot Esports.
Author
Image of Cade Davie
Cade Davie
Proud husband and cat dad, Cade has been writing about games for several years and playing them for almost three decades. While he'll happily play everything he can get his hands on, he's partial to games released by Airship Syndicate, From Software, and Giant Squid.