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Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Sensitivity isn’t just for emotions or The Force. Your mouse sensitivity is core to your ability to accurately act in the digital space — especially in competitive games like VALORANT. Never gave it much thought? Let’s explore the interplay between mouse sensitivity and DPI in this VALORANT Sensitivity Guide.
VALORANT Sensitivity: Arm vs. Wrist Players
First things first: are you a wrist player or arm player?
This will have a dramatic impact on your ideal setup. If you prefer arm aiming with it’s broad, sweeping motions and frequent resets, you’ll likely favor lower sensitivity and DPI, with more desk space and a larger mousepad. If you crave the small motions and flick 360s of wrist aiming, you’ll want higher sensitivity and DPI, with less desk space and a standard size mousepad.
But if you aren’t certain, how do you know which is the better option for you? Simple — practice and experience.
Finding the Best VALORANT Sensitivity
What is the best mouse sensitivity for VALORANT? Well, every mouse is different, with unique sensors that may have varying native DPI settings — which is to say, the resolution of the sensor itself. It may be worth doing a little research to see what best suits your mouse, and manufacturer’s websites are a great place to start. But when in doubt, increments of 400 are ideal, with 800 and 1200 being good starting points. Note that the best DPI for VALORANT isn’t necessarily super high. Whatever gives you the best mobility and the best control is where you want to be.
Whatever DPI you choose, you want to set it and forget it. The goal here is to build muscle memory. Find something that works for you then resist the temptation to tweak. Any changes after the DPI should be done through in-game sensitivity. And even then, once you find a good sensitivity, try to leave it alone or only change it in small increments over time. Is a sensitivity of 1.00 a little high for you? Try moving it down by 0.1 at a time, leaving a day or so of play in-between changes, or even 0.05 for the fine grained approach.
After you’ve nailed down the best VALORANT mouse settings, all that’s left is the work of making your mouse an extension of your will through steady practice.
Practice Your Sensitivity
Playing live matches is one way to practice. But if you want to truly master your setup, you’ll have to put in some practice. Jump into VALORANT’s Practice Mode and choose the Open Range option. Then practice your movement and crosshair placement. Don’t take anything for granted at first — try cranking your sensitivity up, then throttle it way down. What feels better? More importantly, what does your current setup best allow for? Use that as your foundation, then make the incremental changes to dial it in. That’s how you find the best VALORANT sensitivity for you.
Practice everything from flicks to 180s. Pit yourself against the bots in the site retake scenarios. Don’t be afraid to whiff shots — that’s what practice is for. Keep your crosshair placement on point and drill headshots until you’re snapping angles like a champion. Then take that monstrous aim of yours online and clear out some servers.
Become a High Grounder
We hope this VALORANT Sensitivity Guide helps to keep your aim crisp and clean. If you liked these words and want to read more like them, be sure to give us a follow on Facebook and Twitter.
Questions, comments, or concerns? Feel free to voice them in the comments section below.
We’ll see you in the next guide.
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