VALORANT Raw Accel Explained: What Is It And How To Use It
VALORANT Raw Accel is a mouse acceleration program that's been buzzing around for a while now. Some VALORANT players swear by it, even going so far as to call it an aim crutch. Others don't think it does anything at all. The truth of the matter is somewhere in between those two opinions. Let's break down what VALORANT Raw Accel does, why it's good, and how you can leverage it to improve your own aim in VALORANT or CS:GO.
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VALORANT Raw Accel: What is it?
Click to enlargeRaw Accel is a third-party program that changes the way your computer registers your mouse inputs. It's more commonly used for tactical FPS games like CSGO and VALORANT, but does see use in other titles such as Apex.
Raw Accel is free, so you won't have to purchase anything to use it. In line with that, though, is the fact that it's only available on GitHub. There's no official website or distributor as it's an open program with its source code readily available. Keep that in mind if you're trying to install it and are looking for a download resource that's not GitHub.
To sum Raw Accel up quickly, it's a program that lets you reap the benefits of both low and high sensitivity at the same time. The program dynamically shifts your sensitivity in-game to where you need it to be based on the situation you're in. It does this by reading your mouse's DPI input.
The program, in theory, is BattleEye, Vanguard, and general Anti-Cheat safe. It doesn't do anything illegal. All it does is let you customize the mouse acceleration that comes as default with Windows. So, you should never be banned for using mouse accel. That being said, do keep caution in mind if you decide to use the program. It's still third-party software, so it's possible you end up getting false flagged, although it's extremely unlikely.
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VALORANT Raw Accel: Why Are People Using it?
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To understand Raw Accel and why it's good for VALORANT, you need to understand how Window's default mouse acceleration works. As you'd know if you've ever played a tactical FPS game seriously, one of the first things you need to do is go into your Windows settings to turn off mouse acceleration.
The reason we do this is that Window's mouse accel is a curve that increases our sensitivity proportionally to our DPI input, or the speed at which we're moving the mouse. In VALORANT and CSGO, this translates to bad and inconsistent aim. No VALORANT aim guide will change that.
Raw Accel exists on the same principle. It lets us have a dynamic sensitivity that changes depending on how fast we're moving our mouse. Unlike Window's acceleration, though, it's completely customizable. This turns it from a detriment into a potentially useful resource.
With Windows acceleration, you're stuck with whatever your computer gives you. With Raw Accel, you're given the ability to change not only the rate at which your sensitivity increases, but at what points you want it to increase, and where you want it to cap.
Click to enlargeWhat does that mean in practice? It means you can have a lower sensitivity whenever you need to make micro-adjustments mid-gunfight, but a higher sensitivity when you need to hit a fast flick. It gives you the best VALORANT settings with no drawbacks.
As you should know, playing with a lower sensitivity means you have to be less precise with your shots, but that comes at the cost of speed. Your margin for error is wide, but it takes a second to get from A to B. On a high sensitivity, you're getting that speed that lower sensitivity players are missing. However, you need to be much more precise with your shots as even a slight change in your mouse's position can throw your crosshair off course.
From that, we can conclude that lower sensitivity is better for micro-adjustments, and higher sensitivity is better for flicks. Generally speaking, players can only pick one or the other. With Raw Accel, they can get both.
When you're making small adjustments, you're moving your mouse a lot slower. Raw Accel picks up on that and puts you at the lower end of your sensitivity curve. When you pick up the speed and move across your mousepad quickly, it also picks up on that and will scale your sensitivity proportionally.
VALORANT players are using Raw Accel because it permits them to get the benefits of both sensitivity styles without sacrificing the other. It takes a lot of work to set up, but many players argue that the payoff is worth it.
If you're interested in making a Raw Accel curve for yourself, West Proter on YouTube has a great video series detailing all the nuances of the program. It's not the most accessible thing in the world, but if you put the work in, you'll notice a drastic improvement in your aim.
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