In Valorant, the default keybinds are actually surprisingly good compared to other shooters. However, if you want to climb out of Diamond and push for Immortal, you need to optimize your controls to ensure you never take your fingers off the WASD movement keys during a firefight.
The best Valorant keybinds require you to move your primary agent abilities (like Jett’s dash or Reyna’s dismiss) off the ‘E’ and ‘Q’ keys and onto your mouse thumb buttons. You should also bind “Jump” to the mouse scroll wheel to make bunny hopping consistent.
If your fingers are tripping over each other trying to cast a flash while peeking a corner, your settings are holding you back. Here are the exact optimized keybinds used by professional VCT players.
Why the Default Valorant Binds Fail
The default keybinds in Valorant map your abilities to Q, E, and C.
The problem? Pressing E requires you to take your index finger off the D key. This means you literally cannot strafe right while casting an ability. In a tactical shooter where counter-strafing is required for accurate shooting, taking your finger off a movement key to throw a flashbang makes you an incredibly easy target.
(If you are struggling with counter-strafing, your keyboard might be too slow. Read our guide to the Best Keyboard for Valorant to learn about Rapid Trigger technology).
The Optimized Valorant Keybinds
Go into your settings menu and make these changes immediately. These binds are designed to keep your movement uninterrupted.
1. Move Abilities to Your Mouse
- Ability 2 (Default Q): Change to Mouse Button 4 (Thumb button)
- Ability 3 (Default E): Change to Mouse Button 5 (Thumb button)
- Why: By moving your two most-used abilities to your mouse, your left hand never has to leave the WASD movement keys. You can strafe in any direction while simultaneously throwing a Phoenix flash or popping a Jett smoke.
2. The Bunny Hop Bind
- Action: Jump
- Key 1: Spacebar
- Key 2 (Alternate): Mouse Wheel Down
- Why: This is a classic Counter-Strike trick that carried over to Valorant. Bunny hopping (b-hopping) requires you to input a jump command the exact millisecond you hit the ground. Human fingers cannot perfectly time the spacebar every time. By binding “Jump” to your mouse scroll wheel, you can input the jump command 10 times in a fraction of a second simply by scrolling down.
3. Voice Chat (Comms Win Games)
- Party Voice (Push to Talk): V
- Team Voice (Push to Talk): Mouse Button 3 (Press the scroll wheel) or C
- Why: You must communicate with your team, but you cannot afford to reach across your keyboard to hit V in the middle of a clutch. Moving your Team Voice to a mouse button ensures you can call out enemy positions while still aiming and shooting. (Make sure your audio settings are optimized so you can hear those callouts! Read our guide to the Best Audio Settings for Valorant).
Frequently Asked Questions
What keybinds does TenZ use?
Tyson “TenZ” Ngo uses a slightly modified setup. He keeps his abilities on the default Q, E, and C keys, but he uses Mouse Button 4 and Mouse Button 5 for his voice comms. He also utilizes the Mouse Wheel Down jump bind for movement. (To copy the rest of his setup, read our complete breakdown of TenZ’s Valorant Settings & Gear).
Should I use Toggle or Hold to Crouch?
In Valorant, you should almost always use “Hold to Crouch.” Using toggle can cause you to get stuck in the crouching animation during a chaotic firefight, making you an easy, stationary target for enemy rifles.
Do I need a macro keyboard for Valorant?
No. Valorant does not allow you to queue up complex ability combos using macros. Using third-party software (or mouse software like Logitech G-Hub) to automate ability usage or recoil control is considered cheating and will result in a Vanguard hardware ban.
