What Is Raw Accel And Does It Really Help In Valorant?

If you're curious about what raw accel is and whether it can help you pull off the craziest flicks, making your aim look like an aimbot, you're in the right place!

Raw accel
Mouse Acceleration Explained | © Wallpaper Abyss/Riot Games

We often see videos on social media where players in Valorant pull off amazing flicks and nail one headshot after another. The title then says something like 'this is what you can do with raw accel'. You might be wondering what it even is. A setting, a program, or maybe something raw to eat?

Valorant: How Useful Is Mouse Acceleration?

Simply put, it's a program that adjusts your mouse sensitivity based on the speed of your mouse movement. If you move your mouse slowly or only minimally, the program can automatically decrease your sensitivity. If you move it quickly, like for a flick, the sens increases.

Oh, and then there's the Windows program that also enables mouse acceleration, but it's not really good for gaming. So stay away from it.

Best Programs For Mouse Acceleration

Now, there are two programs that offer this service:Raw Accel and the somewhat less known Custom Curve. Since streamers often mentioned Raw Accel, it is more well-known, but Custom Curve is actually better as it is more customizable. It offers a free version and a pro version where you have to pay $10 once.

Do Those Programs Count as Cheating?

No, Valorant's Anti-Cheat, Vanguard, does not flag Raw Accel and Custom Curve as cheats since they're not malicious programs. They simply assist in gaining more control over your sensitivity. Also, Riot has officially confirmed it before. TenZ and some other Pros have also used Raw Accel in some of their videos, although it's uncertain if they use it consistently.

How Do The Programs Work?

In advance, it must be said that it takes a lot of effort to get into the topic, especially if you're not familiar with it. The programs offer various preset graphic types. However, in the end, you have to adjust your curve individually to yourself. This means setting at what rate your sensitivity accelerates, the maximum increase or decrease of it, etc.

You have to test yourself multiple times to find out which settings suit you best. However, it also means that even as your aim steadily improves, you have to change and further customize your individualized curve to adapt it to your skill level.

Do Raw Accel And Custom Curve Help To Improve In Valorant?

Sage practice
You can't get around practicing | © Riot Games/EarlyGame

This is a very individual question and depends on your own aiming style. Some people swear by these programs, especially those who play with a very low sens. Getting quicker flicks can be quite helpful. Provided you are willing to invest the time it takes to find the right curve for yourself.

It should be kept in mind that you need to get used to the mouse acceleration and still have to train your aim with this application to improve, though. This means they are not magical solutions that will suddenly take you from Platinum to Immortal, as some TikToks may suggest.

But there are also some negative points, such as not always being able to find the perfect curve for every situation. This could make you feel like it was the curve's fault that you failed and not your own, which is counterproductive.

Furthermore, some users find it annoying that the curve needs to be constantly adjusted as their skill level increases. They feel this hinders progress, as instead of continuing to train, they have to constantly tweak the curve.

In summary ...

It doesn't hurt to try mouse acceleration programs, but there's no guarantee they will be suitable for you personally. In this case, it's a matter of trial and error!

Ina Zukina

Hi, I'm Ina! Since I'm writing here a lot about Valorant, it makes sense that I'm a passionate gamer in my personal life as well. My love-hate relationship with Valorant has been going on for about a year and a half now. We've had our ups and downs. Occasionally, I also play MMOs for some nostalgic fun....