Keyboards – Page 2

Over the years I have played a variety of different games at different levels and with that I've experiment with the position of my keyboard. With that said does having your keyboard on a tilt have any benefits when gaming? Most Pro gamers have their keyboard on a tilt to save space for their mouse at LAN tournaments because they play on low sensitivity. Tilting your keyboard will also allow you to reach certain buttons that you wouldn't be able to reach without a tilted keyboard, and can be more comfortable at times. Even if your a casual gamer and have a lot of desk space there is still good reason for you to have your keyboard on a tilt. Tilting Your Keyboard Saves Space As someone with a small desk area, I know just how important it is to have your keyboard on a tilt. When I first started playing FPS games like CS:GO and Call of Duty I would often get my mouse to run into my keyboard in the middle of a gunfight. As you can imagine this can be frustrating from time to time because it usually resulted in me losing the the match. I finally came to the conclusion that I should start tilting my keyboard when playing games. Having the tilt in my keyboard gave me much more space to move my mouse and resulted in me winning more games. You can find that many pro gamers have the same issue as I do, especially at LAN tournaments. This is because LAN tournaments usually try to fit as many people as they can in a small space, resulting in gamers having to play with small areas. They maximize their space by placing their keyboard at a 90-degree angle which allows them to move their mouse much further than they would've without the keyboard tilt. Tilting Your Keyboard Can be More Comfortable For Your Hand You might also be asking yourself. "Why do pro gamers play with a tilted keyboard even when they are at home?" That's probably because they've gotten used to having their keyboard on a tilt due to all the practice they've done with their keyboard like that. Many people including myself find it more comfortable to keep your keyboard slightly tilted when playing games. I've found that when my keyboard isn't on a tilt, after a while my wrist starts to hurt and I end up taking a break or tilting my keyboard so that it is more comfortable. This may be because when your keyboard is straight, your arm is on an angle and your wrist has to bend back so that you can place your hand properly on the keyboard. With a tilted keyboard, you are able to keep your arm and wrist pointed in the same direction which makes your gaming experience a little more comfortable than it was without a tilted keyboard. When I did this it provided me with a more comfortable gaming experienced, which allowed me to play for longer and get better. Is Having Your Keyboard at 90 Degrees Comfortable As for gamers who tilt their keyboard at full 90 degrees and think it's comfortable. In my opinion I don't think it's very comfortable because your hand is pretty much in the same position as it would be if your keyboard was straight on your desk. Finding the right degree to tilt your keyboard all comes down to preference. Every body is built different and because of that people find it more comfortable to tilt there keyboards at different angles. What I would suggest doing is to experiment with different angles. Play a few games with a slight tilt, then play a few games with a really big keyboard tilt. You should also experiment with different tilts depending on what games you play. You might find it more comfortable to play with a slightly bigger tilt on one game, but a smaller tilt on another game. The reason for this is because different games use different buttons, which I will be talking about next. A Tilted Keyboard Gives Your Access to More buttons This is true. Tilting your keyboard will give you access to buttons you could never reach before. You may find yourself moving your whole hand just to press the "Z" key on your keyboard, but having a slight tilt on your keyboard can make that a whole lot easier. The reason for this is because for certain buttons, in order to press them you will have to move your finger or in some cases your whole hand down and to the side. However, if you have your keyboard on an angle this might allow you to just move your finger slightly to the right, or slightly down. Personally, once I started tilting my keyboard I found it easier to click the "Z, X, C, CTRL, T, R, 1, 2, and 3" buttons. Which came in handy because these buttons are used a lot in most FPS games, and should be able to click these as fast as you can. having easier access to these buttons can be very beneficial to people with smaller hands, and instead of changing your key binds to a different button, you can just tilt your keyboard, which is a lot easier to do. Can a Tilted Keyboard Take Away Other Buttons? Tilting your keyboard can give you access to buttons you would've never been able to press before, but in doing that you are also taking away the opportunity to click buttons you would've been able to press without a keyboard tilt. If you like to play MOBA games like League of Legends, or DOTA 2, or you play games that involve clicking a lot of the number keys on your keyboard. It might be more beneficial to use your keyboard without a tilt. However, this can be uncomfortable like we mentioned before. Another option that many gamers, and pro gamers change to is the "reverse keyboard tilt". What is a Reverse Keyboard Tilt? The reverse keyboard tilt can be seen by pro gamers like TSM Hamlinz, and many other gamers most commonly found in the Asia region. Having a reverse tilt on your keyboard gives you access to more buttons on the upper half of your keyboard. As for where a normal keyboard tilt gives you more access to the bottom half of your keyboard. It does this while at the same time gives you the comfortably and ergonomics of a normal keyboard tilt. A downside to doing the reverse keyboard tilt is that it can take up more desk space than you need. This is because the reverse keyboard tilt involves you being able to stretch your arm out a little further than usual. Thus, making you stick your keyboard further down your desk. Although it can take up a lot of space it can allow you to customize your key binds to be more comfortable and more to your liking. the reverse keyboard tilt can be very beneficial in games like Fortnite, League of Legends, and even Minecraft PvP. What all these games have in common and what makes them so good for the reverse keyboard tilt is that they all involve you pressing the number buttons at the top of your keyboard by default. Even though many Fortnite pros change their key binds to buttons benefited from the normal keyboard tilt, you may prefer the default settings. As for league of legends most of your abilities are the number keys on your keyboard, and having the reverse keyboard tilt will make it easier to do combos. I can see the reverse keyboard tilt being the most beneficial when doing Minecraft PvP because you need to have access to every single number key on your keyboard in order to switch between items in your hot bar as fast as possible. Alternatives to Tilting Your Keyboard If you are lacking desk space or can't a keyboard tilt is comfortable for you. You don't have to worry because there are many different alternatives to improve your gaming experience and comfort. Play With Your Keyboard on Your Lap If you are lacking desk space for your mouse, or you want to play in a more laid back kind of way. Then, I highly recommend playing with your keyboard in your lap. You will be surprised how comfortable it is and that it can fix your posture too. Most of the time when you are playing with a keyboard and mouse you are most likely slouching over your desk so that you are in a comfortable position. However, this can result in very bad posture and one way to fix this without taking a break from gaming is to play with your keyboard in your lap. This will allow you to play while sitting straight up or even letting you lay back in your chair while playing a competitive game. Too most people this play style might seem a little weird, but is viable even in a competitive game like fortnite. This is even shown by the retired pro gamer Daequan, who is known in the community to play video games with his keyboard in his lap. Buy or Build a 60% Keyboard Another way to save space and have a more comfortable gaming session is to get a smaller 60% keyboard. Not only will this give you more space, but it has all the buttons you need to play any of your favorite games. a 60% keyboard will also benefit from keyboard tilt. With larger full-sized keyboards, you may encounter a problem where when the keyboard is tilted some of the keyboards are sitting off your desk. This can not only make your experience more uncomfortable but can also my your keyboard shake and wobble more when playing. With a 60% keyboard, you will be able to keep the whole keyboard on your desk even when it's on a full 90-degree tilt Get a Bigger Desk The next alternative is to get a bigger desk. If you don't like how a tilted keyboard feels on your hands, and want more mouse space getting a bigger desk might be your only solution. Getting a bigger desk will allow you to spread your arms out and have a lot of breathing room when playing games. Even though I play with a tilted keyboard I also like to spread my arms out. This is just the most comfortable position for me. Buy a Keypad If a 60% keyboard is still too big, then buying a keypad might be the best option. A keypad is designed for playing games. You can find them in many different shapes and sizes. You can find keypads that have as little as 2 keys, to as big as you want. Keypads are also designed for ergonomics, so you don't have to tilt the keypad in order to get the benefits of a tilted keyboard. Conclusion Keyboard tilt is used to get better performance and comfort when playing video games. Many professionals use keyboard tilt to save space, but there are other reasons for tilting your keyboard as well. Tilting your keyboard can give you an easier time pressing your keys, cause less strain on your wrist, and can feel a whole lot comfortable. The number one thing to remember is that gaming is all about preference. If you don't think it's comfortable tilting your keyboard, then you shouldn't do it. There are many different alternatives and solutions to keyboard tilt, and you don't have to copy what the pros do because they just do what's comfortable to them, and you should do the same. You should take the time to figure out how you like your keyboard placed in order to get the best gaming experience. Whether you like it slightly tilted, or you want it to have a reverse tilt, it really doesn't matter. Having fun is all that matters.