The Valorant Raw Input Buffer has been gone as a toggle since patch 11.06 – it is now permanently on for every PC player. Learn what it does under the hood, which polling rate makes sense, why “Enhance pointer precision” doesn’t affect your aim and what Raw Accel has to do with Vanguard.
Last updated: October 10, 2026
The Valorant Raw Input Buffer can no longer be turned on or off: Riot removed the toggle in patch 11.06 (September 16, 2025). Since then the feature has been permanently enabled for every PC player, because Riot says it is more performant. There is nothing to configure – not even with a 4,000 Hz or 8,000 Hz mouse.
Looking for the Valorant Raw Input Buffer in your settings and can’t find it? Nothing is broken: the option has been gone since fall 2025 because Riot switched it on for good. Plenty of guides online are stuck somewhere between 2021 and 2024 and still tell you to “enable” it. This page gives you the current state of things: where the setting came from, what it does under the hood, what it means for 1,000, 4,000 or 8,000 Hz mice, and why Windows’ “Enhance pointer precision” has no effect on your aim. The second half covers Raw Accel – a mouse acceleration driver many Valorant players ask about. We explain what it is, what Riot has said about it (nothing) and what risk you take with Riot Vanguard. Every fact is based on Riot’s patch notes, Microsoft’s documentation and the official Raw Accel repository (as of October 2026).
Until September 2025 you found the option under Settings → General → Mouse as a simple on/off toggle. Patch 11.06, released on September 16, 2025, removed it. The patch notes put it like this: “The RawInputBuffer setting has been removed and is no longer configurable. The setting will be enabled at all times for players because it is more performant.” The change is listed as a PC change.
The key is to separate the toggle from the feature. Only the choice was removed. The technology behind it keeps running for every PC player, whatever mouse they use. From that patch up to the current patch 13.06 (September 22, 2026), Riot hasn’t changed anything else here.
| Question | Up to patch 11.05 | Since patch 11.06 (Sept 16, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a toggle? | Yes, under General → Mouse | No, removed |
| Is the feature active? | Only if you turned it on | Always, for every PC player |
| Do you need to do anything? | Turning it on was the usual advice for mice above 1,000 Hz | No |
| Can you disable it? | Yes | No, Riot says it is no longer configurable |
So if you searched for “raw input buffer valorant missing”: it isn’t missing, it just became invisible. The same goes for “did Valorant remove the raw input buffer?” – the menu entry yes, the feature no.
The old “on or off” debate is settled. Since patch 11.06 the answer is: neither, because it is always on. Before that, things looked like this: Riot launched the option as a beta and promised a minor performance gain with identical input latency for regular mice, and a major gain for 8,000 Hz mice. Guides therefore recommended enabling it for any mouse above 1,000 Hz. Whether it changed how the mouse felt was argued about endlessly on forums – the only documented claim is Riot’s statement about identical input latency.
Because Riot enabled the feature for everyone in 2025, the debate is now history. If your mouse feels different after a patch, the Raw Input Buffer is very unlikely to be the cause. Check for a changed sensitivity, a new DPI step in your mouse software, a different polling rate or unstable FPS instead – we go through those below.
Valorant has read your mouse through the Windows Raw Input interface since launch. The Raw Input Buffer came later. Patch 3.07 in October 2021 introduced it as a new beta setting, which Riot said “improves performance of input device processing”. The trigger was a new wave of gaming mice with an 8,000 Hz polling rate. According to Riot, the setting brought a major performance improvement for them, and only with it were 8,000 Hz mice supported at all. For standard devices, Riot promised just a minor performance gain with identical input latency.
| When | Patch | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| June 2020 | Launch | Valorant uses Raw Input for the mouse |
| October 2021 | 3.07 | “Raw Input Buffer” arrives as a beta option, 8,000 Hz mice supported |
| September 16, 2025 | 11.06 | Toggle removed, feature permanently on for all PC players |
| September 22, 2026 | 13.06 (current) | No changes to mouse or input settings |
Between 2021 and 2025 the option stayed an optional toggle in the menu. With patch 11.06 Riot drew a line under it and made the more efficient path the default. For you that means one less setting to worry about and no risk of missing an important switch.
Riot only explained the technology briefly: the option changes which APIs are used to process Raw Input. Microsoft’s documentation shows what that means. It describes two ways a game can collect raw mouse data.
With the standard method, the program fetches every single mouse report through its own Windows message (WM_INPUT and GetRawInputData). Microsoft says that is adequate for most devices. With the buffered method, the program reads a whole batch of accumulated reports at once (GetRawInputBuffer). Microsoft calls this useful for high-frequency devices “such as mice at 1000Hz”, where several events can pile up between two passes of the message loop.
Every mouse report arrives as its own message. At 1,000 reports per second that is manageable; at 8,000 it creates a lot of overhead.
The game drains the queue in one go and processes all accumulated movement at once, which saves processing time per report.
The movement data itself doesn’t change. It’s only about how efficiently the game collects it – not about acceleration or smoothing.
Riot has never officially confirmed which Windows function Valorant uses. The name “Raw Input Buffer” and Riot’s description do match the buffered method from Microsoft’s documentation, though. Read this section as an explanation of the principle, not as a look at Riot’s source code.
An 8,000 Hz mouse reports its position 8,000 times per second – once every 0.125 milliseconds. If a game picks up each of those reports individually, it burns a lot of CPU time. Batched reading solves exactly that problem. That’s why in 2021 Riot promised a major improvement for 8,000 Hz mice and only a minor one for regular mice. Running the feature for everyone today doesn’t hurt players on 1,000 Hz mice either: according to Riot, latency stays identical.
The polling rate is how often your mouse reports its position to the PC each second. The higher it is, the shorter the gap between two reports. The intervals in the table are pure math (1,000 divided by the Hz value). Riot has no official recommendation for any particular polling rate.
| Polling rate | Reports per second | Interval | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 Hz | 500 | 2 ms | Half as many reports as 1,000 Hz |
| 1,000 Hz | 1,000 | 1 ms | Common standard in competitive Valorant |
| 2,000 Hz | 2,000 | 0.5 ms | Works, slightly more CPU load |
| 4,000 Hz | 4,000 | 0.25 ms | Works, lighter on the CPU than 8,000 Hz in testing |
| 8,000 Hz | 8,000 | 0.125 ms | Supported since patch 3.07, highest CPU load |
Higher polling rates aren’t a free upgrade. TechPowerUp’s review of the Razer Viper 8K shows that 8,000 Hz costs noticeable CPU time and that weaker processors can even end up less responsive. 4,000 Hz is the lighter option there. A Valorant mouse guide from esports.net reaches the same conclusion: 1,000 Hz is the standard in competitive Valorant, and 2,000 to 8,000 Hz gives most players only minimal gains. Since NVIDIA describes Valorant as frequently CPU-bound anyway, it pays to keep an eye on your CPU load.
To see how DPI and in-game sensitivity combine into your effective sensitivity, use our Valorant eDPI calculator.
Mouse acceleration means the faster you move the mouse, the farther the cursor travels – for the same distance on your mousepad. That’s convenient on the desktop but gets in the way of aiming, because the distance for a 180-degree turn then depends on how fast you swipe. Valorant itself has no acceleration option. The menu only offers sensitivity and scoped sensitivity.
In Windows, acceleration is called “Enhance pointer precision”. Technically it has no effect on aiming in Valorant. Microsoft explains that raw input data is read directly from the mouse’s HID stack and has no pointer ballistics applied – in other words, no acceleration. Because Valorant uses Raw Input, the game sees the unaccelerated raw data. In menus, the Riot Client and on the desktop, however, the Windows option does apply.
It’s still worth turning it off: your desktop then feels the same as the game, and games without Raw Input aren’t affected either. A Riot employee also advised a new PC player in 2021 to switch the option off.
Win + R, type main.cpl and hit Enter. This works on Windows 10 and 11. Alternatively: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse → Additional mouse settings.Menu names can shift slightly with Windows updates, but main.cpl has opened the same window for many Windows versions. If your mouse software has its own acceleration or “angle snapping”, it’s worth checking there too.
Raw Accel is a free driver for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) that applies mouse acceleration directly in the raw input stream. Unlike the Windows option, it therefore also works in games like Valorant. The project is public on GitHub at a1xd/rawaccel and released under the MIT license. According to its README, the driver releases are signed and run in system space – that is, with kernel privileges. Raw Accel started out as a replacement for the older tool InterAccel.
Why do players use it? Some want fine control on slow movements and still turn far on fast flicks without raising their base sensitivity. Others only use it to set vertical sensitivity separately. Whether it improves your aim is a matter of taste and can’t be answered across the board.
The plain answer: Riot has never commented on Raw Accel officially. There is no Riot support article, no patch note and no statement that allows or bans it. Articles from 2023 consider it safe, but cite no Riot source. The project’s README describes Raw Accel as “anti-cheat friendly”: it only modifies mouse input with a constant set of formulas and adds a one-second delay when settings change to make abuse harder. That is the developers’ own description, not approval from Riot.
What is certain: Riot Vanguard can stop drivers from loading. Riot’s support explains that Vanguard blocks incompatible files and notifies you through Windows. The “VAN: Incompatible Software” error names the affected .sys file, and Riot’s fix is to uninstall that software. In principle this can hit any driver – mouse tools included.
The official guide in the repository explains every option in detail. To get started, these terms are enough:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sensitivity Multiplier | Base sensitivity factor, independent of acceleration |
| Y/X Ratio | Ratio of vertical to horizontal sensitivity |
| Acceleration Style | Curve shape: Synchronous, Linear, Classic, Power, Natural, Jump or Look Up Table |
| Cap | Limit beyond which acceleration stops increasing |
| Offset | Speed below which no acceleration applies yet |
| Gain Switch | Decides whether the curve shapes sensitivity or gain |
We deliberately don’t list Raw Accel “pro settings”: curves supposedly used by well-known players are almost never verified and only fit their own DPI and sensitivity anyway. If you experiment, change one value at a time and test it for several days.
A flat curve in the interface (rawaccel.exe) removes the acceleration, but the driver stays loaded. If you want to rule out Raw Accel as the cause of a problem, uninstalling is the clean way:
uninstaller.exe from the release folder.If Valorant won’t start after a driver change, check our overview of VAN error codes.
The Raw Input Buffer runs automatically and Windows acceleration doesn’t matter for aiming – which leaves the settings that really count: sensitivity, DPI, a sensible polling rate and stable FPS.
Coming from CS2, Apex or Overwatch 2? The sensitivity converter translates your values so the turn per centimeter stays the same.
The Valorant pro settings show which DPI and sens values pros use – as a reference point, not a rule.
16:9 or stretched 4:3 – what changes about your field of view is covered in our guide to Valorant stretched res.
A high polling rate won’t help much if your frame rate fluctuates. If the game stutters or FPS drops, you’ll find the right graphics settings and fixes in our guide to the best Valorant settings & more FPS. Windows plays a part too: power plan, Game Mode, hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling and a monitor that actually runs at its full refresh rate. The Gaming Check in our free Windows tool SpindTune shows you those points in one click.
You no longer need to look for the Raw Input Buffer in Valorant: since patch 11.06 on September 16, 2025, it has been permanently on for every PC player. Mice with 2,000 to 8,000 Hz work with it but cost CPU time – start at 1,000 Hz and only go higher if your FPS stays stable. “Enhance pointer precision” doesn’t affect your aim in Valorant, but turning it off still gives you a consistent feel on the desktop.
Raw Accel is an open, signed project, but not a Riot-approved tool. There’s no Riot statement on it, and Vanguard can block drivers at any time. If you use it, download it only from GitHub and uninstall it right away if problems show up.
You can’t anymore. Riot removed the toggle in patch 11.06 on September 16, 2025, and the Raw Input Buffer has been permanently on for every PC player since. There is nothing to configure.
Nowhere anymore. Until September 2025 the toggle sat under Settings → General → Mouse. Since patch 11.06 it’s gone from the menu because the feature always runs.
Only the toggle. According to the 11.06 patch notes, the setting is no longer configurable and is always enabled for players because it is more performant. The feature itself keeps working.
It describes reading a mouse’s raw input data in batches. Instead of fetching every report individually, the game processes several accumulated reports at once. Microsoft says this is useful for mice with high polling rates.
Valorant has supported 8,000 Hz since patch 3.07. The high polling rate costs CPU time, though, and testing shows only minimal gains over 1,000 Hz for most players. If your FPS drops, go down a step.
There is no official Riot statement on it. Raw Accel is a signed open-source driver, but not a Riot-approved tool, and Vanguard can block drivers at any time. Use it at your own risk.
No. Valorant has no acceleration option of its own and reads the mouse through Raw Input, which skips Windows pointer ballistics. The menu only offers sensitivity and scoped sensitivity.
For aiming in Valorant it technically doesn’t matter, because the game uses Raw Input. It does affect the desktop, menus and games without Raw Input, so turning it off via main.cpl → Pointer Options is still worth it.
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