Roccat Vulcan TKL Pro Review
The majority of the keys are reprogrammable in the Swarm software when in gaming mode, and a minority of those keys have an extra layer of re-programmability atop that with Roccat’s ‘easy shift’ system. It basically turns the caps lock key into an extra shift key, which took me an age to get working, as it wasn’t overly clear that easy shift only works when in gaming mode. But, it’s still pretty cool nonetheless, and I’m sure the MMO lot would probably get a lot of use out of two layers of customisation. However, one key you can’t customise is the mute button I mentioned earlier. Though it is kept pretty neutral in its design and so doesn’t feature a clear ‘mute’ icon, it can only do just that. You can’t map that to say, your mute or deafen in Discord, or move one of the media functions like play/ pause to it. Or if you’re a really salty gamer, you can’t make it your automatic Alt+F4 button, which is honestly quite a shame. Perhaps this is something they could add in a software update, unless it’s somehow hard-bound to that key.
One more thing. The ‘low profile’ nature of this keyboard is almost an illusion. Where the likes of the G915 from Logitech and the Cooler Master SK631 are more genuine low-profile keyboards, using low-profile mechanical switches, the Vulcan TKL Pro uses more standard height switches, but with low-profile caps. It’s not like they were going for something genuinely thin here, but if you’re looking at this thinking it’s going to be a chiclet-style mechanical keyboard, you’ve come to the wrong place. However, it does still have a slightly lower maximum height than a usual TKL gaming keyboard, so it’s not like the ‘low profile’ aesthetic is an outright fabrication.
In conclusion, I really like the Vulcan Pro TKL. As someone who’s been through a variety of mechanical keyboards over the last five or so years, this is one of the best feeling, most robust, and best looking keyboards I’ve used. Though it’s not entirely perfect, and I think the Swarm software could use a little work, the Vulcan TKL Pro is an extremely solid option for any gamer wanting a lightning fast upper-hand out there on the battlefield.
At a pretty significant £149.99, it’s definitely not a cheap keyboard, but I do feel like you get what you pay for.
Thank you to Roccat for sending through a review unit! You can find out more about the Vulcan TKL Pro here.