The Roccat Vulcan line of keyboards is all about one thing: being actually, really, really, ridiculously good-looking. I called the Vulcan II Mini the “shiniest little keyboard around,” however Roccat seems to have surpassed itself with the new full-sized variant. The Vulcan II, particularly in the white-on-aluminum colorway seen here, is so gosh-darned pretty that it might make a Macbook Air jealous.
The keyboard’s appeals don’t end with its appearances. Some decent switches and extras, plus a cost that’s at least competitive, implies that its appeal is more than skin-deep. The Vulcan II isn’t the best gaming keyboard on the market … but if you’re looking for a method to bling up your battlestation, you may not care.
Further reading: See our roundup of the best gaming keyboards to discover competing items.
Roccat Vulcan II: RGB splendor
The Vulcan II is so big, so bright, and so beautiful it’s really disruptive. Like the smaller sized variation, it makes use of “drifting” keycaps with minimal sidewalls that let the ultra-bright RGB LEDs shine through. Combine that with the white tops, transparent switch real estates, the super-reflective brushed-aluminum deck, and the best animation for lighting on the marketplace, and this keyboard is the one to buy if you’re nostalgic for laser light reveals at your regional planetarium.
( If you don’t know what a laser light program is, ask your parents, and after that get off my lawn.).
Everything about the board is set up to show off the lighting, and it doesn’t disappoint. Roccat’s boards likewise have the smoothest and most visually appealing light animations I’ve ever seen. By default the Vulcan II will carefully shift in between tones (lava lamp-style), however likewise respond to private keypresses.
What are the Roccat Vulcan II’s specifications?
What else does the keyboard have going for it? Said dial is really “clicky,” like an old-fashioned RCA Television channel selector (man, I’m actually showing my age with this evaluation), however can likewise be pushed in to trigger mute by default.
The keyboard consists of a wrist rest in the box, an all-too-rare function for premium full-sized boards. And the braided USB cable is, sadly, fixed– an odd option when the less-expensive Vulcan II Mini’s is removable.
In terms of pure video gaming chops, the Vulcan II uses full N-key rollover, 1,000 Hz ballot (not fantastic in terms of competition, however admit it, you do not have actual millisecond reflexes anyway), and onboard storage for approximately four profiles. You can’t program it without Roccat’s Swarm software, which is unique to Windows.
What’s it like to type and game on the Roccat Vulcan II?
Roccat’s floating keycaps take some getting used to. They’re ABS rather of the more superior PBT, which is starting to end up being standard even on midrange boards. I’ll give the designers the benefit of the doubt and presume the product option is yet another choice to make the Vulcan II as glossy as possible.
That stated, the keycaps have a flat profile that, integrated with the slick finish, made my fingers slip around a bit for the very first few days. I was able to change, but this keyboard absolutely takes a little getting used to, and I can’t help but seem like the keycaps are weakening the video gaming focus a bit. Naturally, absolutely nothing stops you from changing the keycaps with a set of regular ones … aside from the tears of the engineers who spent a lot time making this keyboard a disco ball you can type on.
Oddly, the Vulcan II does not get the custom optical switches included on the Vulcan II Mini, the new II Mini Air, and the somehow even shinier Vulcan II Max. Instead it needs to make do with the somewhat less-fancy basic switches, which actuate with old-fashioned electrical contacts. It’s an odd omission that makes this keyboard the least advanced in Roccat’s entire line … but it’s likewise far cheaper than the similarly sized Max, so I’m inclined to be forgiving.
With the contacts at the actuation point they’re noticeably “bumpier” than the optical switches of the Vulcan II Mini, but still fairly superior with a less chattery sound and press. The hall result (the walls on the side of the stem) also lend a little more stability that the drifting keycaps take away from the other Vulcan boards.
In spite of being basic mechanical, the keyboard’s switches are not hot-swap, so you can’t replace them. But once again, if you’re buying this board for the light show, that’s most likely not a deal-breaker. All things considered, I have to dent the keyboard for choosing standard instead of optical switches, because it’s branded as a gaming board.
Roccat Vulcan II software.
Roccat Swarm is fairly middle-of-the-road as far as gaming software goes. On the one hand, it’s utilizing the ultra-dark color design they all appear to prefer that makes everything twice as difficult to find as it needs to be. On the other hand, it’s not trying to get me to use discount coupons.
Swarm does have the most bothersome feature I’ve ever seen in one of these: the capability to include software sounds to each key press. If you work in a workplace and truly loathe your colleagues, purchase a Roccat keyboard and set it to play Star Wars pew-pew laser sound through your PC speakers every time you hit a key. If you can type a hundred words per minute, somebody will try to murder you by lunch, ensured. This “feature” is disabled by default, so any harm it does is totally on you.
The software does fine at handling custom-made bindings and macros, though as soon as again, you can’t re-bind the f ‘n Fn button (or the left Windows key, weirdly). By default, Caps Lock triggers “Easy Shift,” which is essentially a second function layer. Roccat makes a huge offer out of this, but given that VIA and QMK have actually been doing it for several years, you can color me not impressed. Yes, you can set it back to Caps Lock if you desire, however nothing else.
The lighting area provides a series of pre-programmed options, which are all gorgeous and much more fluid than the usual fare. Some are, frankly, frustrating. I attempt you to set the keyboard to “Ripple,” watch a complete light program activate with each key press, and be able to get work done. However they’re easy to both use and tailor, and you can completely set your own if that’s what you desire. All in all, not bad, particularly thinking about how light-focused many buyers will be.
Should you purchase the Roccat Vulcan II?
If you’re interested in the Vulcan II, you want it for the insanely flashy light show it’s offering.
At $150 the Vulcan II ain’t inexpensive, especially for a board that bypasses some premium features like ultra-fancy switches, hot-swapping, or internal sound moistening. There are likewise some corners cut in terms of products, like the fixed USB cable and a somewhat plasticky construct, which can’t be gotten rid of by the undoubtedly great inclusion of the wrist rest.
Even at this high cost, it’s not the most pricey wired-only board around– the Razer BlackWidow V4 is $80 more without any big technical advantages aside from extremely fast polling. Corsair desires $200 for the K95 RGB Platinum SE, and its only benefit is 5 additional keys. Both those keyboards use a better fit and finish, but not by such a huge margin that they can justify the higher rate on that alone.
If you’re interested in the Vulcan II, you desire it for the remarkably fancy light show it’s providing. I expect that’s a suggestion.
