Is Snap Tap Basically Just Cheating? Here’s What I Think

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Mussab Ali

At Tech4Gamers I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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Razer’s launch of its new Snap Tap feature is generating much buzz these days. The internet is divided on whether to call it cheating or a hardware feature innovation. Before that, let me explain what Snap Tap is:

What is Snap Tap?

When playing First-Person Shooters such as CS2, Overwatch, and Valorant, you strafe and shoot to gain an advantage over your enemies. To strafe, you need to press the left-right movement keys, usually A and D.

You have to fully release one directional button before you press the other one. Pro and high-level players have mastered this movement pattern to get close to perfect counter-strafing movement, to make it difficult for their opponents to hit them. 

Razer has come up with this innovation on the hardware level along with Wooting which allows players to counter-strafe with little to no effort. You don’t need to release one movement key and all you need to do is rapidly tap either A or D to mimic the high-level movement that pro players use so frequently. 

This is known as the Simultaneous Opossing Cardinal Directions (SOCD) phenomenon. Like Razer, Wooting has also integrated this feature into its latest keyboard firmware. 

Wooting’s version of Snap Tap is Rappy Snappy. It uses Wooting’s Hall effect switches and gauges the pressure on the keys, which is a little different from Razer’s Snap Tap. Initially, Wooting was against the Snap Tap (Last input SOCD), but after conducting an online vote, it’s offering both options for its keyboards. 

The Community’s Reaction

After the launch of the SOCD, it has been receiving mixed reviews. Some say it’s fine, while others don’t. 

Popular YouTuber Optimum has come up with a video where he is explaining how movement looks on a normal keyboard and a SOCD one. He is claiming that using a Keyboard with this feature in its firmware is cheating. 

Counter-Strike 2 pro player ropz shares Optimum’s view and has tweeted on X:

Shouldn’t be allowed. Nice work but this is a bit too much, literally a macro/script, otherwise known as null binds.

Null binds are used in PC gaming as a workaround to mastering the counter-strafing movement. They are assigned to keyboards as a part of a script that you load into the game to prevent you from pressing two opposing directional keys. 

These Null binds are banned in tournaments and Razer’s senior Esports manager has been quick to respond to ropz tweet with his tweet stating that the company had already reached out to tournament owners before releasing this feature. 

I checked out other threads on the topic and the debate seems to be going in with full effect over there as well.

User absvny3t, who started a thread on the topic at the HLTV forum, states that Snap Tap isn’t cheating; it’s just Razer’s marketing tactics. He further says:

Honestly the only reason keyboard firmware hasn’t been doing this for years is because manufacturers make insane profit from gamers and geekhack-style keyboard hobbyists they usually don’t have to improve the functionality in any way.

User fpsBonkers shares his own two cents on the topic, stating that perfect play is a myth and it comes down to input vs output when it comes to gaming. Having bad hardware is an unfair advantage but having the software do the work for you is a form of cheating.

Here’s What I Think

Whatever the case, this feature will continue to generate buzz, and people will continue to debate on the topic for some time. I think that it’s an unfair advantage to people who will buy these keyboards and use them in online multiplayer against people who don’t have them.

Razer has already reached out to tournament organizers and taken their feedback beforehand. If they don’t have a problem with it, then I think it’s fine. Also in pro tournaments the playing field will be leveled out as everybody gets to be on the same hardware and it will be more of a game of skill just like it already is.