A couple of years ago, ROG released the Falchion Ace HFX gaming keyboard that comes in a 65% layout that offers all the Hall Effect (HE) benefits to push competitive gaming to a new level. A few months went by, and they collaborated with Counter-Strike powerhouse ZywOo to release a limited edition of the same board. Sure enough, the combination of compact size and magnetic-based input made it popular enough to spawn a derived model to serve another group of gamers.
And that’s where today’s subject, the ROG Falchion Ace 75 HE comes in, and the naming’s kinda straightforward – The same Falchion Ace spirit and design in a 75% form factor that can serve a wider range of players, such as games that can really appreciate F rows, such as RTS and MOBA genres? Let’s find out.
Unboxing
So we got the retail package here. And compared to the likes of the Azoth series or the Falcata, this one’s an inch smaller and lighter in general.
Opening up the box, you’ll be greeted with just a keyboard carry case. And nothing else.
Well, that’s because the rest of the accessories are included inside it. Here you have the USB-C-to-A cable, a keycap puller, warranty and guidebooks, some ROG stickers, and a lonely, little CTRL keycap.
General Points
Upon taking the keyboard out, one question immediately came to mind. This is a 75% layout, true, but is this an exploded layout? Or is it not?
For those who don’t know, exploded layout means that the F row, arrow keys, and navigation keys are slightly separated from the alphas section to create a cleaner, segmented look. Non-exploded layout literally just cramps all keys together to cut down a couple of inches.
But we have an exploded side for the F row, then non-exploded for the arrow and nav keys. What’s the reason behind this? Is this based on market research and surveys where gamers prefer this combo?
I don’t know man. But strictly speaking, this has nothing to do with the key selling points of this board, which is helping gamers to the fullest with premium hardware, so I digress.
On the other hand, this board runs a metal top frame with a brushed surface to give it some “bling” potential and a stronger base against aggressive downstrokes during intense gameplay, while the bottom frame is a plastic one. This combo allows the Falchion Ace 75 HE to stay relatively light and easy to carry around despite being a 75% keyboard.
Looking at the screws that go down from the top frame just signals that this is a tray-mounted board and not a gasket-mounted one. One more point on that is that brands will tell you if a board is gasket-mounted because it is a selling point. But ROG didn’t list that, so yeah, it is tray-mounted.
This results in the board being extra sturdy, securing the magnetic switches and leading to minimal to no vertical wobble, resulting in accurate magnet flux inputs at all times. But then you’ll get a stiff typing experience, a rather thumpy spacebar. As for the sound, it is chattery due to the nature of magnetic switches, and it is foamy because of all the foams.
For keycaps, I think ROG refined it a bit; Compared to the set that is on the Azoth and Falcata, these are thicker and much rougher, but not to the point of feeling the grainy texture. Since PBT is all about anti-smudge and extra durability, it is nice to see them putting more effort into making sure that the doubleshot technique is done in a balanced and right way for better user comfort.
Ah yes, the CTRL key. Why is it here, you ask? Well, it is because nobody likes Copilot, so keyboards shouldn’t really have a dedicated Copilot key in the first place, and with Microsoft recently “de-AI” Windows to be less “Copilot-ty” and just be Windows, props to ROG including this small yet important keycap. Love this chad move.
As for the switches, these are the same as the ones on the Falcata – ROG HFX V2 magnetic switches. And I’ll cut you short and quickly summarize what it offers:
- 32g actuation, 49g bottom out
- 3.5mm travel distance
- PC top + POM bottom + POM box stem
- MX style stem; Can use other compatible keycaps
- Mild “scratch” sound produced by either uneven distribution of lube/spring chattering (HE switch springs are thicker)
Practically speaking, the switches are super smooth and fast to input, which is perfect for gaming. If this is what you want and the only thing you care about, then it does its job perfectly.
I can’t complain much about the stabilizers either – Properly lubed and tuned, the most important Spacebar has no ticking, you get the deal.
Special Sauce – The Touch Bar
There are several elements that were brought from both the Falchion Ace HFX and the Falcata, which are the scroll wheel, the LED bar (a long one at that, which is super nice), the Rapid Trigger toggle, and the customizability these things offer. We are talking multimedia, sensitivity, RGB control, and more.
As for why the Falchion lineup stands out from the rest of the competition (even other ROG boards) is the inclusion of a touch bar.
Now, you might think that the touchable area is the LED bar itself, with a touchscreen of some sort sitting on top of it. But that’s not the case. It is instead on the front side, and you’re supposed to use it from the standard POV – Sliding left means going lower, sliding right means going higher.
What you can adjust, however, is dictated by the indicator on the top left, and you swap around choices with the ROG button right here, with options including Volume and Brightness. There’s also Play/Pause, but you don’t actually slide it; you double-tap the touch bar instead, which is a bit funky, to be honest, and a tad bit confusing at first until you discover it.
GearLink
As one of the modern ROG keyboards, GearLink supports the Falchion Ace 75 HE out of the box, and you get all the customization bits here where you can fine-tune each and everything to your liking.
What I like in particular is the Calibration screen, which tells you what HE switches are supported at the time being. This also explains why other variants like the Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro wouldn’t work.
Experience Contrast – Typing vs Gaming
While I daily drive the Falchion Ace 75 HE to get it tested and type this review, there are a couple of things that one’s gotta confirm beforehand – Actuation point and whether Rapid Trigger is active.
For the actuation point, for whatever reason, it is set at 3.5mm (might have fumbled myself), which is the full bottom out. To get it back to “standard” or “MX mechanical like”, just set it to 1.75mm and you’re good to go.
As for Rapid Trigger, it is initially only for WASD keys since it is for gaming. If you’re a fast typist, feel free to RT all the keys, but do be careful since any little upstroke/downstroke will result in “ghost inputs”.
When the setting is perfect, hitting 170+ WPM is just a breeze, and far easier to achieve than with mechanical keyboards, so to speak.
As for gaming, it can run up to 8K polling rate, and while I’m not the sweatiest gamer around, I do play rhythm games, so latency can be directly reflected through note accuracy. But frankly speaking, 1K to 2K is immediately noticeable, 2K to 4K can be felt, but 4K to 8K is negligible. But hey, if you’re playing competitive titles and want the full performance so that you have no one but yourself to blame when you choke key 1v1s, set it to 8K and be my guest.
Since the board is wired only, you don’t have to worry about 8K polling rate chugging battery like no tomorrow either.
Conclusion
In short, the ROG Falchion Ace 75 HE did a good job in retaining what made the 65% variant popular in the first place – Easy to carry, high-performance parts, dedicated buttons for accessibility on the go. But now with F row to make Alt+F4 back to where it belongs.
At the time of writing, there are 4 other popular choices if you’re shopping for a relatively modern 75% keyboard from ROG, which are the Azoth Extreme, Azoth X, the original Azoth, and Falcata.
The Azoth Extreme is for the ultra enthusiast who wants flagship gaming in a package that is rivaled only by custom and hobbyist boards; The Azoth X is for those who eyed the “OG” Azoth back then but didn’t pull the trigger, as it has been refined in several aspects to make it worth the price more.
OG Azoth? That’s the early adopters. No questions asked; Falcata is in a different league of its own, as it is for the ergonomic enjoyers who also game and work with the same device.
So, who should get this? Well, if all you want is a HE board with extra flairs that not only looks fancy but also practical, then this is for you. Alternatively, if the Falchion Ace HFX’s 65% size is what made you go “ew too small” or “where F row”, then this one’s a no-brainer for you.
One final rambling – As a custom enjoyer, yes, the board is not friendly to those who want to open up and mod their keyboard. Because if it is designed with this in mind from the beginning, the retail package should have included things like lube, brushes, and extra switches for those who are familiar, or interested in trying out the hobby with no obligation, since ROG already tuned the essentials well enough to be used out of the box.
So yeah, keep expectations in check, and be sure to pick out the exact model that matches your requirements.
As for the price, official numbers put it at RM1,049, which is quite hefty. But they did pack a lot of “QoL” features to make your overall experience much better, especially the software experience from GearLink. No cheap Chinese board has put this much effort into their web drivers, and perhaps that’s where half of that MSRP is about.
Pros
- 75% layout provides all the keys required to play almost all games in the market right now
- Use of metal upper frame + plastic lower frame gives stronger durability on the contact side while keeping weight in check
- 8K polling rate
- Ultra-smooth HE switches suitable for long gaming sessions
- High-quality PBT doubleshot keycaps
- Near-perfect stabilizer tuning
- Multi-layer foams for near-zero hollowness
- Dedicated RT toggle, scroll wheel, touch-supported LED bar, ROG button, all made to switch settings quickly and easily with style
- Keyboard carrying case included for pro players to move gear around
- Expansive software support via GearLink
Cons
- Strictly wired connection only; No Bluetooth, no USB 2.4GHz dongle
- “Half Explode” layout that leaves a gap between the F row, but none for navigation and arrow keys (Mild OCD warning)
- Use of tray mount instead of gasket mount makes downstrokes harsher and not as comfy
