Higround’s Attack on Titan Base 65 keyboard dazzles anime fans & PC gamers alike

Higround’s Attack on Titan Base 65 collaboration keyboard is the perfect board if you’re an AOT fan and don’t want to go through the trouble of building yourself an enthusiast-level set-up. 

The world of custom keyboards has grown over the past few years, the idea of creating your custom keyboard, with the right switches, aesthetics, and even sound, is all possible and has never been easier. 

However, to most just starting in the world of enthusiast keyboards, it can be very confusing, especially if you’re not the type who enjoys tinkering and taking apart electronics. 

That’s where Higround’s keyboards come in, which promise premium enthusiast-level peripherals with great looks to match. 

So just how well does it stack up against custom keyboards, and is it worth the premium price tag for a pre-built keyboard?

Custom keyboard but without the hassle 

The thing about creating your own custom keyboard is the hassle of putting it together. The amount of switches, keycaps, and more, even at the budget level, is immense, enough to even make me, a keyboard enthusiast, dizzy. 

Add to that the number of DIY keyboards in various form factors coming out every month, plus the different features each of them brings, it gets quite confusing and very intimidating for newcomers. 

Which is the gap that Higround fills in. For the relatively large percentage of consumers that want a premium keyboard with enthusiast-level care put into it, but without the hassle of putting it together. 

The Base 65 is Higround’s basic 65% keyboard, and our version is their Attack on Titan collab, sporting a TTC Titan Heart Switch and a set of graphic PBT dye-sub keycaps with art from the show. 

Aesthetic-wise, it certainly looks good. The combination of black, white, and red is a timeless choice, and it’s quite clear that there’s a lot of thought put into the visual design, even down to the subtle printing of AOT’s logo on the side to tie it all together. 

However, since the keycaps use shadow printing (letters printed on the side of the keycaps) as most Higround keyboards do, so if you aren’t used to typing without constantly looking at your keyboard, it’ll take some getting used to. 

The switches, the TTC Titan Heart Switches, which are linear switches developed specifically for Higround are fantastic. Usually with many switches that come on pre-builts, I have an inclination to want to lube and film them, but the pre-lubing on these is great. They feel smooth, the lubing from switch to switch is consistent, and they sound superb.

Even down to the insides of this keyboard, there are some nice touches. This keyboard is filled to the brim with silicon, which gives it the always-wanted thocky sound signature that everyone wants, although tends to make everything sound a little bit muted. 

The stabilizers have no rattle to them, and the subtle printing of the Higround logo carved into the bottom of the silicon, which is visible through the translucent case (which also compliments the keyboard very well), is a very nice touch. 

Overall, the Attack on Titan Base 65 keyboard is a great feeling, looking, and even sounding keyboard, and has a lot of attention to its details, but here’s the catch. 

Want a pre-built enthusiast-level keyboard? Get ready to pay the price. 

The Attack on Titan Base 65 keyboard costs $145 USD on the Higround website. That’s a lot of money for what is essentially an upgraded GK65.

As I look around my desk, the keyboard that’s most comparable to this one is my DIY Discipline 65 which I built to theme it around the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. It too has fully lubed (and filmed) switches, silicon dampening, and the added coolness of seeing all its capacitors on display. 

It is, to me, on par with the AOT Base 65, and even cost me a solid $20 less than getting the Base 65. However, as I compared the two, I started to remember the weeks it took me to assemble my beloved Evangelion-themed keyboard.

The hours of putting together the case, creating the custom silicon dampening, lubing and filming the switches and stabilizers meticulously, soldering it all together (I burnt myself in the process), and putting the keycaps as the final touches. 

It was laborious, to say the least. This is obviously what Higround allows you to completely avoid to have a great keyboard, all in the aesthetics of your favorite anime, it’s a fantastic option.