Why does it matter whether you use standard mouse or a gaming mouse?
Because, when you’re defending your team in Overwatch, there’s no time for the middling latency of a standard office mouse.
Because, in the League of Legends and Dota 2, custom macro buttons are integral to your success, not just in the short-term, but for your entire gaming career.
As a player, in order to keep growing and attaining new skills, you’ll need to be equipped with a mouse that won't hold you back.
We’ve tested mice that are ergonomic, ambidextrous, backlit by 16.8 million color variants and even those chock-full of buttons that we didn’t know what to do with. And, like the MSI Clutch GM70, some are even modular.
To further complicate matters, different gaming mice have different strengths. MOBA players, for instance, may feel more at home with a Razer Naga Hex V2, with its oblique arrangement of seven mechanical, quick-access buttons. Other players will find convenience in the Logitech G703 and G903 that are just as wireless while charging as they are while gaming.
Whether you want wired or wireless, right-handed or ambidextrous, this list is tailored to those who want only the best gaming mouse for their daily routine but don’t know where to start.
For that reason, we’ve gone ahead and thoroughly tested each of the gaming mice listed prior to its inclusion. These are the best of 2018.
- SteelSeries Sensei 310
- Logitech G903
- Asus ROG Gladius II
- Corsair Glaive RGB
- Creative Sound BlasterX Siege M04
- Razer DeathAdder Elite
- SteelSeries Rival 7000
- Logitech G900 Chaos Spectrum
- Corsair Harpoon
- Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
- Gigabyte XM300
- Razer Naga Hex V2
- Corsair Sabre
The SteelSeries Sensei 310 is an unparalleled gaming mouse, both in price and performance. The low cost keeps it in line with what you would otherwise pay for a new, triple-A game release on Steam.
Its exclusive TrueMove 3 optical sensor, produced in collaboration with mouse sensor monopolist Pixart, makes it nigh-impossible to compete with. That's because this mouse, with no preference when it comes to dexterity, exhibits some impressive real-world sensitivity results.
What’s more, the jitter reduction component of the SteelSeries Sensei 310 aims to keep you from making erroneous moves after chugging an entire 2-litre of your preferred citrus-flavored soft drink.
Read the full review: SteelSeries Sensei 310
Undeterred by years of ridicule for their comparatively higher latency, the Logitech G900 of yesteryears proved once and for all that wireless gaming mice don’t have to suck.
Though it’s merely a subtle iteration on that model, the Logitech G903 only reassures us of that conviction. Gracing a slightly altered G900 design with Logitech’s own PowerPlay mouse pad that doubles as a wireless charger, the Logitech G903 is an expensive, yet rewarding investment.
On one hand, the cost might deter someone who wasn’t likely to buy it anyway, but on the other, you’re getting a high-DPI wireless gaming mouse that contends even with Razer’s best.
Read the full review: Logitech G903
Flashy and desirable, there’s no confusion as to why the Asus ROG Gladius II is a bit pricier than other gaming mice in its class. Boasting of swappable buttons, a clickable scroll wheel and a sensitivity toggle, this mouse has all the things that gamers crave. There’s even a top-to-bottom RGB lighting feature extending its already-handy customisation.
Although it doesn’t feature the swappable weights that many others in its price range do, everything else feels comfortable and up to snuff. Better suited for first-person shooters than massively multiplayer games (MMOs), the high output resolution (DPI) rating and 50g acceleration make the Asus ROG Gladius a splendid piece to behold despite lacking features in areas that cheaper mice have conquered.
Read the full review: Asus ROG Gladius II
It’s obvious from the moment you look at the price tag that the Corsair Glaive RGB mouse was designed to go head-to-head with the Razer DeathAdder Elite.
While Corsair has had a ton of luck with its PC cases, keyboards, RAM and what not, a Corsair mouse is automatically a tough sell due to a lack of history alone.
Luckily, the company’s latest effort towards constructing a gaming mouse is aimed at being built for comfort, featuring a coating of soft touch paint and interchangeable thumb grips that augment ergonomics even further.
At that point, the nearly perfect three-zone back-lighting system and high-DPI Pixart sensor (not to mention the niftily included DPI status lights) are a mere bonus.
Read the full review: Corsair Glaive RGB
It’s not everyday that we see a company known for its sound cards try to take on companies as renowned as Razer and Logitech with a competent gaming mouse of its own.
However, Creative’s Sound BlasterX M04 is exactly that and it’s actually fairly impressive. The 12,000 DPI rating means you won’t need to use pointer acceleration to use the mouse successfully.
The RGB lighting scheme, which is controlled using Creative’s own Sound Blaster Connect software, is displayed across a subtle accent at the base of the mouse. Clearly, the Sound BlasterX Siege M04 is a winner in both function and style.
Read the full review: Creative Sound BlasterX Siege M04
You know what you're getting with a Razer DeathAdder mouse, and this year's Elite model is one of the most responsive yet thanks to a new eSports-grade sensor that makes it easier than ever to keep enemies firmly in the centre of your crosshairs.
Razer's refreshed rodent features the same right-handed ergonomic design as its predecessor that moulds into your hand. It has even added two new buttons beneath the mouse's scroll wheel to change DPI on-the-fly.
While the DeathAdder Elite misses out on more advanced features such as the free-spinning scroll wheel that you'll find on Logitech's Proteus Core, the Razer's pretty RGB lighting (customisable with 16.8 million color options through Razer's synapse software), accessible left-mounted buttons and grippable scroll wheel, make it one of the best mice available in the price tier.
SteelSeries has ventured where few gaming mouse makers dare to by adding a black-and-white OLED display to its Rival 700. It can either be a useful tool for three currently supported games – Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Minecraft – or it can be used to loop animated GIFs.
There's a high level of customisation on offer here thanks to the Rival 700's modularity. Users can snap covers on and off and even switch between a three- or six-foot cable. Tactile alerts are also in place, which trigger vibrations to indicate when health, mana and other in-game resources are replenished in the aforementioned games.
Overall, a distinct piece of equipment.
In recent years, wireless gaming mice have cultivated a rather adverse reputation, mainly in response to their perceptible lag. However, the G900 Chaos Spectrum Logitech seeks to change your mind.
Using some form of wizardry, the company somehow managed to get its polling rate down to 1 millisecond on a 2.4GHz connection. Accompanied by accelerated coverage of the entire DPI range, zero smoothing and filtering, this gaming mouse is prepared for everything from your next game of Hearthstone to tournament level Heroes of the Storm. It goes without mentioning that the ambidextrous design is ideal for left-handed players in addition to a modular button layout.
Featuring a grippable leather texture down the left-hand side, using the Corsair Harpoon is like slipping into a comfortable car with leather upholstery. Not a very expensive one, mind you, as the Harpoon is a budget offering that looks and feels cheaper than mice twice its price.
With a snappy optical sensor and six programmable buttons including a center DPI switch, forward buttons and back buttons on the side of the mouse, you have everything you need to game in any genre.
Its average size makes it a good fit for both small and large hands, and Corsair's RGB-lit logo on the back makes it look rather cool when rested on your desk.
Logitech's gaming mouse makes heavy-handedness seem like a good thing. Its hexagonal core can be customised with up to six 3.6 gram weights, giving you a lighter or heavier mouse to wield.
Adjusting the mass and balance isn't the G502's only trick - its surface-turnable gaming sensor packs Logitech's Delta Zero tech, which lets you use it on a wide variety of surfaces beyond your regular mouse mat.
Clicking a middle mouse button lets the G502's scroll wheel spin freely, which helps prevent knuckle strain when navigating long webpages and forms. Add to that 11 customisable buttons including four on the left-hand side, a three-speed DPI shift under the scroll wheel and a logo that lights up 16.8 million colours in the dark using RGB backlighting, and you have one attractive, tech-stuffed gaming mouse.
This time the Gigabyte XM300 made its way to our list. Its ergonomic design makes it suitable to fit comfortably in everyone's hand. The mouse has maximum DPI level of 6400 and the switch life of 20 million clicks.
To enhance the user experience, the mouse's Xtreme Macro Engine allows users to personalise the settings and RGB lighting according to their requirement. You can also save these settings, or say profiles, on its onboard memory.
The mouses' feet are built out of Teflon which further enhances the user experience. It enables the mouse to move faster so that you don't miss out on shooting your enemy while gaming. In case you are an avid gamer and are afraid of these feet wearing out quickly, then fret not, you'll get an extra pair with the mouse.
Razer's refreshed Naga Hex gaming mouse has been renewed once again, this time keeping multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) players and massively multiplayer online (MMO) players in mind. If you need your mouse to be more effective when it comes to timely spellcasting, it could be a great addition to your setup.
The Naga Hex 2 positions a thumb grip alongside seven quick-access buttons arranged in a circle that, with a bit of muscle memory training, allow you to fire off spells and perform other actions in a snap. There's also two buttons along the top for adjusting the DPI sensitivity on-the-fly, accompanied by two rubber plates on the sides help with grip.
In addition to offering a wealth of different buttons, the Naga Hex V2 is lightweight and looks great thanks to Chroma RGB lighting that adds a dash of color to the side-mounted buttons, mouse wheel and Razer logo. Lighting behaviour is configured using Razer's Synapse software so you can jump right into the action by downloading its League of Legends and DOTA 2 profiles.
Another impressive mouse from Corsair, the Sabre is comparatively stripped down compared to the M65 Pro leaving just the essentials for a reasonable price.
The first thing that you will notice is how light the mouse is. Its featherweight body combines excellently with its fast and accurate optical sensor to feel like a durable mouse that you can wield in your hand for playing games of any genre. Corsair's CUE software is a little fiddly to get to grips with, but once figured out can be programmed to cycle colors around the Sabre's four RGB-lit zones.
- Pair your gaming mouse with one of the best gaming mouse pads of 2018: The best mouse mats for gamers.
- To complete your gaming experience, check out the best PC gaming headsets in India.
