MMO Gaming Mouse Roundup

The World of Warcraft Wireless MMO mouse from Steelseries is the only wireless offering here today and that already sets it apart from the crowd as there are few good options out there for those that prefer a wireless setup. This one also looks pretty cool too and while the World of Warcraft branding is a big of a gimmick that may limit the mass appeal, the overall aesthetics and the charging unit do look snazzy.

While it looks like there are six buttons on the left side there are in fact just four, the center part of each is the pivot of the plastic mould. There are also two extra buttons at the side of the scroll wheel that are not unlike those of the MMO7 from Mad Catz and there’s also an extra configuration button behind the mouse wheel.

The last button is on the right side which also features a large ergonomic bump, making this quite a wide mouse and it gives a great hand resting position for those with larger hands.

The underside features some of the biggest Teflon slip mats I’ve ever seen on a mouse that give it great surface glide, there’s also a power off switch, wireless pairing button and the recharge connections.

It’s also pretty funky when lit up and the WoW logo does look pretty cool.

The software is really cool and offers some great customisation options, adjustable DPI profile settings and loads of presets built-in for WoW as well as the ability to record complex macros.

Performance

The Steelseries WoW Wireless comes with some nice configuration options, and the first one of those is a configurable lift off height of 1-5mm, I can’t imagine while you would need it set to 5mm but it’s great that it can be dropped so low, making it great for those who use a lift-off play style. Ergonomics are good and work well for those with larger hands, but the large rear of the chassis tends to mean only your fingers rest over the mouse, tending to promote a more claw like play style.

The side buttons are a little tricky some times and the way they are mounted and while it’s not really a big issue, it doesn’t lend well to frantic gameplay, or should I say the most important commands should be left to other buttons on this mouse. Fortunately the software is some of the best around and while it is heavily tailored to WoW with over 130 presets available for the game, it’s just as suitable for any game you can think of and there are plenty of custom macro options available.

The mouse is acceleration free and there was no sign of prediction or angle snapping and the lag was only around 20ms after some tests on thehumanbenchmark.com and while this might be a deal breaker for a pro gamer looking for an edge in DOTA2, it’s really nothing your average player will notice. Interestingly this mouse can also be made wired via the included USB cable, so if the lag is an issue and you just want the style, you can’t lose.

Pros

• Super light weight
• Wireless
• Rechargeable
• Interesting design and docking unit
• Excellent software

Cons

• Didn’t really need the WoW branding to prove its self
• Not as many buttons as some MMO mice
• Very expensive

eTeknix says: “If you’re a big WoW fan then this could be something of a collector’s item, it looks fantastic on display and it’s even the official mouse for Pandaria. It’s software is excellent and performance is really good too, but it’s let down by a somewhat overly high price tag”

Read our in-depth full review of the WoW Wireless here