Writing Sample

Top 3 Worst Gaming Mice You Can Still Buy

How do you choose a gaming mouse without knowing which models and brands to avoid?

If you are looking to regret a purchase, here are the worst gaming mice to consider.

Worst By Ergonomics

Most competitive PC gamers look for a mouse that molds to the hand – an instrument where the fingers feel at home and wrist can gently curve into the forearm. While personal preference varies, gamers have settled on common mouse shapes that work with different grips and hand sizes.

For example, if you prefer to palm grip, the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro gives sufficient surface area for your entire hand. If you use a fingertip grip, the Razer Viper Mini Ultralight offers a low-profile form. If you claw or palm-claw grip, the Endgame Gear XM1r has a comfortable back hump to support your wrist. If you’re somewhere in between, the Logitech G Pro X Superlight’s neutral shape fits most hand sizes and grips.

The perfect gaming mouse is the one that best fits your hand size and grip style, regardless of popular features and trends.

However, comfortability may not appeal to you. Instead, you desire to be at war with your mouse.

Meet the Mad Catz R.A.T. Pro X3 Supreme. Or most simply written, the MCRATPXS.

Thousands of hours grinding toxic silver lobbies have left you a hardened gamer. Your ideal mouse mocks the very musculature in your hand and subjects your wrist to unnatural angles. As carpal tunnel turns from an implausible risk into a guaranteed future, you stay determined to master all grim ergonomics.

This MCRATPXS offers more than sharp angles born from an edgy design. With nine detachable parts, this mouse configures into many unique forms. From customizing side panels to lengthening the rear, you decide what interchangeable piece of plastic will bite into your hand. As seen below, its stylized gaps leave room for uncertainty, and its deep grooves chafe your palms.

Worst By Sensor

A sensor is measured by its ability to track strokes consistently and accurately across a mousepad. Gaming mice like the Endgame Gear XM2w, Xtrfy M8 Wireless, and the Pulsar Xlite X2 have the best current sensor in the PixArt PAW3395. Other high-quality sensors like the HERO 25k and the Razer Focus Pro 30k reside in well-loved mice like the Logitech G Pro X Superlight and DeathAdder V3 Pro. All these sensors have near-perfect tracking, with differences indistinguishable from one another.

Don’t worry too much about sensor performance – many pros still compete using mice with old sensors. For example, successful CSGO and Valorant Pros such as dev1ce, Ax1Le, apex, BuZz, and soulcas all game on the PixArt PMW 3360.

However, maybe you find these vintage sensors appealing. You yourself, an elite gamer of the 99th percentile, have likely grown tired of your own proficiency. Routinely headshotting your opponents before they react, floating your crosshair between enemies, tapping their heads into the next round, and carrying your teammates into a 13-0 victory is the usual. How will your enemies stand a chance if you wield flawless tools? It turns out. They can’t.

For the sake of compassion over those you verse, you might consider handicapping yourself with the Razer Boomslang.

Released in 1999, this mouse uses an opto-mechanical ball mechanism sensor set at 1000/2000 DPI. Instead of an optical sensor, this mechanism allows for the ball’s momentum to track inputs up to a half second after they have finished. This means that stopping and starting your crosshair will be as responsive as whipping a garden hose with 15 ft of slack.

Sufficiently disadvantaged. Your opponents now stand a chance.

Worst By Weight

Sub-100-gram mice started trending when companies like Tt esports and Finalmouse started punching holes in their designs to cut weight. The rationale behind this trend was a lighter mouse would enable quicker movements, equaling faster aim. The Logitech G Pro X Superlight weighs only 61 grams and is one of the most popular gaming mice used by CSGO and Valorant pros.

None the less, there remains interest in heavier gaming mice. Those supporters argue that increased weight gives more stability, and any improvements to aim diminish after slipping below the sub-100-gram mark. For example, the Zowie EC2, at 94 grams, is the second most used gaming mouse by CSGO and Valorant pros.

Within the 100g-plus weight class, a new beast lurks in the form of the Logitech G502 Wired Gaming Mouse. At 121-139 grams, this handful of plastic, metal, and rubber carves permanent grooves into most mousepad surfaces. While its right-handed, ergonomic design may entice you, subdue your enthusiasm as it will likely take two hands to move this tank of a mouse.

Its bulk best accommodates those who game at a high sensitivity because maneuvering this mouse in any direction more than 4-6 inches will cause serious shoulder fatigue.

Worst By Cable

Two major improvements to mice have been paracord cables replacing rubber ones and subsequently, wireless connectivity replacing cords altogether. The HyperX Pulsefire Haste, Endgame Gear XM1r, and Razer Viper Mini all carry excellent paracord cables out of the box. However, if you are looking to forget the wire entirely, some of the most well-loved wireless mice in the gaming community are the Logitech G Pro X Superlight, Lamzu Atlantis, DeathAdder V3 Pro, Finalmouse Starlight Pro – TenZ, and the Pulsar X2 and X2 mini. An honorable mention goes to the unreleased Endgame Gear XM2w.

However, while the industry trends toward featherweight cables and radio signals, SteelSeries tramples on a different path. Meet the SteelSeries Rival 310, 600, and behold the rubber cable.

These mice offer sub-100-gram bodies, ergonomic shapes, accurate sensors, and most distinctly, cables built from a rubber so rigid it only bends when firmly asked. Aiming this mouse is comparable to writing an essay using a Ticonderoga pencil with an extended 48-inch-long eraser dangling off the end.

Condolences go out to the gamer who falls responsible for navigating the tension between the SteelSeries Rival 310/600 and their respective rubber cords.

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

Sometimes our own tools side with the opposition, sabotaging our aim during a 1v3 clutch. Know your enemy and never regret a purchase again.

3 Uncommon Tips for Better Aim

In Valorant & CSGO

Align your hand with your mouse

Like many CSGO and Valorant pros, you might have followed the trend toward ambidextrous, wireless gaming mice. However, gripping this symmetrical shape has an unspoken challenge.

Consider the natural contours of your palm, and you will find anything but symmetry. Because of the dissonance between the hand and the ambidextrous design, most gamers hold their mouse at an off angle. This slight change translates in-game as a slanted movement in both the x and y-axis, despite your wrist and arm moving in straight lines.

To test this: Open a basic drawing app like MS Paint on your computer. Hold your mouse normally. While only moving your wrist, draw horizontal lines in quick succession. Level horizontal lines will translate in-game as level crosshair movement. Next, do the same test drawing vertical lines. If your vertical and horizontal lines are straight, congrats! You hold your mouse symmetrically.

If not, you may find your lines slanted or curved. Consider the following solutions.

1. Adjust your grip. Consider where your palm rests on relative to the center of the mouse. Repeat the drawing test until your natural hand movements draw straight horizontal and vertical lines.

2. Try downloading software. Using this software, you can manually compensate for how many degrees off your grip is, achieving level aim.

3. What finger do you scroll with? Using your middle finger to scroll and your ring finger to right-click may help align your hand.

Visualize Enemies

Most “How tos” and “Top Tips for Becoming a Valorant God” mention the concept of pre-aiming and crosshair placement (keeping your crosshair at headshot level etc.). However, this practice works best when combined with visualizing and predicting the position and movement of your enemy.

Next time you clear a corner, imagine that a lurking Yoru is standing there, waiting for an easy kill. Ask yourself, will they crouch or move when I peak them? What gun are they using? How will this affect their movement? This will train your mind to move your crosshair with intention.

This goes as well as for holding angles: imagine how your enemy will peak and at what speed. Will they jiggle, shoulder, or crouch peak? How wide will they swing? Do they know your position or expect you? Asking these questions will help you visualize enemies and increase the number of duals you win.

Clean your mousepad…or buy a new one

Three problems plague mousepad surfaces:

1. After sweaty gaming sessions or mid-round snacking, mousepads collect food, dead skin cells, and other grime. This causes your mouse to glide inconsistently.

SOLUTION: Submerge your mousepad in warm water mixed with a few drops of soap. Use a sponge to brush away the dirt until clean. Let it air dry.

2. Many mousepads change in surface feel as the humidity of your room rises and falls. This is a common problem in low-quality mousepads that, given an increase in humidity, become more akin to a damp microfiber towel than a smooth surface to glide your mouse on.

SOLUTION: Research which mousepads resist humidity – companies will rarely mention this aspect of their product. Or, to save the hassle, enthusiast gaming peripheral reviewer, Boardzy, made a near-comprehensive tier list of gaming mousepads here.

3. Depending on the material, most mousepads include a top-layer coating. This coating is designed to provide a smooth experience; however, they are notorious for wearing off within months. Worn off, patchy coating will make your mousepad more inconsistent to aim on.

SOLUTION: Coatings wear down, so avoid mousepads that have poor coatings or coatings at all. For example, Endgame Gear’s MPC450 mousepad’s surface is made out of Cordura®, and according to Boardzy, “…is a bit rougher on the skin, but it is extremely durable and probably the most consistent mousepad I have ever used.” Many other mousepads offer durable surfaces like Artisan’s pads.

By holding your mouse correctly, cleaning your mousepad, and visualizing opponents, you are now one step closer to achieving Radiant or Global Elite-level aim, and still a thousand steps away from aiming like TenZ.