If you are a PC gamer, you know how important good equipment is. The processor, the monitor, the keyboard; all these things are vital to winning. Your mouse is equally important! Whether you’re playing FPS (first-person shooter) games or MMO (massively multiplayer online) games, the correct mouse can make all the difference to your performance so you should look for the best MMO mouse.
An MMO mouse is, as the name suggests, designed for use in MMO games, but its features can be beneficial to gamers of all types, and even to non-gamers too!
What is an MMO mouse?
Put simply, an MMO mouse is a mouse with lots of extra buttons. There is obviously a lot more to them than that, but at a glance, that is what they are. The beauty of these things lies in how crucial those buttons can be, and all the less obvious tech as well, which we will explore a bit later.
But if you don’t know the first things about gaming tech and accessories, you might be stumped when it comes to choosing an MMO mouse for yourself. Here are some of the most common features of these mice explained, and some things to consider when setting out to buy a new mouse.
- Grip style
How you use your current mouse can determine what kind of mouse you should be using. For instance, your grip type may influence your next purchase, purely on the grounds of the size of the mouse. The three most common grip types are:
- Palm
This type of grip is the most regular. Your hand lies flat across the top of the mouse with your fingers resting over the buttons.
- Fingertip
Similar to the palm grip, the fingertip grip utilises the tips of the fingers, with the fingers slightly bent, but the palm still resting mostly on the body of the mouse.
- Claw
The claw grip is, yes, you guessed it, when your hand resembles a claw! The heel of the palm will rest on the back of the mouse, and your fingers will curl over and around the mouse, enabling clicking of many different buttons.
The MMO mouse you buy must be able to accommodate your grip style, but don’t worry, they are designed for this kind of use, and are suitable for almost any kind of grip.
- The Hardware
The actual physical mouse itself can vary wildly in terms of style and appearance between different brands and models, but the internal technical features should be present, no matter what the mouse looks like. Things to consider are:
- Wired vs Wireless
It used to be thought that wired was always preferred, as wireless connections were weaker and could result in lag, but advancements in wireless technology in recent years have rendered this argument obsolete. This one mainly comes down to a price difference.
- Sensors
Forget the old roller-ball mice – if you can even get them anymore. The fight here is between optical sensors and laser sensors. Optical sensors have been shown to exhibit a faster reaction time to user movements, but only slightly. Sometimes it is best to try out both options, or consult an expert. This may also depend on what kind of game you will be player – if you don’t need to shave microseconds off your reaction time, a
- Weights
Weighting is an often-overlooked aspect of a mouse, and again, it depends on your play style, and what type of games you play. If you need to move your mouse-hand around a lot, and quickly, then something lighter may be more suitable. But if you need accuracy and control, more weight could be beneficial. Many gaming mice come with customisable weighting, wherein weights can be added or removed accordingly.
- Ergonomics
The overall design of the mouse is vital. How it fits in to your hand, and how your grip style works with the shape and size of the mouse can make a massive difference to your gameplay. The placement and size of all the buttons on the mouse will make a difference too.
- The Software
Any good MMO mouse worth its weight will come with software which you have to install prior to setting up and using your mouse. The software will include all the customisation settings for your mouse, like DPI and CPI, and aesthetic options like lights. It will also contain the vital key-binding settings, though these will also be accessible in-game (usually).
- DPI
DPI stands for ‘dots per inch,’ and it refers to the rate of pixels your cursor will travel in relation to an inch of movement of the mouse. The size of your screen will also affect this metric, so if you have a big screen, a mouse with a higher DPI setting is preferable.
- CPI
CPI stands for ‘counts per inch,’ and this refers to the resolution of the physical camera installed in the sensor of your mouse. How fast your mouse can sample per inch will determine again how fast the cursor responds to the mouse’s movement.
- Profiles
The software that comes with your mouse will sometimes allow you to create a customisable profile with individually bound keys for separate games. This can be incredibly time-saving and could prevent you wasting time in-game trying to re-calibrate your mouse buttons because they were left on the settings for a different game. Some mice even offer you the ability to save these profiles directly on to the mouse itself, rather than the software.
So as you can see, there is a lot to consider when buying an MMO mouse, and some of it you can only truly know from using the equipment first hand. Sometimes it is better to go to a dedicated gaming or tech store to try some mice out for yourself, and see which is the best fit.
Remember, it’s all about what works best for you, your grip style, your play style, and the games you like to play!
