What gaming mouse is best for Starcraft 2? - Page 8

There are two parties in PC gaming, FPS and RTS. Both types of games have very different needs. Much of the information and debate that exists right now about what makes a mouse good for gaming is aimed squarely at FPS gaming.

In FPS, it's typical to use low cursor speed (lower DPI, lower sensitivity) and a very active mouse hand (moving in broad strokes often). However, in RTS, it's typical to use higher cursor speed (higher DPI, higher sensitivity) and more minimal hand motion (planting the wrist bone and never moving the arm is fairly typical).

One community (FPS) sacrifices "speed" and "mobility" for much better precision. The other community sacrifices pixel-perfect precision for better coverage of the screen. The reasons are mostly obvious.

However, sometimes RTS players think their mice are superior for every game. And sometimes FPS players think their mice are superior for every game. And the debates collide and become
an unintelligible clusterfuck for anyone wondering what mouse they should get.

You are not going to be getting a 400 DPI mouse to play SC2 unless you play on 1024x768. You need to be able to cover the entire screen without ever moving your arm. So all the FPS players saying that "More DPI = better" is a myth are barking up the wrong tree here. But you don't need 5000 DPI either, you just need "enough" to comfortably cover the entire screen and provide you quick access to any area on the screen.

A lot of people are suggesting mice like the WMO and so on. I would advise you to avoid these if you can. In FPS, you generally palm the entire mouse in a semi-'rigid' fashion. Your fingers don't really curl and uncurl since you use your arm for 90% of the motion. But in RTS, you will often be controlling your mouse with only your fingertips (at certain areas on the extremities of the screen). So a very slick, sweat-unfriendly surface like the WMO is going to be a bad choice.

The Deathadder is a very popular mouse for two good reasons: FPS gamers like it and RTS gamers like it as well. FPS gamers like it because it is arguably the most comfortable palm-style mouse in existence and has tracking software/hardware that withstands very rapid hand motion (required for very low-sens players). RTS gamers like it because it is super-comfortable and has sublime tracking at higher DPI.

However, there are subjectively "better" choices in my opinion for RTS mice. The Deathadder has a lot of weight to it, and it's tiring to move it around using only the wrist/fingers. A lighter mouse would be better. I bought a Razer Abyssus specifically for RTS play. It's got the exact same tracking software/hardware as a Deathadder and is smaller and has good features like

1) No thumb buttons.
2) Excellent center of gravity (for controlling it with your fingertips).
3) Really great sweat-friendly surface.
4) 450/1800/3500 DPI switch so you can play BW with it as well.

Regardless of any arguments anyone has against my personal feelings, I hope you can see that RTS play differs significantly enough from FPS play in terms of mouse mechanics that you are looking for different perks. Just think logically about what you personally need to play RTS without thinking about your mouse hand. This will lead you to make a better decision than trusting others on the internet.