NoasArcAngel
Wise Old Owl
So how many times have you opened up flipkart to browse through a catalog of gaming mice, or walk into a computer shop and become mental when you look at all the mice in the display panel? Wondered which one to buy? what suits you the best? Can a mouse make you a better gamer? No, can selecting a mouse which suits to your gameplay style ? Yes.
1. The Grip :
This is the most important and often most overlooked part when purchasing a mouse.
There are 2 types of gaming grips : the palm and the claw. (fundamentally)
The palm is when you cup the mouse with your hand, when you are trying to hold water in your hand.
*assets.razerzone.com/peripherals-guide/mouse/images/palmgrip-illus01.jpg
The claw grip is when the palm of of your hand touches the base of the mouse and the fingers are on the buttons as claws.
*assets.razerzone.com/peripherals-guide/mouse/images/clawgrip.jpg
Now for people who have large hands prefer to use the palm grip, because with a large enough mouse it provides very good control, and with a small mouse something like a kinzu its a blessing in disguise. (provided you can use that right) because notice in the da palm grip image, the fingers do not extend beyond the mouse, however with a small mouse like ime 1, or the kinzu you can extend your fingers further, this offers a much better command over your speed specially to those players who play at low sensitivity, because they like to move around the mouse very fast.
2. How Does Grip affect your gameplay?
Chances are, if you just started with pc gaming, specially FPS and TPS you will notice a big difference in the gameplay styles. However for experienced players the grip does not affect their gameplay to a large extent and its because of their personal preference.
The palm grip is suited for those kind of players who want superior mouse control and want to have a huge area to cover with a good aim.
*www.njsr.org/pics/albums/userpics/10823/normal_de_dust2-bombsitea.jpg
The claw grip is suited to those kinds of players, who want to have deadly accuracy with very quick shots, but want to keep their aim limited to a certain space, maybe a camping spot or some specific position on the map.
maybe some spot like this :
*img709.imageshack.us/img709/4848/cspdust20000e.jpg
3. The sensitvity and the Grip.
Since i primarily come from cs 1.6 background, i find newbies usually prefer to stick to a low sensitivity ( this is not just for cs, its pretty much valid to almost all fps games except fast shooters like quake ) , because it offers a better aim at first (i will explain this later in a different post).
Both grips have advantages and disadvantages, and experienced players can utilize both grips to their strength to that extent that to them it makes no difference, its only a matter of personal preference.
More experienced players prefer to have a medium to high sensitivity, this allows for movements when the enemy crops up behind you, almost and 99% of the times resulting in a kill.
4. Which mouse is for me?
This will depend upon your style of playing, your preferences for materials and how much you are willing to spend. If you are considering purchasing the mouse then have a look at the mouse, or even try it if possible. If it feels good, then it will suit you well.
Some of the best starter mice are :
a. MX-518
*static.clickbd.com/global/classified/item_img/515580_0_original.jpg
One of the best mice, a beginner can buy.
Pros: This mouse is a beginners dream, it offers a good control its ambidextrous and is more suited to palm style gameplay.
Its sensor is pretty good even today for most of the fps games.
Cons: Left click gets spoilt pretty quick, because of coating on the shiny surface, after long hours of play its gets sweaty.
b. Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0
*www.dansdata.com/images/moremouses/newexprear_440.jpg
The most legendary mouse, which has come a long way since the era of counter strike.
Pros: 9000fps image engine, it does not skip. For a gamer looking for extreme control with very low sensitivity this fits the bill perfectly.
Cons: 400 dpi optical sensor, which is pretty slow compared to todays dpi monsters. Very big, does not fit hands easily.
c. Logitech G400
*www.sparblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Logitech-G400.jpg
A new age version of the mx-518
Pros: 3600 dpi engine, gives it a new life. Same old feel as the mx-518.
Cons: Very light
There are so many mice, but I think only these 3 deserve the top spot.
5. How To Improve Your Game?
*static.assimsefaz.com.br/images/3/89/1544/331286/2/aprenda-co_1353008442502.jpg
The key to getting good at fps is not all about strategy, but more about aim.
If you have good aim you can single handedly take out the opponent team, and for that you need to be very very comfortable with your mouse, your mat, your mouse settings, your sitting height.
Pro players have high sensitivity, even then they can aim better than a person with 400 dpi with 2 in game sensi.
What also matters in aim is that what weapon you are using, If I am using a sniper then i am more concerned with accuracy and faster scope/non scope shots, If I am using an assault rifle i need to control the recoil, so for this i need to have my mouse movement set so i can control the recoil effectively and easily without a lot of hassle.
The claw grip is beneficial for those who are very quick at taking kills, the position of the fingers allows for a much faster kill and its beneficial if you have a lot of enemies in a small area, because aiming with claw grip in small areas gives advantage. in palm grip aiming over larger areas is much more easy.
The simple answer to improving your aim is to practice with bots, singeplayer or play as much multiplayer in the early stages. The more you experiment with different settings for your mouse / driver and playing styles the more you will be able to find your sweet spot.
Once you have clocked a few 100 hours, then start moving towards finding a sweet spot. Your aim should be simple :
"Keep a setting which allows brisk mouse movement without losing too much accuracy"
or in other words, use a setting which does not make you a sitting duck if someone pops up behind you.
If you are having problems with accuracy, dont worry 5-10% shots will be off target. This can be easily modified with more practice. The more you practice the better your aim will get.
Practice does not make a man perfect, but it does certainly make him better.
6. The Million Dollar Question : Laser or optical
Since 1999 when the optical mouse was invented, and a few years later games like counter strike and quake dominated majority of the gaming tournaments there has been a need for better mice technology.
No matter what companies like razer claim "3g sensor" and "infrared sensor" its all marketing bullshit. There has been little or almost not much advancement in how these technologies work. The bolder truth is that apart from a few minor differences, the way both the mice work is fundamentally the same. And the surprising answer is : By using Image capture.
So the two main players today are laser and optical mice. What is the difference between the two?
*www.electronicproducts.com/images2/farc_avago01_may2011.gif
6.1 The Optical Mouse :
The optical mouse was invented in 1980's and mass produced in 1999 with one of the most successful mouse being the microsoft intellimouse explorer 1.
As illustrated in the diagram above, how the optical mouse works is the led illustrates a particular area of the surface, this light reflects back to the sensor via the imaging lens.
6.2 The Laser Mouse :
The laser mouse although shipped with Sun microsystems pc, did not appear commercially till 2004.
The Laser mouse uses an infrared light instead of a visible optical light. The process of image processing is the same.
6.3 Why the Fuss about DPI?
Ohh wait, isnt DPI like the Ghz of a processor ? The more the better ? NO
Is it misleading ? Yes.
The actual term which measures the sensitivity of the mouse is CPI
DPI - Dots Per Inch
It is a measure of the number of steps a mouse will process and register when it moves one inch.
CPI - Counts Per Inch
This is a measure of the steps your mouse can register and process when it moves an inch.
6.4 So Does Higher DPI/CPI mean a more accuracy?
Yes and No.
The reason for that is even though the dpi of a mouse will increase, the accuracy of your hand will not. So buying a 4000 DPI gaming mouse is useless if you cant control your hand that steadily.
Or you plan to end up playing on a large resolution.
6.5 What does mouse DPI have to do with screen resolution?
Since your mouse is working on a 1:1 basis i.e. each count on your mouse is registered as a pixel movement on screen, for people working with high resolutions need a high dpi mouse simply for the fact that they need to cover higher number of pixels with the same amount of movement.
6.6 Wait isnt CPI = DPI ?
If the default mouse-tracking condition involves moving the cursor by one screen-pixel or dot on-screen per reported step, then the CPI does equate to DPI.
In layman words, If each count registered on your mouse moves one pixel on the screen in a 1:1 ratio then and only then CPI = DPI.
For most intent and purposes we will from now, consider cpi and dpi to be the same.
6.7 So That means a Laser mouse is better than an optical mouse?
No, both mice are almost equal, i prefer to use optical mice because they are cheaper and the laser mice dont offer a very big advantage in the tracking department.
The sensor is not what plays an important role in the mouse, its the image processor. The better the image processor you have the much better your mouse will track.
7. Mouse Feet
What are mouse feet?
*i.testfreaks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/windowslivewriternzxtavatarv2gamingmouse-11a60dscf3964-thumb.jpg
As the name suggests, the mouse feet are the pieces of plastic/ teflon which help you move the mouse over a surface.
The major difference between a gaming mouse and a non gaming mouse is of primarily the sensor + image processor and mouse feet. With most of the gaming mouse being equipped with a pure teflon / a compound which is slick like certain types of plastic it makes easier for you to move the mouse around. You need to apply very little effort to move a mouse on a good surface (gaming mouse).
Mouse feet play an important role in the control of the mouse, you dont want your mouse feeling like a hand stuck in cement, nor do you want
*withfriendship.com/images/e/24021/Mu-(letter)-picture.png = 0 so it becomes ultraslick.
Depending on your preference paired with a control / speed / allrounder type of mat, the mouse feet play an important role. ( I will be discussing about different types of mouse mats later alongwith their advantages )
I will be posting further in this to make it into a complete guide including mousemats, headsets, as well as adding my own personal experiences in dealing with mice and how to handle them.
-post reserved-
@ mods please retitle this thread to : The Comprehensive guide to the modern gamers arsenal.
Personal Entry :
Still remember the days when i was using intelli 3.0 with windows pointer speed at 6, and in game setting at 3.4 for about 6 months.. something like the config of SpawN ( he is a legend, if you havent heard of him google
) . So we had a clan match, and i was getting the usual nervous jitters.. so we got ready and on LAN we started clanning... first 5 rounds into the clan and i did not get a single kill.. my partner sitting next to me was looking at me in awe... ill never forget his face lol. we were 5-0 i could not get a single kill... and i needed to change my sensi, i switched my in game setting to 2 and started playing as spotter, got a few kills but now the pressure was mounting we were 7-0 halfway through the first round. And then i realized that my aim was screwed because of the height of the chair! and since then i have realised that having a correct height makes a lot of difference to your aim because your elbows rest on the table. And then we went 8-7 to them in the first round, and we thrashed them 16-7 in the game.
Lesson learned : Adjust your seat / table height such that elbows are always almost at level with the height of the table.
1. The Grip :
This is the most important and often most overlooked part when purchasing a mouse.
There are 2 types of gaming grips : the palm and the claw. (fundamentally)
The palm is when you cup the mouse with your hand, when you are trying to hold water in your hand.
*assets.razerzone.com/peripherals-guide/mouse/images/palmgrip-illus01.jpg
The claw grip is when the palm of of your hand touches the base of the mouse and the fingers are on the buttons as claws.
*assets.razerzone.com/peripherals-guide/mouse/images/clawgrip.jpg
Now for people who have large hands prefer to use the palm grip, because with a large enough mouse it provides very good control, and with a small mouse something like a kinzu its a blessing in disguise. (provided you can use that right) because notice in the da palm grip image, the fingers do not extend beyond the mouse, however with a small mouse like ime 1, or the kinzu you can extend your fingers further, this offers a much better command over your speed specially to those players who play at low sensitivity, because they like to move around the mouse very fast.
2. How Does Grip affect your gameplay?
Chances are, if you just started with pc gaming, specially FPS and TPS you will notice a big difference in the gameplay styles. However for experienced players the grip does not affect their gameplay to a large extent and its because of their personal preference.
The palm grip is suited for those kind of players who want superior mouse control and want to have a huge area to cover with a good aim.
*www.njsr.org/pics/albums/userpics/10823/normal_de_dust2-bombsitea.jpg
The claw grip is suited to those kinds of players, who want to have deadly accuracy with very quick shots, but want to keep their aim limited to a certain space, maybe a camping spot or some specific position on the map.
maybe some spot like this :
*img709.imageshack.us/img709/4848/cspdust20000e.jpg
3. The sensitvity and the Grip.
Since i primarily come from cs 1.6 background, i find newbies usually prefer to stick to a low sensitivity ( this is not just for cs, its pretty much valid to almost all fps games except fast shooters like quake ) , because it offers a better aim at first (i will explain this later in a different post).
Both grips have advantages and disadvantages, and experienced players can utilize both grips to their strength to that extent that to them it makes no difference, its only a matter of personal preference.
More experienced players prefer to have a medium to high sensitivity, this allows for movements when the enemy crops up behind you, almost and 99% of the times resulting in a kill.
4. Which mouse is for me?
This will depend upon your style of playing, your preferences for materials and how much you are willing to spend. If you are considering purchasing the mouse then have a look at the mouse, or even try it if possible. If it feels good, then it will suit you well.
Some of the best starter mice are :
a. MX-518
*static.clickbd.com/global/classified/item_img/515580_0_original.jpg
One of the best mice, a beginner can buy.
Pros: This mouse is a beginners dream, it offers a good control its ambidextrous and is more suited to palm style gameplay.
Its sensor is pretty good even today for most of the fps games.
Cons: Left click gets spoilt pretty quick, because of coating on the shiny surface, after long hours of play its gets sweaty.
b. Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0
*www.dansdata.com/images/moremouses/newexprear_440.jpg
The most legendary mouse, which has come a long way since the era of counter strike.
Pros: 9000fps image engine, it does not skip. For a gamer looking for extreme control with very low sensitivity this fits the bill perfectly.
Cons: 400 dpi optical sensor, which is pretty slow compared to todays dpi monsters. Very big, does not fit hands easily.
c. Logitech G400
*www.sparblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Logitech-G400.jpg
A new age version of the mx-518
Pros: 3600 dpi engine, gives it a new life. Same old feel as the mx-518.
Cons: Very light
There are so many mice, but I think only these 3 deserve the top spot.
5. How To Improve Your Game?
*static.assimsefaz.com.br/images/3/89/1544/331286/2/aprenda-co_1353008442502.jpg
The key to getting good at fps is not all about strategy, but more about aim.
If you have good aim you can single handedly take out the opponent team, and for that you need to be very very comfortable with your mouse, your mat, your mouse settings, your sitting height.
Pro players have high sensitivity, even then they can aim better than a person with 400 dpi with 2 in game sensi.
What also matters in aim is that what weapon you are using, If I am using a sniper then i am more concerned with accuracy and faster scope/non scope shots, If I am using an assault rifle i need to control the recoil, so for this i need to have my mouse movement set so i can control the recoil effectively and easily without a lot of hassle.
The claw grip is beneficial for those who are very quick at taking kills, the position of the fingers allows for a much faster kill and its beneficial if you have a lot of enemies in a small area, because aiming with claw grip in small areas gives advantage. in palm grip aiming over larger areas is much more easy.
The simple answer to improving your aim is to practice with bots, singeplayer or play as much multiplayer in the early stages. The more you experiment with different settings for your mouse / driver and playing styles the more you will be able to find your sweet spot.
Once you have clocked a few 100 hours, then start moving towards finding a sweet spot. Your aim should be simple :
"Keep a setting which allows brisk mouse movement without losing too much accuracy"
or in other words, use a setting which does not make you a sitting duck if someone pops up behind you.
If you are having problems with accuracy, dont worry 5-10% shots will be off target. This can be easily modified with more practice. The more you practice the better your aim will get.
Practice does not make a man perfect, but it does certainly make him better.
6. The Million Dollar Question : Laser or optical
Since 1999 when the optical mouse was invented, and a few years later games like counter strike and quake dominated majority of the gaming tournaments there has been a need for better mice technology.
No matter what companies like razer claim "3g sensor" and "infrared sensor" its all marketing bullshit. There has been little or almost not much advancement in how these technologies work. The bolder truth is that apart from a few minor differences, the way both the mice work is fundamentally the same. And the surprising answer is : By using Image capture.
So the two main players today are laser and optical mice. What is the difference between the two?
*www.electronicproducts.com/images2/farc_avago01_may2011.gif
6.1 The Optical Mouse :
The optical mouse was invented in 1980's and mass produced in 1999 with one of the most successful mouse being the microsoft intellimouse explorer 1.
As illustrated in the diagram above, how the optical mouse works is the led illustrates a particular area of the surface, this light reflects back to the sensor via the imaging lens.
6.2 The Laser Mouse :
The laser mouse although shipped with Sun microsystems pc, did not appear commercially till 2004.
The Laser mouse uses an infrared light instead of a visible optical light. The process of image processing is the same.
6.3 Why the Fuss about DPI?
Ohh wait, isnt DPI like the Ghz of a processor ? The more the better ? NO
Is it misleading ? Yes.
The actual term which measures the sensitivity of the mouse is CPI
DPI - Dots Per Inch
It is a measure of the number of steps a mouse will process and register when it moves one inch.
CPI - Counts Per Inch
This is a measure of the steps your mouse can register and process when it moves an inch.
6.4 So Does Higher DPI/CPI mean a more accuracy?
Yes and No.
The reason for that is even though the dpi of a mouse will increase, the accuracy of your hand will not. So buying a 4000 DPI gaming mouse is useless if you cant control your hand that steadily.
Or you plan to end up playing on a large resolution.
6.5 What does mouse DPI have to do with screen resolution?
Since your mouse is working on a 1:1 basis i.e. each count on your mouse is registered as a pixel movement on screen, for people working with high resolutions need a high dpi mouse simply for the fact that they need to cover higher number of pixels with the same amount of movement.
6.6 Wait isnt CPI = DPI ?
If the default mouse-tracking condition involves moving the cursor by one screen-pixel or dot on-screen per reported step, then the CPI does equate to DPI.
In layman words, If each count registered on your mouse moves one pixel on the screen in a 1:1 ratio then and only then CPI = DPI.
For most intent and purposes we will from now, consider cpi and dpi to be the same.
6.7 So That means a Laser mouse is better than an optical mouse?
No, both mice are almost equal, i prefer to use optical mice because they are cheaper and the laser mice dont offer a very big advantage in the tracking department.
The sensor is not what plays an important role in the mouse, its the image processor. The better the image processor you have the much better your mouse will track.
7. Mouse Feet
What are mouse feet?
*i.testfreaks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/windowslivewriternzxtavatarv2gamingmouse-11a60dscf3964-thumb.jpg
As the name suggests, the mouse feet are the pieces of plastic/ teflon which help you move the mouse over a surface.
The major difference between a gaming mouse and a non gaming mouse is of primarily the sensor + image processor and mouse feet. With most of the gaming mouse being equipped with a pure teflon / a compound which is slick like certain types of plastic it makes easier for you to move the mouse around. You need to apply very little effort to move a mouse on a good surface (gaming mouse).
Mouse feet play an important role in the control of the mouse, you dont want your mouse feeling like a hand stuck in cement, nor do you want
*withfriendship.com/images/e/24021/Mu-(letter)-picture.png = 0 so it becomes ultraslick.
Depending on your preference paired with a control / speed / allrounder type of mat, the mouse feet play an important role. ( I will be discussing about different types of mouse mats later alongwith their advantages )
I will be posting further in this to make it into a complete guide including mousemats, headsets, as well as adding my own personal experiences in dealing with mice and how to handle them.
-post reserved-
@ mods please retitle this thread to : The Comprehensive guide to the modern gamers arsenal.
Personal Entry :
Still remember the days when i was using intelli 3.0 with windows pointer speed at 6, and in game setting at 3.4 for about 6 months.. something like the config of SpawN ( he is a legend, if you havent heard of him google
) . So we had a clan match, and i was getting the usual nervous jitters.. so we got ready and on LAN we started clanning... first 5 rounds into the clan and i did not get a single kill.. my partner sitting next to me was looking at me in awe... ill never forget his face lol. we were 5-0 i could not get a single kill... and i needed to change my sensi, i switched my in game setting to 2 and started playing as spotter, got a few kills but now the pressure was mounting we were 7-0 halfway through the first round. And then i realized that my aim was screwed because of the height of the chair! and since then i have realised that having a correct height makes a lot of difference to your aim because your elbows rest on the table. And then we went 8-7 to them in the first round, and we thrashed them 16-7 in the game. Lesson learned : Adjust your seat / table height such that elbows are always almost at level with the height of the table.
Last edited:
. Also could you write about the iportance of mousepads too. Like different mouse work good with diffferent mousepads. 
