Razer Naga MMO Gaming Mouse Review
MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh puts the Razer Naga MMO gaming mouse through its paces in this latest review.
Hardware Reviews By Carolyn Koh on April 27, 2010
When one thinks of gaming mice, a few brands come to mind and Razer has made quite a splash in the past few years. There have been some lovely additions, as well as some I didn’t care for, and at this time when we seem to have reached the pinnacle in precision and response time, it’s coming down to a case of diminishing returns as we get into minute differences. I wonder if 4800 / 5200 /5600 dpi sensitivity in a mouse really makes a difference in MMO gaming, so I was a little skeptical when I received the Razer Naga, a mouse purportedly made for MMO gamers. Right-handed MMO gamers, by the way, there isn’t a left-handed version.
First, let’s get the specs out of the way.
- 5600dpi Razer Precision 3.5G Laser Sensor
- 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response time
- 200 inches per second max tracking speed
- 17 buttons – which include the 12 button thumb grid
- List price - $79.99
They say a picture paints a thousand words, but the simplicity of the design of the Razer Naga hides the phenomenal amount of engineering that has gone into it. Taking a look at the fit and finish, it’s quite an improvement from the Razer Diamondback that I purchased in 2005 and still use. The cord is now covered in a woven fabric to better prevent kinking. The rubberized texture of the mouse feels good to the touch, and doesn’t attract finger prints or slip under tight gaming conditions and sweaty gamer hands. It looks great. Razer mice always looked classy and felt solid. From packaging to product, the Razer Naga is an attractive package. Mouse clicks are smooth and the absence of large grooves to accommodate separate right and left mouse buttons means that it collects less dust and fuzz bunnies. It looks good, feels solid and with their own patented Teflon feet, moves over my cat hair covered mousepad without missing a beat. Yes, for some unfathomable reason, my cat Daisy loves the Naga and curls up around it on my mousepad. She didn’t do that with the Diamondback.
I like how the Naga fits my hand. It is a little more rounded and rather petite looking when compared to the Diamondback and the Deathadder. With the flatter Diamondback, my hand lays flat with the mouse buttons at my finger tips. With the Naga, my hand curves over it and my finger tips curl up higher on the buttons which allows my thumb to rest naturally as well, right there where it should be, over the 12 button thumb grid. With personal input devices such as mice and keyboards, personal ergonomic fit and experience counts for how each device fares with each individual gamer – i.e. apart from technical specs, how well a gamer likes a mouse is purely subjective. I liked a heavier mouse until I got used to the light and twitchy Diamondback (I had paid good money for it and darn it, I was going to get used to it!)
Finally, we go on to what they did to designate it an MMO-centric mouse; that’s the 12 button thumb grid. This replicates the number bar across the top of your keyboard, or with a flip of a switch underneath the mouse, the number key-pad to the right of your keyboard. Razer estimates that it takes about 18 hours of game play for the average gamer to retrain the muscle memory and reflexes on how they play a game, and provides trainers - adhesive rubber dots that you can stick to the 12 button grid to help yourself get used to button placement. I started it out with the good old standard, EverQuest where all I really used was 6 buttons, moving to EverQuest 2, LoTR, Final Fantasy, Global Agenda, Star Trek, several media tours of different games and I like it – especially since I mostly use the WASD keys to move and I really liked being able to do things like change weapons while running. I played quite a bit of Global Agenda with this mouse, equipping the jetpack and leaping off buildings without a hitch in my stride. Also convenient was remapping the various keys in Star Trek Online to the number pad and using the thumb grid.
Drivers are not shipped with the mouse and to get the most out of the Naga, players will have to download drivers off the Razer website. At this time, drivers are available for both Mac and Windows and the latest drivers provide full re-mapping and macro ability for all 12 buttons on the thumb grid, placing macro control literally, under your thumb. In-game custom interface add-ons are also available through the Razer http://www.getimba.com web-site for World of Warcraft and Warhammer and more are planned.
I’ve found the Razer Naga to be one sweet mouse for MMO gaming and it’s sitting in pride of place right now, having replaced the Diamondback (all 1600dpi of it) which has been relegated to the laptop for work purposes, with the photographer in the house cackling with glee at having received the Deathadder for Photoshop work.
awesome mouse for eve/df
I just bought this mouse 2 weeks ago and i love it! Playing AOC right now and I will never play a mmo without it.
I have this too and love it. The only thing i wish were different is that the two top buttons were not quite so far forward - it's a little awkward reaching the first one with my index finger sometimes.
Finally adding the macros is icing on the cake.
Had one for a month or so now, and it has taken longer than 18 hours to get used to it. I guess that depends on how different your old mouse was, I used to use the 500 series Logitech which have the flat grip and only 2 thumb buttons. The claw grip is strange at first, but you soon get used to it. The hardest bit is knowing where your thumb is on the 12 thumb button pad, it is a bit like learning some braille, the optional sticky pads help there, but when they fall off expect a sticky thumb.
Now I am used to it in conjunction with my Nostromo n52 keypad, I can bind all my skills. There is no MMO currently that I have played that needs all 50 odd skills I can bind here. This means I never click skills, or touch the keyboard unless I need to type something.
A really good buy and the review does it credit, but it is not cheap at $80.
Can you use the in game software or in the case of wow, mods, to custom bind buttons to the naga or do you have to use razers software? Right now I use a N52 and the bartender mod in wow and custom bind my keys that way and it works very well for me.
To add to my above post, on my n52 I can change what the keys are in the N52 software. So instead of using the default keys on the n52 as number or letter keys as they are set I change them all to the F keys which still leaves my keyboard for mostly normal use. Can you do this with the naga?
I have to say that I am dissapointed in this mouse
(note: I have a pretty "average" medium sized hand with slim fingers, no baby hand, no butcher pranks)
a) the right mouse button is too sensitive and there is no edge to rest my finger, so I basically have to "hover" my finger over the mouse, even if I don't need it, or else I accidently trigger it.
b) the mouse buttons 4 & 5 (the 2 next to the left mouse button) are not easily accessible for me; from using Logitechs mice, I can access these with my thumb in a splitsecond, now, I basically have to think twice if I use my mouse1 finger or the thumb. Still useful, but no time advantage.
c) the 12 buttons on the side - ye, it works, and you get used to it, but it still happens that you click wrong and if you are out for a speed advantage, than I am not sure if you really get it.
d) the update system is not as slick as Logitechs, but that goes for all Razer mice I guess.
e) well, there are macros at least. But that one has for other mice and keyboards with macro buttons as well.
After having used it for 6 months or so, I am back to the G9. My personal preference would be the shape of the older Razer mice, and maybe 6 or so additional buttons instead of the 12.
Verdict for me: idea 10/10. Realization: 5/10. Price: 6/10, total: close shave 7/10
i have this mouse and im totally in love with it <3
yea thats the only negitive is the top right buttons they are kinda far...I have not used them yet though
This mouse is pretty much what I had been looking for before it even came out.
Personally I can't use any other mouse for mmo's ever again.
I did actually get used to the buttons at the side but used trainers for some of the buttons and still maintain that I need just one dot so I know where "center" is.
My thumb rests on the "5" which is in the center and I have a small dot on "2" (right above the "5") so that the tip of my thumb rests against it and I can always know that my finger is on "5".
But as far as getting used to it, the way I look at it is that people play violin, vilola, cello and contra bass with no frets and pretty much don't need to look at the instreument. So getting used to your thumb always in the same area shouldn't be insurmountable.
As far as remapping the buttons I was not aware that they added this capability for the mouse with the exception of software for WoW and Warhammer. I will have to check into that. (edit; WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW! They did add this functionality.)
There is also a section in the "Configurator" that allows one to manage macros though I have no idea what that entails.
I agree that the two buttons on the top left are awkward to use. They are perfect for me in Aion because I use those buttons for wings. Other than that I find them too awkward to use.
my one advice for some people is to remap your keys or to remap in game to fit your hand.
what I mean by this is that I found certain common movements with my thumb tended to fatigue my hand. So I bassically assigned common "use all the time" functions to buttons (by reconfiguring in game) where my thumb did not have to reach awkwardly. By doing this I can play pretty ache free.
Essentially be aware of your body and whether you get any aches with your hand. No need to get tendonitis and such.
I've used it. It is a great mouse. I have a bit of trouble with it due to nerve damage in my right hand that makes it hard for me to feel which button is under my thumb, but for everyone else, it's a great tool. As the poster above said, though, you can get into some fatigue problems, so it's a matter of mapping keys appropriately for your use.
The two top buttons could be moved a bit for ease of use like the Logitech side buttons are, but otherwise, I found it to be pretty impressive.
It's a horrible, badly designed mouse. There are too many buttons, too close together, and everytime you try to press one of them, you end up hitting three you didn't want to press. The same hoplds true of every gaming mouse I've used so far. Its a waste of money and there are better products that are easier to use and don't cause the same comflicts when trying to press their buttons, like the N52, for instance. Used with a mouse, it makes the keyboard completely unneccessary except for chatting.
Overall, I would rate this mouse 1.1 out of 10. It just doesn't do its job very well.
This mouse was my Xmas gift from my wife, and I have to admit I was pretty bummed when I first opened the gift to see what she got me (of course I didn't let her know that).
Then I started using it and was pleasantly surprised...it took it me awhile to get used to the grip, and weight of the mouse more then anything else. Most people will probably have to use a "claw" type grip b/c of the way the buttons are laid out and the curviture of the mouse itself; and the weight might not be an issue for most but my last mouse was a Logitech G5 which had the customizable weights so I was a bit spoiled in that regard.
Once I got used to the ergonomics of the mouse itself I had to adjust to the main feature of the mouse, and what I felt was probably just a gimick and would have no practical use, the 12-buttons on the side. I actually found that these buttons are a godsend for MMO's, I absolutely love them. Not that it was a hardship to press the number bar on my keyboard, but having 12-buttons on the side of my mouse certainly made me quicker once I got used to the layout.
TLDR: I honestly thought that the 12-buttons were a gimmick and the mouse would be a waste of money, but I was wrong. For people that spend a lot of time in MMO's, you should really give this mouse a shot, it's well worth the price of admission.
i'm still up for the standard keyboard and mouse XD really too much buttons will get on your way
I've been using this mouse since they released it, and I absolutely love it. I use it in conjuction with my n52te.
are you fcking kidding me to much buttons will get your way. ? buy one first then talk i tell you this that the fight is over before it has even begun becouse you only ned the mouse or wasd buttons thats all.
THis might be the right addition to my G15 keyboard...
Razer makes good mice. But I would rather see the keyboard replaced with a touchpad, so that way I can have a custom UI for my MMOs with infinite number of bound keys. In other words, a key icon for each skill on my hotbar (from 8 in GW to 120 in EQ2).
Has anyone who likes this mouse used it for any FPS games? I still use the cursor keys on the keyboard and find myself running out of buttons to map that I can easily reach. I know I should switch to WASD but have not yet. I currently use a Logitech 700mx and have been for about 6 years. I love the 2 thumb buttons but wouldn't mind having a few more.
Personally, for FPS I use the n52 speed pad and Mouse. Works way better with the custom buildso n the n52 that you can change on the fly for various different scenarios. You can have 3 profiles on the n52 to switch from with a button. Helps when you jump into vehicles on land or in air.
This mouse looks interesting and I have been looking for one with a few more buttons. Just seems like a BIT much for what I want. 12 buttons is quite a few. $80 is a bit pricey as well.
Well that's the thing, players dont' need to feel compelled to use all the buttons. I know I dont'. I use what feels right with my hand and what will make my gaming a bit easier.
I never use 10 and 12 and rarely use 11.
It's just that for me i really need to be able to forgo moving down the number keypad on my keyboard. Just makes the whole experience a bit more comfortable and organic.
As I said above, this was the mouse I wanted even before it was ever created. I essentially wanted buttons at my thumb to use. Heck, I even thought about the possibility of creating one myself but really lacked any real know-how to get something like that done.
i have huge hands and fingers so that mouse won't be for me hehe you must have girlish fingers to use that mouse. lol
This thing looks great. I'm going to order one now.
I'm left-handed so I got a Mamba instead. Too bad.
Great, thats a must buy. Now someone needs to figure out how to conivince my wife I need to spend eighty dollars on it.
I have been using the cheapest mouse I can find (optical). If I were to buy this mouse, would I notice any difference between the naga and my 10 dollar mouse? I have the "claw" style grip. Im not talking baou tthe buttons on the naga. I rarely play anythign besides FPS, so I doubt the buttons would have any real use for me in BC2,
I hear all this about dpi, but what would that mean for me?
Whoa!
this mouse looks crazy awsome... I really like my g9, but when it dies I will def give this badboi a try :)
If you mostly play FPS'ers why would you want a mouse that's designed for MMO's? I'm replacing my Logitech Mx518 with this mouse but I mostly play MMO's. If I were you I'd look into other Razer mice on their website. The logitech is a nice mouse and pretty responsive you can always look into that one if you don't find a razer to your tastes.
This Mouse is Awesome
I've had this mouse since it was released. I can't imaging using another mouse for MMOs. If you can get used to it, and it really does take some getting used to, you have complete movement control with your left hand and complete skill/spell control with your right. No more finger gymnastics to try to run/strafe while using all your abilities. No more remapping keyboards in every game so you can switch 6 thru = on your keyboard to something you can reach. I give it a 9/10 easily.
where can i get this mouse?
Ive owned 2 Razer mice before (Diamondback and Deathadder). Bother were good mice, but each of them crapped out in under a year. Just completely stopped repsonding. At the price they charge for these mice its really not worth it when they only last 6-8 months.
I dont care how cool they look or how great they respond.
I now have a Logitech MX518 and have been using it for over 18 months. Fantastic mouse. No Problems ever.
I will never buy another Razer product
it overload the right hand
I think its useless for moo , maybe its better for shotters (change to specify weapon faster) or do any action
any task that u dont need use alot times per mins
I've been using this bad boy for a while now. Best mouse I've ever owned, period.
You can build and assign macros to any of the buttons. This thing is PERFECT for games like Darkfall.
Been using it in FPS games lately as well, where it rules.
I didn't need the little trainer bumps....nor did my son or my girl. We all adapted to it pretty much instantly.
TLDR version: I LOVE this thing.
I usually wear out mice in 6 months to a year, but I had a Diamondback for 5 years before getting my Naga. The Diamondback still works great and I use it with my laptop, so you may just have had bad luck with build quality. I just wanted a new mouse with 17 buttons and it's been great so far. I find I use the thumbgrid even more in applications other than games, though. It could just as well have been marketed as a photoshop mouse, or an excel mouse as an MMO mouse. :p
I use this for Fed smashing in STO, and would not have it any other way.
If you are a serious MMO gamer this mouse is required equipment.
Yours in accurate Plasma,
Star*Dagger
Get yourself a gaming-device like the Logitech G13 or the Belkin Nostromo SpeedPad, it's way more comfortable to use.
The idea of the Razer Naga MMO is good, but the 12 keys are too narrow and not really comfortable to use. Additionally, the mouse is not really ergonomic and too "fat", so you don#t wanna play with it for more then 30 minutes.
Much as I liked the mouse, I found the Razer eXactMat™ made more differance to a feeling of great mouse response:
http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.169416500
I don't care too much for razer products, way over priced and they don't last. Mx 518 has been my friend for many years now and I see no need to change it.
Great looking, but I'm left handed-doesn't help me!
Yeah, I really like my eXactMat.
In the beginning it was hard tho justifying the price (read pre-purchase). Now, I wouldn't have any other MP!
Ive played over 600 hours in STO with it, I *DO* have the g13 on my left hand, they work together well.
As far as ergonomics, play with the Naga for 40 hours, you will not let anyone take it out of your room.
S*D
How is the weight of it?
I apologize if it's in the article, I could have easily coma-zoned past that tidbit of info o_0
Cool mouse, I want one. ^_^
I have 2 problems with this...
1) the price point
2) I'm too damn use to my trackball to use a mouse. (It's a Logitech Trackman Wheel)
Well worth the money or should I say investment? You want to invest in your success online? Then buy a Naga now or be owned by spotty 12 year olds for the rest of your days! Gave me an edge in DFO, great for MO and priceless for playing Global Agenda. While playing GA my mate is screaming and cursing as he has to look to hit the number key on his keyboard (I have this problem too) and gets wasted.
This is an essential for gaming in my opinion, 10/10 to Razer for making the most awesome gaming mouse to date.
I have the Naga, best mouse i have ever owned.
The build quality is solid. The number of buttons is enough for anything and can be mapped to any key or macro(with the new drivers).
Using this mouse with the equally awesome Logitech G13 you never need to faff about with your keyboard again, just for chatting perhaps.
I'm wondering if this really has use for a full-fledged gamer. One is that it seems very, very awkward to use with claw grip. Is that true? Secondly, do you really need that many buttons? I'd rather use my keyboard to full potential, rather than have extra stress for the mouse hand.
For FPS games I see this pretty much worthless. Old Razer design was better, as it they were designed for claw grip and there was only side button or two at max. For MMORPG I can see this being pretty alright, as precise mouse movement isn't that necessary and many play with palm grip, but I just don't seen how average MMORPG needs this many buttons on top of keyboard buttons. For RTS games it's difficult to say, as the buttons could be useful, but precise mouse movement is also very important. I'd like to test it on a RTS though.
So the mouse is perfect for it's money? For everyone and all games? No single "but" or "however, if"? The totally holy grail of mice that everyone should have and makes all other models obsolete? At least I get the feeling that's what this "review" is trying to tell me.
Sorry, but whenever a "review" notes no single tiny downside of a product, but only lists positive stuff all along, it smells like advertisment to me.
With my poor expeirence with the Razor Keyboard I won I have not been inclined to purchase any of their products.
If I were to win it I would be glad to test it. There are three of us gaming so it would be possible that we would be buying two more ..but I won't buy one of their products due to my past.
I haven't been very pleased with it, I'm having tracking issues already and it's pretty much brand new.
Well that's the thing, in the end, one size doesn't fit all.
I purchased the Nostromo speedpad and thought it was the most atrocious piece of equipment that I'd ever purchased.
it just didn't work for my hand and I could feel my forearm getting tired (i.e. the muscles controling the fingers being in the forearm).
The angle wasn't right, the action wasn't quite right, just wasn't quite right.
In the end it's hard to say whether one can recommend this to "everyone".
As far as the person who suggested that one must have the hands of a girl, well, I suppose I have the hands of a violinist (though I play classical guitar but let's roll with it).
However, one of THE greatest classcial guitarists, Oscar Ghiglia had huge sausage fingers and could easily navigate the fretboard of a Vihuela. So I don't think having large hands should be a deterrent.
It really just depends on one's dexterity, how one uses their hands and how one's hands are shaped, etc.
My thought is that if you are the type of person who would like more control in one particular hand and you would prefer it to being the right hand then this "may" work for you.
It's just one tool in an arsenal of tools. As far as its quality, all I can say is I've had it for 6 months so far and no issues. Some say they have issues so maybe they don't have great manufacturing? Can't say.
I would say that if you have doubts and can't try one out then don't buy it. Unless of course you can take it back.
Weight is fine, it is an outstanding mouse.
You will basically see in this thread 3 types of people.
1) people who have never touched the naga, who like to hear themselves type.
2) people not talking about the mouse at all, but at some past eperience or imagined experience with the naga
3) owners who tell you how awesome it is.
If you play mmos, get this.
S*D
personally......yeah, it IS the "holy grail" of mice.
BUT....everyone likes something differant in a mouse. Some are lefties, some prefer heavier or lighter mice, some prefer to have a flat hand.....etc.
It fits my hand perfectly, has INSANE precision.....dominates both MMORPGs and FPS games equally well, and has more programmable buttons than I could ever find a use for.
But it's not for everyone, of course. No piece of hardware can satisfy every gamer.
In my original post about this mouse (when I first got mine), I mentioned the only flaw I could find....the difficulty of upgrading the firmware. It requires either 3 arms, or a friend to help, since you have to be able to work the keyboard, while plugging in the mouse with 3 of it's buttons held down at the same time. The instructions are VERY vague, and it took me literally hours to figure it out.
That was it. IMO, there is no flaw with the design at all, and it's the perfect mouse.
But...that's MY opinion.
I guess the guys that like this thing are not mouse movers? having trouble seeing value in a load of buttons under your right thumb for someone who has made that leap.
What's a mouse mover? Isn't the device, by its very definition, something you move?
While I would not use this for FPS games, you should not use more than 4 square inches of the mouse pad. I have been there in the hard core live tournies where people use even less than that.
Enjoy,
S*D
Honestly, back in the day I had a Genius 10€ mouse too, I played L2 in the day, when there was no tab targeting, and in massive fights, my precission wasn't so good, in my party I was never selected as the targeter (9th slot in party for quick assistance).
I bought a logitech G5 because my 10€ mouse died and I had some extra money, didn't know what to spend it into, and boy, that was a difference! I became the main targeter for my entire alliance, I targeted healers on the back of everyone with such ease, the precission was smooth and the movements of the mouse were just accurate, in massive fights, I'd just see a heal on the back and 1 second later I had the target.
Same goes for the N52, I got used to it and became so intuitive, my first uses were in AoC's open beta, where people would insult me in chat openly for the pwnage I provided.
Nowadays I play Hon at competitive levels, and I'm thinking on getting this mouse, there are some buttons in my n52 I rarely use in that game, dunno why my brain won't make me push those buttons automatically like I do with the others, maybe it has to do with my MMO experience and how the top arrow has always been attack, the number 4 was health potion and the number 3 has always been disable, yet the number 6 was just situational nuke.
TLDR: Yes, a mouse with good DPI, sliding surface and ergonomics will indeed make a difference.
Since I got this mouse at Fry's for about $60.00 a couple of weeks ago I have actually started to use all those key combinations that were too much hassle to use before. For the first time I am really using the Ctrl, and Alt keys in my game play. This mouse works for me.
There is nothing wrong with this mouse..i will never play another mmo without it.
Sounds like another good product us lefties can't use. Blah.
Well i have had this mouse since it was released and its great ....but its really just for mmo`s as the title states. I had to keep my MX518 plugged in so i can play FPS games because the mouse 4 and 5 on the naga are badly placed for FPS games. For other games like besides FPS, the naga usefullness is a hit nad miss for me. When it comes to mmo's, its king in my book.
$80 for a mouse just does not do it for me. Give me a N52 any day in the week. Can't see me using that thumbpad at all.
Just seems like a complete waste of money to me. I also do not see much difference with dpi in a mouse either. I actually prefer a lower dpi, don't even use the high dpi mouse I have any more.
wow what are the odds,i just bought this today never even looked at this article, its so helpful for my long hours of gaming.
good mouse...
that mouse looks so sexy
I've got my Razor Naga mouse and it's awesome to use, the calibration is a bit off because I have a black coloured border desk but for playing MMORPG's, it's perfect. =D
You can use it in other games as well. I've started automatically using it in oblivion for instance and dragonage.
Are you talking about the numbers "4 and 5" or the two buttons by the forefinger? because I would agree, those are awkward to use.