How Your Gaming Mouse can Influence Your Performance in Games Like CS: GO and Overwatch

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It’s no secret that, in order to have a competitive edge in the world of gaming, you’ll want to have an adequate mouse to boot. As with the gun your character’s holding in the game you’re playing, not all mice are created equal, however. A great gaming mouse might be good for one genre of gaming, but not so great for another.

Mice that are geared for Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games, for instance, often have a wide array of different buttons or number keys present on the sides and/or front, to make quick key commands and complex character actions possible without having to labor over your keyboard. How would this hold up in the world of FPS games such as Counter Strike Global Offensive or Overwatch?

It wouldn’t hold up very well. The reason for this being is quite simple – like mice designed for MMO games, there are mice that are designed strictly for FPS games. These mice have features that can make your FPS experience incredibly easier, with features that manipulate the sensitivity and buttons on the side designed for quick, rapid bursts of fire or lightning-fast grenade tosses.

Many gaming mice designed for FPS games have sniper buttons. These buttons reduce the DPI or Dots Per Inch of your gaming mouse while your weapon is zoomed in on your target. DPI is a measurement of mouse sensitivity and, at high enough levels, can impact in-game accuracy.

Gaming mice designed for first person shooter games will often have an accelerated polling rate, which has a huge impact on the way your mouse performs. Simply put, the polling rate of a mouse is the rate at which your computer is updated on the mouse’s position. FPS gaming mice typically have a polling rate of 1000 Hz, which corresponds to your computer locating its position every millisecond. Sheesh, that’s accurate!

While many gaming mice these days seem to have elaborately designed grips and ergonomic features designed to reduce stress on the wrist and hand, FPS mice favor a grip that’s almost identical to that of a regular mouse. In some instances, however, FPS gamers that like lower sensitivity might prefer alternate forms of grip, such as the palm grip. The palm grip is a style of grip where your palm rests on the base of the mouse, as opposed to the table, where it rests in the claw grip.

Gaming mice are designed with genres of gaming in mind, for the most part. While you certainly won’t be crucified for using an MMO mouse with an FPS game, it’s best to stick with the correct category.

Games such as CS: GO and Overwatch, which require rapid manipulation of sight, quick reflexes, and accurate shots, need to be played with a great gaming mouse that’s designed for the FPS genre.