Why an MMO mouse isn’t just for gaming - make use of the myriad of buttons for enhancing your productivity workflows in popular software applications

MMO mice are designed with many buttons to make it easier to play games with lots of spells and abilities, but MMO mice are also fantastic for automating your productivity workflows.

The mouse that can do more than just game

What kind of mouse do you employ for your daily PC or laptop usage? Is it a simple two-button mouse, or does it feature more buttons than you can shake a stick at? Personally, I’m lucky enough to have a mouse for all occasions, as sometimes it’s great to have a peripheral that’s targeted to a specific task that it can excel at. An example of my personal usage is my Logitech G Superlight 2 - this is my current go-to mouse for when I get a little serious about playing my favourite FPS games. But this is the exception, as there are usually not that many buttons needed to be pressed and certainly no need for added functionality such as macros, although the software still supports it. The main mouse I employ, though, has for years been an MMO/MOBA mouse of some description. For both gaming and a plethora of productivity applications, I’ve found that the intuitive functionality of a multi-button mouse offers me the best experience and streamlines my workflows, as well as saving my hand from cramping due to complex keyboard press combinations.

Getting started with multi-button mice

One of the first mice I started using this way was the Razer Hex when it first came out. This MOBA mouse had the usual left/right mouse buttons and a scroll wheel, but had an extra six buttons on the side panel nearest my thumb. There was a little changeable rubber nodule in the middle of the ring of six buttons to rest your thumb on and grip the mouse, so as not to accidentally press any of the side buttons. It took a while to get used to training the muscle memory of my thumb to use these extra buttons, but it was well worth the effort, as it freed up even more assignable buttons on my keyboard and also sped up my reaction times considerably in high-octane game sessions.

Gaming with MMO mice

For games such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XVI, the default spells and abilities start populating the number row on your keyboard from the 1 key to the =+ key (1-12), with further spells, abilities, and movement keybinds being assigned to other keys that are comfortable to reach with your non-mouse hand. There are also modifier key press combinations to double up on the number of things you can assign your buttons to on both the keyboard and the mouse, and that’s not even counting the fact that your free hand is also navigating WASD and the Space bar for movement.

Although I persisted with the Razer Hex for a while, I soon desired more buttons and switched up to a Razer Naga, which sported the now-infamous 12-button side panel that's been imitated by almost every other MMO mouse since. Operating 12 buttons with just your thumb does take a lot of practice to commit the button positions to memory, with different manufacturers using slightly differing button design shapes to facilitate easier recognition.

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Some of the most popular MMO mouse models are:

• Razer’s Naga
• SteelSeries’ Aerox 9
• Corsair’s Scimitar
• Redragon’s M908 and M913

An honorable mention goes to Logitech’s G600, which is no longer in production but was a great entry in the MMO mouse lineup and can still be found online, albeit at inflated prices due to its rarity.

Using accompanying software such as Synapse, iCUE, or SteelSeries GG, you’re able to reassign almost every button on a mouse, including DPI buttons.

Productivity workflows and beyond

Apart from using an MMO mouse as an 18+ button spell-slinger in gaming, these mice are super handy in other areas. I use my SteelSeries Aerox 9 for video editing and some serious spreadsheet action. Yes, you can do the same with a number pad on a keyboard, but having all your favorite commands at your fingertips just speeds everything up. How many times do you copy and paste? How often do you use a certain formula? Repetitive tasks can be simplified by making a macro or even recording a process and assigning it to one of the 12 side buttons.

To make the most out of the mouse, you can set up application-specific profiles. The mouse software will then automatically detect when you're using a program such as Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve and instantly swap your thumb grid to the specific shortcuts you’ve set up for each application. Remember, you can also set a modifier key so that you can increase the number of assignable buttons. The more buttons, the merrier, and once you’re completely familiar with your setup and workflow, you can edit an entire rough cut without your left hand ever touching the keyboard.

Take a moment to think of your most-used tasks, what buttons you press to achieve them, and then program them onto the mouse, turning multiple buttons into just one. Ta-da! If you’ve never dabbled in an MMO game, you may not be aware of how much of a game-changer a multi-button mouse can be. If you’re using multiple keyboards or macro pads like the Stream Deck for your workflow, you should definitely consider trying out an MMO mouse to improve your efficiency. It does take a little time to fully acclimatize yourself to using a mouse with a 12-button side panel, but it’s worth it, and I certainly recommend giving it a try. I can’t imagine going back, so I hope they keep making MMO mice for many years to come.

Pricing and availability

All of the mice I have mentioned in this article are available for purchase, with the Razer Naga V2 HyperSpeed Wireless available from Best Buy for $64.99, the SteelSeries Aerox 9 Wireless available from Amazon for $134.99, Redragon’s amazing value M908 Impact available for just $23.07, and finally Corsair’s Scimitar Wireless Elite SE at Amazon for $113.99.

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Stewart Bendle is a deals and coupon writer at Tom's Hardware. A firm believer in “Bang for the buck” Stewart likes to research the best prices and coupon codes for hardware and build PCs that have a great price for performance ratio.

• CelicaGT
  "For games such as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XVI"
  Reply
  I'll assume the author meant XIV, as XVI is very much controller-centric and not an MMO. Anyways, I've had an MMO mouse as a dd for about 15 years now. I've gone through most of the major brands which have all eventually failed after a year or two as I ran as SCH in XIV starting early in Realm Reborn. At the time it was button and custom macro heavy and at a frenetic pace, if I wanted to keep up with the WHM. Because the darned things are so expensive I picked up a couple 50CAD Red Dragon ones from Amazon (They're probably more now.). Skeptical but hopeful I put them into service. Surprise to me 5-6 years later they're both still good as new, despite me now running melee classes (frenetic, button-centric). They also only require the software for initial setup, key binds are stored on device. Once they're set up you can uninstall the software, and even use the mice on whatever machine and they'll work as they are. And yes, I use the thumb pad for all kinds of tasks, and other non MMO games. Brilliant for simulators too, btw.