When the Razer Naga Pro landed on my desk I found myself at a bit of a crossroad. The Naga has been a name that has been revered amongst MMO and RPG players around the world. It is known as “that mouse with all the buttons on the side”. So, the problem that I faced, was the fact that I am not much of an MMO or RPG player. For this very reason, I put the Razer Naga Pro in its box and continued to unpack the Deathadder V2 which came for review. By the evening I could not contain myself and decided to give the Naga Pro a chance… Boy oh boy what a treat!
Design
From the moment I placed the Razer Naga Pro in my hand, the first thing that came to mind was the fact that this mouse will get a large number of mixed opinions. The Naga Pro will by no means be a generally-loved or generally-hated mouse. No, it will have a cult following as well as many haters. The design and grip will not be to everyone’s liking. The Naga Pro is not much different from the previous generation of Nagas. It is a big mouse that sits rather wide in your palm, filling most of my hand. This might not be ideal for those who prefer the small mice that can be easily thrown and flicked around a mousepad. Each side of the Naga Pro is dressed with ample sized textured grip areas on both the inside and outside. But one of the most prominent things I found was where my pinky finger ended up. The Naga Pro has a finger rest on the outside of the mouse, allowing for your pinky, or ring if you have larger hands, to rest off the mousepad. At first glance, I thought that this could be really annoying and would hamper my way of handling the mouse, but with time spent on the Naga Pro I found the finger rest to be a feature I now search for in every mouse I review.
Taking a closer look at the mouse. Topside you will find the standard left and right buttons. A scroll wheel in the middle that has a faintly ribbed feel which does feel good under your finger. The edges of the scroll wheel do light up faintly with the RGB but nothing too drastic. Just below the scroll wheel, there is a DPI up and down. If I have to be extremely critical this could have been a single dpi button and maybe a profile button, but this is me knit-picking! Flipping the Naga Pro over will show the power toggle, which when in the middle is off, sliding it to one side will give you a 2.4GHz wireless connection, flicking to the other side is a Bluetooth connection. The profile switch is also situated close by and last but not least there are the skates. At first glance, the skates seem like normal plastic pieces. But once you start sliding the behemoth of a mouse around you can instantly feel how those skates do work! The Razer Naga Pro does not slide the way you expect. This monster is light and nimble.
The Side Panels
The side panels are where the magic happens for the Razer Naga Pro. The Naga comes with three different side panels to suit every occasion. The first and most eye-catching panel is the 12 button panel that is probably ever MMO player’s dream. Next, there is the six-button panel, with a three-button horizontally in two vertical rows. This I used more when playing RPG games where you need to use your quick select slots and you can’t take your hands off the keys for fear of losing your hard-earned loot, or your life. And Last but not least is the traditional two-button set up with a large textured grip area to fill the void.
I was using the 12 button setup for when I dove back into World of Warcraft, for review and nostalgia purposes. My biggest concern was that I might get confused and bash the wrong button mid-fight. The buttons do protrude just enough for your mind to quite accurately distinguish between them. Moving over to the 6 button panel. The buttons on the 6 button panel do not seem like it was designed by the same people that made the 12 and 2 button panels. the buttons feel like they protrude more than they should and it does feel like, at times, I thumbed the wrong button. After spending some time with it I did however find that it is better to press it with the inside joint of your thumb rather than the usual inside of the finger. Last but not the least, the two-button panel. This is probably the most traditional setup and the buttons are big and easy to find but provide enough resistance to not have you bump them and let off an accidental grenade.
What truly makes the interchangeable side panels so great is that they are swappable on the fly. Simply pull the one you are using off, and slide the other one in place, the strong magnets will do the rest. And there you go, the RGB will take over and Razer Synapse will automatically detect the side panel and apply your settings for that panel.
Did I mention the neatly tucked away space to store the USB dongle that you can reach when popping off the side panel, clever Razer!
Features
Apart from the Razer Nagas obvious features, the side panels, it still has a couple of other tricks up its sleeve. Starting with the 2.4 GHz wireless connection. Razer claims this to be the best wireless connection ever, saying that there is less than 1ms delay in their connection. Whether this is true or not we can’t prove it but what I can say is that it is really good, I mean REALLY good! Many other reviewers have noted that they do have issues with the 2.4GHz where it would drop away or fail to connect at times. For the whole time that I spent with the Razer Naga Pro, I did not have a single hiccup. It was simply splendid. One of the other advantages of 2.4GHz wireless is that it uses significantly less power than other connections. Razer claims that with your RGB turned off, you can squeeze an amazing 100 hours of battery life. I did not ever measure exact hours but even with RGB set to ambient awareness I easily kept on fighting and gliding for a couple of days. Maybe I have been spoilt with the Razer Viper Ultimate, but charging your mouse with a conventional cable doesn’t quite cut it anymore. Fortunately, the universal charging dock (sold separately) can charge your Naga Pro as well.
The next feature that is easily overlooked due to the fact that nearly all of this generation of Razer mice feature it, is the optical switches. Gone are the days of using green, yellow, blue, brown, and every other color of the rainbow -switches. No, we have reached the time of the optical (queue the epic music). Not only are they even faster and more accurate than any of the mechanical switches, but they also sound and feel perfect. Even going back to my Viper Ultimate Pro felt different and strange. Optical switches are, simply put, the next big thing that could happen to mice and keyboards.
Verdict
The Razer Naga Pro might seem like it is designed and intended for a very specific audience. And you won’t be wrong to think of it that way. Hell, I felt exactly the same way. But once you start using the rather large Naga Pro you will find that it is not intended for one audience only, in fact, it has every single genre of gamers in mind. From the MMO and RTS fans to the FPS players, the Razer Naga Pro is more than capable to tackle literally any game you throw at it. Simply flick the side panel off, using the Green force have the mouse attach its own new side panel and keep playing as nothing has happened. Although the Razer Naga Pro might be a big mouse, that some more hardcore FPS players might frown at, thanks to the wonderful skates it glides and slides like a mouse half its size.
If you are in the market for a mouse and you are looking for an all-in-one mouse, the Razer Naga Pro is literally the mouse you have been waiting for. Great wireless, spectacular buttons, mindblowing side panels that cater for anything and everything and comfort, that once you are used to, will redefine what comfort is to you. Simply put, I can’t really think of a mouse I would rather have as my go-to mouse. As long as you can stomach the hefty price tag…
Special thanks to Apex Interactive for the review content