If, like me, your gaming battlestation is also your home office and you’ve got a “one device to do every job” mentality, Razer’s new Naga V3 Pro could be a must-buy. The customisable gaming mouse has been uprated in almost every area for its third generation, with up to a whopping 23 programmable buttons to cater to players and content creators alike. The latest Naga also brings a slicker scroll wheel, even better battery life and tri-mode connectivity for working across multiple computers.
Razer has brought back the three interchangeable side plates last seen on the Naga V2 Pro: a 12-button plate made primarily for MMOs, a 6-button plate for MOBAs, and a 2-button plate for first person shooters. Only here a a revised pogo pin design brings better dust resistance and more contact force to reduce wobble. The 12- and 6-button plates also get double-shot PBT button legends, which won’t rub off or fade like the old Naga V2 Pro’s printed ones.
If that wasn’t enough, two new shortcut keys now life at the edge of the left mouse button, while another sits on the right grip for your ring or pinkie finger; a lock function on the underside of the mouse can physically disable it if you just want somewhere to rest a digit. An AI Prompt Master button (because not even gaming mice can go without a nod to artificial intelligence these days) below the scroll wheel then triggers your chatbot of choice.
The Hyperscroll tilt wheel Gen-2 tilt wheel is almost as multi-talented. It can free spin to blitz through seemingly endless spreadsheets during the day, then bunnyhop at lightning speed in your off hours. You can also pick between multiple levels of tactile stepped scrolling, or automatically switch between the two based on how fast you scroll. A free-spinning scroll wheel was one of the things I loved about Logitech’s MX Master 4, though its overly ergonomic shape stopped it from being a good choice for gaming.
With so many buttons to tweak, Razer has opened a Macro workshop through its Synapse software for downloading other player-created profiles. These can kick in automatically when you load a specific game, or be saved to the mouse’s onboard memory to toggle between up to five on the fly – whether Synapse is installed or not.
Razer hasn’t messed with comfort to make all the extra inputs fit, meaning the V3 Pro has the same raised shape as the old Naga. It’s almost 20g lighter than the outgoing model, though, so shouldn’t give you wrist ache after a long play session (or working day).
Underneath it’s rocking the same Optical Mouse Gen-4 switches and Focus Pro 50K Optical Sensor Gen 3 sensor found on the Viper V4 Pro esports mouse; the latter is good for 8000Hz polling once paired with either Razer’s optional Mouse Dock Pro or HyperPolling Wireless Dongle. The stock 1000Hz polling will still be perfectly speedy for all but the most hardcore of gamers. OK, the optical switches will be noisier than the haptic ones on the Logitech Pro X2 Superstrike I use currently, but that’s a small price to pay for rapid response times.
Frame Sync tech then only updates your computer with sensor positioning data when called for, massively extending battery life. Razer reckons the Naga V3 Pro can manage up to 155 hours on Hyperspeed 2.4GHz. Add the Dock Pro or Hyperflux V2 mouse mat and it’ll bring wireless charging into the mix.
That battery life could extend to a massive 280 hours over Bluetooth. It’s a welcome addition for anyone that bounces between multiple PCs and laptops for work or streaming, as most gaming mice usually skip Bluetooth hardware in order to keep weight in check.
The Naga V3 Pro is on sale right now, directly from the Razer website, for $180/£180/€199.
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