If you assume that the weight of a gaming mouse is irrelevant since even the heavy ones are still absurdly light, try holding a playing card straight out in front of you.
Give it 10 or 15 minutes and you’ll find yourself straining, with all of your veins popping out of your forehead.
Likewise, when gaming for long hours the weight of the mouse you use can also impact how you play.
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Is A Heavy Or Light Mouse Better For Gaming?
In other words, the weight of a mouse does make a difference, with a heavier mouse better for RPGs, turn-based games, strategy, and simulation. Lighter computer mice have become the defacto choice for FPS (first-person shooter) games and games that require fast-twitch reactions.
A heavier mouse is more difficult to get moving from a stopped position making it less suitable for fast-paced games.
For example, if you’re going to be playing a game like Fortnite, where you will be doing lots of quick stops and flicking from left to right, a heavy mouse is going to slow down your gameplay and wear out your hand.
It may seem a little counterintuitive, with a lighter mouse zooming past your pointer and seriously reducing your accuracy.
There’s a lot of truth in that, as a heavier mouse does indeed favor accuracy.
However, hand fatigue associated with heavier mice is usually too big an issue over longer gaming sessions.
If you are someone of average dimensions, any mouse over 110g is probably too heavy.
You mightn’t notice it all that much in the beginning, but if you game for extended periods, the weight will become difficult to control and begin to wear out your hand.
Lighter is almost always better unless you happen to be above average strength with large hands.
And don’t forget that low sensitivity changes in the settings can accommodate the speediness of a light mouse.
Likewise, a surface with less friction can allow a heavier mouse to glide much more easily.
But what’s just as important as weight is finding the right shape of a mouse that feels natural in your hand and gives you the best control over your movements.
Also consider button click, the placement of the Teflon, and whether a wired or wireless mouse might suit you better.
You’ll usually have to try different mice out in person to find out.
If you can, head to a few different computer stores and try out as many mice as you can that you like the look of.
You will have a much better chance of finding a mouse that works for you.
What is Considered to Be a Heavy or Light Mouse?
Anything below 80g is going to be considered an extremely light mouse while anything over 120g is going to be considered a pretty heavy mouse.
There are no games that call for extremes in either direction.
For instance, if you’re playing an FPS, such as Call of Duty, having a mouse below 80g would be considered a bit extreme.
In fact, the average mouse weights for FPS games are between 90g and 100g.
Something like Civilization VI would require a heavier mouse. Of course, games like Civilization VI are probably better examples of games that can be played with any kind of mouse, but a 120g mouse would likely be the mouse weight of choice for such a game.
The reason the heavier one would be a good choice for Civ VI is that heavier mice have a lot more features like additional buttons.
These features are more useful in a game like that and, when it comes to lighter mice, many of those features have to be cut out to reduce the overall weight.
What are the Differences Between a Heavy and Light Mouse?
Other than the most obvious difference, which is the weight, what separates a lightweight and a heavyweight mouse?
For starters, the ergonomic difference between the two is particularly important, especially when playing for extensive periods.
Heavy Mouse
A heavy mouse takes a toll on your hand over long periods of time, especially if you have a particular grip and use the mouse for a ton of fast-paced movements over the course of a game.
- A heavy mouse is best for high DPI settings
- Far more durable than a light mouse
- A higher level of precision
- Has more features built-in
- Can cause strain over the course of a game
- Best for those who have large hands or long fingers
DPI stands for dots per inch and is a measure of the pixels per inch of real estate on the game.
The higher the DPI, the more pixels that your pointer has to travel across to travel a full inch across the screen.
So, lower DPI settings decrease your overall sensitivity.
A heavy mouse – like the Logitech G502 – is perfect for high DPI settings, although setting your DPI to skyrocketing levels isn’t going to improve your game.
A heavy mouse is also easier to use if you are short on surface area.
With higher DPI settings, you can carry out very fine and precise movements with little space compared to a light mouse on low DPI settings where your hand movements have to be more dramatic.
It’s ideal to experiment and use high DPI settings that are the most comfortable for you with a heavy mouse.
The added weight of a mouse usually entails a level of manufacturing that exceeds that of a light mouse. A heavy mouse is going to have thicker plastics and additional internal components that justify the weight.
They don’t just add weights to a heavy mouse to change the functionality.
Because of the increased DPI accommodation for a heavy mouse, it’s really meant for a higher level of precision in your gaming.
Since a heavier mouse will generally have more features built-in, the higher level of precision and additional features generally complement one another.
If you have large hands or long fingers, the choice of a heavy mouse is probably ideal, although you can find large mice that are essentially light mice with bigger shells.
A heavy mouse in smaller hands may cause hand strain over time.
Light Mouse
Many gamers find that a lighter mouse – like the Glorious Model O gaming mouse – creates less resistance and makes it easier to create muscle memory due to more fluid movement.
It is faster to translate the motion of your hand to the mouse often resulting in less precision until you get used to how a lighter mouse feels.
By creating friction using the pad instead of mouse weight, you retain more control over your hand movements.
The light mouse is an interesting choice for FPS gamers, especially considering the lower precision levels that are associated with it.
Being the lighter option, reduced features and durability are understandable.
- A light mouse is best for low DPI settings
- Lacks the durability of a heavy mouse
- Far better for reducing hand strain
- Moves much faster across the screen
Since a light mouse has a quicker movement across the screen, gamers reduce the DPI settings to a lower level, which accommodates the fast-twitch movements.
That’s what separates the light mouse from the heavy mouse the most in gaming.
Unfortunately, a light mouse also comes with a thinner and more fragile shell, so dropping it may damage it in a way that a heavy mouse would endure.
Because of its speedy feel, a lightweight mouse can be harder to get used to for those newer to gaming.
On the positive side, it’s a much better mouse in terms of hand strain, as you can simply use it for a longer period without it taking a toll on your hands
A light mouse can be suitable for large or small hands as the size of the mouse isn’t necessarily indicative of the weight.
Related Article: Do Gaming Mouse Pads Improve Aim? (All You Need To Know)
The trade-off is that there are generally fewer features packed into a lightweight mouse due to the sacrifices for weight accommodations.
Oftentimes, that can be a deal-killer because some of the quick-mapping buttons on a mouse can make all of the difference in a game.
However, there is always the option of going for something that is a little more standard in terms of weight.
Fortunately, mice aren’t manufactured in extremes so you can potentially find something that has the features you want without being ridiculously heavy.
Do Pro Gamers Use A Heavy Or Light Mouse?
Pro Gamers tend to use mice that are on the lighter side.
If we look at a few gaming mice that are popular among eSports competitors, you’ll see that they are all pretty light.
- Roccat Burst Pro Gaming Mouse (68g)
- Razer DeathAdder V2 Gaming Mouse (82g)
- HyperX Pulsefire Haste Gaming Mouse (59g)
- Razer Viper Ultimate Wireless Gaming Mouse (74g)
Pro gamers have usually been playing their favorite types of games for a very long time.
As a result, they have developed a lot of muscle memory and mastered the use of friction to control fine hand movements.
Why Do Pro Gamers Opt For Lighter Mice?
The best type of resistance to promote precision and smooth movement is friction from the mouse pad, as opposed to inertia (the weight of the mouse itself).
Friction is a better constant and ultimately more controllable than mouse weight, which mostly acts as just resistance to acceleration.
Friction from the mouse mat doesn’t impede your hand’s ability to flick and change direction.
More weight will also cause fatigue over time when carrying out flicking movements and picking up the mouse to reset it on the mousepad.
And if things aren’t feeling as precise as they should be, it’s easier to adjust friction by getting a new pad or trying out some different mouse feet.
To adjust weight, you’d literally need to get yourself a whole new mouse.
Pros rely on years of experience to gain precise control over their hand movements to track and switch targets that only a lightweight mouse can offer.
Can A Mouse Be Too Light For Gaming?
There is a category of ultra-light gaming mice with models, like the Cooler Master’s 45g mouse – coming in at extremely low weights.
But do these lower weights actually offer more precision or are they just too light?
Ultra-lightweight mice often have very small shells and feel very small in the hand.
If you have even normal-sized hands you can probably forget about palm or claw gripping these mice and may have to resort to using your fingertips only.
Some ultra-light mice do come with larger outer shells but can end up feeling hollow and weird to hold.
Another thing is that super lightweight mice are almost always wired and while this might not be an issue for smaller mouse movements, the wire can be annoying if you try to carry out larger sweeping movements.
Unless you have petite hands and like to control your mouse with a fingertip grip, I’d suggest sticking to mice within the 70g to 100g weight range.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to gaming, a heavy mouse and a light mouse are not indicative of whether or not you will be a better gamer.
Each has its own advantages, depending on the type of gameplay that you are engaged in.
For what it’s worth, there are also mouse choices that are adjustable when it comes to weight.
That may be the key to improving your gaming from FPS to RPG by just reducing and adding weight as you see fit.
If you’d like to learn more about the recommended mouse sensitivity for the games you play, you should check out prosettings.net.
