Once again we spent a customary two weeks with the Razer Basilisk Ultimate, giving us time to test it in as part of our day-to-day workflow and tease out any idiosyncrasies along the way. That’s particularly handy with mice like this which have a handful of unique features that wouldn’t be part of a normal use cycle.

After a series of mice that weighed no more than 80g appearing on our test bench, the Basilisk Ultimate changed things up with a 107g mass. Wireless mice tend to be on the heavier side, particularly ones with integrated rechargeable batteries, but it’s still a factor to bear in mind when selecting a performance gaming mouse. Either way, if anything the Basilisk weighs more than it feels due to factors including balance, shape and the grippiness of its sides.

Despite being relatively large in overall dimensions, the shape of the Basilisk means that much of its length forward of the mouse wheel is superfluous, making it fit smaller hands slightly better than would otherwise be the case. Nonetheless, the DPI Toggle button is a fraction further forward than is comfortable for those with smaller hands using a palm grip, interfering just slightly with using it as frequently as you might like.

In testing we utilised the small adapter for the USB receiver, positioning such that it would be within 50cm of the mouse at all times. This made sense given that we were expecting to need to charge the mouse irregularly, but may differ from your personal setup.

Initial impressions were, it’s fair to say, mixed. The mouse was comfortable to use thanks to a well-crafted shape, but it did take longer to adapt to the weight due to transitioning from a <70g FPS mouse. LMB and RMB clicks were immediately responsive and very similar in feel to each other with almost immediate actuation. Thumb/Side buttons were very good, with perhaps just a touch more post-actuation travel than we would like. And the first installation and set-up was smooth and without problems despite this being a wireless mouse.

Perhaps the only source of significant awkwardness in general use was the middle mouse button. Configuring the tension correctly such that simply scrolling the wheel quickly didn’t also accidentally lead to pressing this button was far more tricky than expected, and we weren’t ever able to get it in a perfect position for all use-cases. Instead we tended to adjust it for each game and have a set position for general work and web surfing.

Over time we noticed that the LMB and RMB both began to exhibit a slight wobble and undesirable pre-actuation travel where they sat on their respective buttons. That might develop into a cause for concern, but it didn’t become a problem during our time with the mouse.

Once installed the optional DPI Toggle button has a very consistent feel and is held in place fairly securely. A long pre-travel to actuation is to be expected given its design, and there is a slight lateral springiness that didn’t become an issue during use.

We also do have a word of warning: be very careful with the cover for the wireless receiver. It will break easily if mishandled, potentially causing mousing issues until replaced.

After a few days with the mouse we were relieved to conclude that there were no serious issues with the sensor, which was at that point tracking perfectly. Other recently reviewed mice had specific problems with a subset of mousemats, but the Razer Focus+ sensor operated without problems throughout our time with the Basilisk Ultimate.

Gaming

This time around we brought in a trio of titles to put the Basilisk through its paces in three key arenas. For fast-paced FPS we opted for 2016’s DOOM; MMOs were once again catered for by World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands expansion; and Diablo 3 was our ARPG of choice.

In contrast to recent reviews the FPS genre was where the Basilisk was least suited, chiefly by virtue of its weight. Button responsiveness was spot on and the sensor never skipped a beat, but the weight of the mouse and drag over our fabric mouse-mat added significantly to arm and shoulder fatigue over longer play sessions. Hard surface mouse-mats will likely be less of an issue due to lower friction, but they’re out of vogue right now.

A lack of slow-paced sections in DOOM in particular meant that the DPI Toggle button didn’t quite get the work-out it needed. We did dabble a little in Apex Legends where in theory it could shine the most, and as a ‘sniper mode’ DPI reduction toggle it certainly helped in making shots more accurate. That being said, it was a stretch to position the thumb so it could be used reliably, requiring an adjustment to a forward-bias claw grip rather than a more relaxed palm grip.

Diablo 3, like many ARPGs, gives the LMB and RMB specifically a thorough work-out in a very short space of time. In particular it relies on a consistent response from these buttons, reliable timings, and stability in the button when being fully pressed for an extended time. Operating at high DPI reduces travel distances involved, but sensor accuracy is no less important.

For this title the Basilisk Ultimate performed admirably, with no failures or significant problems. The weight of the mouse is once again a concern, focussed around the wrist rather than elbow and shoulder in terms of fatigue, but anecdotally it seemed to be less of a problem than operating with an FPS and not significantly different from some mid-range ~75g mice.

Finally, we come to WoW. Here we’re testing out a variety of aspects, particularly the auxiliary buttons and Synapse software capabilities. Core aspects of the mouse are again great, but it gets really interesting when we look beyond these features.

Scroll wheels are increasingly a part of minute-by-minute gameplay and it was very difficult to reach a point where we were comfortable with its tension. An initial tendency to make it as high as possible had the effect of making the middle button very easy to accidentally press, which is clearly going to be a problem when it’s also an active keybind. Too shallow and it feels imprecise, and ironically becomes more easy to accidentally spin when you’re pressing the wheel’s button.

The left and right bindable ‘lean’ buttons for the wheel are useful additions that are much more easy to use than we expected at first, and make excellent locations for binding commonly used skills without worrying about pressing other buttons at the same time. They're in contrast to the DPI Level Up/Down buttons which much less accessible and less suitable for frequent use.

The two main thumb buttons are very good, with little pre-travel for actuation, independent movement, and not too much travel post-actuation. They’re not the best we’ve used, but they are high on the list. The DPI Toggle button is a great addition for WoW and MMOs in particular as it offers another easily accessible bindable button for in-game actions and skills. With three buttons in this zone the Basilisk Ultimate is half-way to the Razer Naga Hex, but in a shape and layout that’s also appropriate for FPS gaming. The button however required a slight modification to our preferred grip to use effectively, if less so than in Apex.

HyperShift of course really comes into its own in MMOs, effectively doubling the number of active assignments. Once again bringing the DPI Toggle button a little closer to the center of the thumb pad would make it a touch easier to use as the HyperShift toggle, and in our view it’s the most obvious button to bind this functionality to. However, if you’re using a Razer keyboard, it would be more appropriate to utilise one of the many available keys around the WASD zone as the HyperShift toggle to give you full freedom on your mousing hand and all available keybinds.

Battery Life

Razer claim a battery life of up to 100hrs of continuous use for the Basilisk Ultimate on one charge. That tallies well with our experience, where for two weeks of heavy (but not continuous) daily use just one recharge was necessary with default settings and illumination disabled. A projected battery life of ~92 hours on default settings is a window we're very happy with for a wireless mouse with integrated battery.

Activating the RGB lighting however absolutely tanks battery life, leading to it last just two working days of heavy use before low power modes are activated (degrading sensor performance) and the battery is almost fully depleted. A nightly charging policy would be best in that situation, which would be greatly aided by the use of the Docked version of this mouse. We projected that it would fully deplete within 27hrs of heavy use with RGB lighting enabled.

Power profiles can be adjusted in the Synapse software, setting criteria for entry to a wireless sleep mode and a threshold at which a generalised Low Power Mode is activated. This low power mode is indicated on the mouse by the wheel LED flashing red.

Overall Summary

It’s exceptionally difficult to find fault with the Basilisk Ultimate as a general-purpose mouse for both work and play. Customisation options are broad, battery life is good, software operates as expected, and construction and build quality serve all masters. Only the weight may prove to be an issue for many users, and generally only those transitioning from a much lighter weight mouse.

If there’s one thing we’d appreciate most it’s adding a read-out of current mouse wheel tension to Synapse (if possible). Should users go down the route of different tensions for each application/game genre, it would make finding and setting preferred levels much easier.