Gadget Review: Razer Naga Epic MMO Gaming Mouse

When In Manila or in Azeroth, gamers would always want the advantage just so you get the upper hand on boss hunts, grinding or PvP. You’ve already got the in-game items but have you got the real-world ones? Razer supplies MMO gamers with the Razer Naga Epic Elite MMO Gaming Mouse. Like it’s ancestor the Naga, it has a twelve button “numpad” on the side that emulates the number buttons on top of the keyboard or the real numpad. With that said you could just imagine how it actually works for MMO games. Now that we actually put the Naga Epic to test, let me share with When In Manila readers our experiences with this MMO Gaming mouse.

Tech Specs

The Razer Naga Epic is a 5600 dpi monster that could be used wired or wireless much like that other mouse from Razer. On wired mode it latches itself with a microUSB cable, this cable could also be attached to the charging dock which doubles as a receiver while on wireless mode. It also has three interchangeable side panels that lets you pick which ones you will be most comfortable with because as we know that different people have different grips for holding the mouse, I myself use the claw grip but I do enjoy how relaxed my hands are on a palm grip so I default to palm but switch the panel to claw when I play games. I did forget to mention that the Naga Epic has a 1100mAh lithium battery in it that lets you enjoy up to 12 hours of continuous gameplay. Of course aside from the 12 mouse buttons on the side it also has 5 main buttons which gives you a total of 17 programmable buttons at your disposal. That should be more than enough for your MMO needs right?

Usage

You have seen the pictures, you know its capabilities but does it live up to the EPIC name? I have tested this mouse on different games among which are some old but famous MMOs in the Philippines namely Ragnarok Online and Cabal Online and I must tell you that the mouse provided me with exceptional results.

I play Rune Knight on Ragnarok Online and truth is I never do armor switching fast enough to save me from a Sura’s Extremity Fist because I am usually busy pressing skills and pots on my left hand. After configuring in game shortcuts so that I got my GR on 1 and Unfrozen on 2, I actually managed to null out some EFs by quickly pressing 1 when they actually move in close to me and switching back to 2. Another cool thing I tried was to auto switch to a Naght Seiger Red when I use Ignition Break then quickly switch back after and it was done with the use of macro. Ragnarok is actually a very old MMO but I was still able to use most of the features of Naga, I just wishI had the this back then when I was still very active on this game.

As a Force Shielder on Cabal Online one thing that would be very beneficial in PvP duels is to chain skills in rapid succession, you have to define the you flow of skills. With the macro on the Naga Epic… I just need to press one button and watch other players squirm not knowing what hit them. One additional thing that improved on my Cabal gameplay was the actual usage of the WSAD movement keys which I never used before.

A more common game that I used this on was DOTA and you will most probably have guessed how I used the Naga Epic. To use items on DOTA or Warcraft 3 for that matter, means that you would need to reach out for the numpad to actually use the shortcut key else you would have to click on the item. Other people actually resort to programs that remap the numpad to other keys. I personally don’t like to install one of those simply because I fear that they may contain malware, call me paranoid but I would rather press the numpad keys rather than risk reformatting or wasting time to remove a malware on my computer.

On a previous review, I emphasized how I enjoyed using the Orochi for Photoshop simply because of the mind blowing DPI on them. The Naga Epic stepped it up a notch when it comes to workflow image processing. Simply assign your workflow shortcuts to the side buttons and tadaa, workflow made easy and systematically… thanks to the numbered buttons on the Naga.

Other Players

That was it for my review but if I haven’t convinced you with my experiences, maybe one of these guys can. I asked 3 MMO gamers to try out the Razer Naga Epic for themselves for a couple of days. Each of them played a different MMO but all of them are impressed of the Naga Epic’s performance and how it improved gameplay of their MMOs.

First up we have Cito Galang playing World of Warcraft with his Arcane/Frost mage. Cito was actually out of the country when I asked him to try out the Naga Epic, so he agreed to check it out as soon as he gets back. Truth is, Cito already laid down his staff for quite some time now due to some issues most MMO players are experiencing, lucky for us, he was up to the challenge and actually had a free 7 days of game time sent to him. After a couple of days with it, he told me that he actually asked a friend to purchase one for him. I reckon he was very much impressed with it that he considered purchase. I suppose his blog will probably explain better his experiences with the Naga Epic.

Next up we have Karl M, this guy plays Allods which has the same gameplay as WoW. Scouts on this game needs to move a lot and Karl shared with us that he uses hit and run tactic a lot. During our chat on his experiences, he kept emphasizing that he enjoyed how freely he could move his character knowing that his left would never touch a number button to activate a skill. He even told me how that he often got killed because he tried squeeze in a skill as he was running away from an enemy, he said… “MMO gaming is not supposed to be like FPS games that you use the number buttons at top to switch through weapons, you need to constantly use skills while actually moving… This is very hard to do with just your left hand“. Finally, when I asked him if he would consider purchase, he said — “I would but I really am low on cash at the moment but as soon as I saved enough I would definitely buy one“.

Finally we got Eman T.Y., this is the one that introduced me to Dragon Nest. Even though it only started just a month ago, Eman actually managed to reach server level cap on his Mage, so I asked him to use the mouse for PvP since the this game has a very unique system wherein you could do air-combos. After testing the mouse I asked Eman how it went, he said — “The experience was very nice, I did have a small problem coping with the numpad, it was not really a problem with the mouse rather it was me unconsciously wanting to press the numbers“. I then asked him how it improved his gameplay, he responded with a grin on his face — “IMBA! I had some issues going against Swordsmen, but with this mouse doing a combo is as easy as 1 2 3 litterally… the fact remains that they are still overpowered but I was able to run circles around them“. He then continued to blabber about his complaint about swordsmen and how level cap is really limiting the mage. After 30 minutes of bleeding ears, I asked if he would consider purchase — he said, “DISCOUNT!!! I want one but I would immediately buy one if the price just dips a little lower.”

Overview

After a month long usage and giving other gamers a chance to actually use the Naga Epic… I could definitely say that his mouse is the ULTIMATE MMO GAMING MOUSE. Razer did an awesome job of listening to the woes of MMO gamers and innovating the mouse for a better MMO user experience. The number keys on the side a more than just a gimmick, they really serve their purpose as replacement buttons for the number keys — this lets gamers move more freely plus you won’t need to reach awkwardly for that number 0 skill. Additionally the Naga Epic’s capability to go wireless gives users larger space for mouse movement and less clutter on the desk. The lack of Synapse troubled me at first but in reality was never much of an issue since you don’t need to lug around such mouse on your travels and you could easily export and import configurations through the driver application. The real main issue with this mouse was the price but we could assure you that the Naga Epic is definitely a worthy investment for MMO players but if you really don’t care about wireless capabilities and you mainly use palm grip, then the Naga will be a better alternative for you. Oh BTW, more pictures on the gallery below.