Best Gaming Mouse: Top 3 Mice for League of Legends

Introduction

Howdy fellow summoners, my name is Barry and I run a gaming blog over at GamingGem where I talk about all things gaming. Over the past year or so I have tested numerous mice and have come to realize how important they are as a peripheral not only for gameplay but also for your health. I have played League for over 6 years and want to share with you how a top-end mouse can make some positive changes on and off the Rift.

As you know, mechanical skill and in-game knowledge are two of the most crucial parts of any top League of Legends player but a common oversight in League is that of your peripherals. Your gaming mouse is much more important than you might think and can greatly improve your overall experience playing and enhance your performance.

Why Gaming Mice Are Important For League

League is an intensive game, requiring high APM (actions per minute) at the top level and repetitive movements. Your mouse has a big part to play in those APMs and movements over the course of a match. If you have ever experienced any pain from playing over long sessions then you will be familiar with this.

Positioning is vital in any role on the Rift but requires more than just game knowledge, it requires constant movement of your champion. If you watch any VOD of Faker laning and focus entirely on the movement of his mouse cursor you will see how high his APM is and this is partly why Faker is so good at dodging skill shots, he is always moving.

Having a mouse that has consistent tactile primary clicks with a light actuation force can be an absolute game-changer for being able to consistently put out high APMs. Actuation force is a term used to describe the amount of effort required to register a click or button press. You may already have a mouse with heavy clicks which can fatigue your fingers and impact the efficiency of your overall movement or even cause injury.

You may be used to those clicks and have never tried a mouse with lighter clicks so don’t know the real difference between a high and low actuation force or travel time.

The gaming mouse you choose can have a lasting impact on not only your ability to move more fluidly but also reduce finger fatigue allowing you to play better for longer.

Ergonomics & Injury Prevention

Playing League of Legends for long sessions without necessary breaks or stretching can have a lasting detrimental effect on your fingers and wrists. Due to the games high APM, you may often find your wrists feeling achy, numb or even a burning sensation.

In the pro scene, this has become much more apparent with players such as Hai and more recently Mikyx experiencing serious injuries across the base of their palms and wrists. Mikyx had to miss out on scrims and solo queue practice for up to 3 weeks.

Repetitive strain injury or carpal tunnel syndrome are two injuries you need to be aware of so you can help mitigate the effects of them.

Your mouse can be key towards ensuring you don’t cause injury to your hands or wrist. A mouse that is too small for you may cause cramping and pain particularly in your little finger. Or a mouse that requires a high actuation force on the primary mouse buttons can cause significant strain over time to your fingers which increases the chance of developing RSI.

Please ensure the mouse you use feels comfortable and that you don’t experience any pain or discomfort after playing. If you do, this is a sign that your mouse isn’t the right fit for you or that you are exerting too much strain on your fingers and wrist muscles.

In between games or during those grey screens do some stretches. Dr. Levy Harrison who is a professional orthopedic surgeon has an excellent YouTube channel I recommend any gamer to subscribe to. Incorporate some of his wrist and finger exercises to ensure those muscles stay fit and healthy.

How To Choose A Mouse For League of Legends

So what should you be looking for in a mouse? The most important criteria to keep in mind can be broken down into 4 main areas:

• Shape
• Buttons
• Weight
• Sensor

Shape

The shape of your mouse is the most important because depending on your hand size and grip style a mouse may not fit you. Whether you claw grip, palm grip or fingertip grip this can affect the list of mice suitable to you.

If you are unsure what grip style you fall under here is a few images showing you how each looks.

Palm grip players rest their whole palm across the mouse and usually have their fingers lay flat across primary mouse buttons. Palm grip players are more restricted due to needing larger mice to ensure their fingers don’t hang and look for mice with larger humps to provide support to the palm.

Claw grip players have less contact with the mouse, particularly with their palm. Their hands arch more and the fingers have more of a curve to them compared to palm grip.

Fingertip players use the tips of the fingers (hence the name) and often have a more prominent arch compared to both claw and palm grip. A fingertip player is likely to aim using their wrist instead of their whole forearm.

Having a mouse that doesn’t fit your grip style and hand size can cause cramps and impact your performance over longer play sessions. In addition, it can affect your aim which can be a significant hindrance in League for snap skill shots and precise movement.

Overall there is no point using a mouse that you don’t find comfortable. The shape of a mouse should be at the top of your priority list to ensure its suitable.

Buttons

The second most important part of any mouse for League of Legends, the buttons. There are two main types of switches, Omron and Huano. Omron is the most common and used by a variety of brands such as Logitech and are rated at around 50 million clicks.

Huano are comparable to Omron but are rated at around 20 million clicks. Either of these switches are great but what is important is the travel time and actuation force. Don’t focus on the rate of clicks, what is important here is how they feel. Each of these switches feel the same but this can be impacted by how the mouse’s shell is designed.

A prime example of this is the Zowie FK series since they have a higher actuation force on the primary clicks due to the shell design. Mice that have primarily clicks that are separate from the shell often have lighter actuation forces.

It is so important in League of Legends that you find a mouse with light clicks and a short travel time. This can greatly improve your actions per minute and reduce finger fatigue.

Weight

Much like the shape, the weight of your mouse can greatly improve your overall experience. Generally speaking, the lighter a mouse is the better. This is not a rule but usually, a lighter mouse allows for easier and more accurate movement.

There is a huge difference between moving the G Pro Wireless (80g) compared to a G502(120g). You might be surprised by how much you prefer a lighter mouse once you try it.
For League of Legends, however, the weight is less important compared to the shape and buttons.

Sensor

The optical sensor that a mouse uses has a huge impact on how it performs. Nowadays, this is less of an issue since most of the top optics are all very high quality and most mice ship with a variation of them.

The main sensors you want to look out for are:

• Logitech’s HERO sensor
• PMW3360
• PMW3366
• Avago3310

Some brands such as Steelseries (TrueMove 3) and Razer (3389) have their own sensors but they are basically the same as the 3360 & 3366 or modifications of them.

You can be sure that any mouse sporting either of these sensors will provide smooth pixel by pixel tracking and no jitter skipping. You can find a mouse’s sensor on any manufacturer’s website.

Jitter skipping is where you can visually see your mouse pointer ‘glitching’ across your screen or jumping pixels.

Due to the equality in performance from these sensors, other aspects of gaming mice have become much more important.

What The Pros Use

Players will often look towards the pros for advice and inspiration when it comes to choosing their peripherals. However, picking up Faker’s mouse isn’t going to have you making Zed outplays the next day.

The same can be said for picking up any mouse recommended in the list above or any mouse at all for that matter. Mouse selection comes down to personal preference and what works for someone else may not work for you.

A pro player often has obligations to play with a specific brand of peripheral due to their organization’s sponsor so keep this in mind when you find your favorite pro playing with an unorthodox mouse and keyboard.

It is still worthwhile to see what the pros are using though as this can help you narrow down your selection.

Faker

A fan favorite and needs no introduction, any gaming organization wants Faker using their gear. He has used a variety of mice over the years including the Razer DeathAdder Elite. Recently however he has been using the Corsair Sabre. Coming in at 100g its a significantly heavy mouse and uses the ADNS-S3988 optical sensor.

The Sabre’s very lightweight primary clicks make this a solid choice for movement across the rift. It also has a high hump (the back of the mouse) which provides excellent support.

It shows that weight and sensor quality isn’t as important as shape and buttons as expressed earlier.

Bjergsen

Bjergsen uses the G903 (110g) which is significantly heavy and for some has too many features not inherently useful to gaming.

The G903 is also wireless which provides you with much more freedom particularly if cable drag annoys you. However, the G Pro Wireless or G703 is a better fit for League of Legends thanks to their shape, buttons, and weight.

Logitech mice have arguably the best primary button clicks due to their light actuation force and tactility.

Caps

Having recently won the MVP award at MSI 2019 Caps is at his peak performance. He currently uses the G603 which is wireless and is a variation of the G703 and G403. It has very light tactile primary clicks like most Logitech mice and a pronounced hump for great support, particularly if you palm grip.

Top 3 Recommend Mice For League Of Legends

The following is a list of three of the most recommended mice for League of Legends players. These are highly regarded as some of the best mice due to their quality, shape, and buttons.

#1. The Logitech G Pro Wireless

Featuring Logitech’s new HERO sensor the G Pro Wireless is arguably the best wireless gaming mouse. It is also one of the lightest mice available coming in at 80g which makes it the lightest wireless mouse too.

The primary mouse buttons are light and crisp which is great for movement on the rift and allows for longer play sessions without finger fatigue.

The G Pro Wireless is also ambidextrous so suits any player and offers modular side buttons allowing you to remove them if you don’t want them.

#2 Logitech G403

One of the best budget mice you can get with crisp clicks and a top-end sensor (PMW 3366). The G403 has been around for a while now but is still a fan favorite particularly for your first high-end mouse.

The mouse has two side buttons for easy active enablers and the arch of the mouse provides excellent support to palm grip players.

The cable is quite thick and braided which does let the mouse down but this can be remedied by paracording the mouse.

#3 Rival 310

Steelseries mice have been used significantly over the past few years across the LCS and LCK thanks to their excellent support and light clicks. The Rival 310 is their staple model offering exactly that.

It is marginally more expensive than the G403 but they are both equal in terms of performance. It uses Steelseries’ own TrueMove3 which is on par with the G403’s PMW3366.

Overall, this comes down to personal preference however, the Rival 310 does have a better cable and arguably better side buttons too.

Final Word

Picking a gaming mouse can have a significant impact on your overall gameplay but choosing one isn’t easy. Personal preference and comfort are more important than specifications and will have a larger role in how well you perform with a specific mouse.

Consider the mice suggested in the list above as these are well regarded and fantastic mice that will serve you well on the rift. But experiment, and find what you feel is comfortable. Whether it is a heavy 110g G502 or Rival 600 or a lightweight 80g G Pro Wireless, in the end, what matters is that it works for you.

To find out more about gaming mice in detail check out my website over at GamingGem where I compare and review mice side by side. I also have an upcoming mouse application that will assist you in picking a mouse-based on your preferences.

That is all from me folks, see you on the Rift!