The Best Mice for MMO Games in 2024

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Do you like buttons? Do you wish your mouse had more of them? If so, consider the not-so-humble MMO mouse. While the best esports mice shed features to minimize their weight, those designed for MMO and MMORPG games are wide, relatively heavy, and feature as many buttons as possible. With MMOs, not to mention city-builders and strategy games, you can assign most, if not all, of your keyboard shortcuts to the keypad on the mouse's side. Our favorite MMO gaming mouse is the Corsair Darkstar Wireless RGB, and we've outlined the rest of our MMO-ready top mouse picks below, each tested and selected based not only on design but also on value, software customization features, and more. We also have a detailed buying guide on landing the right mouse for your favorite MMO games.

Ready to buy a mouse for MMO-style games? MMO mice frequently make consumer tech oddities lists because of their defining trait: a whole mess of buttons on their thumb sides. Instead of adding the usual Back and Forward side buttons, a “traditional” MMO mouse features a button grid on the side. The actual button count varies quite a bit. Our recommendations include products with as few as six buttons and as many as 12 buttons, factoring in the non-side-pad buttons. As a result, most MMO mice total between 15 and 19 customizable inputs. By contrast, the most feature-rich gaming mice outside the category generally top out at 10 or 11 buttons.

As a general rule, more is better. Even with six buttons, you must learn how to maneuver around the pad, so why not go all the way? In theory, 10 or 12 buttons lets you assign the full number row or function keys, respectively, so you could argue that that’s the sweet spot.

Not all buttons are created equal, however. The difference between a good MMO mouse and a bad one comes down to the side-pad design. A great MMO mouse needs buttons that are large enough for you to press without accidentally pressing their neighbors. They should have discernible gaps and edges, too, so you can feel the buttons as your thumb moves across the side pad. Also, many modern MMO mice provide some type of tactile guide, like a bump or textured center key, to help you find your way around without looking.

While any good MMO mouse lets you customize every side pad input, a good naming/numbering system is important. Having the first button—the one that corresponds to “1” or “F1”—in the place that feels right for you, and that the other keys follow suit, ensures that you’re able to instinctively find each button. Ideally, that’s reflected on the label, not just in your mouse's profile. There’s no hard-and-fast rule for which order’s best. The important thing is that its logic reflects your preference.

What's the Right Size and Weight for an MMO Mouse?

Size and shape are the other defining MMO mouse characteristics. These products are generally wider and heavier than the average gaming mouse. (The difference seems even more pronounced now, in this era of ultralight esports mice.) Building a chassis with room to properly position so many buttons adds heft, so extra weight is part of the package. That said, it’s all relative. A 5-ounce mouse isn’t heavy—you can still quickly and accurately maneuver. It simply requires a little more pushing and pulling than a smaller counterpart.

Beyond that, though, MMO mice are built more for comfort than speed. Putting hotkeys on the side cuts down on mouse movement in many games, so the chassis shape is designed primarily to alleviate the pain associated with long play sessions. Many MMO mice are wider than average, with a groove carved out for your ring finger, so you can simply lay your hand flat on the mouse without gripping the sides. Some MMO mice also have a thumb wing, though that isn't common. Relaxing your grip makes pushing the mouse easier and more comfortable. It’s worth noting that "comfortable" doesn’t automatically mean "beneficial to ergonomics"; twisting your wrist to lie flat strains your wrist. Still, that's no worse than using a standard mouse.

MMO Mice: What to Look for in a Configuration App

Configuration software is an important facet of any gaming mouse, but it’s especially crucial for an MMO mouse. Config apps let you customize your buttons, create macro commands, and change other settings. When your mouse has four to 10 extra buttons, those controls come into play far more often than with your average gaming mouse. In fact, they become essential.

Configuration apps make it easy to see what each of your inputs does, and offers a quick, intuitive way to change them. They should also have a macro creator that lets you create custom commands. Any good configuration app lets you make an infinite number of custom profiles, so you can customize your mouse on a per-game basis. Many MMO mice also feature onboard memory, so you can store a few of your most important profiles on the mouse proper should you switch PCs. The best configuration software lets you link those profiles to specific PC games and apps.

Though fans of MMO mice deal with limited choices, the good news is that most of the remaining manufacturers in the space have great config apps that work across all devices. The three apps that pair with the majority of the MMO mice on this list—Corsair iCue, Logitech G Hub, and Razer Synapse—are the best configuration apps across all mice and keyboards.

For Mac users, the choices are much slimmer, as not all manufacturers make macOS-compatible versions of their configuration software. Make sure to check out our list of the top gaming mice for Macs, which includes a few that work well for MMOs.

What If I Play MMOs, But Don’t Want an MMO Mouse?

Obviously, you don’t need an MMO-specific mouse to play an MMORPG. If you want a similar experience but without the heavy frame and full keypad, check out a more conventional gaming mouse. Many gaming mice feature extra buttons that you can allocate to your most-used keys. You can find ones with as many as 10 or 11 buttons (including left- and right-click), but that won’t give you enough space to move over your entire number pad. Still, you can set a few core hotkeys.

If you have an MMO in your game rotation or plan to jump back into one soon, simply focusing on the number of buttons and their layout goes a long way. Your hand will thank you. We've included a few more conventional models in our picks.

So, What Is the Right MMO Mouse to Buy?

Now that you know how to find a great MMO mouse, it’s time to go shopping. The genre isn’t in vogue at the moment, so there aren’t as many highly specific modern MMO mice as there were a few years back. We’ve done our best to lay out a comprehensive range of options for you, though.

If you want to learn more about the basics of picking a great mouse, check out our rundowns of the best computer mice and the best gaming mice. And if you’re refreshing your whole desk setup, also take a peek at the best gaming keyboards.