Razer Naga Epic Review
PrintA premium MMO gaming mouse that takes time to master
With the introduction of the Naga Epic, Razer has split its highest gaming mouse tier into two segments. The Mamba is still the top-of-the-line general-purpose gaming mouse, but it’s now joined by the Naga Epic, which runs the same high MSRP ($130) but offers features more tailored to MMO gamers. That’s a lot of cash—is the Naga Epic worth it?
The Naga Epic packs many of the same “elite”-level features as the Mamba, including a 5,600 dpi laser sensor, a 1ms response time, and responsive hybrid wireless/wired control. Build quality is solid, as usual, and custom-color backlighting shines through the scroll wheel and thumb grid.
No, you’re not hallucinating. The Naga Epic has more buttons than a touch-tone phone.
So what sets the Naga apart as an MMO gaming mouse? First, there’s the shape: a higher-backed, more bulb-shaped design than you normally expect from Razer. If the Mamba is a Corvette, the Naga is a VW Bug. It’s a comfortable layout that leaves your hand in a more relaxed position for long gaming sessions. The Naga Epic has a degree of physical customization as well, in the form of three swappable pinky-side plates that let you change the feel and look of the mouse. The plates feel sturdy while in place, and are well designed; the mouse looks very nice with any of the three attached.
The second thing that makes the Naga Epic suited for MMO gamers is the 12-button side plate, which puts an incredible number of potential hotkeys right under your thumb. Razer’s excellent driver software makes it easy to customize the 12 buttons, allowing you to save different profiles for different games. To help you “train” on the 12-button grid, Razer includes sheets of adhesive, rubbery dots so you can feel your way around. Unfortunately, we found that even with the dots, it takes a lot of effort to become adept at finding the right spot on the Naga Epic’s tightly packed grid.
So, as a top-tier MMO gaming mouse, we can recommend the Naga Epic. It’s a comfortable mouse with a strong feature set, including a staggering number of buttons—if you’re willing to put in the time needed to learn to use them.
$130, www.razerzone.com
Razer Naga Epic
TOUCH-TONE
5,600 dpi laser sensor; hybrid wireless/wired design; tons of buttons.
ROTARY
Buttons take practice to use; no onboard memory; pricey.
8
More like this
7
Comments
Markd1015
May 20, 2011 at 10:44am
I bought a Naga from the Razer store and soon after I started using the mouse it stopped initializing at a cold computer start. I would have to unplug the mouse and plug it back in to get it to work. Well soon that did not even work and the mouse died. I got a replacement but it still needs to be unplugged on a cold start. So now I have an 80 dollar paper weight. I will never buy another Razer product again.
bling581
May 24, 2011 at 10:11am
This is a typical problem with Razer Megladon headphones also. For the headphones if you don't have a good enough power supply they recommend that you buy a powered USB hub. I wouldn't think that a mouse would use that much power though so I'm not sure if it's the same problem. I have both the Naga and Megladon headphones and I don't have this issue. My PSU is a little over 1kw (I think 1.2).
bling581
May 10, 2011 at 9:47am
I love my original Naga, and it's not just for MMO's. I find it extremely useful for FPS games like Battlefield 2 that have a ton of different commands you can execute. It does take some getting used to but it's worth the effort. My only negative comments are the odd positioning of the two "thumb" buttons between the keypad and the left/right mouse buttons. They feel like they're in no mans land and are awkward to press. The Naga software only stores 5 different game profiles which really bites. Most of the time I'm only into one to two games but lately I've been playing a lot of different titles and it's annoying to redo the profiles.
kevaskous
May 09, 2011 at 3:01pm
Long since switched to the Xai Laser mouse for my competitional mousing needs, however have used Roccat products, -very- nice, but pricey. The laser sensor Razer uses is rather garbage for anything but point and click surfing and mmos.
Some Logi's are nice too, namely the MX518 (Legend) and G500
theimmortalmoo
May 09, 2011 at 11:20am
I use to be a die hard Razer Fan, but have become dissapointed with the quality of their products lately, I had a old Razer Deathadder Worked amazingly until the unit became defective ( my fault, improper storage).
I purcahsed the Razer Wireless Mamba..the DPI wouldn't switch like I had it configured and the battery life wasn't nearly what I was expecting, so I returned it and exchanged for the new 3500 Deathadders, this one has a noisy mouse wheel and the cord, while now covered in a mesh, seems to be acting up lately.
I was intrested in the Naga brand for FPS gaming and MMO gaming, but I was weary of the button locations for FPS games.
I am having a hard time trusting Razer of late and considering staying with logitech for all my gaming perphials.
D00dlavy
May 09, 2011 at 11:05am
A lot of my Razer mice have been seeing defects lately and developing noisy, "cheap-feeling" scroll wheels and buttons. Does this or the Mamba have the same inferior build quality? I expect mice to last for years and years, especially for this kind of cash.
Quality control and Razer are mutually exclusive, methinks.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Original RickRoll Video Returns to YouTube After 24-Hour Copyright Hiatus http://t.co/MaH9Sxyy2 days 6 hours ago
- maximumpc: Corsair has decided not to go forward with its $78 million IPO, citing weak equity market conditions http://t.co/A5a4DAzj2 days 6 hours ago
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E4 days 4 hours ago
