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Razer’s latest premium and one of the best wireless gaming mouse, the Basilisk Ultimate, extends gaming mice to a new standard with its performance and smarter internal and external features. For $169, the Basilisk Ultimate offers excellent wireless performance combined with a neatly adjustable scroll wheel that’s packaged in a comfortable design. You’ll also get a cool charging dock and some reliable software. If you can pay the asking price of $169, Basilisk Ultimate is one of the best gaming mice you can buy now. This is our Razer Basilisk Ultimate Review.
Razer Basilisk Ultimate Review: Design
The Basilisk Ultimate features a smooth black shell that is blinded by Razer’s Chroma RGB backlighting. At 4.6 x 2.79 x 1.49-inches and 107 grams, the Basilisk Ultimate felt like the right size and weight for my hands while working and gaming. There is an RGB-lit Razer logo on the palm rest, which is a boxcutter-shaped panel surrounded by a glossy black accent. Behind the glossy bit are the left and right clickers, and between the stylish cut-out are an RGB-lit scroll and two DPI buttons.
On the right side of the mouse, the re’s a grab panel for your ring and little finger, and on the left, another panel for your thumb, where you’ll find two discreet buttons and a multi-function paddle. The grip of the left side bends outwards at the bottom to let your thumb rest somewhere. Both sides have a thin RGB illumination zone on the right below the left and right mouse buttons.
At the front of the mouse, there is a slot for a micro-USB port, which can be used to recharge the mouse and go into the wired mode. At the bottom is the 2.4 GHz wireless USB dongle under a plastic door. There is also a rocker to change the resistance of the scroll wheel, which is excellent. Besides, there is a button to change the profiles of the Basilisk Ultimate, five of which are fully customizable.
Just like the Razer Viper Ultimate, the Basilisk Ultimate comes with a Razer Chroma mouse loading dock (bundled for $169; $49 separate), which is a cute little dock surrounded by Chroma RGB lighting at the bottom. There is a black Razer logo on the base just below the magnetic two-pin charging port and a USB Type-A port above it, intended for the mouse’s 2.4 GHz wireless USB dongle. The Basilisk Ultimate works seamlessly with the dock, thanks to its magnetic base.
The Basilisk Ultimate mainly fits the contours of my hand. What I like most is the thumb grip – my thumb has never felt so comfortable. The grip for my ring and little finger could have been better, but most mice don’t fit in so well either. The adjustable scroll wheel is super wet to mess with, and the scroll wheel itself is much better than the Viper Ultimate, which is too small for me.
The main buttons left, and right are a bit shallow, but still have a sharp, satisfying click. Meanwhile, the palm rest is mainly focused on the upper half of my palm instead of the general center, where I think the mouse can still be improved a bit. Although the Basilisk Ultimate is not as easy to lift as the Viper Ultimate, it still felt relatively light in my hand. In general, the Basilisk Ultimate is quite comfortable to use.
Features
Like the Razer Viper Ultimate, the Razer Basilisk Ultimate is packed with new technology and is fully powered by the Razer Synapse app. You can configure the 11 programmable buttons of the Basilisk Ultimate from the Customize tab in the Razer Synapse app. If you want to change the DPI, go to the Performance tab, where Synapse allows you to set up the DPI in five steps, each number going from 100 to 20,000.
Also, you can customize the 14 RGB lighting zones in the Lighting tab, giving you full access to the Chroma tools so you can run with primary effects like Wave or create your design in Razer’s Chroma Studio. Using the app’s two other tabs, you can customize the mouse’s calibration and power modes. According to Razer, Basilisk Ultimate’s optical switches are more durable than those of a traditional mouse: The y’ve been rated for 70 million clicks as opposed to 50 million clicks.
Razer Basilisk Ultimate Review: Performance
Gaming with the Basilisk Ultimate felt natural. In Doom, I stood in line in arcade mode and destroyed demons like no other, from accurately nailing the main shots with my gun to fluently stamping the multi-purpose paddle and executing several fools. Each mouse should have a paddle in addition to the two buttons on the left like the Basilisk Ultimate does.
In Remnant: From the Axis, the Basilisk Ultimate has consistently helped me to land on the weaknesses of each monster. And the ability to shift DPI on the fly helped me to make fast turns when needed.
In the Age of Empires III, I felt comfortable using the Basilisk Ultimate for an extended period and performing simple tasks, such as sending villagers to cut down trees or telling my squad to build walls around my small town. Of course, the mouse reacted very sensitively when my cutting reflexes had to come out during a skirmish.
The Razer Basilisk Ultimate, along with the rest of Razer’s recently unveiled gaming mice, has a competitive edge, thanks to its hardware. The optical switches use an infrared light beam to register a click, giving the mouse a response time of 0.2 milliseconds.
With the Razer Focus+ optical sensor, Basilisk Ultimate also has smart tracking (calibrates the sensor relying on the surface the mouse is kept on), asymmetric liftoff (allows different presets for liftoff) and motion synchronization (improves the sensor’s response speed). According to Razer, the sensor has a resolution accuracy of 99.6% and a tracking speed of 650 inches per second (IPS).
Unlike typical mice, the mouse feet of the Basilisk Ultimate is made of PTFE (Teflon), which is designed to increase the sliding speed. It worked with the Viper Ultimate, and it works with the Basilisk Ultimate. The glider is so smooth that it feels like someone has put a silk sheet under my mouse.
What’s more, Razer claims his wireless technology is 25% faster than any other gaming mouse.
Battery Life
The Basilisk Ultimate has a lifespan of 100 hours on a single charge with the lights off so that you can play 5 hours a day for 20 consecutive days, or even 10 hours a day for 10 days if you like (perfect for when Death Stranding comes out on the PC). And like with the Viper Ultimate, at the end of a session, you can throw the mouse on the charging dock, so battery life isn’t such a big deal. The charging dock indicates your mouse’s current charge level using these colors: red (<25%), orange (26% to 50%), yellow (51% to 75%), and green (76% to 99% respiration, 100% static).
However, I tested the battery with the lights on at 100%, and the battery went from 24% to 4% in a few hours, which was a bit disturbing. So if you’re planning on playing long sessions, I recommend that you turn the lights off or turn them off altogether.
Razer Basilisk Ultimate Review: Conclusion
The Razer Basilisk Ultimate enters the wireless gaming mouse scene with a new optical sensor and optical buttons for super-smooth performance. What’s more, it has a comfortable design, a neat charging cradle, and an adjustable scroll wheel – all supported by reliable software. However, the price of the mouse can be too high for some.
If you want to cut costs, go to the Logitech G502 Proteus Core, which costs just $50. It’s wired, but you’ll get some of the same neat features, like a customizable scroll wheel and great software. And unlike the Basilisk, the Proteus Core has adjustable weights.
But despite its price, Basilisk Ultimate is one of the best wireless gaming mice you can buy.