Razer Basilisk Ultimate

Razer’s flagship FPS mouse cuts the cord

- PHIL IWANIUK

SITTING ON its charging stand like the sought-after artifact on a pedestal in an Indiana Jones movie, this Basilisk Ultimate certainly has the looks. This is a wireless gaming pointer with no expense spared, from the 20,000dpi sensor and 100-hour battery life to the RGB dock, the luxurious materials forming the body around it, and a host of subtle design touches that all combine to make life a little easier.

It’s a gorgeous mouse. While the standard Basilisk model is bogged down in unsightly grooves along its inner side panel, this features a textured, rubberized finish at either side, which functionally improves grip and aesthetically preserves a clean, professional look.

Only the asymmetrical ergonomic shape jumps out as an obvious throughline between Basilisk models, in fact. It’s a body best used in palm grip, but also comfortable in claw or fingertip style— though not quite as naturally suited to the latter as smaller ambidextrous models such as Razer’s own Viper Mini, the Zowie FK2, or the Glorious Model O Minus.

Forward and back buttons sit perfectly integrated into the lines of the left-hand side, and further toward the front sits a removable DPI clutch, ready to kill your sensitivity when you need total precision in FPS games. If you don’t like the sound of that, a rubber stay can be plugged in instead.

Elsewhere, there’s a pair of DPI switches to cycle between up to five modes on the fly, a mouse wheel with two additional inputs by nudging it sideways left and right, and two beautifully scalloped oversized mouse buttons covering Razer’s mechanical switches. If you have any reservations about dropping this much dollar on a mouse, its appearance alone will assuage them.