If you consider yourself a hardcore gamer, you would probably take note of the deeper mechanics of the games you play and try to use those mechanics to your advantage. You try to train your muscle memory to let you react faster and with more precision in your gaming. You are constantly on the lookout for any edge that will help you win fairly but decisively.
Playing games as a hardcore gamer isn’t just about playing more games or putting in longer play hours. It’s about constantly trying to improve and get better performance out of your play sessions, and to do so, you would need better quality equipment at times.
While you can work to improve your skills, the hardware you are using to play games is also something that will need upgrading sooner or later. You probably either have or want a better graphics card. More frames and better graphics resolutions mean a cleaner and clearer display with better responsiveness. The monitor that the rendered video from the graphics card gets sent to is also something that you likely value. A bigger monitor or a multi-monitor arrangement lets you see the gameplay better and identify what you need to do to succeed in the game.
But what about the hardware that you use to interact with and control the game? You need a good keyboard with responsive keys that don’t stick or rattle around while you are tapping in your control inputs. And you need a good mouse that handles well and has reprogrammable buttons that you can reach and click on easily. In fact, your mouse is your primary interface in many games. A bad mouse can make the difference between making the shot in a shooter game or missing the mark and being the one shot instead. You need the best mouse that you can afford if you want to avoid handicapping yourself in your gameplay.
Therefore, you should stop buying cheap mice if you are a hardcore gamer. Your gaming mouse is what you use to direct your aim. For mouse look games, it is what you make use of to see what’s going on in the game world. Investing in a quality gaming mouse from a company such as Razer is one of the simplest ways to ensure that your hardcore gaming sessions are fun and fruitful. Razer’s gaming mouse are one of the most highly reviewed gaming mice for gamers, so do consider them if you are buying one.
A good gaming mouse will have better sensitivity compared to a normal computer mouse. The DPI (dots per inch) that sensitivity is measured in is normally around 1000 for a cheap computer mouse. For a decent gaming mouse, you will usually have a DPI of 3200 and above to choose from. Gaming mice also come with buttons that let you change the DPI on the fly. This lets you select a lower DPI when mouse-looking to see what’s happening in your environment, and a higher DPI when you need to scope in and snipe an opponent in the head.
To be fair, gaming mice are also far more responsive than standard mice. But this is because a mouse that is just used for browsing the Internet and selecting text in an editor doesn’t need to have latency that is as low as you can get it. That lower latency comes with the cost of higher quality hardware and most manufacturers of cheap non-gaming mice have no incentive to add that cost to their manufacturing bill. When every millisecond counts in an intense shooter game that latency difference will be what gets you killed in a match against a similarly skilled player with a better mouse.
If you want to look hardcore in your gaming then you also need a mouse that gives you hardcore cred with your friends. Gaming mice come with some sweet skins and lighting options. Programmable lights let you tailor your mouse to cycle through color displays that would put a disco dance session to shame. Skins and stickers let you give your mouse a unique look that turns it into something special.
When playing on a personal computer your mouse and keyboard are your main inputs into the game world. They are the hardware that you use to reach into that world and work your will on it. You need a mouse and keyboard that respond quickly and effectively to turn the thoughts in your head into actions in the game, and which look good while doing it. So don’t be afraid to spend some money on a quality mouse or keyboard from companies such as Razer if you want to get the best out of yourself in your gameplay sessions. Without the best interface technology, your skills will always be bottle-necked by the quality of your hardware.