Product: Razer Basilisk Ultimate
Type: Gaming Mouse (Wireless)
Price: $299.95 AUD
Availability: Out Now
Link: razer.com/au-en/store/razer-basilisk-ultimate

With the release of the Basilisk Essential gaming mouse earlier this year, Razer took one of its more popular gaming peripherals and lowered the cost of entry to make it an attractive option – and all without sacrificing too much in terms of quality. The new Razer Basilisk Ultimate takes the Basilisk in the opposite direction – with both the naming and the price hinting at what could be the most advanced wireless gaming mouse on the market. And, well, after testing the new Basilisk Ultimate for some time – we’re inclined to agree.

From the new Focus+ Optical Sensor to the 11 programmable buttons to the pristine build quality, charge station, and premium RGB lighting, there’s a lot going on with the Basilisk Ultimate. In a way it feels like a statement of sorts on the part of Razer – especially when it comes to similarly high-end high-price gaming mice from other hardware makers.

Grip It

On that front in terms of look and feel – outside of similarities to past Basilisks – the closest comparison would be the Logitech G502 Wireless, which features a similar ergonomic design and feel that is part old-school part-futuristic. The longer, angular, left and right-click buttons and the claw-like grip of the thumb indent all add up to a comfortable feel that is bolstered by the Basilisk Ultimate’s excellent build quality. Which still manages to keep the weight down to a respectable and lightweight 107-grams. Of course, the lightweight gaming mice of 2019 have taken this concept into the realm of featherweight, so in any other year we’d be calling this an ultra-light.

Some of the more premium features of the Basilisk Ultimate include the ability to adjust the tension of the scroll wheel and the removable and programmable paddle/toggle that still gives the Basilisk one of the all-time great and intuitive first-person shooter abilities. That is to instantly be able to lower DPI settings by holding down the switch, offering increased stability and ‘slow-motion’ style precision for sniper shots or aiming down sights. Not limited to FPS titles, it’s a toggle that essentially offers secondary functions to all buttons of the Basilisk Ultimate – making it one of the most versatile gaming mice on the market.

Point-and-Click

Specs

• Sensor: Razer Focus+ Optical Sensor
  
• DPI: 20,000 fully customisable
  
• LED Color: RGB (14 customizable Razer Chroma RGB lighting zones)
  
• Polling Rate: 1000 Hz
  
• Buttons: 11 Programmable
  
• Weight: 107g
  
• Cable Length: 1.8m
  
• Battery life: Approximately 100 hours (without lighting)

Underneath the hood though is where we get to see where a large portion of the cutting edge and high-end features of the Basilisk Ultimate reside. First there’s the new Razer Focus+ sensor, developed in partnership with PixArt, that takes the optical nature of the mouse (which applies to the switches too) into the realm we’d like to call – Insanity. 20,000 DPI feels like overkill, but when paired with what Razer refers to as Smart Tracking the results are seamless and without fault or error no matter the surface.

Throw in Razer’s own Hyperspeed Wireless tech, which is faster than the competition, and the Basilisk Ultimate is a wireless device that can outperform any wired option in terms of speed, precision, and even reliability.

Which of course means that all of this comes at a cost, with the Basilisk Ultimate becoming the most expensive gaming mouse we’ve tested to date. After spending a few weeks with the device, including several rounds of Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Battlefield V, and more relaxing titles like Planet Zoo – we struggled to come up with faults or glaring negatives. Which is to say that all we had in the end was that it isn’t easy to put the Basilisk Ultimate on its charging dock when you’re in a rush to get out of the door. That and we couldn’t really tell the difference between a similar 16,000 DPI sensor and 20,000 – so we’ve probably already hit the limit there.

In the end, if you can justify the investment then the Basilisk Ultimate is a premium offering that more than lives up to its name.