The Razer Viper V2 Pro mouse is what you get after putting the Razer Viper Ultimate through a successful weight loss program. Weighing in at 58g, which is about 20 per cent lighter than the Razer Viper Ultimate, this mouse is really serious about losing weight.
According to Razer, the design team had incorporated feedback from professional e-sport athletes, and the whole design philosophy is centered around shaving off as much weight as possible. The result is a truly weight optimised mouse with high sensitivity and long battery life, well suited for the e-sport athlete.
So, what does this mean for non-professional but serious gamers, and what are we willing to sacrifice for weight loss?
No pain, no gain (or loss)
To achieve its light weight, some sacrifices were made on the Viper V2 Pro. Gone are the trademark bright RGB lights in Razer mice — instead, the Razer logo is surprisingly understated with a glossy print on the mouse body.
Even the textured rubberised grips are optional, and come in the form of pre-cut stickers that you can choose to apply. I stuck on both the side and button grips since I like a firmer grip, and they didn’t really register a difference in weight on the mouse, according to my kitchen scale. The stickers offer a rubbery and grippy texture, more so than the subtly textured sides of the Viper Ultimate.
The Viper V2 Pro has kept to the same low-profile shape and flushed mouse buttons as the Viper Ultimate, which is a comfortable and effective design compared to the flared mouse buttons of the earlier Deathadder models.
But bad news for left handers here — the Viper V2 Pro only has two buttons on the left side for the right thumb, so as part of its weight loss program, it also sacrificed its predecessor’s ambidextrous form. Unlike the Viper Ultimate’s side buttons, the Viper V2 Pro’s buttons stick out just a tiny bit more so that they are easier to press with the thumb.
Since the mouse is so light, any abrasion between the mouse feet and mousepad can be felt more distinctly. The larger surface area of the mouse feet at the posterior of the mouse also makes it glide more smoothly where it matters the most, right at the base of your palm.
Less bling, more juice
Another reason for doing away with the flashy RGB lights is achieving longer battery life. The Viper V2 Pro runs up to 80 hours with a full charge compared to 70 hours for the Viper Ultimate. The result is less frequent charging, allowing for more valuable untethered game time.
The Viper V2 Pro is charged by sticking the USB-C end of the cable into the mouse. It can still be used as a wired mouse while charging. There isn’t an option to have it charging while sitting on a docking station, unlike the Viper Ultimate, which is a bit of a letdown.
Over the weekend, I used the fully charged Viper V2 Pro to play Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, which is an intense action-packed first person shooter (FPS) game, and the battery was down to 80 per cent. That probably means I can last a whole week without charging again, which isn’t bad for a wireless mouse running on a rechargeable battery.
However, I really miss the bling RGB lights especially when playing at night — it’s much dimmer and duller without them.
Untethered lightness of being
With such lightness, the mouse feels like a natural extension of my hand, and is completely forgotten when I am absorbed in playing a game. Compared to its predecessor, the Razer Viper Ultimate which weighs 74g, the weight difference is surprisingly very discernable. It’s even lighter than the diminutive Deathadder Mini wired mouse, which weighs 62g!
Okay, it works great on the desk next to my gaming rig, but how does it perform in the living room where the signal has to permeate through a glass wall?
With the 2.4GHz Hyperspeed receiver attached to the cable to my gaming rig in my study, I took the Viper V2 Pro to the living room and fired up an FPS game on my TV. There were no problems with the responsiveness of the Viper 2 Pro connecting across a glass wall at a distance of around 2m. It works fine on the fabric of my couch as well as on a glass surface, and I can play the game relatively well from the comfort of my couch.
What helps in switching to gaming in the living room is the on-the-fly DPI toggling, as playing on a larger screen means that the DPI needs to be increased for faster travel. This is a cinch since I can simply press the DPI button to increase the DPI for gaming on the big screen.
For a wireless mouse that weighs less than a mini wired mouse, the Viper V2 Pro is pretty impressive!
DPI as you like it
According to Razer, Viper V2 Pro’s new Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensor can achieve a complete resolution accuracy of 99.8 per cent. The sensor is also equipped with AI functionality which improves performance.
How does a mouse feel at 30,000 dots-per-inch (DPI)? I maxed out both the Viper V2 Pro at 30,000 DPI and the Viper Ultimate at 20,000 DPI to test them out. To be honest, I can’t feel a discernible difference between both, since the sensitivity is too high for me to play on.
For someone who typically plays at around 2,400 to 3,200 DPI, I can barely keep up with the crosshair flying around the screen to aim properly at 30,000 DPI!
The power button at the bottom of the mouse also doubles up as a DPI control button in a bid to shave off more weight. By pressing the DPI control button, you can toggle between preset DPIs that can be customised in the Razer Synapse program.
The corresponding coloured LED on the mouse indicates which DPI preset has been selected, which is useful for toggling different DPIs for different games, although it means having to lift up the mouse momentarily to press the button and cycle through the DPI settings.
For FPS games, I actually prefer using a heavier mouse and a thumb button as a sensitivity clutch. The thumb buttons can be customised using the Razer Synapse program to lower the DPI while holding down the button, which is useful for performing precise headshots.
But for fast-paced action games or real-time strategy games with large maps where fast swiping and repositioning the mouse are constantly required, a lighter mouse will reduce the strain on the wrist and allow for faster tracking and response across the screen. And for professional e-sports athletes, this will make a huge difference.
TL;DR
Retailing at S$229.90, the Viper V2 Pro is S$10 cheaper, 16g lighter and 10,000 DPI more sensitive than its predecessor, the feature-packed Viper Ultimate.
If the weight is a really big deal to you, or if you are a professional e-sports athlete to whom every single gram counts, it’s hard to find a wireless mouse with great responsiveness and battery life at this weight.
However, if you are a left-hander, can’t give up the bling or prefer the convenience of charging on a docking station and don’t mind a slightly heavier mouse as a compromise, stick with the Viper Ultimate.
