Logitech G302 Daedalus Prime: review

 G302

It may be stating the obvious, but quick clicking fingers are essential for MOBA and strategy titles. Just watch any pro e-sports match and the amount of micromanagement they put their tethered rodents through is incredible. As such, Logitech decided it was an issue that needed special attention, so they created the G302 MOBA gaming mouse to suit the task. And in keeping with the seemingly sci-fi inspired naming conventions, they decided to call it the Daedalus Prime.

As with the latest line of Logitech gaming peripherals, the G302 has a chief party trick that the scientists in R&D believe makes it a cut above the competition. This time around it’s a spring button tension system that improves the responsiveness of you mouse clickers. Testing it side by side with another mouse you can tell there’s a definite difference between the buttons, with the G302 feeling a lot easier and more comfortable to use for rapid follow-up clicks. It may sound silly to praise something as simple as clicking – we’re fairly sure you feel your current mouse is most adept at it – but it just feels better on the Daedalus Prime. However, unless you’re a pro e-sports athlete or play DotA2 like a Track and Field game, you might not feel the difference unless you compare it side-by-side with another mouse.

But we want to stress that we’re not dismissing it as a subtle little difference, as it’s these minute details that make all the difference to pro gamers. And when we say pro gamers, we don’t mean basement dwelling forum trolls, we mean proper e-sport athletes who have their gaming skills compensated with cash rewards and live arena audiences cheering them on. Logitech worked closely with MOBA teams like Cloud9 and Team Solomid to tune the G302 to their specifications. The metal spring tensioning system behind the left and right mouse buttons really have been tailored to suit the needs of serious gamers.

 G302

Speaking of buttons, the G302 does feel a little slim in the department, with left and right clickers, two side buttons, a clicky scroll wheel and a DPI shifter. Six programmable buttons is a far cry from some of their latest mice, but then again they’re targeting the pro MOBA players here. As mentioned before, the two primary buttons feel exceptional and are definitely suited to the click heavy operations of strategy games. In contrast, the two side buttons are nothing spectacular to write home about but they most likely would not see much action from the MOBA crowd anyway.

Our main button-related criticism is the DPI shifter, which is a single button that works its way through four pre-set DPI levels with every press. It’s fine once you have the level you want set, but it can be a little fiddly getting there as there’s no visual feedback on your DPI level outside of the Logitech Gaming Software. Also, should you overshoot or mis-click the button in a game you’re left with a painful trip back through the DPI levels until you’re back where you want to be. As such, it’s not suitable for on-the-fly sensitivity shifting.

Flick your finger over the shifter and you’ll find the mouse wheel, something that feels like it’s had a little love from the Logitech team compared to some of their more recent gaming mice. The wheel itself is spongy yet solid, giving it a really comfortable feeling as you roll it back and forth. Likewise, the ratchet on the scroll wheel doesn’t clunk too harshly as it spins, making the wheel pretty satisfying to use whether you’re scrolling through web pages or inventory screens.

 G302

Comfort takes a little dip when it comes to the design of the mouse body itself as Logitech has gone for a symmetrical angular design. Whilst it looks sleek as part of your desk furniture, the body doesn’t feel particularly sculpted to your hand and is missing a comfortable inlay to rest your thumb on. It’s such a shame as the left and right clickers are so nice and springy to use, the main palm rest feels unremarkable in comparison. Two plastic panels at the rear have a pair of blue lights that pulse with a really neat breathing effect, but with your meat paw covering it whenever it’s in use, it feels a little wasted.

As with other Logitech peripherals, the Logitech Gaming Software makes this mouse really easy to customise for your own use. Simply download the most recent version and then boot it up to instantly find a virtual version of the G302 thrust on to your screen. From here it’s super simple to customise DPI (between 240 and 4,000), button configuration and control profiles for specific games, and even the brightness and pulsing rate of the light. There’s also an analytics mode that generates a heat map of your mouse and tracks you how often you use each button, which is a neat feature, but nothing that’s going to unravel the secrets of how you play.

For a smooth gaming mouse with a relatively decent DPI, the Daedalus Prime is reasonably priced at an RRP of £39.99. Whilst there might not be the biggest selection of buttons available for your twitchy fingers, the two that matter feel exceptional. If you’re big on shooters, MMOs or any game where you might want to map additional commands or macros to mouse buttons beyond left and right click, then you’d probably do better with something different. However, if you’re a strategy nut or a MOBA player who likes nothing more than micromanagement and bursts of quick clickery, this is where the G302 is in its element.

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Written by Anthony H

Anthony has been playing games for far too much of his life, starting with the MS-DOS classic Mario is Missing. Since then his tastes have evolved to include just about anything, but his soft spot lies with shooters and the odd strategy game. Anthony will inspire you with his prose, uplift you with his wit and lie to you in his biography.

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