Razer Basilisk V3 Review

Razer Basilisk V3 specs

Alternatives

If you want a wireless alternative: The Razer Basilisk V3 Pro is the same mouse but wireless and more expensive. For the price, you’ll also get better specs under the hood, including Razer’s Focus 30K sensor and Razer’s gen-3 optical switches rated for 90 million clicks.

If you want a Logitech gaming mouse instead: The Logitech G502 Hero is incredibly popular and targets the same type of user with its 12-button array and endless customizations. You can even customize the balance with the included removable weights. The main difference otherwise is the G502 Hero is slightly smaller with a lower profile, though it’s not a small gaming mouse.

If you want more buttons: Check out the Razer Naga X. It has 16 buttons and weighs a bit less. The Naga X has a 12-button array on the side, opening up many button-remapping possibilities to customize the mouse to your needs. But it doesn’t have a L/R tilt scroll wheel nor can the scroll wheel be unlocked to spin freely, two features the Basilisk V3 includes.

Performance

Weight

The Razer Basilisk V3’s 101-gram weight is the middle of the road for an ergonomic gaming mouse. That isn’t light compared to the lightest gaming mice. But let’s put the weight into perspective.

The closest popular competitor is the Logitech G502 Hero, which is also a great ergonomic gaming mouse and weighs 121 grams. Knowing this, the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro will be pretty nimble and you may experience less hand fatigue over long gaming sessions compared to equivalent models.

Sensor

Razer gaming mice are deservedly some of the best gaming mice available. One reason is sensor quality, precision, and accuracy. The Razer Basilisk V3 includes Razer’s Focus+ 26k DPI sensor. Anything over 20,000 DPI is relatively high in 2023, and we appreciate having access to the full range of 100 to 26,000 DPI that can be set in increments of 50.

The Focus+ sensor is also fast and can track up to 650 inches per second, which beats out some much higher-cost gaming mice that track only up to 400 inches per second. Accordingly, you’ll get snappy and accurate performance with the Razer Basilisk V3 when flicking headshots and making rapid micro-adjustments.

However, unlike some of Razer’s newest sensors, the Razer Basilisk V3 doesn’t track on glass. But you can customize in Synapse various lift-off and tracking features that other gaming mice sensors aren’t capable of.

Polling rate

The Razer Basilisk V3 runs out of the box at a 1000 Hz polling rate. You can also set it to 125 or 500 Hz, but we don’t see a reason to handicap the performance. Reporting actions back to your computer 1,000 times per second explains one reason why the Razer Basilisk V3 has low latency. Also, the higher polling rate doesn’t come at the expense of reducing battery life since this is a wired gaming mouse.

If you want to be on the bleeding edge of polling rates, consider the Razer Viper 8K Hz instead or one of Razer’s flagship gaming mice, like the Razer Viper V2 Pro or the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro. The Viper 8K Hz runs at 8000 Hz. The Viper V2 Pro and the DeathAdder V3 Pro can max out at 4000 Hz when buying Razer’s aftermarket HyperPolling dongle.

Switches performance and sound

We’re glad that the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro includes Razer’s gen-2 optical switches in the L/R buttons. These switches are rated for 70 million clicks. Razer’s newer-gen switches are rated for more clicks, but 70 million is still comparatively high. Importantly, the gen-2’s are optical switches, faster than traditional mechanical switches.

The L/R switches register a solid clicking sound when actuated. While we didn’t measure the downforce, you can tell the switches take slightly more pressure to actuate than some competing ergonomic models and fast FPS gaming mice in general.

This isn’t a detractor, more an observation that some gamers may appreciate, and the switches feel great overall. The side buttons do feel softer when actuating and are slightly more muted.

Gliding

The Razer Basilisk V3 glides well for an ergonomic gaming mouse of its weight. The weight does add some friction that slows the mouse’s glide on a mousepad or desktop surface. Understandably, the gliding experience isn’t as sensitive as an ultralight gaming mouse where it feels like breathing on the mouse could put it in motion.

The five 100% PTFE feet have a good enough coverage area on the underside. There is one small foot on the back of the mouse, two up front, one bigger foot under the thumb rest, and a skinny foot surrounding the sensor. Greater surface area coverage could improve the gliding experience, but it’s still good overall.

Design

Buttons

Most people consider buying this gaming mouse mainly because of the number of buttons. The Razer Basilisk V3 has a total of 11 buttons, including the standard L/R buttons, three side buttons (counting the sniper button), the multi-function scroll wheel, two buttons behind the scroll wheel, and a profile button on the underside.

The number of buttons unlocks a ton of customization options since all buttons can be remapped in Synapse. An additional layer of commands can be added with HyperShift enabled, which is the keyboard equivalent of a Shift button.

Scroll wheel

Chances are you’ll like the Razer Basilisk V3 for both gaming and productivity. One reason why is the scroll wheel’s versatility. The Razer Basilisk V3 has the standard up/down scroll and clicking functionality, but you also get a L/R tilt scroll wheel and the ability to unlock free-scrolling with the press of a button.

These added features are great enhancements that unlock a number of customizations and shortcuts that simply aren’t possible with other lesser gaming mice.

Lastly, a few unique scroll wheel settings in Synapse may be valuable. The scroll wheel can be set to accelerate the pointer speed based on how fast you move the wheel. You can also enable Smart-Reel, which activates free scrolling when moving the wheel fast and deactivates when the wheel slows down.

Shape

The aggressive curves and shape of the Razer Basilisk V3 scream “pc gamer”, particularly when viewing the mouse from the front with its pointed L/R buttons. The Razer Basilisk V3 slants downward from left to right and includes a texturized, grippy material on both sides.

Nicely, you’ll also get a well-contoured thumb rest. But there isn’t a right-side ledge to rest your finger like some other ergonomic gaming mice, such as the Razer Naga X or the Cooler Master MM720.

The height profile of the Razer Basilisk V3 is comparatively high and balanced toward the back. One risk of this shape is that the mouse feels too big. But that’s not the case here and the Razer Basilisk V3 contours nicely to your hand to avoid feeling overly bulky. This is surprising since the mouse does look bulky.

Hand size and grip style

Palm-grip and claw-grip users will likely find that the Razer Basilisk V3 fits their hands well. In fact, ergonomic gaming mice are perfect for palm grips with added support and height under the palm. Claw-grip users may appreciate the side-gripping power of the grippy texture and contours.

But your mileage will vary if you use a fingertip grip since the back-biased hump can bump into your palm.

As for hand size, the Razer Basilisk V3 is a good fit if you have medium or larger hands. The relatively long length and height aren’t great for small hands. You’ll find yourself reaching for the two side buttons and the forward sniper button the smaller your hand. But these side buttons are well positioned, big, and hard to miss the bigger your hand.

Customization and software

RGB

The Razer Basilisk V3 is packed with 11 separate zones of RGB that can be customized individually. Few gaming mice have as much customizability with so many RGB zones and lighting effects.

There are three main areas of RGB, including on the scroll wheel, on the logo on the back, and a thin strip of RGB on the underside that surrounds most of the Razer Basilisk V3.

Memory profiles

The Razer Basilisk V3 has onboard memory profiles that can be customized in Synapse. Onboard memory profiles can be helpful to change your mouse’s inputs without having to open Synapse each time.

This way, you can seamlessly jump between configurations on the fly. There is a profile-switching button on the bottom of the Razer Basilisk V3, but you can remap a profile-switching command to a different button for convenience.

The sniper button on the side is a good potential button to remap this feature to, if you’re not already using it for another command, such as cycling through sensitivities.

Synapse software

Razer’s Synapse software manages all of the Razer Basilisk V3’s settings, from DPI to RGB and more. There is little, if any, learning curve to Synapse, which can’t be said for all software programs, including Logitech’s G-Hub, which takes some time to learn. Inside Synapse, you can customize the following for your Razer Basilisk V3.

• Remap your mouse buttons and enable HyperShift for an added layer of customization
• Adjust the DPI presets in increments of 50 from 100 to 26,000
• Enable Turbo mode to implement a set number of actions per second when holding a specific button.
• Enable custom X and Y sensitivities
• Adjust the polling rate to 125, 500, or 1000 Hz presets
• Customize the RGB effects in Razer’s Chroma software
• Calibrate the mouse to enable features such as Smart Tracking and Asymmetric Cut-off
• Set custom configurations to automatically change profiles when opening specific games

Consider that the full suite of customization options is only available on PC. The Synapse software doesn’t work on macOS, though you can use the Razer Basilisk V3 on macOS. Your configured profiles do work in macOS thanks to the onboard memory, but you’ll need a PC in the first place to customize any settings.

In the box

• Razer Basilisk V3 with cable (1.9m)
• Rubber cable tie
• Sticker pack
• Product card
• Operating manual