Asus ROG Gladius II: designed to excel in FPS, and avoid after-sales service

Ergonomics

FPS players and other games that require sudden and rapid mouse movements do not need too heavy and bulky mice, to opt much more often for small models that are easy to handle and move. Asus has understood this and offers with its Gladius II a mouse of medium size (126 x 67 x 45 mm). It is not however a particularly light mouse, but its mass of 111 g will undoubtedly be suitable for the greatest number.

Its rather slender shape rather invites to put at least one end of the palm, although it depends on the size of the hand of its user. Difficult in any case to recommend a particular handling, since it depends on the habits of each. A player with relatively high sensitivities will find some comfort in being able to extend his fingers on the mouse. On the contrary, those preferring low sensitivities, led to carry out large movements and to frequently reposition their mouse on the carpet, risk disillusion a little more. Indeed, despite an elastomer coating on the edges, the fingers can easily slide and it is not necessarily easy to find the right position.

This requires in any case to tighten the mouse fairly firmly under these conditions. In particular, a deeper straight edge could have improved the grip.

For our part, we prefer to lengthen our fingers so that the ring finger and the little finger cover the right edge, with a thumb naturally in opposition on the left edge. But then again, it all depends on the size and shape of your hand.

Similarly, the addition of a "sniper" button on the left edge - we return to its usefulness in the next section - is not without raising some concerns. Easily accessible with the thumb, it can also disturb when lifting the mouse, which once again makes us doubt the interest of this model for players enjoying use with a fairly low sensor sensitivity. The risk of activating this "sniper" button by mistake is then quite high.

The other buttons appear ideally placed. The two located on the top of the left edge are used by default for the "next page" and "previous page" functions in office automation and of course take the function of our choice in a game, while the button located above the scroll wheel is attributed to the change in sensor sensitivity on the fly. The button associated with the wheel is not too hard and the wheel turns out to be at the same time soft and well notched, quite silent moreover.

Finally, the two main buttons ideally accommodate the fingers (index and middle finger or index and ring finger if you prefer to handle the wheel with the middle finger, at the risk here of holding the mouse less firmly) thanks to their curved shape.

They are based on Omron switches guaranteed for a minimum of 50 million activations. Particularity of some Asus ROG mice, which this Gladius II also benefits, these two main switches are interchangeable without tools! Asus also provides a set of Omron D2F-01F, much less enduring (1 million activations), but with a firmer touch (activation force of 75 cN against 60 cN for D2FC-FK by default) for different sensations. In both cases, the buttons appear reactive. The switch change (many Omron D2F and D2FC models compatible) is simple, although you have to unscrew the mouse from below (4 screws). It must be said that in principle you do not change your switches every day ...

Question slides, the mouse moves with fluidity and discretion thanks to its 4 fairly thick PTFE pads. Be careful, however, to push the rubber covers that protect the screws, otherwise they will rub on the carpet!

Regarding the manufacturing quality, no complaints, the assembly work is neat and the plastics chosen are of good quality. The dark gray plastic with metallic effect of the shell is not very dirty and pleasant to the touch. The cable of the Gladius II has the good taste of being removable, allowing to choose between the braided version of 2 m and the rubber sheathed version of one meter. A locking system prevents its involuntary removal. On the flip side, the mouse connection plug (micro-USB) is proprietary, so it will be difficult to use other cables than those sold by Asus.

Still on the aesthetic level, let's not forget the now inevitable RGB backlight, here present on the wheel, the ROG logo and the base of the mouse. The visual effect is convincing here, thanks in particular to the border which goes almost all around the base of the mouse and thus lights up the carpet. It remains quite discreet while giving a chic side to the Gladius II. Of course, several lighting effects are offered in the configuration software.

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Precision

Difficult to fault the excellent Pixart PMW3360 optical sensor that equips the Gladius II. This proven sensor is now found in a large majority of mice for mid and high-end players. Thanks to its ability to withstand accelerations of up to 50 g and speeds of up to 6.35 m / s, it simply never stalls, allowing play in low sensitivity imposing sudden and very rapid movements of the mouse.

However, for those who want to climb a little in sensitivity, the PMW3360 of the Gladius II can go up to 12,000 dpi. Much more than you need, even with a trio of Ultra HD screens (3,840 x 2,160 px), since, as a reminder, better sensitivity does not mean better precision, quite the contrary. Indeed, at 12,000 dpi, a movement of less than a centimeter is enough to cover the entire width of a UHD screen! With such sensitivity, the accuracy obviously leaves something to be desired, but we can at least say that such a sensor is ready for the next increases in screen definition ... if the other components of the mouse hold up to this point.

In terms of surface recognition, the sensor does honorably, although it is not as versatile as a laser sensor. It therefore adapts to most materials, with the exception of reflective coatings such as glass or glossy plastic.

Specificity of the Gladius II - and of some other mice adapted to FPS like the Corsair M65 or even the Logitech G502 -, the "sniper" button allows you to use the mouse at another level of sensitivity when it is held down. Typically, it serves, as the name suggests, to gain precision when aiming (with a precision rifle, for example), by lowering the sensitivity of the sensor (the viewfinder moves less for the same movement of the mouse). You can choose the sensitivity of your choice in the configuration software. A simple function, but very practical for snipers.

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Conclusion

Well finished, precise and pleasant to use if you accept a fairly relaxed hand position, the Gladius II is a fairly complete and versatile mouse. The ability to easily change switches reassures about its life and allows you to choose from a wide variety of Omron switches. The position of its "sniper" button can nevertheless be disturbing and not all hands will be comfortable there.

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