Really comfortable and visually pleasing
I had an older version of this mouse before it started having problems with its buttons and replaced it with this newer version. It's a great mouse and a good upgrade! Right away, I should note that you shouldn't get too fooled/confused by the "8 programmable buttons" tagline--it's counting every single button on the mouse, including the standard left and right click and buttons to adjust settings on the bottom of the mouse that you would never use during normal gameplay or computer use. The only two "extra" buttons on this mouse for gamebinding are the two on the left side you can click with your thumb. The other buttons are: left and right click, the mouse wheel, two buttons underneath the mouse wheel to adjust the DPI of the mouse, and a button on the bottom of the mouse to switch between profiles. So if you're wanting more buttons to use during gameplay--like, say, having an entire MMO hotbar on your mouse--this isn't the right one. It's useful if you just want to have a couple of buttons that are easily accessed though! I like using my mouse buttons for stuff like push-to-talk and melee attacks in FPS games. As for the changes compared to the previous version of the Deathadder mouse, they're small but for my use they're good QOL changes. The biggest improvement is the spot underneath the side buttons where you're meant to rest your thumb--in the previous version this was a glued-on rubber pad that game off after a year or so or use. In the V2 mouse, it's now a textured part of the rest of the material of the mouse--the only way it's coming off is if the entire mouse case comes off! I could see the texturing being warn a bit, but that's certainly better than my thumb being gummed up by glue after the pad fell off! The other main change that I've noticed is that I think this mouse is slightly smaller than the previous version. This is great for me, since I'm a woman with small palms and long, thin fingers--I often have problems using gaming mice and controllers comfortably. That being said, I'm not sure if this would be as comfortable for users with larger hands--if you're worried, I'd suggest seeing if you can get measurements for a mouse you find comfortable and then comparing it to the size of this mouse. I believe the profile and DPI buttons are also new features, although honestly I haven't messed with that much since I'm not experienced with those settings and I haven't needed it for my own gameplaying. It does seem like a good feature and the buttons seem like they're good quality and I've never accidentally pressed them during gameplay, which is great. Probably want to check other reviews if you need more information there. Looks-wise, this is simple, but pretty looking mouse. The light on the logo and mouse wheel is really colorful but not bright enough to be distracting when the lights are off in the room. It's pretty easy to use Razer's software to change the color to your tastes, or you can leave it on a default setting where it cycles through various colors in a rainbow order. I know there's also a feature that game devs can use to have the mouse colors be manipulated by the game itself, but I've only ever played one game where I know for sure this was implemented--Overwatch changes the color of the mouse based on the character you're playing as. I don't think it's been used by many other games, and honestly I don't find myself looking at my mouse that much while playing anyway--it's probably a feature that's more fun on keyboards. Overall, I think this is a really great mouse! I recommend it for people that game on their PC or otherwise use their computer enough to want something that has a few more features and/or is a bit more sturdy than a cheaper mouse. If you're a huge tech nerd or want more button options, it might be a better idea to save up for a more expensive mouse. But I think at this price point this mouse has a lot of comfort and control. Read more