Asus ROG Gladius II Wireless Gaming Mouse Review

Asus is a no stranger when it comes to gaming peripherals. They’ve been in the market for quite a while. The ROG Gladius that was released from 2015 received good praise from the community for its easy to replace mouse switches and a very familiar ergo shape. With the market leaning towards wireless gaming mice, Asus went back to the drawing board and re-release its wireless version of the Gladius II. Let’s see if this mouse is worthy enough to be a contender in the wireless gaming mice market.

UNBOXING AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

UNBOXING AND ACCESSORIES

The Gladius II Wireless is decently packaged with a flip-up cover that shows the mouse itself and an idea of its right ergo-shape. The front shows the image of the mouse, its wireless receiver and the model name along with ROG logo and the Aura Sync compatible badge. While at the back, we can see some of the features of the mouse that has to offer. And lastly, the flip-up cover also has the information and features of the mouse.

Items included in the box are the mouse itself, a ROG case badge, a braided micro-USB cable, spare mouse clickers, wireless receiver, a carrying pouch, and documentation.

SPECIFICATIONS

DESIGN & BUILD QUALITY

The Gladius II Wireless is made from soft touch plastic with rubber grips on both sides to help with grip.

It has still the same shape as the previous Gladius models. It has a right ergonomic shape with the hump at the middle of the mouse. Somewhat reminiscent to the Razer DeathAdder mice. Right and left mouse buttons have comfort grooves to help with the ergonomics of the mouse. DPI button is located at the common middle area of the mouse. The scroll wheel is good, decent steps and not lose as some mice have.

The sides have these rubber tape with their famous Mayan design to help with grip. Aside from the rubber tape, It has comfort grooves for better ergonomics and it also helps with gripping the mouse. Side buttons are only located on the right side and it has these pyramid type design.

Underneath the mouse, we can see the 16 000 dpi optical sensor, the connectivity switch (BT/Off/2.4Ghz), the 4 screw points for D-I-Y switch replacements and the 4 mouse feet which looks like intellimouse size. We can also see some of the information about the mouse and the embossed ASUS ROG Logo.

And on the front, we can see the micro-USB port that is flushed on the mouse.

Lighting zones on the mouse are the scroll wheel and the ROG logo.

The mouse weighs around 130g which is at the heavy category. Most of the weight is at the back. It would a bit harder to lift the mouse if you play at a very low dpi and you are used to lifting your mouse.

USER EXPERIENCE AND CONCLUSION

USER EXPERIENCE

SENSOR

I can say it has a good sensor. Asus didn’t say on their website on what sensor they used on this mouse but it is the PWM 3389 sensor. I haven’t had experience spin-outs and jitters during gaming sessions and productivity work. Tracking wise it performs well, I am able to aim well despite this having 130g (which is almost 2x the weight of my daily driver aka the Model O.)

WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY AND BATTERY LIFE

The mouse performs well in wireless connectivity but I did experience some slight hiccups due to the position of my receiver (under my desk) and I transferred the receiver to the extra USB port on my mouse bungee and didn’t experience any issues ever since. On 2.4 GHz, I was able to use the mouse for 2-3 days (around 8 hours a day). While on Bluetooth, It also performs well than I expected. But I would choose 2.4 GHz for gaming over Bluetooth.

Charging time for the mouse is around 2-3 hours.

ERGONOMICS AND COMFORT

After using it for 2-3 weeks, I am able to adjust to this mouse from my Model-O. I had a hard time switching because I was more comfortable at using ambidextrous mice and my daily driver is a very light compared to the Gladius II Wireless. My aim was completely off but get better over time.

SOFTWARE

The Gladius II Wireless can be customized by using the ROG Armoury software. You can customize the button layout or do macros, tweak its settings and calibrate it. You can also set the lighting as a battery indicator for the mouse and add power saving features.

CONCLUSION

The Gladius II is a very good wireless gaming mouse and aside from its superb sensor performance. You can easily replace its switches if they already reached their lifespan or having double-clicking issues. Even though it’s a good mouse, it has its flaws. The shape is aimed towards palm grip users. Fingertip and claw grip users might have a hard time adjusting to this mouse and the mouse itself is for people with large hands. I suggest that small hand users should find other mice instead. Don’t also forget 130g weight. Coming from the Model O, I had a hard time adjusting to this and I play at 400 dpi. My aim was completely off until I slowly adjusted to this. I did aim better but not as better when I had a lighter and smaller mouse.

To end this review, The Gladius II Wireless is a good mouse despite its drawbacks. This mouse deserves our PERFORMANCE AWARD and the SILVER AWARD. Even though its a large and heavy mouse, I had completely enjoyed using it. The SRP of the mouse is at PHP 6500.

Pros

• Good Sensor
• Flexible Connectivity (Wired and Wireless)
• Can easily swap the switches out
• Good right-hand ergonomic shape

Cons

• Weight is at 130g
• Might be too big for people with small hands
• Price

We would like to thank ASUS Republic of Gamers Philippines.