Razer's New Mouse Moves Buttons Away From The Thumb
The Basilisk V4 Pro reaches 200 hours of battery life, but its added AI trigger shifts the thumb cluster out of easy reach.
By Sakura Novak ·
Razer added two buttons to its Basilisk gaming mouse, pushing the thumb controls farther back on the shell and making them harder to press. The Basilisk V4 Pro, a redesign of the line's first update in two years, carries 12 programmable buttons. A third thumb button, positioned in front of the existing two, opens Razer's AI prompt by default. Sarah Jacobsson Purewal, senior editor at Tom's Hardware, wrote that the change left the first thumb button out of comfortable reach on her hand.
Battery life rose to 200 hours at a 1,000 Hz polling rate over 2.4GHz, up from 150 hours on the V3 Pro 35K. At 8,000 Hz, the figure drops to 54 hours. The black version weighs 100 grams, compared with 112 grams on the V3 Pro 35K. The mouse sells for $169.99 in black and white, alongside a separate Mouse Dock V2 Pro at $69.99.
The V4 Pro uses Razer's Focus Pro 50K optical sensor, rated at 50,000 DPI and 930 IPS, and tracks on surfaces including glass at least 4mm thick. Fourth-generation optical switches carry a rating above 100 million clicks. Polling reaches 8,000 Hz. The device connects over 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth or USB-C.
Purewal tested the profile button beside the left mouse button, which switches profiles by default. The mouse measures 5.02 inches long, placing that button at the front edge. She found it too far to press comfortably despite having medium-sized hands and long fingers. The tilt wheel offers tactile modes at 24 and 48 steps plus a free-spin setting, which she called too sensitive and prone to backscrolling.
The review questioned whether every mouse needs a dedicated AI prompt button. The AI key can be remapped, though Purewal reported that all three thumb buttons felt slightly off after testing. She wrote that the shape works for games from MMOs to competitive shooters, though perhaps not at the top level of competition. The switches produced no misclicks or double-clicks during testing.
The Basilisk V4 Pro launched alongside the Mouse Dock V2 Pro, a wireless charging dock with an integrated 8,000 Hz receiver and eight RGB zones. The dock works with several older Razer mice. The box includes a USB-A dongle, an adapter and a 6-foot braided cable. It does not include Razer's flexible HyperFlex cables or grip tape.
Razer's previous entry in the line was the Basilisk V3 Pro 35K in October 2024, which paired the V3 Pro with a new sensor. The V4 Pro keeps the right-handed contoured shape, RGB lighting and extra buttons of earlier models. Tom's Hardware lists the feel, weight and battery life as strengths, and the AI button's effect on the thumb layout, price and size as drawbacks.
The review places the Basilisk V4 Pro between the DeathAdder V4 Pro and the Naga V3 Pro, which carries more buttons.
