ASUS ROG Gladius II Review: Weight Vs Performance

The ASUS Gladius II Wireless with its top-of-the-line optical sensor, Aura Sync RGB lighting, and wireless connectivity. Seriously, my hands are itching to touch it and see what it is capable of.

Great Performance, Not So Great Weight

ASUS first introduced the Republic of Gamers or ROG to the world way back in 2006. That was supposed to lay the foundation for producing top-notch gaming technology. For nearly 13 years the company has stayed true to the promise of manufacturing shiny new toys for gamers to tinker with. 

Now comes Gladius II Wireless with its top-of-the-line optical sensor, Aura Sync RGB lighting, and wireless connectivity. Seriously, my hands are itching to touch it and see what it is capable of. But before we get there, make sure you are familiar with the factors to consider when buying a gaming mouse.  Let’s now try to determine whether the Gladius II Wireless is one of the best gaming mice out there. 

On Focus
9.4
ASUS ROG Gladius II
  • DESIGNED FOR COMMITTED GAMERS - ASUS Gladius II Gaming Mouse is fitted with an advanced 12000 DPI Optical Sensor and has a dedicated DPI target button to quickly switch sensitivity settings with a push of a button
  • SWITCHES BUILT TO LAST - The Gladius II gaming mouse features Omron switches rated to deliver at least 50-million clicks
  • DUAL WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY - With two connection options, direct Bluetooth Pairing with Bluetooth supported laptops and PCs, or via 2.4GHz RF USB Dongle

Ergonomics and Design 

The Gladius II Wireless is a solid piece, built for right-handed palm grippers. Though this is not an ambidextrous mouse, it is still usable for lefties and claw-grippers.   

With a size of 126mm x 67mm x 45mm, small-handed gamers might struggle, however, a few grip adjustments might do the trick. 

Design-wise, it sticks to a practical shape with no added shenanigans. The top area is furnished with a mixture of matte and glossy finish. It feels somewhat grainy and is pretty grippy. There is a tiny separator panel in the center. It has identical texture as the rest of the bottom and front shell, which is made of an extra grainy, matte material. 

I like how they made the rubber sides. These side panels feel tacky and superior to cheap brands. I’m confident that it’s enough to prevent any incidental slips even when handled with moist palms. 

The Gladius II Wireless comes in two color options. A black, and a pink one. This is a special treat for gamers who adore pink gaming gears

Balance and Weight 

I’ve already come to the conclusion that this is not what you would call an FPS-inclined mouse. The main reason for this is its weight, which many FPS players might find too much. The mouse weighs 130 grams. Not everyone likes a mouse this heavy. 

Sensors and Performance 

Gladius is known for using only top sensors. The Gladius II Wireless is no exception. Under the hood, it packs the PixArt PMW3389, which is unquestionably a high-end optical sensor. It is precise, snappy, responsive, and provides 1:1 tracking. 

This is evident when playing COD: Modern Warfare 3. I was able to snipe and shoot my way through the campaigns with ease. Reliable FPS mice should be accurate, and though the Gladius II Wireless is not entirely FPS centered, it still performed well. 

I know you are expecting some in-depth technical specifications, so let me walk you through it. The nominal acceleration and maximum tracking speed values are 50G and 400IPS (10.16 m/s). To tailor this mouse to your preference you can set the resolution within a 100-16,000 range, with increments of 50CPI. The accessible polling rates are 125, 250, 500, and 1000Hz, which translates to nominal response times of 8ms, 4ms, 2ms, and 1ms.  

Buttons and Gaming 

The Gladius II Wireless has a total of 6 buttons. They are well-positioned and crisp to actuate. 

The main buttons are designed to keep your fingers in a comfortable position. You will like how tactile and spammable they are. Playing MOBA like League of Legends is a breeze. The response time of the buttons is great thanks to the Omron D2FC-F-K 50M & Omron D2F-01F powering the main switches. 

The side buttons are solid, but I wish that they had some extra tactility. There’s nothing wrong with them, their actuation is fine. This is more of a preference thing. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m not a fan of their shape, but performance-wise they are good. The standard Kailh switches with a red plunger did do the job well. 

The CPI and side buttons are glossy and have a somewhat short travel which is still tactile and uses the same square switch as the middle button. As for the scroll wheel, I noticed that it emits a slight rattling noise. 

Scrolling is just excellent, thanks to the fact that they use the same Alps encoder as its predecessor’s. It’s light and extremely tactile, and the notches are well separated. 

Connectivity  

Thanks to wireless technology advancing rapidly, we gamers get to have ultra-low-latency wireless products. After all, wireless gaming mice are a hot commodity nowadays, so big companies are competing for that market and undeniably progressing. 

The Gladius II Wireless is Asus’s offering to the trend. It has roughly 1ms of input lag without its cable. It utilizes 2.4GHz & Bluetooth technology to function. I did not notice any jitter during testing in both modes. But I noticed that the 2.4GHz connection is better. Therefore, I recommend it for heavy and competitive gaming. 

Though wireless performance is impressive, nothing still beats the good old’ cable. The package includes a braided cable that is thick, and very stiff. If you did opt to use the cable during charging, then I’d clearly suggest attaching it with some sort of bungee as the Gladius II’s wire has a lot of resistance and drag. With that said, I hope that the next Gladius edition will have a slimmer, lighter, and more elastic cord. 

Charging and Battery 

The Gladius II Wireless is powered by a built-in 800mAh battery. When you use the 2.4GHz wireless mode, the mouse can keep you company for about 36 hours without the fancy lighting. If the light show is on it will eat your time down to 24 hours. 

The Bluetooth connection will up battery life to 57 hours without RGB, dropping to 25 hours with the lights on. Though I understand your intention to extend battery life, I would advise against using Bluetooth if you plan on fast-paced gaming. Even BT connection comes without too much latency, the standard 2.4GHz is still faster and more responsive. 

Software and Lighting 

The ROG Armoury is the Gladius II Wireless’s official software. It is a well-made program that matches the design and theme of the ROG lineup. This means that black and red, sharp edges and metallic-like accents are its major bet. 

The program is quite intuitive and fairly easy to use once you get used to it. With this software, you can adjust button mapping and create macros. There is also a Calibration tab in which you can find the lift-off distance settings. You can also manually calibrate the LOD here. You also have a power that displays battery stats and a sleep timer too. 

The ROG Armoury is also in charge of the light show. The Gladius II Wireless has a lot of RGB features if you are aesthetically-inclined. The lighting looks fabulous, with lively, vivid colors, and smooth transitions.  

Final Verdict 

Overall, the Gladius II Wireless is a heavy-duty mouse with great sensor and satisfying battery life. It is not stigmatized as an MMORPG mouse, given the few buttons.  We couldn’t label this an FPS mouse either, given the weight. The Gladius II is more like an all-rounder mouse than a specialist. “Jack of all trades – master of none” could be an adequate tag here.  

To wrap it up, if you want a wireless mouse that won’t give up on you after a few months then the bulk and switches that power the Gladius II are your best bet. This is a solid and un-apologetically chubby mouse that performs well. 

On Focus
9.4
ASUS ROG Gladius II
  • DESIGNED FOR COMMITTED GAMERS - ASUS Gladius II Gaming Mouse is fitted with an advanced 12000 DPI Optical Sensor and has a dedicated DPI target button to quickly switch sensitivity settings with a push of a button
  • SWITCHES BUILT TO LAST - The Gladius II gaming mouse features Omron switches rated to deliver at least 50-million clicks
  • DUAL WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY - With two connection options, direct Bluetooth Pairing with Bluetooth supported laptops and PCs, or via 2.4GHz RF USB Dongle

Ed has fond memories of the times when he played games on an 8-bit console. If you want to make him talk for hours on end, just ask him about Valla from Heroes of the Storm. Eddie despises hackers and gamers who do not take the game seriously. He sees RealGear as a place where he has the freedom to express his viewpoint regarding PC and console games and put his journalism skills into practice.

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