One of my colleagues who uses a palm grip, however, could comfortably reach it with her fingertip grip. But using it didn't always go smoothly. Sometimes she'd miss the thumb wheel if not looking at it directly, and other times she'd accidentally hit the left mouse button while trying to spin the unfortunately located wheel. Unfortunately, the Mad Catz R.A.T.. Air doesn't feel any better to use. It's supposed to be somewhat ergonomic, and Mad Catz even included an adjustable palm rest to accommodate different hand sizes, but there's simply too much going on for it to feel good. The plastic itself feels okay, but at no point during my time with the R.A.T. Air did I find myself liking the way it felt in my hand. Besides its odd shape, the mouse is short. There are just 2.5 inches from the mouse's bottom to the the part that touches your palm, compared to the 3.5 inches in the Roccat Kain 200 Aimo and Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro wireless mice. The shape also adds weight. At 4.80 ounces, the R.A.T. DWS is among the heaviest mice I’ve reviewed. That isn’t necessarily a problem, but it indicates that the design favors extra inputs and customization over competitive performance. This may not be your preferred esports mouse.

Where the Mad Catz M.O.J.O. M1 excels however, is performance. Not only does it have a fast response time, again thanks to the Dakota Switches, but the mouse uses the PMW 3360 optical sensor that delivers a 1000Hz polling rate, 50G acceleration, 250 IPS, and up to 12000 DPI. Sure, there are mice with higher DPI, but even 12K is more than we could ever use. Even with this claim, I didn’t feel too much difference when testing, but the mouse buttons on the RAT DWS remain tactile and solid to the touch, as do the extra buttons – although the scroll wheel doesn’t feel as smooth as those on other mice. Mad Catz announces the B.A.T. 6+ Gaming Mouse High performance, hyper-responsive DAKOTA switch, diversified accessories, and aggressiveness in aesthetics Despite the RAT DWS’ rather marvellous battery life of 200 hours through the receiver and 300 hours via Bluetooth, there’s no ability to recharge. This is largely thanks to the power source of the RAT DWS being an included AA battery. This cheapens the look and feel of the mouse, especially given that the rest of the competition is rechargeable. Software and Lighting – Great for one side of the story The old Mad Catz was primarily known for 'good enough' game controllers in recent years. Most people probably didn't choose to use them over a first-party controller, but the controllers did what was expected of them. But despite a high price and busy design, the R.A.T. Air failed in some of its most basic functionality when running wirelessly.

Let's get this out of the way: I couldn't find a single reason to use the Mad Catz R.A.T. Air's thumb barrel. That's partly because of its placement, which was difficult to reach when using a palm grip, and partly because it didn't seem any more convenient than the scroll wheel. I couldn't get the tilt wheel to work reliably enough to judge its effectiveness for myself, either.

Given there’s the ability to fiddle with the RAT DWS’ functionality when it comes to both hardware and software, it’s an ideal product for those who like to get things just right. Related Story IOGEAR KVM Roundup Review: IOGear 2-port full HD KVM with HDMI/USB connections; 2-port 4K KVM with HDMI, USB, & KeyMander Nexus! Do You Need A KVM In 2023? B.A.T. 6+ is the first gaming mouse to implement the Mad Catz Cyborg Engine. The Cyborg Engine is designed to have less impact on your gaming mouse while handling all of your important game settings. The software aims at combining your complex setup into an extension of the game with one integration while giving vivid lighting effects throughout the mouse chassis. It’s a fun, relatively successful way to give you more choice in how to use your mouse. If gaming mice are defined by their enhanced configuration options, modular hardware is about as hardcore as it gets. Fortunately, removing and replacing the panels is easy, so you don't need technical know-how to do it. When it comes to wireless connection, the RAT DWS provides you with two flavours: Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz wireless through the included USB-A receiver. Switching between the two connections is seamless thanks to a little switch on the mouse’s underside, and it means that the RAT DWS can also be a nice little mouse for productivity too.

A Bespoke App for the DWS

The first thing I did was change the CPI setting. I changed it, saved it and then received a notification saying the profile was saved. That's when the R.A.T. Air stopped working. I tried a wired connection to no avail. Eventually I had to restart my PC before I could use the mouse again. And even after that, the CPI setting wasn't saved. But at least the mouse started working again after the reboot. The RGB is limited in the same way. There’s no software to really customize the colors or effects on the M1. All you can do is press the front side button and right mouse button at the same time to cycle through four effects: static color, off, breathing, and spectrum. Since there’s only one RGB zone emanating from inside the shell, it’s not the biggest deal. However, RGB fans would have appreciated a little more effort here. With the RAT DWS being exclusively wireless, it’s great for those gamers who just want a bit more freedom, even if that comes at the cost of it being powered by one AA battery. I've used this for a good few weeks now and I would say that it feels durable with every component and button doing the job that you'd expect them to. This works in line with my earlier mention of the build quality being fantastic. Over long sessions, I have noticed a cramp in my palm and thumb, though that only comes around when I try to use the side-scroll wheel. I honestly think my hand is just too wide for it. The fact that I keep trying to use it, knowing this, shows how insanely useful it is. You can use the small hex key that comes with the mouse to unscrew and remove the mouse’s pinky-side panel. By default, the R.A.T. DWS features a thumb wing on the left side and a smooth right edge, but it comes bundled with two alternate side panels that let you add a grip-enhancing right side or pinky wing. All three have their advantages. Cosmetically, the smooth edge fits the best. The grip makes the mouse easier to hold. The pinky wing adds extra support, as well as width and weight.