Razer Basilisk V3 review

Looking for an excellent gaming mouse that won’t break the bank? For just $69, you can pick up the Razer Basilisk V3, a feature-filled gaming mouse with all of the latest tech. 

This baby features speedy performance thanks to its new 26K DPI sensor, a comfortable design and a smart scroll wheel that lets you spin your heart away. The only flaw is that the ring and pinkie rest could be bigger to create a more comfortable grip. 

Apart from that quibble, the Razer Basilisk V3 is easily the best gaming mouse in Razer’s lineup.

Razer Basilisk V3 design

The Razer Basilisk V3 features the same slick, black shell as its predecessors but this time, it’s rocking a badass Fast & Furious-esque underglow. At 5.1 x 2.4 x 1.7 inches, it’s a little larger than the Basilisk Ultimate, but it lost weight, dropping from 107 grams to 101g (3.56 ounces).

If you’ve seen a Basilisk before, not much has changed cosmetically. There's an RGB-lit Razer logo on the palm rest surrounded by a boxcutter-shaped panel. That panel is sectioned off by a glossy black accent, which leads to the stylish left and right clickers as well as the RGB-lit scroll wheel, DPI button and scroll mode toggle.

There’s a grippable panel on the left side of the mouse curved inward which gives my thumb enough space to rest. Right above the thumb rest are two discrete buttons, along with a sensitivity clutch button that lines up with the middle of my thumb. Meanwhile, the right side sports another grippable panel that curves only slightly inward, providing some room for the ring and pinkie finger.

The Razer Basilisk V3 is a wired mouse with a non-removable cord. On the underside of the mouse, you’ll find white teflon feet, a profile button and a RGB-lit line that traces around most of the chassis.

Razer Basilisk V3 comfort

Playing with the Razer Basilisk V3 makes me not want to go back to any other mouse -- and that takes a lot for me to say. The chassis fits well in my hand, and the thumb grip is incredibly comfortable. As with most mice, the ring and pinkie rest could be improved with individual grooves for the fingers.

I love the way that the clickers sound. They’re sharp and meaty, as though every click, every bullet you fire, or every choice you make matters with the Razer Basilisk V3. The same goes for the two clickers on the left side. A common issue I’ve noticed on some mice is stiff buttons, but they’re buttery smooth on the Basilisk. The sensitivity clutch takes some pressure to activate, which helps slow down the mouse for more accurate aiming.

After having used the Logitech G502 Hero’s dual-mode mechanical scroll wheel, I was excited to try the Razer Basilisk V3’s Hyperscroll tilt scroll wheel. It lets you jump from rigid scrolling to free-scrolling with the click of a button. And if you enable Smart-Reel in Razer Synapse, the scroll wheel will automatically activate free-scrolling if you flick the wheel fast enough. I love this, although the pressure required should be increased, as there are times where I accidentally activate the free scroll.

Razer Basilisk V3 performance

From blasting werewolves with a shotgun to burning rats with balls of fire, the Razer Basilisk V3 kicked so much ass on the battlefield with me.

In Resident Evil Village, I aimed down my sniper scope to take out flying bats, and thanks to the sensitivity clutch, everything came to a slow crawl as I blasted the one above me out of the sky. When I ran through the village, I snapped at each growl with my shotgun, and while I shot at nothing half of the time, the other half left werewolves on the ground with gaping holes in their heads. The Basilisk was more reliable than my shooting.

I played Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and engulfed my enemies in fire, snapping the Basilisk V3 360 degrees to cover every rat trying to claw its way on top of me. Thanks to how lightweight the mouse is, I could easily lift it off my mousepad when turning. This especially comes in handy with fast-paced horde games like Vermintide 2.

In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, I reassigned the dodge button to one of the mouse buttons on the left side, and since the button is easy to press, it made combat feel smoother. The clickers felt super satisfying when I was cutting into some Saxon fools during a raid. And when they tried to run away, the sensitivity clutch came in handy as I shot them with arrows.

Razer Basilisk V3 features

The Razer Basilisk V3 is packing some new tech to put it ahead of the competition, all of which is powered by Razer’s Synapse software.

This version of the Basilisk features the 2nd-Gen Razer optical switches, rated for 70 million clicks. It clocks in 11 programmable buttons and 11 RGB lighting zones. The underside packs the new Razer Focus+ optical sensor, which is capable of 26,000 DPI, 650 IPS (inches per second) and 50G acceleration.

With the Razer Synapse app, you can configure all of the buttons within the Customize tab. You can also adjust the scroll acceleration, scrolling mode and Smart-Reel. In the Performance tab, you’ll find settings for the DPI sensitivity and the polling rate. The Lighting tab lets you adjust brightness, sleep settings and color effects via the Chroma Studio app. Finally, there’s the Calibration app, which lets you adjust the smart tracking distance (from 1 mm to 3 mm) when the mouse is not touching the ground. It also lets you enable Asymmetric Cut-off, which dynamically adjusts the lift-off and landing cut-off points.

Bottom line

If the Razer Basilisk V3 was wireless, you’d be feeling that Razer tax hard, but this wired model is only $69 and packs features, including my favorite in any mouse: an adjustable scroll wheel. If that doesn’t sell you, the sick RGB lights and speedy performance will.

However, if you want to save some money, you can pick up the SteelSeries Prime though it doesn’t come with nearly as many features and costs only $10 less.

The Razer Basilisk V3 is an excellent gaming mouse with plenty of useful features and can be purchased at a surprisingly affordable price.