Hands-on: The compact, lightweight ROG Keris Wireless sharpens competitive play

A couple weeks ago, I started maining the ROG Keris Wireless gaming mouse, and there’s no question that it’s sharpened my game. This compact mouse is loaded with features: low-latency RF wireless connectivity, PBT main buttons, a lightweight frame, a high-end optical sensor, and more.

It didn’t take long for this agile mouse to earn its place on my desk. Its compact, contoured shape feels just right under my fingers, and its lightweight, durable frame makes it easy for me to execute the sweeping mouse motions used by esports professionals. Dual-mode wireless connectivity options give me the cord-free convenience I crave, and its high-performance sensor gives me responsive, accurate input in any game I play. All these elements make me a better gamer when the Keris Wireless is under my hand.

Familiar shape, premium feel

We enlisted esports pros to help us sculpt the surface of the Keris for long-term comfort, and their feedback was immediately clear to me once I settled in for a gaming marathon. The Keris’s contoured shape just fits naturally under my hand. The sides of the mouse slope slightly inward, so I’m firmly in control when I use a claw grip. When I relax into a palm grip for everyday computing, the palm rest meets my hand just where I expect it to.

The PBT main buttons are an unusual luxury that I hadn’t realized I was missing out on. I’d gotten used to the slippery, oily sheen that other polymers build up over time, but PBT resists that kind of wear and tear. It has a dry, lightly textured feel to it, a grippiness that’s reassuring when I play a fast-paced game.

Like the main buttons, the switches underneath are built to go the distance. They’re rated for 70 million clicks, so I’m not worried about them wearing out any time soon. Should the day come when one of the switches wears out, I can extend the lifespan of the Keris with an easy replacement. Our exclusive push-fit socket design means that I don’t have to do anything more complicated than pull one switch out and pop another in if I need to restore the function of a main button. There’s even a spare pair of switches included in the box.

It’s reassuring to know that a broken or worn-out switch won’t brick the Keris. That reduces e-waste, lets me enjoy the Keris as long as I want, and even lets me experiment with different switch types. Our latest push-fit socket design supports both three-pin and six-pin switches for the widest range of replacement compatibility.

When I first picked up this mouse’s packaging, I did a double take. For a moment, I thought there had been a mistake—that I’d been sent an empty box. At just 79g, the Keris Wireless’ mass barely registers in my hand. Internal honeycomb supports keep the mouse sturdy while keeping its weight low.  In action, the Keris feels even lighter than it actually is. That’s because of its four wide Teflon mouse feet. Friction matters as much as weight when I’m playing a fast-paced FPS, and the Keris glides over my mousing surface like none other.

Its lightweight frame and low-friction feet make the Keris an ideal mouse for competitive FPS games. It’s not uncommon to see professionals play with lower DPI on a large mousing surface. When I gave this a try in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, I saw right away why this approach is so attractive. It immediately improved my aim. With just a little practice, I greatly improved the accuracy of my flick shots and charged into firefights with much more confidence. The setup does mean that I have to move the mouse much farther than usual to do a 180° turn. With a heavier mouse, that might be fatiguing over time, but the Keris’ light weight makes it effortless.

The Keris’s clean lines and simple black finish makes it a natural fit with my other peripherals, and I love how its RGB LEDs give it a welcome dose of personality. I can customize the lighting in the scroll wheel and underneath the ROG logo in the palm rest any way I want, and with just one click, I can synchronize its colors and effects with the rest of my gear using Aura Sync. I can personalize its look further by swapping out the black side buttons. There are two sets of replacements in the box: one gray and one pink. They’re held in place with magnets, so I don’t even need a screwdriver to pop in my favorites.

Cut the cord

I’ve been a PC gamer long enough to remember the days when I’d never want to play with a wireless mouse. The high latency and poor battery life of those early models made them non-starters for anyone entering the heat of battle—or anyone who liked to see their cursor move responsively in Windows, for that matter.

The ROG Keris Wireless suffers from none of the problems of those older units. For one, its wireless performance is virtually indistinguishable from its wired performance. Whether I connect to my PC with its included USB cable or with its included USB transceiver, I enjoy the same 1000Hz polling rate. A clever dock in the base of the Keris makes it easy for me to bring that transceiver with me wherever I go, too. When I’m gaming or working on the go, Bluetooth mode lets me connect to my laptop without consuming a valuable USB port. A handy switch on the mouse’s base lets me pick the best connection for the moment.

It’s easy to use the Keris with two different PCs. I leave the USB transceiver plugged into my main PC so that I can enjoy a decluttered, wire-free space on my desktop. I’ve also paired the Keris with my ultrabook using Bluetooth, so all I have to do to use it with that laptop is flip a switch. The mouse’s light weight already makes it an easy traveling companion, and its wireless connectivity options take the hassle out of packing it up for a trip.

When it’s time to recharge the Keris’s batteries, all I have to do is connect it to my PC with its USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable. A mere fifteen minutes of charging is good enough to give the Keris up to twelve more hours of use. The flexible and lightweight ROG Paracord cable makes the Keris a pleasure to use even when it’s charging. Its smooth, lightweight covering moved freely across my desktop without snagging and impeding my most intense mouse movements.

For as easy as the USB-C port makes it to charge up the mouse, the Keris doesn’t require me to plug it in all that often. Even with its RGB LEDs glowing, it gives me days of wireless operation. I most recently topped off its battery on a Thursday afternoon. It then weathered the regular use of my everyday routine and long hours of gaming over the weekend, and it still went strong into the next week. It wasn’t until the following Wednesday evening that I needed to recharge.

Championship-level performance

The ROG Keris Wireless feels good under my fingers and gives me the freedom of high-performance wireless connectivity. It's also an unerring weapon on the digital battlefield. The mouse’s 16,000 DPI optical sensor gives me the accuracy I need for precise input in the heat of battle. Adjusting the DPI for the moment is easy, too, thanks to our DPI-on-the-Scroll feature. I can hold the DPI button on the base of the mouse, roll the scroll wheel up or down, and get the sensitivity that’s best for the game that I’m playing, all without software. The Keris’s accuracy stays consistent when I’m whipping it across my desktop, thanks to a sensor that can track accurately under up 40g max acceleration and speeds up to 400 inches per second.

The Keris Wireless’s highly accurate sensor and low-latency connection options make it a supremely responsive mouse to use. When I have to use a low-quality mouse, I feel a constant, nagging irritation at the delay between the movement of my hand and the action on the screen. This delay, called motion-to-photon latency, can keep me from performing my best in games. The Keris is built end-to-end to minimize this delay and put me on top of the action. Whether I’m commanding my armies in a real-time strategy game or sniping opponents in a competitive esports title, the Keris always keeps my cursor or crosshair moving as fast as my reflexes allow.

ROG Keris Wireless
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Wireless without compromise

I’m always on the lookout for new strategies to up my game in competitive esports titles. As I examine the setups of my favorite pros and streamers, I can’t ignore the fact that they prefer lightweight, highly responsive mice for fast-paced FPS games like CS:GO. The ROG Keris Wireless let me follow their lead, and it made an immediate impact.

Any mouse on my desk has to prove its worth in a wide range of games and apps, and the Keris Wireless passed each test with flying colors.  Its contoured shape felt natural from the moment I first tried it. Its PBT main buttons and durable switches assure me that this mouse will keep up with me for years to come. Even if I manage to wear out the switches, our exclusive hot-swappable design means I can easily plug in a new set and keep gaming. Dual-mode wireless connectivity options give me the convenience I want, and I can trust the Keris to perform at its best no matter which mode I choose.

The ROG Keris Wireless has proven to be a trustworthy weapon for me in every game I’ve played. Get one of your own to enjoy the convenience of wireless connectivity and the control of its responsive, accurate operation in one attractive package.