Before reviewing the Daedalus Prime, I got the chance to sit down with Brent Barry, the head of marketing for Logitech’s gaming branch. He talked me through Logitech’s approach to its gaming equipment, then gave me the rundown on the features of the Daedalus Prime and the science behind it.
“We Game With Passion, We Win With Science.”
That’s one of Logitech’s mottos. So before they built a new MOBA mouse, the developers needed to know what issues that top MOBA players were facing with the current equipment. Turns out that one of the biggest issues for competitive players was the bulkiness of most higher-end competitive mice. Any frequent MOBA player knows that fast, accurate movement and great click response are the most important features a MOBA mouse can have.
Logitech took all this into consideration when constructing the Daedalus Prime. They made it as light as possible, omitted any extraneous buttons, and really focused on the tension and durability of the left and right mouse buttons.
But the question is, does the science translate to a great piece of equipment? In short, yes it does. Read on to find out why.
Unboxing & First Impressions
Unboxing the Daedalus Prime, I was amazed by how light it felt. (Especially after spending so much time with Corsair’s hulking M65.) At just over 4.5 ounces, it almost feels too flimsy to withstand the demands of a competitive MOBA player. Its solid construction, however, compensates for its incredibly light weight.
The Daedalus Prime is relatively small in comparison to other gaming mice. The entire body is made of sturdy plastic that’s lightly textured – just enough to keep it from becoming slick after a long play session. As I mentioned before, there aren’t a lot of extra buttons – just the two standard shoulder buttons and a clickable scroll wheel with a single DPI button behind it. The bottom of the mouse simply features two smooth plastic glide pads with the optical sensor in the middle. The USB cable comes out of the very front.
The back of the mouse features the logo for Logitech’s gaming line, which glows bright blue. On the rear sides of the mouse, a honeycomb pattern also pulses blue. (The pulsing pattern can be changed in the utility software.) This is purely an aesthetic feature, but it cast a really neat pattern on my desk when I wasn’t using it.
Software
The Daedalus Prime is plug-and-play, but you can also download utility software from Logitech’s website. The software is pretty straightforward, making it accessible for those who haven’t quite mastered the art of mouse optimization. From the utility screen, you can customize on-board profiles, adjust lighting, access settings, or even use the input analysis tool to see which keys you use the most during a game. (You can also bind this feature to a shortcut so you don’t have to open the utility screen each time you want to use it in-game.)
If you’ve used Logitech’s Gaming Software before, you know that it automatically scans your computer for installed games and creates profiles to accompany them.
You can customize the button bindings in each profile, as well as adjust the DPI to anywhere from 240 to 4,000. The software also automatically switches between these profiles for you, so you don’t have go through the tedious process of manually assigning profiles to different filepaths. I had profiles assigned for several different games (Smite, Dragon Age: Origins, Kingdoms of Alamur: Reckoning, Torchlight II, Fallout 3, and Lords of Xulima.) I didn’t have any problems with the auto-switching between profiles, which saved me a lot of time that would have been otherwise wasted on manual switches.
Performance
Although it doesn’t feel like much, the Daedalus Prime definitely packs a punch. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I have child-sized hands, so grip is usually a big issue for me with a gaming mouse. This one, however, fit my hands really well. I’m a palm gripper, and the Daedalus was perfectly comfortable to use that way. (I also tried a claw grip and found that it still felt pretty good.) The shoulder buttons rested right above my thumb. They were spaced well and required just enough pressure that I didn’t accidentally hit both buttons at once.
Clicking is where the Daedalus Prime really shines. Logitech knew that MOBA players would demand a lot of their left and right mouse buttons. So how could they improve click response? They put a tiny metal spring beneath the buttons that constantly pulls them down, so they’re sitting right on top of the microswitches. That means there’s as little downtime as possible from click to response.
The clicking action on this mouse is taut and highly responsive. For palm grippers like me, clicking requires little more than a twitch of the fingertips. Because it requires so little pressure to reach the microswitches, it’s a lot easier to make multiple clicks or switch between left and right clicking. This little mouse kept right up with the furious button-mashing in Smite, and the lack of extraneous buttons gave me good leverage for right-clicking without having to worry about accidental button presses. And even after long, click-intensive gaming sessions, I never walked away with sore fingers.
In terms of tracking, as long as you keep the Daedalus Prime planted on your desk, it can keep up with your quickest movements. Tracking was smooth and concise without being overly sensitive. In-game, I found that overcompensation was much less of an issue than it usually is for me. During intense combat encounters, the Daedalus helped me keep control over my character even when I started to tense up and lose my cool.
However, more heavy-handed players may find this mouse problematic.
The optimal sensor will stop tracking if lifted more than about a quarter-inch off your playing surface. This usually isn’t an issue in MOBA-style play, but it really depends more in your personal play style. (If you prefer to be able to lift your mouse without gaps in tracking, you may want to take a look at Logitech’s FPS mouse, the G402 Hyperion Fury. It has a neat little fusion engine.) Heavy-handed players (and claw grippers, too), will probably struggle with the spring tension in the left and right mouse buttons. While the mouse is comfortable for a claw grip, the sensitivity of the buttons could make it easy to click accidentally.
Overall, the click response is definitely the Daedalus Prime’s best feature. It’s also the sturdiest. According to Mr. Barry, the left and right mouse buttons can withstand 20 million clicks each before they begin to degrade. (That’s about 15 hours of competitive-level eSports play per day for two years.)
The only complaint I really had about the overall feel/performance of the mouse was the scroll wheel. While this wheel was better constructed than others I’ve used from Logitech, it still fell a little short for me. This is mostly a matter of personal preference, as I tend to prefer heavier scroll wheels with a little more resistance – that way you don’t accidentally scroll while trying to click the wheel, which happened to me a few times with this mouse. But I understand why the scroll wheel was so light, and I would take the smooth handling of this mouse over a heavy scroll wheel any day.
The Verdict
I’m impressed with the performance of this compact unit. For such a simple design, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that gives this mouse its solid tracking and phenomenal click response. Even through long, intense play sessions, the Daedalus Prime kept right up with me and stayed comfortable the entire time.
The Prime is all about streamlining, from the lightweight body to the easy-to-use utility software. Logitech packed a lot of great features into this mouse, and it’s worth considering if you’re in the market for a new one. The research that Logitech put into this machine definitely pays off and makes for a satisfying MOBA (as well as RPG for me) experience.
I’m tempted to give the Daedalus Prime a 9/10, but because it is limited to one style of play, I’m giving it an 8/10.
It’s best to keep in mind that the Daedalus Prime is a MOBA mouse, so it’s not suited for all players. It’s been streamlined for a particular style of play, which means it’s a little restricted when it comes to other types of games (most notably FPS). I didn’t mind the limitations, as I rarely use more than the left/right mouse buttons and shoulder buttons anyway. Players who prefer extra bells and whistles, as well as those who tend to be a little rougher on their mice, probably won’t have the satisfying experience with the Prime that I did.
One of the best features of the Daedalus Prime is its affordable price tag. It’s listed at $49.99 on Logitech’s website, making it an affordable choice for a lot of gamers. And if you’re inclined toward the style of play that the Prime is built for, it’s a solid equipment choice that you’ll surely have a great time playing with. Though it may be suited to only a few genres, the Daedalus prime excels in that regard. Looks like science really does win.
Disclaimer: Logitech provided GS with the product unit used in this review.
Published: Nov 23, 2014 10:02 pm