Adding to the actual feel of the mouse is the weights system I've already mentioned, giving a fair bit of adjustment between reasonably weighty to what can be a very light piece of kit. Personally, I have to have all the weights on because the base of the mouse is so well designed it skims across any surface like it's covered in grease. The base is a solid piece of metal, with a few pads. Strong, smooth. I'd actually argue it's perfect, offering the best movement I've found from a mouse. For power, the R.A.T. DWS uses a AA battery, which you insert into a semi-hidden tube in the mouse's base. According to Mad Catz, a single cell should supply 200 hours of play time when using 2.4GHz WiFi, and up to 300 hours when using Bluetooth. Those are strong numbers, even among cell-powered mice that tend to get more than one hundred hours of battery life per charge. Using the scroll wheel on the R.A.T. Air was a lesson in frustration as well. Sometimes it scrolled too much, which left me cycling through weapons like a fool, and at other times it wouldn't scroll enough. I was never able to find the sweet spot where I could reliably use the scroll wheel to switch between weapons (or, you know, browse the web) on the first try. The RAT DWS features a 16,000 DPI sensor right out of the box. This is comfortably sensitive enough for competitive gamers, although you can get a higher DPI with rivals such as the Razer DeathAdder V2.

While the M.O.J.O. M1’s price doesn’t set it apart from the competition, its design does. That asymmetrical hollow-pyramid design, as Mad Catz calls it, covers both sides of the mouse and the midsection of the palm rest with triangle-shaped holes, similar to the honeycomb design of some other mice. Together, they lessen the weight of the mouse. 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 storyMad Catz created a bespoke configuration app for customizing the R.A.T. DWS' settings. The app, which looks nearly identical to the F.L.U.X. app Mad Catz used for the R.A.T. 8+, lets you remap 14 inputs. The remapping UI, which lets you drag and drop action icons into slots that point to their inputs, is surprisingly unintuitive. Some of the slots don’t correspond to their buttons you’d expect, so you must be cautious when changing settings. In addition, the software doesn’t show you the default icons, which makes it difficult to switch default functions.

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. 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. 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. Mad Catz announces the B.A.T. 6+ Gaming Mouse High performance, hyper-responsive DAKOTA switch, diversified accessories, and aggressiveness in aestheticsThe 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.

I tested both connections during testing the Mad Catz R.A.T. DWS and can confirm that both took seconds to setup. 2.4Ghz connection just requires you to plug in the dongle, while the Bluetooth connection can be enabled simply by opening the Bluetooth options menu on your PC. When looking at this, I'm very much reminded of the Tetsuya Nomura version of Batman or the Darksiders designs from Joe Madureira ( War, to be precise). That is to say that the Mad Catz R.A.T. 6+ is over-designed. I don't doubt that to somebody, somewhere, it looks great. Just not to me. There are too many details on the details and at first glance, it barely even looks like a mouse - unless it's a mouse slowly turning into its true transformer form? 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. Kowloon, Hong Kong – Jan 11, 2021 - Mad Catz Global Limited, the leading innovators in gaming hardware, are excited to announce a new gaming mouse, the B.A.T. 6+. Combining the elements of fast and powerful design, the truly ambidextrous gaming mouse offers the ultimate customizability and comfort, allowing every gamer to swap the side skirts and palm rests at will under each circumstance. Equipped with a high-end 16K DPI sensor and the 2ms response time of the DAKOTA™ switch, B.A.T. 6+ makes you become the mobile armory. 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.

Whereas other manufacturers such as Corsair, HP and Logitech have made use of magnets to make the process intuitive, MadCatz has bundled the RAT DWS with a small screwdriver so you have to involve yourself in a bit of manual labour to get the mouse feeling just right. This does seem rather fiddly, even for gamers who love to fettle with their peripherals. Performance – An eSports ready wireless mouse 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.

Given the hardware issues, maybe the R.A.T. Air's software is good? Nope. Mad Catz's software offers the usual features -- CPI settings, acceleration, et cetera -- as well as the ability to create multiple profiles for use with different games. But it's also a buggy mess that's frustrating to install, let alone use.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.