Mouse pads are a highly underestimated part of your perfect gaming setup, which can be considerably more complex than many might imagine. Marko Jevtic, the mouse pad expert (yes, this exists) at MeinMMO, therefore provides you with a buying guide.
Why are mouse pads important? The right mouse pad can make a significant difference, especially in shooters. Just as the right sneakers are important for jogging because they support your movements and cushion foot impacts, mouse pads are essential for gaming. Ideally, they should highlight your gaming strengths and mask your weaknesses.
Since a mouse pad also belongs to the cheapest parts of your desk, it’s worth buying the right product here. This guide is designed to help you.
As a moderator of several shooter communities, he is regularly in contact with hardware developers, e-sports professionals, and aim coaches. He has also contributed to the mouse pad overview, to which he often refers.
How is this guide structured? To keep it as clear as possible, I divide this article into 3 sections:
- The summary with a recommendation for the best overall mouse pad
- A slightly more detailed explanation of the key differences with more recommendations for a broader range
- The best, but also the most expensive mouse pads on the market
You can quickly and easily get to the desired section through our table of contents:
Depending on your interest, budget, and willingness to research and experiment, you can pick exactly what you need from this article. These recommendations are primarily written from the perspective of a shooter player but also apply equally to MMOs or other genres.
The most recommendable mouse pad: X-Raypad Aqua Control II
Which mouse pad can I recommend to everyone? If you’re simply looking for a quick recommendation, you need look no further than the mouse pad “X-Raypad Aqua Control II”. It is the perfect all-rounder mouse pad, available in many sizes and catering to a wide price range. Additionally, it is of high quality and also looks really good.
In short: If you don’t want to do much research and want the best mouse pad for all conceivable situations, you should buy the mouse pad “X-Raypad Aqua Control II”.
I recommend always getting the largest pad that your budget and space allow. A mat of 90cm x 40cm like this looks great and allows you to experiment with many different mouse sensitivity settings and place your keyboard on it:
On Amazon, the pad is available in several sizes and many vibrant colors. The different sizes also impact the price, with the pad typically costing about the same as comparable mouse pads.
If you want a wider selection of colors and prices, you can also check sites like the Swedish site maxgaming.com. There you will also find the mouse pad “Aqua Control Plus”, which is just a tad slower than the Aqua Control II but is also very good.
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
You can also order the pads from the official website, where you have an even larger selection and can even create your own designs. The price range before shipping is between 9 and 42 US dollars. However, ordering the pads this way means they come from China or Hong Kong, which will take longer and cost more.
What is the best cheap mouse pad? If all of this is still too expensive for you and you’re simply looking for a good, cheap mouse pad, a classic is the best choice.
The “Steelseries QcK” is probably the most popular mouse pad of all time, thanks to its low price. It doesn’t shine in any particular aspect and is not particularly durable, but it has the best price-performance ratio on the market. For this reason, many e-sports professionals still use it today.
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In the next part, I will explain with more recommendations what you need to consider if you want to dig deeper to find the absolutely perfect mouse pad for you.
The best mouse pad for shooters and MMOs: What you need to consider
What should you consider when choosing mouse pads? Several factors influence how a mouse pad performs for you. These include:
- The material of the mouse pad (popular choices include cloth, plastic, glass, and hybrid materials like Cordura)
- The coating of the mouse pad
- The thickness of the material
- The size of the mouse pad
- The humidity
- Your pressure on the mouse during use
All these factors together influence three important properties. These significantly affect how your mouse pad feels:
- The static friction or grip: How much resistance does the mouse pad provide when I start moving a stationary mouse?
- The dynamic friction or glide: How much resistance do I feel while moving my mouse?
- The stopping power: How quickly can I stop my mouse?
Ultimately, one differentiates between slow, medium-fast, and fast mouse pads. Depending on how you move your mouse and which games you play, you should make a different choice.
To give a practical example: A mouse pad made of rough fabric and thick usually has high values in all three respects. The rough fabric makes initial movements difficult, provides a lot of resistance during movement, and you can almost press the mouse into the thick fabric to stop the movement. Thus, such mouse pads are considered slow pads.
In the following, we will reveal the advantages and disadvantages of each type of mouse pad and provide a recommendation. More extended recommendations and more precise data can be found in the expert document by hoya.
Slow Mouse Pads (“Control Pads”)
Who are slow mouse pads suitable for? Slow mouse pads are very good if you play games where precise headshots are crucial, such as CSGO or Valorant. The more resistance the pad provides, the more control you have thanks to the mouse pad even with large arm movements.
The best slow mouse pad is undoubtedly the “Zowie GSR.” Almost all CSGO pros use it, as hardly any pad offers more control than this one.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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BenQ ZOWIR G-SR Gummi Gaming-Mauspad, Schwarz* | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
This is what you need to consider: If you play fast games where reactions are crucial, you should look for other pads.
Also, note that slow mouse pads often react allergically to high humidity due to their processing. A thick, rough fabric tends to absorb moisture like a sponge in high humidity, giving it an uncomfortable, ‘swampy’ feel. So, for example, if you live near a lake, you’d better look for a medium-fast alternative.
Fabric pads also don’t last forever. The coating as well as the fabric itself wear out over time and with natural soiling. While you can clean them by hand with lukewarm water and some dish soap, these pads will eventually need to be replaced if you want to maintain top performance. The expert document recommends washing the “Zowie GSR” every 3 months and replacing it every 8 – 10 months.
Medium-Fast Mouse Pads & “Hybrid Pads”
Who are medium-fast mouse pads suitable for? Mouse pads that are neither too fast nor too slow are a great choice for most players. So if you play many different games or are unsure of what exactly you need from a mouse pad, you should choose a medium-fast pad.
Among the medium-fast mouse pads, the aforementioned “X-Ray Aqua Control II” has proven to be an excellent choice. However, it’s a cloth mouse pad. Experts have, however, been leaning towards so-called hybrid pads for some time, which use special materials.
The most popular of these use a fabric called Cordura. These pads are true all-rounders, are water-repellent, and have no issues with humidity. The special fabric also ensures that the pads are much more durable and do not need to be replaced for years.
The best Cordura pad in my experience is the “Coolermaster MP511.” It’s slightly faster than the predecessor MP510 but also less scratchy.
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Cooler Master MP511 XL Gaming Mouse Pad - Premium Mat Optimised for Accuracy with Durable Cordura... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
This is what you need to consider: Hybrid pads are less comfortable on the skin than cloth. While you quickly get used to the relative scratchiness of Cordura, it remains a downside. Although they don’t need to be cleaned as often as cloth pads, this is also relatively more challenging due to the material.
Fast Mouse Pads (“Speed Pads”)
Who are fast mouse pads suitable for? If you play the fastest shooters on the market, such as Apex Legends or Titanfall 2, you should try a fast mouse pad. Here you have almost no resistance when moving the mouse on the pad. Every slight movement of your hand gets translated into the game, which significantly helps the best aimers on the servers.
The best fast pad in my experience is the “Glorious Air.” It’s an incredibly thin plastic pad that you can “stick” to your desk.
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ENDGAME GEAR MPC 890 Cordura XXL Gaming Mauspad - 89 x 45cm- Fransenfreie Ränder - Cordura Gewebe -... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
This is what you need to consider: Fast pads like this are true game-changers in the most competent hands but can throw inexperienced aimers and beginners a significant curveball. Since they offer little stopping power, the crosshair can uncontrollably fly across the screen if your shooting basics are not yet refined. This is really only a choice for the most confident players.
The plastic pads themselves virtually never break and don’t need washing. However, mouse pads like these “eat” the Teflon feet attached to your mouse. Due to the heavy wear, you need to replace them relatively often with options like Corepadz. While this is not expensive, it’s something you need to keep in mind.
The best and most expensive mouse pads on the market
Under this heading collects the crème de la crème, the absolute best pads on the market. Here you get the absolute top class offered, which combines all the strengths of each category while ignoring most weaknesses.
The two pads recommended here are legendary in their way and nearly flawless. The main difference lies in the price and material. If you want an indestructible glass pad, you should get the Skypad; if you’re looking for the best cloth pad on the market, the Artisan Hien.
This high quality also comes at a price. However, it is worth it if you want to take that next level.
First Class Recommendation: Skypad 3.0 – The All-Rounder Made of Glass
The first recommendation is the pad that I have been using for some time: the Skypad 3.0. I have already written a detailed, standalone article about it:
This glass mouse pad offers a perfect balance of all the properties that might be important to someone. Well-known names like KovaaK play on it, it is super easy to clean, and virtually unbreakable – the pad even survives falls from several meters (via Twitter).
Cat owners should also consider switching to a glass pad:
- You can easily wipe away cat hair.
- There are no threads they can bite off.
- The fast surface of the glass pad also makes it easy to push the animal aside.
With all these advantages, the price is correspondingly high. In my opinion, there is no better mouse pad on the market.
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SkyPAD Glas 3.0 XL Gaming Mauspad mit Cloud Logo | Professionelle Große Mausmatte | 400 x 500 mm |... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
Second Class Recommendation: Artisan Hien – The Japanese Masterpiece
The second mouse pad that I can recommend without a second thought is the “Artisan Hien Soft”. Until now, it could only be imported from Japan; now it is also available at maxgaming.com for about 60 €. Due to the high demand for Artisan pads, they are frequently not directly in stock.
This cloth mouse pad is legendary among connoisseurs for a good reason. It offers a perfect blend of control and speed. Furthermore, despite being cloth, it is very durable and can be used for years, provided it is cleaned regularly.
For me, this pad was the ultimate choice for years, and in terms of quality, it holds its own against the Skypad. In fact, they are very comparable in performance, with the Artisan providing a bit more stopping power, but it also needs more care and regular cleaning.
No matter which of the recommended pads you choose, you will make a good choice. It is important that you don’t underestimate how much impact your mouse pad choice can have on your in-game performance.
Therefore, it’s worth taking a deeper look than just the cheapest pad on Amazon.
If this was too much information at once, we have a slightly more casual list for you:
3 incredibly stupid things that you have all done in shooters like CoD or Fortnite
