14 DAY TRIAL // Dota 2, a sequel to what was just a very customized Warcraft 3 map, is a MOBA game that is very popular around the world. Popular enough that peripheral makers are branding some of their best hardware after it.
Dota stands for Defense of the Ancients. It is a multiplayer online battle arena where players control a hero and lead the fight against enemy heroes and their everlasting streams of disposable mooks.
There are two teams of heroes which anyone can choose regardless of the faction they are aligned with, whether it be the Radiant or the Dire.
Dota 2 has a huge fanbase and can even be counted as an eSport, given the kinds of championships played by people worldwide, with real, hard prizes at stake. Indeed, its predecessor may as well be said to have established the MOBA genre itself. Even if there were others before it, Dota was the one that broke the ice, so to speak.
Considering all this, it is not such a big surprise that SteelSeries has named its latest mouse after Dota 2. Or, rather, created a new mouse just so it could market it under that brand. Admittedly, it's more a new version of an existing device than an altogether new invention, but still.
The new gaming mouse is called SteelSeries Rival Dota 2 Edition and ships with an exclusive in-game item called Hell's Glare for Doom. Clearly, for SteelSeries, Dota 2 is serious business.
As you might expect, the mouse is not just a pretty face. Not that it's particularly intricate. It doesn't have more buttons than you have fingers, for one thing.
You do get an advanced optical sensor though, the Pixart PMW3310 with true 1:1 tracking and sensitivity adjustment of 50 to 6500 CPI (Counts Per Inch).
Also, SteelSeries own button switches are a fine peripheral component, expected to survive for over 30 million clicks at high speed tapping. The audible click is subtle, with tactile response deemed more important. Not that the sound matters much when you're wearing noise-canceling headphones, which you will probably do during a tight game reliant on team chat to achieve victory.
Furthermore, there are exclusive Dota 2 LED illumination modes you can choose from, although the stone-gray body and blood-red rubber grips aren't changeable.
SteelSeires Rival Dota 2 Edition Gaming Mouse will be up for pre-order for $69.99 / €69.99 after this year's edition of the International 4 Dota 2 Tournament closes, on July 21 (starts on July 18).