Upon seeing the product, some of us were quite intrigued about the message that is labeled on the side of its packaging. It says “Get Imba”. The most avid gamer among us said that “imba” is a gamer lingo for imbalanced. Particularly for those who are into “World of Warcraft”, the word is normally used to describe someone who or something which is too strong. It could also mean too weak, although the latter meaning is seldom used. In the case of the Naga, we are certain that Razer is capitalizing on the positive aspect of the term.

 

 

 

 The Naga's key selling point is the twelve-button grid found on its left side. More often than not, other mice just have a forward/back switch on this area. Since the grid is quite sizeable, the Naga is made a little fatter on the left side, giving rise to an oblique grip. With that said, the mouse provides a comfortable, ergonomic feel. However, based on its construction, we realized that it is meant for right-handed and ambidextrous users only.

 

 

 

 The grid, arranged in the same fashion as that of a calculator and numbered from one (1) to twelve (12), is mapped according to the “1” through “=” keys on the top row of your keyboard. On the bottom of the mouse, you'll find a switch that allows you to change the grid's mapping according to the numpad instead. Since these keys are commonly employed to activate abilities on real-time strategy games, this means that the Naga can be best used on titles such as Warhammer and World of Warcraft. So if you are into these games, this mouse could be your cup of tea. Unfortunately, the grid can't be re-mapped to any other keys, so for games where the Fn or letter keys are needed, the Naga would not work as expected.

 

 

 

Like the gameboard that we reviewed previously, the Naga required us some time so we can get used to it. While it was relatively easy to push the corner buttons (1, 2, 3, 4), the middle (5, 6, 7, 8) and last (9, 10, 11, 12) rows were quite hard to reach. In our case, the buttons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 were the easiest and most comfortable to hit. Nevertheless, if you are dexterous enough, using up to nine of the buttons could be possible, but hardly the full twelve.

 

 

 

At the end of the day, getting imba with the Razer Naga is still dependent on the level of acclimatization and dexterity that its users can achieve while using it. In any case, any type of gamer who’s just looking for extra hotkeys can have an edge over the competition with the Naga. For sure buyers, we do recommend the Razer Megasoma soft gaming mat as a peripheral.