In looking for a new MMO mouse, my primary requirements were good build quality that should last at least 2–3 years, enough buttons to get by, and no wireless. As one of the few quality MMO mice not to use a 12-button thumb array, the Rival 500 has a memorable button layout so I don't usually find myself hitting the wrong buttons. The one niggle is the thumb button placement. I use a palm grip with wrist well back, resting on the table, and I've found the front two buttons to be barely reachable with my thumb. If you have a different grip or large hands this shouldn't be an issue but it may be worth finding one to try out before you buy.

If you have spent some time studying biology, you will realize your thumb is the most important digit on the human hand. Because of its large range of movement and high relative strength, as well as the fact humans have what are known as opposable thumbs, we rely on it to do a whole lot of things.

The Rival 500 isn't a great mouse, but its innovative thumb layout and the inclusion of haptic feedback are interesting glimpses of the future.

Intuitive and useful thumb-button layout; Beloved PWM3360 sensor; "Tactile Feedback" is like controller rumble in a mouse

"Tactile Feedback" is only in a handful of games; Short; squat; and heavy; Tons of buttons; but none feel great to press

The Steelseries Rival 500 reinvents the MMO and MOBA inspired gaming mouse.

Good button placement; Intuitive design; Useful software tools

Poor build quality; Chalky exterior

Engine 3 driver program will not load on my Alienware machine, at request of Steel Series I sent a number of files and was told I would hear from them in 1-2 weeks, its now been 2 months and they totally ignore my service tickets. Time to find a good mouse I guess.

easy use

-wish it had more preset options for dpi

Left mouse button stopped working after a year of use. Do not recommend.

The drivers of the mouse are bugged and while playing games it randomly disconnects and stops working. The driver has been broken for about a month now and steel series hasn't issued the bug fix yet. DONT BUY TILL THIS ISSUE IS FIXED. refer to this reddit post to check it is fixed.

Gone are the days of normal gaming mice. These days we have gaming mice that are designed

– 15 programmable buttons; – Side buttons are actually functional; – Tactile feedback; – Comfortable design; – Engine 3 software

– Could be too cumbersome for people looking for something more streamlined; – Can only quickswitch two different DPI levels

is a bit of a novelty mouse. Its tactile alerts are useful, but its tiny OLED screen isn't. Unfortunately, while it's a high quality product overall, I discovered a few issues with it in my review. I also thought the Rival 700 was priced too high, possibly because of its gimmicky OLED screen.