Macros and Gaming Mice: What is a Macro and How Can It Help You Game Better?


Introduction

Macros are a recorded set of actions performed in a specific order at the press of a button.  For instance, you could create a macro that opened up Internet Explorer and navigated to a specific page and was executed when you pressed control + alt + j.  It wouldn’t be terribly useful, but it would be a macro.  Macros ARE incredibly useful in games like World of Warcraft where specific actions are performed in sequence over and over again.  People use macros to heal party members or launch a coordinated series of attacks against an enemy.

Thankfully, macro recording and execution is becoming more and more common on gaming mice.  This means that your mouse suddenly can do far more than its buttons indicate and in RPG-style games, this can be the difference between success and failure.  Recording macros has become easier as it is often integrated into your mouse’s software.  The pre-recorded macros can be assigned to any key on your mouse through a couple of button presses.

The Razer Naga: Peak of Macro Mice

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The Razer Naga gaming mouse takes this concept to the next level, with twelve (yes, 12!) programmable buttons gracing its left-hand side.  Each of these buttons can be assigned a macro through Razer’s intuitive and completely awesome software.  Though twelve might seem like a lot, this mouse is aimed at World of Warcraft gamers, who use tons and tons of macros and scripted actions.

In terms of ergonomics, the Naga might not be the best, but once you get used to essentially having a dial-pad on your mouse, it becomes fairly easy to operate.

Even if you aren’t a WoWer or if the Naga doesn’t interest you, macro support is a great feature for any game.  FPS gamers can script things like throwing a smoke grenade then a flashbang all with the push of one button or quickly swapping frequently-used items in and out of their inventory.  

Macro support is only going to get better from here on out as more and more mice (and keyboards) begin to support them.  Even outside of gaming, Macros are still frequently used.  Adobe Photoshop has an incredibly powerful macro scripting engine baked right into it.  So, if you haven’t played with macros, or haven’t considered a gaming mouse that has macro support, you should!  Remember, the best gaming mice today are using these features, so you should be using them too.