Leetgion Hellion RTS Gaming Mouse – Review

If you prefer RTS or MOBA over RPG or MMO gaming, then you already know how ‘mouse-heavy’ games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, League of Legends and Medieval II can be in comparison to games like World of Warcraft. Having a mouse that can stand up to the challenge and take a beating is important, but what if your gaming mouse was designed specifically for the kind of games you play? The Leetgion Hellion a specialty gaming mouse that is designed especially for those of us who play RTS games more than anything else.

Specs

•  Avago 9500 Laser Mouse Sensor (100 to 5000DPI)

•   Four Made in Japan Omron Micro Switches.

•   Cherry MX Key Switch Attack Button.

•   Six Fully Programmable Hotkeys.

•   Four Custom Profiles sets.

•   Four distinct LED lighting cues, for indication of the current profile.

•   Customizable 16.8 million color LED taillight for each profile.

•   On The Fly DPI Switching.

•   Size: 123 mm / 4.84” (Length) x 73 mm / 2.87” (Width) x 42 mm / 1.65” (Height) Weight: 105 g / 0.23 l

Leetgion (Clever wordplay!) is a sister company to Thermalright, purveyor of heatsinks and system fans. I had never heard of them, prior to this review, but before reviewing the Hellion, I checked out their website. While visiting, I noticed that Leetgion sells, quite literally, only 3 products. One of them is a mouse pad. The other two are the mice that I am reviewing. My initial thought was “Why are they only selling 2 pieces of actual gaming hardware?” As I commenced with the review, I slowly answered my own question. Leetgion is obviously meticulously (albeit slowly) putting out only the most unique and custom gaming hardware units. While I wish there were more products to choose from, I can understand the sentiment. That said, the Hellion by Leetgion is their mouse designed specifically to meet the needs of the heavy RTS gamer.

Design

The plastic body of the Hellion is a gunmetal grey and it sports a red attack button on the left side. It sports intermittent back-lighting around the edges of the mouse body and also on the Leetgion logo on the back of the mouse. Some of this back-lighting is 16.7 million color customizable for each profile. There are also a few other less prominent buttons on the mouse that will be covered in the features section of this review.

Features

Avago 9500- The Leetgion Hellion sports the Avago 9500 laser sensor. If you have been purchasing gaming mice without inquiring about the sensor, you may have been selling yourself short! With the cursor speed relying almost solely on the sensor, it’s really important to your game performance! The Avago 9500 is capable of DPI ranging from 100 to 5000 DPI and is compatible with all surfaces. In layman’s terms, the Hellion is extremely fast and can be used on any surface, with or without a mouse pad.

Cherry MX Blue Keyswitch- YES! If you read my reviews, you already know about my impartial feelings toward membrane keys. I MUCH prefer the “bump-click” that comes from mechanical keys. Well, Leetgion has heard the plea of mechanical-lovers like myself and has become the first company to use a Cherry MX Blue on a mouse. Usually, membrane keys are soft, squishy, and sometimes leave you wondering whether or not you actually pressed them. Not with the Hellion! There is something extremely satisfying about a swift “click and kill”. There have been some concerns over whether or not mechanical keys are more prone to breakage and failure than membrane keys due to their moving parts. Luckily, Leetgion had the foresight to choose the most durable keyswitch in the market. Coming in at a 50 million-click lifespan, your Hellion’s attack key might even outlive you.

Dedicated Attack Key- As stated above, the Hellion has its own dedicated attack key that utilizes the Cherry MX Blue keyswitch. The mouse has been optimized for use with StarCraft and because of this, the dedicated attack key’s primary use is to send units to the opponent’s base. Outside of StarCraft, I would imagine that this button has uses in League of Legends and similar games, as well. Function-wise, this key works really well for StarCraft and makes sending units exponentially easier (one click and you’re good to go!).

Omron Japan D2F-F Micro Switches– These micro switches have long been the top choice of mouse modders due  to their quality and feel. Although they do not claim to have the 50 million click-life of the Cherry, these switches are not used nearly as frequently and should not experience excess wear and tear. Leetgion has used these in their On The Fly DPI buttons.

Race Switch- When I read the instructions for this mouse, I wasn’t totally clear on what the race switch was supposed to do. Then, when I used it, I had a total geek moment. HOW did I EVER live without THIS!? This amazing switch is a patent pending plastic slice of life-saving awesomeness. With a turn of the wheel, you can turn to the exact game profile that you need. The in-mouse memory stores all of your preferences and you will NEVER have to rotate through multiple profiles again! What a relief. Also, if you have ever had your gaming mouse have a temporary loss of keybinds because of driver issues, you should know that THIS WILL NEVER happen with the Hellion! Via the Hellion Configurator, all keys are written directly to the hardware. This also makes the profiles and swap-options fully functional without drivers!

The Bottom Line

What can I say? The Hellion’s many awards speak for themselves. Not only is it the first gaming mouse to have a mechanical key switch incorporated, but the rest of the hardware is just as amazing. The Omron switches under the programmable buttons have a great feel to them and the Race Switch is my new favorite thing of all time (ever).

What I Loved- The Race Switch (duh!), The total lack of membrane keys! (Hooray!), and, of course, all of that gorgeous, customizable back lighting!

What I Didn’t- No customizable weight system

The bottom line is that this gaming mouse is likely one of the best on the market, especially for RTS gaming. I can no longer imagine life without the manual Race Switch and I will never be able to use a membrane mouse again. While all gamers may not share my sentiments, I say try it out for yourself and see. I would recommend the Leetgion Hellion to any gamer who plays click-heavy games on a regular basis. Your gaming life will never be the same!