For more than two years, Logitech basically had the budget battery-driven wireless gaming mouse market all for themselves with the G305. Corsair tried to establish a competitor with the Katar Pro Wireless, but failed. While the SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless is competent, it doesn't have the "egg" shape the G305 is popular for. With the Orochi V2, Razer throws their hat into the ring and finally manages to one-up the G305.

The first area where the Orochi V2 has the G305 beaten is weight. Depending on which type of battery is used, the weight will vary, but irrespective of one's battery choice, the Orochi V2 is the lightest battery-driven wireless mouse so far. When using the included Lithium AA-battery, the Orochi V2 comes out at around 73 g, which is at least 20 g less than what the G305 or Rival 3 Wireless weigh when using the same battery. Build quality isn't negatively affected by this with one exception: Activating the side buttons by squeezing the sides is possible; however, doing so takes a lot of force and typically isn't something that happens during regular use. Of course, the low weight is at least partially due to the fact that the Orochi V2 is not a large mouse. In fact, I'm inclined to call it tiny compared to the medium to small G305. After extended sessions, I have experienced hand fatigue and mild cramping since the Orochi V2 is simply too small for comfort. Those with larger hands will have to resort to fingertip gripping the Orochi V2, while palm grip is only possible with genuinely small hands. On the other hand, the Orochi V2 is meant to be a mobile mouse, and a large and unwieldy shape doesn't fit that notion. On that note, though again dependent on which battery is used, cited battery life on the Orochi V2 can easily compete with the G305 or Rival 3 Wireless, especially when using Bluetooth.

Unlike most recent Razer mice, the Orochi V2 doesn't come with optical switches, but, rather, mechanical ones—namely, modified Kailh GM 4.0 switches. This decision has several upsides: First, battery life benefits as mechanical switches consume less power than optical ones. Second, click feel tends to be better, along with left and right button uniformity, though this of course is at least partially subject to unit to unit variance. On the flip side, unlike optical ones, mechanical switches may develop double-clicking over time, though this specific switch isn't known for being prone to that. Another benefit of optical switches is the potentially very low click latency, but Razer has managed to keep click delay low on the Orochi V2 as well, roughly around the level of the Logitech G Pro Wireless. The Kailh GM 4.0 switches are on the stiffer side, but very tactile and snappy. The side buttons have some post-travel, but click feel is pleasant. As for the scroll wheel, a TTC encoder is used, which provides very nicely separated steps and controlled scrolling. Lastly, the feet are made out of pure PTFE and glide incredibly well.

Razer has built a reputation for excellence in sensor and wireless technology, and the Orochi V2 is no exception. The PAW3369 is a customized variant of PixArt's PAW3335. In the past, the 3335 has turned out to be a capable, but difficult sensor to implement, with CPI deviation and an added delay at the onset of motion being the most commonly encountered offenders. While CPI deviation is still a thing on the 3369, and only partially correctable due to CPI adjustment being restricted to increments of 100, the added delay has been fully addressed for the Orochi V2. The 3335 is primarily built for use in wireless mice, which is why it includes several power-saving techniques that help further battery life. One of those techniques is to lower the sensor framerate considerably when idling. However, as a result, the 3335 takes longer to ramp-up the framerate again when moved from a standstill, leading to added delay during that time and a non-linear response curve. On the 3369, this slower ramp-up isn't present, which has the sensor operate in a similar way as the 3399 (Focus+), for instance. This adjustment alone elevates the Orochi V2 above most of its peers when it comes to sensor performance. Polling stability and general wireless performance are likewise excellent and further complemented by the appreciably low wireless delay, which sits at around 1.5 ms. An even lower delay would've been possible had a wireless extender been used, but that's only part of the reason why I'd like to have seen one included. It is a little known fact that if plugged directly into a USB 3.x port, any wireless dongle may suffer from interference caused by the port. Non-USB 3.x ports are getting increasingly rare these days, so including a wireless extender would've gone a long way in ensuring that the wireless connection is stable at all times on the Orochi V2. Of course, one could always buy some sort of third-party extender, but on a $70 mouse, I'd expect not having to do so if I only have USB 3.x ports to plug the wireless dongle into.

Lastly, some words on the software. To this day, Synapse still tends to have a bad reputation. However, when compared with the likes of ASUS Armoury Crate or Corsair iCUE, I'm inclined to count Synapse among the lesser evils. It still uses more resources and spawns more processes than I'd like, but can be installed and uninstalled without any issue, and most importantly, the Orochi V2 has on-board memory that saves every single setting, so there's no absolute need to keep Synapse installed anyway. There is only one area Synapse falls short in, which is firmware updates. On the Orochi V2, not only is it necessary to execute a separate firmware updater, doing so is only possible through Bluetooth and a rather tedious procedure. Luckily, the Orochi V2 is mature enough as-is and doesn't require crucial fixes, but I still would've preferred a more convenient solution.

All in all, the Orochi V2 doesn't have much competition. The Logitech G305 may often go for $50 or less and is comparable in performance, but lacks Bluetooth and is much heavier unless modded. The Corsair Katar Pro Wireless is even cheaper at $39.99, but suffers from very aggressive power-saving, huge motion delay, and generally poor sensor performance. The SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless too is highly affordable at $49.99, but much heavier and likewise cannot compete when it comes to sensor performance. At $69.99, the Orochi V2 is no bargain, but not too far off Razer's own top-tier wireless mice in terms of performance, which all go for at least $50 more, and it easily leaves its peers in the dust otherwise. Its very small size may limit its appeal, but when it comes to overall quality, ease of use, and performance, the Orochi V2 is second to none in its class, and thus earns our Editor's Choice.