Data Collected - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AINbNQ-9MfjSif23nyQoLVo1OTJZuyvxwZnpPXXll-c/edit?usp=sharing
Details for those who care
Over the last 6 months, I’ve become a bit of a peripheral nerd and I’ve become more and more entranced by the effects modern peripherals have on aim styles and what classes people gravitate towards with respect to their preferred peripherals. To answer a more specific question/problem, I wanted to ask players at the top of the game right now what mouse and mousepad they used and get an idea of whether or not there were 1) trends between players and their classes 2) whether players used bizarre setups that might hinder their performance based on their aim style (i.e. a large 500g mouse on a mud pad for someone who likes tracking with a fingertip grip)
At the beginning of RGL S19, I sent out a survey to the current Invite teams as well as a handful of the projected top Advanced teams of the season and asked their players what they used. I then unified the collected data and included a filter on mouse size/weight and based on mousepad speed. Mouse size, as many might know, usually defines grip style; a small mouse usually can only be fingertip gripped or clawed, medium gives flexibility, large leans towards palm. If you want an interesting video as well as a better explanation of the value of mouse shape, ViscoseOCE explains it well in her review of the OP1 (link at the bottom). To generalize the form, I only broke down the mouse size/shape into S/M/L. Mousepad speed defines a lot about the ease of aim style; a faster mousepad with low static/dynamic friction allows your mouse to glide more easily and requires a more intentional stop, whereas a slower control mousepad requires more initial force which can cause difficulty in faster reactive scenarios but benefits faster flicks with easier stopping power to support intentional stops. As I do not have an extensive mousepad collection, I unfortunately had to do my best with research and basing speed of unknown pads on the opinions of the internet; assigning a numerical value of 1 being the fastest and 8 being the slowest.
In the form, I’ve detailed the averages as well as the most popular options of mice and mousepads. Players have also been broken down to their most recent highest placing class for trend purposes. If you’re an invite player who would like to participate, feel free to dm me about it. This mini-project has been more about satisfying an itch of knowledge more than anything else and maybe an inspiration to try some new hardware for those who might be in the market for something new.
Viscose's Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p59GPWnDm3E