Pwnage StormBreaker Review

Introduction

Pwnage is a peripheral company based in California, USA, with a history of producing lightweight, customizable gaming mice with their “Ultra Custom” lineup, featuring the Ambi, Ergo, Symm, and Symm 2 mice. In today's review, we will discuss their latest mouse, the Pwnage StormBreaker, a lightweight, ergonomic mouse made from magnesium alloy, featuring an adjustable sensor with a 4KHz polling rate.

Specifications

Packaging

• 1x Pwnage StormBreaker mouse
• 1x USB Type-A to Type-C cable
• 1x Wireless receiver (4KHz compatible)
• 1x Set of grip-tape (for the sides and main buttons)
• 1x Extra set of PTFE mouse feet
• 1x Screw tool (for adjusting the sensor position)
• 1x User manual

The product comes packaged in a black, compact box (150*105*80mm), featuring the Pwnage logo, StormBreaker mouse name, and a pyramid illustration, which is what the wireless receiver is inspired by.

Shape & Size

The Pwnage StormBreaker is an ergonomic-shaped mouse with a size of 122 * 64 * 42 mm, making it a medium-sized mouse. While not a particularly large mouse, the taller height fills out the hand more than most mice with a similar length. The hump sits in the very middle, making this shape highly suitable for a relaxed claw grip for those with medium hands (17-19cm hand length). While large-handed users, such as myself (20.5 x 10.5 cm) will also be able to claw grip the mouse, it might require a more aggressive claw grip. Fingertipping the mouse is another viable option for those with larger hands. For those with smaller hands (<17cm hand length), a palm grip will likely be the more comfortable.

Most ergonomic mice feature a slope from the top, down to the right of the mouse. The Pwnage StormBreaker also features this design but is slightly more aggressive than most others. Instead of having to twist the wrist, which is common when using symmetrical mice, this aggressive slope allows the user to grip the mouse at an angle, reducing the risk of wrist injuries and allowing for a more natural grip.

The left side of the mouse features a slight inward curvature and slight front flare. This make the Pwnage StormBreaker feel very natural and allows for a comfortable thumb placement with all grip styles. The right side of the mouse features an outward curvature, and inward flare from the back of the mouse to the front, providing more contact with the right-inner side of the palm, and a more natural placement and resting position for the ring and pinky fingers, especially compared to symmetrical mice where it is typical for only the fingertips to make contact.

Coating

The Pwnage StormBreaker has a matte coating but does not seem to feature any special rubberized coating as seen with the Incott GHERO, Vancer Thrash, or the Zowie lineup. Though it is not as grippy as some other mice, I found the shape to be very easy to get a good hold on. Combined with the low weight of only 50 grams, it made the mouse very easy to pick up and move around.

If you find that the standard coating is not grippy enough, the Pwnage StormBreaker also comes included with a set of grip tape for the sides and main buttons that further increases the grip of the mouse. Note that these also add a very slight amount of additional width to the sides or height to the buttons, which may be a benefit depending on whether or not you want the mouse to feel slightly larger.

I ended up not using the included grip tape as I found the shape and weight well-suited for a good grip during usage.

Build Quality

Due to the usage of magnesium alloy to construct the shell of the mouse, it can remain lightweight while being incredibly durable, with no signs of creaking or significant flexing during gaming sessions or even when applying large amounts of unnecessary pressure. The only flexible part of the mouse is the bottom, which is made from normal plastic, though this is never noticeable during normal usage.

The main buttons only feature a slight bit of side wobble, which is in line with other high-quality mice.

Note that I am using the limited edition Platinum colorway of the Pwnage StormBreaker. This, and all future versions such as the BLG Valorant Edition, have updates to the structural design of the mouse, improving the overall quality compared to older versions.

Weight & Feet/Skates

The Pwnage StormBreaker weighs only 50 grams. As already mentioned, this has been achieved by using a magnesium material for the shell of the mouse, allowing structural integrity at lower weights. In addition to this, the mouse also has a lot of triangle-/diamond-shaped cutouts to further reduce the weight. I usually don’t have any problems with holes as I never notice them during normal usage. The only exceptions are mice that feature large holes on the sides, such as the WLmouse Beast X lineup. While the Pwnage StormBreaker does feature holes on the side, they are thin enough that I do not have any problems with them, though this experience will vary from person to person.

Due to their aggressive design, the cutouts might seem like they feel sharp to the touch but this is not the case as Pwnage has done a good job of rounding the inside edges of the cutouts to make them feel smooth.

The weight is distributed evenly throughout the mouse but will vary slightly depending on the placement of the adjustable sensor which will be explained later in the review.

The Pwnage StormBreaker comes with 4 PTFE feet on the mouse, and an additional set inside the box. Many mice have a break-in period before the feet are smooth, often due to not having rounded the edges of the feet. Luckily, the feet included on the StormBreaker do not have this issue and are smooth right out of the box.

While not included, glass feet are also available for $19. These provide a significant increase in speed and durability compared to the standard PTFE feet. Depending on your preferences, these might be a good addition to your mouse. I find myself using normal PTFE more often as I prefer the control they provide compared to the incredible speed found in glass feet.

Buttons & Scroll Wheel

• 2x Main buttons
• 2x Side buttons
• Scroll wheel
• On/Off switch on the bottom

The Pwnage StormBreaker uses sorted Omron switches for the main buttons. They are incredibly tactile and somewhat louder than most mice. Mice that feature highly tactile switches sometimes suffer from being harder to spam-click but this is not the case for the Pwnage StormBreaker. While not as spammable as some other very lightweight switches, these provide a very good balance with a medium actuation force. In addition, there is pretty much no pre-travel and only a very slight amount of post-travel, which also adds to the overall quality feeling of this mouse.

The main buttons feature slight comfort grooves that guide the fingers into the optimal position but are not so aggressive that they feel forced. Because of the ergonomic design, the grooves are slightly more pronounced on the right click compared to the left.

The side buttons are very tactile, more so than any other mouse I have used. They also feature the lowest pre- and post-travel I have experienced, making the side buttons feel extremely high quality. They do however require more force to be actuated than most side-buttons. Because of the games I play and the keybindings I use, side buttons are not often used. Because of this, I prefer them to be more tactile and harder to press to avoid accidental clicks.

The scroll wheel is another part of this mouse that is extremely tactile and has highly defined steps compared to most other mice. This is very useful for games that require precise usage of the scroll wheel but might cause fatigue if you rely on constant scrolling, for example when bunny hopping in Apex Legends.

Overall, the Pwnage StormBreaker features some of the most tactile and quality feeling switches and scroll wheels out of any mice on the market while also remaining easy to spam.

Sensor & Performance

The Pwnage StormBreaker features the PAW3395 sensor, using the Nordic nrf52840 MCU, and can achieve up to 26000 DPI in increments of 50. The LOD (lift-of-distance) can be set at either 1mm or 2mm. It can achieve a 4KHz polling rate with the included dongle, requiring no separate purchases. The mouse also allows the usage of motion sync and slam-click prevention. The mouse performs excellently in all games that I tested it in, those Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, The Finals, and XDefiant. Note that some older games may not support polling rates above 1000Hz. This applies to all mice, not just the Pwnage StormBreaker.

One of the core features of the Pwnage StormBreaker is its adjustable sensor position. Most mice have their sensor position fixed to the center of the mouse. Every user has their own hand size, grip style, and aiming techniques. Having the sensor fixed in one position may therefore not be optimal.

With the adjustable sensor position of the Pwnage StormBreaker, it is possible to adjust the mouse to your own preferences instead of being limited to where the producer has decided to place it. I experimented with various configurations and found that placing it toward the back gave me more control while not sacrificing my ability to do fast and large turnarounds when playing FPS games.

Software & Configuration

Because the Pwnage StormBreaker does not have any specific buttons for adjusting DPI or polling rates, I highly recommend downloading the software for this mouse. A web-driver is being worked on but is not available at the time of writing. If you do not want to download any software, it is still possible to adjust the DPI and polling rate using a combination of buttons as explained in the included user manual.

The predefined DPI steps are 400 (red), 800 (green), 1600 (dark blue - default), 3200 (orange), 6400 (pink), 12000 (brown), 16000 (purple), and 26000 (blue). To change the DPI using only the mouse, press and hold the following buttons for 3 seconds: backward side button, scroll wheel, right main button.

The predefined polling rates are 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1000Hz (default), and 2000Hz. To change the polling rate using only the mouse, press and hold the following buttons for 3 seconds: left main button, right main button, scroll wheel.

Conclusion

The Pwnage StormBreaker costs $169 for the standard version. Limited editions, such as the Pwnage x BLG Valorant StormBreaker cost $10 more. You can get 5% off with code ELO, bringing the price down to ≈$160.

This mouse sits on the higher end when it comes to pricing, especially compared to the influx of cheaper mice often made by Chinese producers, such as the Incott GHERO. Because of this, the StormBreaker needs to outcompete these mice for most users to justify the price. Looking at only the specifications of the StormBreaker, it might not stand out from other mice. The lower weight at 50 grams and using the PAW3395 sensor is in today's market not enough to compete with others. Therefore, it needs to stand out in other ways to justify the premium price tag.

The Pwnage StormBreaker boasts a unique and comfortable design, excellent performance with a 4KHz polling rate, a high-quality magnesium shell, and extremely tactile buttons and scroll wheel, enhanced by its patented adjustable sensor position. It is a top choice for those seeking a high-quality, ergonomically shaped mouse, but its higher price may be a drawback for some, making it worthwhile to consider more affordable alternatives.

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