The Razer DeathAdder has been a mouse I’ve gone back to time and time again. It’s a fixture in competitive gaming peripherals and one of the most iconic mice Razer makes. So it may come as no surprise that I was excited to hear the mouse had returned once again with the DeathAdder V4 Pro, offering a device honed for esports while refining the everyday experience.
Over the years, the DeathAdder line has achieved rare longevity, its design recognized around the world, and it has remained my go-to mouse for many years on my home gaming PC. Razer has kept the DeathAdder relevant with the new V4 Pro, and it’s a mouse I’ve used religiously since getting it in for review. It manages to honour the legacy while pushing it forward in all the right ways.
Out of the box, the silhouette of the DeathAdder V4 Pro feels true to its roots: right-handed, gently arched and built to fit the palm naturally. Razer’s design philosophy has long prioritized substance over spectacle for this shape, and that tradition is upheld in the V4 Pro. Especially coming from mice like the Naga or the Viper, the DeathAdder’s shape feels familiar and easy to jump right back into.
As we’ve seen on many of Razer’s recent pro-range devices, the DeathAdder’s outer shell is free of RGB lighting, instead sporting a muted matte black finish and a subtle gloss Razer logo. This gives the V4 Pro an understated look, but in hand, the V4 Pro delivers a tactile experience that excels under pressure and over long sessions, thanks to a new grippy soft-touch coating that manages sweat and fatigue. Picking up the mouse, you will notice the weight has dropped to 56 grams, making the DeathAdder V4 Pro lighter than most of its predecessors, yet the structure maintains solidity and durability.
If you’re familiar with previous DeathAdder iterations, you’ll feel at home with the gently flared rear and wings that cradle the ring and little finger. This gives the DeathAdder V4 Pro a neutral feel that’s easy to adapt to both palm and claw grips. Speaking as someone who has used past DeathAdder mice daily, I have to say it feels fantastic in hand. The enlarged PTFE feet also play their part, offering glide that matches high-end mouse pads, and the wider spacing between side buttons eliminates accidental presses.
While the overall style remains consistent with past iterations, under the hood, Razer has introduced some solid advancements that make this mouse worth considering. The DeathAdder V4 Pro is equipped with a new Focus Pro 45K optical sensor, raising the bar with up to 45,000 DPI, 900 IPS tracking and 85G acceleration. Button actuation is managed by Razer’s fourth-generation optical switches, rated for 100 million clicks, which require 12 percent less force than prior models. Testing the DeathAdder V4 Pro across a range of games — and just using the PC daily — every click feels snappy and clear, providing assurance during tense moments.
“Picking up the mouse, you will notice the weight has dropped to 56 grams, making the DeathAdder V4 Pro lighter than most of its predecessors…”
Something I didn’t expect to be a significant change — but have found incredibly useful — is the new optical scroll wheel in the DeathAdder V4 Pro. This update eliminates mechanical contacts prone to wear, extending scroll reliability and preventing ghost or reverse inputs, resulting in a more accurate and flexible scroll wheel overall. For players who scroll rapidly or need split-second precision — whether navigating inventory in MMOs or switching weapons in shooters — I can see this addition offering a clear competitive advantage. The optical wheel also delivers a firm yet fluid ratcheting motion that feels precise without being overly stiff.
The DeathAdder V4 Pro also comes with new HyperSpeed Wireless Gen-2 technology and a redesigned dome-shaped dongle, supporting Razer’s new HyperPolling technology. When used with the bundled dongle, the polling rate can reach blazing speeds of 8,000 Hz in wired or wireless mode, bringing average latency down to 0.291 milliseconds — something many esports players will love to hear.
If that weren’t enough, Razer now offers status LEDs on the dongle that provide real-time feedback on polling rate, connection and battery life — something I appreciate for ease of use and overall usability. This high polling rate requires the dongle to remain close to the mouse for best results, but ensures stability and uncompromised responsiveness in the heat of gameplay, although I have not seen any issues with the dongle at the back of the desk. For people wanting to use the DeathAdder V4 Pro on an HTPC-style setup, you will find that the higher polling rates will not work quite as well, although you can adjust the settings accordingly, and thankfully, that is easy to do within Razer Synapse.
I’ve found that many high-end wireless mice struggle with power consumption when pushed to the limits, yet the DeathAdder V4 Pro manages to avoid this trap. At a standard 1,000 Hz polling rate, the mouse offers up to 150 hours of battery life. Even at the demanding 8,000 Hz rate, it lasts over 20 continuous hours before needing a recharge.
This longevity is possible thanks to “game-smart” polling, which scales back rates during non-gaming tasks to preserve battery life without user intervention. For users who run marathon sessions or dislike frequent charging, these improvements mark a substantial leap forward. Recharging is handled via USB-C, but the mouse can operate while plugged in.
As I alluded to earlier, much like all recent Razer gear, Razer Synapse remains the setup hub and the place where you’ll adjust all major settings for the DeathAdder V4 Pro. The application allows for deep customization: DPI tuning down to single increments, power-saving profiles, button remapping, and debounce time adjustments. A dynamic sensitivity feature enables the mouse to shift DPI in response to hand movement speed — allowing for low-DPI aiming and high-DPI turns in the same play session — while a mouse rotation algorithm corrects swipe orientation for accurate tracking even in awkward postures.
“The DeathAdder V4 Pro is equipped with a new Focus Pro 45K optical sensor, raising the bar with up to 45,000 DPI, 900 IPS tracking and 85G acceleration.”
I’ve said it before, but the DPI button on the underside of the mouse is an annoying choice. While I often just jump into Synapse to make an adjustment, it’s not a user-friendly option and can be tedious when in a match. Thankfully, it can be set via a macro if you need to change it quickly, but this isn’t the ideal setup for a mouse aimed at esports. I’d love to see Razer improve the placement, but with that being the biggest gripe I have with the V4 Pro, Razer is doing well overall.
At $169 USD, the mouse is priced above many comparable rivals — and that’s not even touching on the new inexpensive mice from upstart brands eager to scrape some market share away from Razer. There’s also no Bluetooth option, and the lack of dongle storage makes it less ideal for travel. Yet these are trade-offs in service of esports performance, as everything is designed to optimize wireless speed and longevity. For the market Razer is targeting, it makes perfect sense, and the end result speaks for itself.
In all honesty, despite my gripes, the Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro is one of my favourite mice of 2025. It represents a careful, deliberate leap forward from a familiar base. What begins as a subtle revision reveals itself in extended use as a significant achievement, with meaningful gains in comfort, responsiveness and staying power. For dedicated players, aspiring pros and anyone who spends serious time navigating digital worlds, the V4 Pro is a reference standard: unpretentious in appearance and consistently excellent in practice.
- 57g ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT DESIGN — Re-engineered with weight optimizations and a smooth-touch finish to deliver faster, tighter movement while retaining its award-winning ergonomic shape
- HYPERSPEED WIRELESS GEN-2 — Feel the difference with an ultra-stable wireless system that’s over 63% more efficient*, and capable of true 8000 Hz polling rate with 37% lower latency than previous gen (* Under standard test conditions)
