Vengeance M90 Laser Gaming Mouse Gaming Profiles

Life at Corsair is pretty tough... I mean, playing the top twelve most popular games of 2011 for six weeks straight on some of the most high performance computer hardware with my sole assignment being to produce profiles that enthusiasts may use with the Vengeance M90 Performance MMO and RTS Laser Gaming Mouse — all while getting paid? But really... it was a lot of work! At this point a lot of readers probably hate me in a sort of loving way (I hope) but making proper profiles, not for yourself, but for other people to use, is a totally different ball game. They need to be easy to memorize, better to use than the default keyboard controls and, once again, EASY TO MEMORIZE. Here, I will discuss the mental methodology I used to come up with the profiles in this first batch. Hopefully, this helps you a bit more to retain each profile in your memory.

To download my profiles please use the following link: Vengeance M90 Game Profiles.

As you can see, the one universal thing about all profiles on the M90 is... well... the M90. The thumb keys are laid out in such a way that you have nine buttons for versatility, but, more importantly they are ordered in such a way that can be categorized and memorized. To me, there are six sections to the M90: Buttons 1-4 [section 1], Buttons 5 & 6 [section 2], Buttons 7 & 8 [section 3], Buttons 9-12 [section 4], Button 13 [section 5] and Buttons 14 & 15 [section 6].

Section 1, to me, is responsible for any and all primary forms of action: inventory, attack (fire or melee), zoom in (aim)... etc. These functions — the ones you cannot play the game without, belong in sections 1.

Section 2 is optional, as you may want to keep the DPI Up and DPI Down default functions for in-game usage, but the arrow indicators and position make the buttons in Section 2 perfect for flipping through any sort of live-inventory or weapons etc. Although the scroll wheel does a good job of going through weapons, you sometimes want the precise single-click feel to know how many slots you’ve toggled through. Section 2 is also quite good for miscellaneous functions, such as the “Flashlight” function, since the arrows can give such hints like: “Front arrow means flashlight for showing the way forwards”.

Section 3 is where I typically leave any secondary weapons, grenades or other non-essential but critical/frequently-used items. The convenient positioning of buttons 7 and 8 give quick access to functions while giving you more confidence in fast finger movements than buttons 11 or 12 may provide.

Section 4 is quite possibly the most series of buttons on the M90. Because of its organized, vertical, four-button layout, you can group together related functions and stack them on top of each other, either in order of alphabetization or whatever order makes sense to the user. One perfect example of this is in Assassin’s Creed. Whether you’re playing AC 1, 2, 2.5 or 3, you always have the four functions: Medicine, Hidden Blade, Sword or Fists. Assigning Section 4 with such functions not only provides a means of easy memorization, but also provides a more seamless play experience, as there is less movement across the keyboard and more focus towards the game.

Section 5, or Button 13, can be useless, or extremely useful. While some games use “c” as crouch, others use “ctrl” and a select few may use an alternative solution. As Button 13 is the most “grounded” amongst the other keys, it is easy to associate Button 13 with any function that pertains to the ground. Crouching, laying down, pick-up item... etc. Any of these functions, assigned to Button 13, are quite easy to remember.

The last section, Section 6, is the most important section.

While Button 14 holds the “sniper” function by default, these two buttons can serve critical function. If you’re not playing a shooter game, Button 14 is great for any interaction-based function. “Use”, “activate” etc...   these functions are great to place at Button 14, due to the fact that pressing Button 14 a million times will be much less muscle-fatiguing than hitting Button 15, or any other thumb-button for that matter.

Button 15 is the largest button on the M90 and is very easy to access, but impossible to hit accidentally, as you have to reach back for it. This makes Button 15 perfect for power attacks, items you must use sparingly but at a moments’ notice or even the “look behind you” function, as the button is shaped like a giant back-pointing arrow.

One thing that I should mention is that these profiles are meant to be used by any player of any level. That means that a novice player could start playing a game from scratch with the profile and potentially have an easier time getting used to the controls than with the default keyboard settings. Alternatively, that also means that an experienced player could move over to using these profiles from the default commands with little to no trouble, hopefully preferring the profile layout after trying it out. Following these more “basic” profiles, we will try and provide more in-depth, “enthusiast” profiles with macros that we think the Corsair Gaming community will truly love.

I hope that these profiles achieved my goals of easy memorization and gaming enhancement! Please feel free to leave comments and critique for me to work with. In addition, if people would like to see certain games profiled, please feel free to post in our forum! If you entitle the forum post with “Vengeance Gaming Profiles” in it, it is more likely that I will take notice than if you post with some random title.