What are your weapons of choice for Diablo IV and Diablo II: Resurrected?

We’re almost a quarter of the way through 2021 and many people are already highly anticipating some videogames that are on the horizon. There are many coming out very soon and throughout the year. We at Wireless 1 are very excited for this generation of games, with the new consoles out now and new graphics cards providing absolutely amazing graphics and performance. We can’t wait to see what 2021 brings us!

We love our ARPGs here and with the announcement of games like Diablo IV and the classic Rouge class making a comeback (it’s about time!), it brings us great excitement! Not to be forgotten, later this year Diablo II: Resurrected is also releasing to tie us down meanwhile until the next instalment!

With that said, we all need the best tools at our fingertips (pun intended) to give us the best experience. Check out our suggestions for the best peripherals, in our opinion, for the upcoming Diablo games!

an Illustration of Diablo II game

Monitors

One of the most important weapons in your arsenal is your screen. With that said, you want something that looks and feels amazing for those long hours of farming and looting! From monitors with Eye-Care to fast response times, fast refresh rates and higher resolutions.

These days, it’s almost unacceptable for games to run lower than 60 frames per second (FPS) and for those of you who have played Diablo III, you know how amazing these games look at a smooth, high framerate. So depending on the power of your rig, we recommend getting something that would be able to output your maximum frame rates!

Here are some of our suggestions below.

Quick Monitor Buying Tips

When trying to buy the best gaming monitor for you, you may want to consider the following:

Would you need G-Sync or FreeSync?

This is pretty straightforward, G-Sync is compatible with Nvidia graphics cards while FreeSync monitors are compatible with AMD cards.

Compared to G-Sync, FreeSync happens to be a little cheaper than G-Sync monitors but performance remains extremely similar. You can technically run G-Sync on a FreeSync-only monitor, but performance isn't guaranteed and may not be the best option for you if you’re running an Nvidia card.

What kind of panel are you after?

Generally, TN screens are the fastest in terms of refresh rate but also the cheapest, due to TN panels not having the best viewing angles.

IPS displays have slightly slower response times but better colour than VA monitors. You can still find high-fresh rate IPS screens for a slightly higher price.

VA panels are probably the best when it comes to gaming monitors in contrast, but have slower response times than IPS or TN monitors. However, this shouldn’t discourage you from VA by any means, they look and feel great.

Refresh rates: the higher the refresh rate, the better.

The refresh rate of a monitor tells you the number of times your monitor updates with new information per second. Usually stated in hertz (Hz) and, therefore, can also let you know how many frames per second (fps) the monitor can display.

The bigger numbers equal to smoother images overall (as long as your PC/Console can output a high FPS rate). The refresh rate is especially important for gamers, so you’ll want to shoot for a monitor with at least 75 Hz (most gaming monitors offer at least 144 Hz in most cases these days), combined with the lowest response time you can find. If you’re on new-gen consoles, I don’t recommend going for a monitor that has less than 60Hz, as most games run at 1440p/2K or 2160p/4K resolution @ 60FPS on new-gen consoles (and sometimes at 120FPS), so you’ll want a high refresh rate monitor with a resolution of at least 2K (QHD or Quad HD) or 4K (UHD or Ultra HD)

Diablo 3 picture from the game

Gaming Mice

Your second weapon would be your mouse. For games like Diablo, you’ll want something with customizable and programmable buttons that you can map for quick access to your potions, spells, abilities and more! Also giving you a competitive edge when playing multiplayer. You also want to seek a mouse that’s comfortable, especially when you’re on that grind for hours at a time!

Here are some of our top picks for Diablo:

Quick Mouse Buying Tips

Optical or Laser sensors?
Both sensors are great. While optical mice provide better accuracy and precision, lasers work better across different surfaces. If you’re still unsure, we recommend an optical mouse with a mouse pad.

Wireless or Wired?

Wireless mice are great, for giving you the freedom of not having a cable attached to them and the technology has been vastly improved over the last few years. They do have a downside, such as limited battery life (especially with RGB mice) and potentially some latency.

If you opt for a wireless, try to find one with very long battery life, you may even find some wireless mice bundled with wireless charging mouse mats, so you’ll never need to charge them as long as you have them on your mouse mat.

You’ll also need to decide if you want a Bluetooth connection or a dongle connection (or both). Bluetooth is handy for switching among multiple devices but does cause quite a bit of latency compared to wireless dongles. Wireless dongles can be either 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz (much faster). If you opt for a 5Ghz mouse, then latency should be the last thing on your mind as they’re extremely responsive (considering you’re not gaming from 2 meters or more away from the dongle)

Palm, Claw or Fingertip Grip?

Everyone has a different grip with their mouse, whether it be for gaming or working, everyone holds their mouse different.

Palm Grip - The base of your palm rests on the back of the mouse, with your fingers laying on top of it. This is the most common/basic grip that people have.

Claw Grip – When your fingertips are touching the buttons and edges of the mouse and your wrist is resting on your mouse mat while your palm is disconnected from the mouse.

Fingertip Grip – This is when you grip the mouse with only your fingertips. Your palm and wrist are elevated. It’s a very good grip for those who prefer to play precision games like League of Legends or DOTA 2. While not exclusive to those games, each to their own on how they prefer to handle their mouse.

Recognizing your grip style is important. In most cases, it depends on the size of your hands. A mouse designed for fingertip grip would generally be larger than a mouse designed for palm grip. So it may be something to consider when purchasing a mouse.

DPI, CPI, IPS and Acceleration?

DPI (Dots per inch) and CPI (count per inch) are effectively the same, just have different wording. Generally, DPI is used as a printing term, in which you can determine how many dots per inch you’d like your print to be, essentially, the higher the DPI the better the clarity of the print. CPI is generally used to determine how many counts per inch your mouse travels. However, both have the same measurement unit (pixels), so they’re not to be confused.

A higher CPI/DPI doesn’t necessarily mean the sensor is much better than a lower one. Important is a combination of CPI and IPS. IPS (inches per second), is the max speed at which your sensor can still track those counts. So the higher the IPS combined with the CPI/DPI, the better the sensor will be.

Finally, acceleration. Mouse acceleration is a feature that changes the rate at which your mouse pointer moves based on the speed you're moving the mouse. So if you’re moving left and right extremely fast, it may miss some beats if it’s not fast enough.

Diablo 3 picture from the game

Gaming Keyboards

The keyboard is essentially, your main component when it comes to any type of gaming, even more so than your mouse since you do have a lot more buttons on a keyboard and most gaming ones come with extra macro buttons which can be customized, programmed and mapped to whatever you desire. Therefore, getting a better and more comfortable keyboard can mean an instantly noticeable difference compared to, for example, upgrading your RAM.

You need something that can coincide with your gaming skills and is comfortable enough for long gaming sessions (of course for typing as well. Work, trash talk, GGs, etc, we’re all guilty at some point). The design of these keyboards can be an important factor for some, in order to match your rigs aesthetics or even your room décor, so there can be plenty of options to suit your style.

Whether you’re jumping into a solo campaign or are playing co-op with a friend, you’ll want the best! Maybe something you can record macros with for those repetitive tasks. Check out our recommendations:

Quick Gaming Keyboard Tips

When choosing the best gaming keyboard for yourself, consider the following:

Mechanical, Mem-chanical or membrane keyboards?

Mechanical keyboards are the keyboards that most people picture when they think about a keyboard; they're classic-looking, sturdy keyboards. Made all the way back since 1980s to this day and have evolved into the #1 pick for gamers when it comes to keyboards.

A more accurate definition is that mechanical keyboards are made with high-quality plastic key switches underneath each of the keycaps.

Mem-chanical keyboards are a hybrid of mechanical and membrane keyboards. Similar to mechanical keyboards, however, don’t have an option to customize some keys and are not spring-loaded like mechanical keyboards.

Finally, membrane keyboards, are your basic everyday keyboards they come with any desktop you purchase or any simple keyboard you may purchase. The keys have a “mushy” feel to them. Not recommended for gaming at all and their response times can be much slower. They also don’t offer a “Key rollover” feature. Which is a feature in most modern keyboards where, whenever you press any key, no matter how fast, it will always key in those within the order you pressed them, however, a membrane keyboard don’t usually have this feature. I’d stay away from this type of keyboard if you’re gaming or if you’re typing a lot.

Backlit, RGB backlit or none?
A single backlight colour is great and will cost you a lot less than an RGB keyboard, but you’ll miss out on some light shows you can do with RGB keyboards. If you prefer something with no backlight at all, make sure you'll be gaming in a well-lit area.

What key switch suits you?

The best gaming keyboards use a number of different mechanical switch types that determine the feel and sound of each keypress. The type of switch you choose depends on your personal preferences for typing and gaming. Each colour has a different resistance (when you press down) if they’re in the same category.

Here are some of the most common:

Clicky sound with a tactile feel: Blue, Green, White
Quiet sound with a tactile feel: Brown, Clear
Linear (quiet and go straight down): Red, Silver

Full-size, ten-keyless (TKL) or smaller?

Tenkeyless boards drop the numpad, while a good number of those ones eliminate navigation keys and 60% of those boards also cut the arrow keys. While some prefer to have a full keyboard, others prefer a smaller keyboard that gives them more desk space in general. So it really comes down to your personal preference.

Diablo 3 picture from the game

Gaming Headsets

Finally, finding the best gaming headset is arguably, nearly as important as choosing a gaming keyboard. You’ll need to hear sound queues in games for quicker information, you’ll need to communicate with your teammates and one of the most important aspects of sound in my opinion, is immersion.

You should also consider that Diablo always, have absolutely amazing sound design, you’ll really want a quality headset to hear all those beautiful (demonic) sounds for that deeper immersion.

Here are our top picks:

Quick Gaming Headset Tips

Wired or wireless?

This comes down to personal preference. Although wired headsets are generally cheaper than wireless, there’s no denying that being able to run to the kitchen to get a snack while you wait for your raid buddies to get ready, while still having your headset on and talking to your teammates, is great! We just don’t recommend taking it into the bathroom with you… Your team don’t want to hear that.

Headbands and earcups

You can’t measure comfort, everyone is different in this sense. It’s best to find something for yourself that you can put on, not feel too heavy and you can use it for long periods at a time. Some people like over ear headphones, some like on-ear headphone and some like in-ear headphones. We don’t recommend going for anything too cheap, as their materials are not only low quality and will cause wear and tear much faster compared to a good quality one but it will also feel uncomfortable in the long run. What you should look for if you’re after headphones, is a nice cushion headband and some comfortable earcups. Some even have cooling gel in the earcups, keeping your ears cool while you game. I really like these types of headphones especially when gaming in any type of heat and would allow me to use my headset for longer on those kinds of days.

Audio and mic quality.

Of course, this is the most important aspect of a gaming headset. You’ll want something that not only provides a very good sound range and top audio quality, but you’ll also want the microphone to be of the best quality. After all, no one wants to hear what seems like a robot in a washing machine talking to them. These aspects are usually what give some headsets a higher price, but it’s a lot more worth it not only in the long run but also in the short term. Once you use a headset with high-definition sound, you won’t want to go back to a lower quality one.

Bluetooth with aptX.

If you go for a wireless headset that operates on Bluetooth (no USB dongle needed), look for headsets that support aptX tech. It’s a compression tech (or codec) that’s been leveraged for decades in TV, voice-work, movie theatre audio, and thousands of radio stations. If you’ve heard Bluetooth audio in years past and weren’t impressed by it (Bluetooth wasn’t the best for a very long time), give an aptX-enabled headset a listen and you’ll most likely change your mind almost instantly. As long as you’re connecting it to decent hardware, you won’t have any issues with them.

February 26, 2021 | View: 5487 | By: Joey