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Overview of the Roccat Kone [+]:

The Roccat Kone [+] has a somewhat normal look to it with the basic two buttons and mouse wheel, along with DPI on the fly changing default buttons.

The Kone [+] has a good, ergonomic feel to it, and it is big enough so that people with large hands do not have to scrunch them up to use the mouse. The Roccat logo is painted onto the back of mouse and looks great with the contrast of the dark background.

The thumb side of the Kone [+] sports two more buttons, which for normal use,  can be used for forward/back navigation through folders and web browsing. The thumb button on the right is the EasyShift[+] button that will double your usable commands, but we will dive more into this later on.

On the bottom of the mouse, you can see the sticker that highlights the 6000DPI the Kone [+] sports. It is also accompanied by a high-end 10.5 megapixel sensor technology featuring a 1000Hz polling rate. Also on the bottom,  is  the place to customize the weight of the Kone [+] using the supplied four 5 gram weights. This can come in handy if you like a little heavier mouse, which we do.

 

The Kone [+] gives you the option to change the colors of your mouse. We will cover this topic more in the software section.

 

Driver:

Once we hooked up the mouse,  we went to the Roccat website to download the latest driver, which ended up being a good sized 62.7mb package. Compared to its predecessor, the Kone[+] driver has been further enhanced, making the mouse more customizable than ever before. The updated driver suite will allow you to configure the mouse to suit the way you want to use it. The driver’s design is very clear and the integrated,  multi-language Quick Help Guide explains the mouse’s numerous functions.

Software:

The Kone [+] offers you a wide variety of settings in the control panel. Inside the main control tab,  you can create your own DPI Switch with up to five different DPI resolutions, which you can set in steps of 100dpi. You can individually adjust the sensitivity of the X and Y axes plus the Windows pointer speed within the driver software, allowing you to configure the mouse in a way that best suits your game. You can configure your DPI settings and the sensor sensitivity level, then save them to any one of 5 profiles. Another handy feature is that the profiles can also be linked to games or other applications, meaning they load automatically when the game or application is started. ROCCAT recommends setting one of the profiles as the Windows Profile,  as this is the one the ROCCAT™ Kone [+] will always switch to as soon as you exit a game or app with a linked profile. The profiles are stored directly on the mouse,  which means you’ve always got them with you wherever you go.

In the Button Assignment tab, you can program the 8 mouse buttons and the mouse wheel to your exact needs. Assign each button either a predefined function like ‘Browser Backward’ or ‘Change sensor resolution,’ or create your own macros to cater to your needs. The Macro Manager offers you two ways to configure your macros: you can either use the Basic Editor, or program simultaneous command sequences and millisecond-precise delays with the Advanced Editor. This could come in very handy while playing MMO’s where keystrokes become very repetitive, and now would be shortened to a click of a single button. Roccat Easy-Shift[+] allows mouse buttons and mousewheel to perform additional tasks by assigning them two functions. The Easy-Shift[+] button is very similar to the Shift key on a keyboard. For instance, if you hold down the Easy-Shift[+] button and press one of the other standard mouse buttons at the same time, you execute a second function. In doing so, the number of available functions increases from 12 to 22.

Moving on to loading preset game macros or creating and editing your own macros, is somewhat simple in the Macro Manager. It will take a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a feature you can’t live without. Roccat has included presets for the top 20 PC games, as well as several office apps to make it even easier to customize the mouse. The Loop Function now makes it possible to loop macros indefinitely. This could come in very handy for MMO’s or something along those lines.

In the Color Control tab,  you can choose your favorite color or set the color of each LED individually. The Kone[+] can light up in four colors at the same time. You can choose different effects and, for instance, make colors alternate, rotate or pulsate like a heartbeat. However, the best part of controlling the LED’s is the option to just flat out turn them off. Sometimes you get annoyed with them at night and do not want them on.   Now you have the option to get rid of them until day time.

The Advanced Control tab is where you will need to venture to if you want to adjust settings, like the voice that talks to you, when you change DPI settings, profiles,  volume level, or sensitivity settings on your mouse. Although, this is a very nice feature to have “on” when switching something like DPI,  so you know where you are  right away without having to guess.  The new TDCU (Tracking and Distance Control Unit)  analyzes your mousepad and calibrates sensor accuracy to suit the particular surface. It will help with tracking performance and pick-up-flight effect.

If you want to calibrate your mouse for the surface you are using, just clock the re-calibrate button and this box will appear. Then follow the steps,  and you can calibrate your mouse in a short amount of time.

The final tab is the Update/Support tab which gives you all the information you will need to keep your Kone[+] up-to-date with the latest drivers. If you ever have problems with anything, they also have links to get online support.

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