Glorious Model D 2 Pro review

A stealthy appearance masks impressive game performance. But does the Glorious D 2 Pro justify the hundred-dollar price? We put it to the test.

There are two types of mouse users. Some appreciate conspicuousness, seeking out bodies that flaunt weight-shaving, cutaway exteriors, or eye-catching lighting. So, if you’re like me and enjoy an office illumined by dozens of vibrantly colored LEDs, Glorious’ Model O 2 should be a consideration when choosing your next mouse. With its exotic-looking, honeycombed exterior, RGB-lit banding, wired and wireless functionality, and remarkably light 68-gram weight, it’s one of the best mid-priced mice on the market.

It’s also dependable – at least from my experience. I’ve been using the Model O2 daily for seven months without incident. The only blemish I’ve found is that Glorious hasn’t beaten the laws of physics. If you leave the LED lighting on, battery life takes a significant hit.

A Search for the Unnoticed Mouse

Of course, others prefer subtlety from their peripherals. One of my coworkers summarized his attitude by stating, “I don’t want to notice my mouse. I just want it to work so well that it becomes an extension of my hand, so I don’t have think about it.” For those who could do without the flash, the Glorious D 2 Pro (non-affiliate link) is a workhouse that doesn’t make people assume that you’re a rising esports competitor. However, given the peripheral’s high-end performance, the inclusion of optical switches, and the availability of a 4K/8KHZ polling model, the D2 Pro can dexterously shift between Excel and Apex.

Save for some small text and a discrete logo on the base of the D 2 Pro, Glorious’ mouse could infiltrate a corporate office undetected. It has a stealthy matte black exterior and a single green LED on top that’s only visible from overhead. With its arched exterior and angled construction, the D2 Pro offers ergonomic distinction. The angle invites a slight rotation of your wrist, which helps reduce fatigue over marathon play sessions.

If you’re a southpaw, the manufacturer also offers the O 2 Pro, which offers a symmetrical build and just a bit less hunch on the back of the peripheral. I was able to test that model as well and can confirm performance parity. Sure, at 60 grams the D 2 Pro is 3 grams heavier, but for me the difference was imperceptible.

A Week with the Pro

To get a better understanding of how the D 2 Pro fares during everyday use, I gathered three volunteers who each used the mouse for about a week before sitting down for a brief interview about their experience. One of the first praises was aimed at the optical switches on the D 2 Pro. The participant has been using a mouse with mechanical switches, which he said were “mushier” and “seemed to be a bit less responsive over time”.

Another person found the D 2 Pro to be a “great all-rounder”, offering solid performance and a build quality that didn’t seem “too cheap”. Battery life wasn’t an issue, with the unobtrusive D 2 Pro lasting through the week without a need for recharging, for each volunteer.

In theory, the mouse should be able to last two work weeks, at least according to Glorious’ 80-hour claims. When it came to tracking, none of the participants experienced any problems across a variety of games and genres, which ranged from Baldur’s Gate, Control, Company of Heroes 3, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2, to El Paso, Elsewhere. All three volunteers summarized that the D 2 Pro exhibited “better than average” performance.

Individual Issues with the Mouse

But across testing, some minor, individualized misgivings materialized. For one participant, Glorious’ 2.4Ghz adapter put too much strain on a Mini-PC’s internal USB hub, sporadically drawing power away from other connected devices. Since the D 2 Pro lacks Bluetooth connectivity, the tester has to spend the majority of his test period using a wired connection. Another participant didn’t like the rear-most side button on the mouse, stating, “I have to bend my thumb all the way back to press it and that’s not easy or comfortable”.

When asked how much they would pay for the Glorious D 2 Pro, the participants specified prices that were thirty to twenty dollars cheaper than the peripheral’s hundred-dollar MSRP. When they were informed about the actual price, two volunteers acknowledged the quality of the components, saying, “I’m not surprised. It doesn’t feel cheap” and “I guess that’s how much a decent mouse is these days”.

A Glorious Sale Would Be Welcome

Briefly, each participant was able to compare the $99.99 base model D 2 Pro against the $129.99 upgraded model with 4 (wireless) and 8- kHz (wired) polling. To notice a difference in cursor smoothness and game responsiveness, Glorious recommends having at least a ninth-generation Intel i5 and a monitor that offers a refresh rate of 144Hz or more.

With equipment that easily surpasses that baseline, all three participants struggled with seeing any visual difference between the 1kHz base model and the 4K/8K edition. As someone who is quite sensitive to framerate, I also couldn’t reliably distinguish between the two. While response time is supposed to drop from one millisecond to one-eighth of that span, even the standard D 2 Pro is theoretically faster than human perception. I thought about designing some mouse skill tests, where participants moved the cursor to different boxes to test this further, but I felt my volunteers were starting to lose interest.

Conclusion

As such, the base model D 2 Pro gets the recommendation. Not only is it thirty dollars cheaper, but 4K polling impacts battery life, so you should expect about 35 hours between charges. Unless you have an absolute eagle eye, the standard version should meet most gamers’ needs. Contoured for those with medium to large hands, Glorious has crafted a solid gaming mouse that could easily pick up a few shifts at work.

Tech-Specs
Model: D 2 Pro
Number of Buttons: 6
Connectivity: 2.4GHz/Wired
Battery Life: 80 hours
Max. Sensitivity: 26,000 DPI
Max. Speed: 650 IPS
Software: Glorious Core (optional)
Compatibility: Windows 7+, MacOS, Linux