Drag clicking has become an extremely popular feature in gaming mice. But what exactly is drag clicking, is it useful, and is it considered cheating?
What Is Drag Clicking?
Drag clicking a mouse is the act of dragging your finger across a mouse button, from top to bottom, in order to rapidly click the button. Drag clicking is also commonly referred to as Fazer tapping or tap clicking. It’s useful in games such as Minecraft.
Drag clicking only works with specific mice, but in essence it tricks the mouse into thinking the button was pressed several times in a row.
Drag clicking is exactly what it sounds like. Players will place their finger at the top of the mouse (towards where the palm of the hand lies), and they will drag their finger down towards the tip of the mouse.
When the player drags like this, it causes the mouse button to rapidly click and unclick many times.
Drag clicking is much faster than a traditional click, so it is very useful in games like competitive Minecraft where spamming a click button can give you an advantage.
If you are familiar with Macro Recorders, then drag clicking is kind of a physical macro.
Instead of using software to simulate rapid mouse clicks, players are forcing their mouse to click rapidly by exploiting the design of the mouse and the physics of our world.
While it’s not good for the mouse or its switches, it can be very useful in some games.
How To Drag Click?
To drag click on a mouse, place your palm on the back of the mouse to hold it in place (your hand will be in a claw shape). Afterwards, place your index finger at the top of the mouse button (towards your palm), and drag your finger tip down towards the tip of the mouse. Then lift your finger up and repeat.
So essentially, you’ll drag, lift your finger up and reset, then drag again.
First you have to make sure you have the right tool for the job. Afterwards, it’s all about getting a consistent drag while keeping your mouse in place.
Drag clicking can be hard to get the hang of, and not every mouse can do it. You can drag click on most old office mice, but it’s not possible on many modern gaming mice.
What Is The Point Of Drag Clicking?
Drag clicking is one of the best ways to click a mouse button rapidly without the help of external software. This can be very useful in video games like Minecraft where players need to place blocks and swing weapons extremely fast. It gives players an advantage because it’s faster than regular clicking.
Drag clicking is only useful in a competitive environment. Competitive players want every advantage they can get, so they’re always looking for ways to exploit hardware and rules to get that edge.
Drag clicking is an example of exploiting mouse hardware and switches in order to click faster than is possible with traditional clicking.
In games like Minecraft, players need to click in order to place blocks and attack other players. So players will drag click in order to place blocks faster and get in more hits per second than their opponents.
If you’re familiar with Macro Recorders that simulate rapid mouse clicks, then drag clicking is very similar. The difference is that macros are usually software related, while drag clicking is an actual mechanic within the physical mouse.
Drag clicking is also not usually banned in competitive play because it is not third party software, it’s just a physical movement.
What Mouse Is Best For Drag Clicking?
The Roccat Kone is the best mouse for drag clicking. It is durable and works well with the drag clicking technique. Old office mice are also good for drag clicking, but they will break down fast and don’t server much of a purpose in gaming outside of drag clicking.
Let’s talk more about the Roccat Kone.
ROCCAT Kone
The ROCCAT Kone is one of the most popular gaming mice for drag clicking and if you watch any drag clicking tutorials on Youtube, you’re likely to see it.
The mouse is durable, precise, and has switches that support drag clicking. It also has a nice base for your palm, so the mouse is unlikely to slide out from under you while you drag click.
If you do not want to splurge on a ROCCAT Kone, then you can pick up any office mouse for pretty cheap.
However, I wouldn’t expect that mouse to last more than a couple of months, since drag clicking is very bad for mice. The repeated stress on the mouse button switches usually breaks them down very fast.
Let’s talk more about why drag clicking is bad for your mouse.
Is Drag Clicking Bad For Your Mouse?
Drag clicking is very bad for your mouse. Drag clicking puts repeated strain on the mouse button switches, which breaks them down fast. Unless the mouse is built for drag clicking, it will likely break down within a few months of using the technique.
Drag clicking too hard can also wear down your mouse even faster. However, when the goal is to click as fast as you can it is hard not to click hard.
With that being said, many players are willing to sacrifice their mice to the great PC in the sky if it means they can squeeze out a few more clicks per second during a clutch moment.
Some mice, like the ROCCAT mentioned above, were built with drag clicking in mind and will last a lot longer than a random mouse you decide to practice drag clicking on.
But drag clicking is inherently bad for the mouse, so it’ll easily shorten the lifespan of any mouse you do it on, even if it is a sturdy gaming mouse.
There are ways to drag click that are less damaging than others, so I’d definitely recommend picking up a cheap mouse first and practice your technique.
This way you can practice and get the technique down before trying it on something more expensive that you could potentially break unnecessarily.
So why don’t more mouses support drag clicking if it makes you click faster? Well let me explain below.
Can You Drag Click On Any Mouse?
You cannot drag click on any mouse. The mouse has to support drag clicking. Most older office mice support drag clicking, while most modern gaming mice do not (unless built with drag clicking in mind). Drag clicking is also very taxing on mouse buttons, so it will break most regular mice within months.
Most modern gaming mice actually take measures to prevent drag clicking from working. This is because most gamers do not want their mouse to double click or click without a purpose.
Old office mice weren’t built like this, which is why so many of them work with drag clicking.
Some gaming mice like the ROCCAT Kone are also great for drag clicking, but they’re the exception not the rule. For drag clicking to work, the mouse needs to have buttons that support it.
The mouse should also be a bit heavier and have mouse feet that prevent the mouse from sliding across the mouse pad during drag clicking.
This is counter intuitive to the design of modern gaming mice, since they’re made to slide quickly and have very precise clicks.
Ok, now that we know how and why drag clicking is important, what games will this technique work best with?
What Game Types Is Drag Clicking Best For?
Drag clicking is best in games like Minecraft, where you may need to click extremely fast without actually moving your mouse much (like when building walkways in Minecraft). It can also be useful in first person shooters when using single shot guns, but it is much harder to aim a gun while drag clicking.
Minecraft is the most popular game that people drag click in. Players will look at the ground and back up while drag clicking in order to rapidly place blocks and build a bridge, for example.
They’ll also drag click for fighting, since players want to swing their sword as fast as possible. Other than Minecraft, drag clicking isn’t super popular because it makes aiming very hard.
It can be useful in shooters when you can only fire one bullet at a time, but the aiming-disadvantage usually makes drag clicking not worth it.
So, unless you’re a competitive Minecraft player, drag clicking isn’t going to be very useful to you.
Ok, but this technique seems OP right? So let’s now discuss the ethics behind drag clicking? Is it even legal, bro?
Is Drag Clicking Considered Cheating?
Drag clicking is considered cheating by many games. Most of the time drag clicking is not explicitly banned in games, but the amount of clicks generated by drag clicking can lead to an auto ban. Cheat detection software may think the drag clicking player is using some kind of cheat or macro and ban them.
Some games consider drag clicking cheating, while others don’t, so you’ll need to read the rules for whatever game you’re playing.
Drag clicking is very popular in Minecraft, for example. Some Minecraft servers will auto-ban anyone who exceeds a certain clicks-per-second in order to counter drag clicking.
This means players that drag click could be banned despite not even using macros. Whether drag clicking is considered cheating from a moral perspective or not is a gray area.
Some players believe it goes against the spirit of gaming, while others believe it is just another skillset like clicking really fast the old fashioned way.
The debate on drag clicking remains a hot topic, and the exact answer will depend on the game and its player base.
I hope this article was helpful in detailing what exactly is, how you can use it, and whether or not you should use it. Stay awesome!
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Eric streams 3 days a week on Twitch and uploads weekly to Youtube under the moniker, StreamersPlaybook. He loves gaming, PCs, and anything else related to tech. He’s the founder of the website StreamersPlaybook and loves helping people answer their streaming, gaming, and PC questions.