For FPS precision, cloth mousepads are usually better.

Yes. If you want stopping power and consistent glide for flick shots and tracking, cloth wins almost every time.

Hard pads feel fast out of the box, but that speed comes at a cost: less control. Your mouse skates wear down faster, dust and sweat ruin the surface feel, and micro-adjustments can feel twitchy. Cloth gives you more friction—which sounds bad but actually helps you stop precisely where you want.

That said, hard pads excel in one specific scenario: if you play at very low sensitivity and need to lift the mouse constantly, the lower initial friction helps. But even then, many pros still use cloth because it’s more predictable across different humidity and temperatures.

Final thought: Don’t overthink it—cloth is the safe bet for precision, and a good one costs less than $30.