Mouse Skates: PTFE Dots vs PTFE Skates
The most basic change you can make that will improve how your mouse feels while gaming is changing the stock feet for better PTFE mouse skates. Virgin PTFE mouse feet offer less friction, are smoother, and last longer than OEM feet that have mixed combinations of polymers.
When purchasing PTFE mouse feet you will be faced with the decision of either buying PTFE skates or PTFE dots. The decision might seem to be quite random but in reality, both options offer slight advantages and disadvantages depending on what you choose.
Different Glide
Depending on the mousepad you use, PTFE dots and skates will offer you a different glide smoothness, and speed. If you use a hard mousepad (like a SkyPad 3.0) using PTFE dots will make the glide faster and less controlled.
This is because there is less surface contact with the pad meaning even less friction. A bigger PTFE skate in this case will offer you more control since the larger skate makes more contact with the pad. On cloth pads once again PTFE dots will feel faster but also might feel scratchier and will offer a lot more feedback based on the surface of the mousepad.
If you use larger PTFE skates on cloth pads you will get a smoother, more controlled glide feeling making it the preferred choice for many. In essence, depending on your preferred mousepad surface choosing dots or skates will lead to either a smoother more controlled glide or a faster glide with more surface feedback.
Pricing
In general PTFE skates will cost more than the DIY PTFE dots and the dots will last you longer since you will use 4 dots per cycle of mouse feet on your mouse. The pricing of dots becomes even more compelling if you are willing to buy them in bulk from sites like AliExpress.
You can buy the same quality of PTFE dots for a lot cheaper and get quite a bit more than buying them from regular vendors.
Mouse Size and Weight
Depending on the mouse you use there will also be different advantages and disadvantages for the type of mouse feet you purchase. I play on a SkyPad 3.0 with an HSK Pro 4K and I enjoy a super fast glide therefore I use PTFE dots.
The tiny size of the mouse combined with the 26g in weight makes it so the mouse flies across my mousepad when using PTFE dots for speed. There are different optimal setups for different mice so it might be a good idea to look at forums and see what people prefer for the model of mouse you use.
Ease of Modding
If you have to open your mouse quite often because you like modding your mouse, using PTFE dots is an extremely convenient solution to not having to rip off the mouse feet to get to the screws every time.
This process of taking the mouse skates off and on for a couple of times becomes quite annoying so you can just avoid it completely by using PTFE dots. This way you do not have to change your mouse feet every time you want to open the mouse, saving you even more PTFE dots in the long run.
Fixing Possible Issues
Another simple advantage of PTFE dots is that if you have gotten an uneven surface you can swap to a different dot for that corner of your mouse so you do not deal with LOD issues. On a large mouse skate (like on the GPX skates) you would have to replace it entirely meaning more wasted mouse skates overall.
TL;DR
While both types of mouse feet have advantages and disadvantages PTFE dots and PTFE skates are in the end a matter of preference. If you like a faster glide with more surface feedback and DIY capabilities buy PTFE dots.
If you want a smoother glide and a more controlled feel buy PTFE skates.