I’ve definitely heard complaints about the Elite bumpers, so I’m not saying that isn’t an issue. For whatever reason though mine has held up fine. I don’t know if I got lucky or what. I’m pretty careful with it, but my 2 year old is not so it’s had some falls from him grabbing it off my desk. I have had issues with the standard controller geting the bumpers jammed after a fall though for sure.
For me personally, it’s just a nice to have for games that require it. I remember pulling out my steam controller a few times when Breath of the Wild needed motion controls.
Nintendo’s work is solid on the Switch. With all the gyro control, I got so used to it that whenever I’m using my Xbox controller on Steam I instinctively tilt the controller for control. Once you’re used to stick for general direction and tilt for specifics it feels natural.
I used to play a lot of Fallout 4 with gyro aiming on the Steam Controller, there was a lot of downtime between fights and gunplay didn’t require perfect precision, which was great for learning how the controller felt. I’d find that I’d sit back with my hands on my lap, tilting the controller very slightly up and down for vertical aim and unconsciously using my foot to rotate the chair for horizontal. Once I got used to how it worked (including setting the gyro to only activate while the left trigger was held and fine-tuning the sensitivity) it became natural. My body just kind of figured it all out in the most comfortable way.
I’d recommend playing 2 types of games to get used to it.
First a single player FPS with gyro working on some kind of switch, if you have a Steam Controller, this would be when you are touching the right touchpad, otherwise with a PS5 controller for example maybe it’s always on, but when you touch the touchpad it disables.
This allows you to recentre the controller when you need to so you’re not twisting around in your chair.
Second play a third person action game with some kind of shooting and enable the gyro only when you pull the button to aim, usually left trigger, this will help you fine tune your aim and get used to that enhancement. I really enjoyed Horizen Zero Dawn like this and Alien: Fire team Elite.
if it ends up being like the steam deck layout, they’ll probably just fuse the touch screens into one larger one in the center of the controller, towards the bottom. At that point, it would probably just be pretty similar to the playstation controller, but with slightly more questionable ergonomics, or maybe a more usable touchscreen.
This 100%. Personally I’m happy with the build quality on my Elite 2, but I hate that it requires Windows 10+ to update the firmware. And it really needs a trackpad.
I get the cheap GameSir controllers and they work fine. I’ve got probably 10 of them running around and I need to grab two more to replace my dying Stadia controllers. None have given me a moment of trouble.
That said, I’m not picking up two more if there’s a new steam controller coming. I’ll wait. I don’t usually need more than 8 at once so I can put it on the back burner for now until I need to host a holiday.
3 mini PCs, 4 players each, round robin Mario Kart tournament.
I semi-regularly need between 6 and 8. When I throw a barbecue there’s live music, a large selection of meats with plenty to snack on while everyone is waiting for the brisket and ribs to finish up, vegetarian options that are more than just sides or salads, vegan options if any of my vegan friends stop by, games like darts and cornhole, video games, drinks, and general fuckery.
I like to do it big and I’ve got the means and space to do that.
You’re not seriously asking for that button arrangement right? The D-pad is so uncomfortable to use. I love my Steam Deck, but I accept the button arrangement as an acceptable cope.
Give me the Steam Deck layout sans screen and I’ll buy several.
So fucking fed up being charged out the ass for a few extra buttons and/or shitty build quality.
I went through RMAing SIX god damn Xbox elite 2 controllers before just giving up and getting my CC agency involved to get my money back.
I just want a controller with back pedals and touchpads for mouse emulation. Is that so hard?
I’d be surprised if they weren’t making exactly that. It also give devs an easier way to test controlling with a deck without having to buy one
It’s wild to me that somehow the elite controllers are worst than their cheaper brothers. I’ve owned both series. Both sucked hard.
Not to defend Microsoft, but I haven’t had any issues with my Elite 2 controller, and I’ve had it for a couple of years at least.
My grips started peeling after close to three years of heavy use. A tube of silicone glue fixed it right up.
My left bumper stopped working consistently on mine. I never have issues with my other controllers.
I’ve definitely heard complaints about the Elite bumpers, so I’m not saying that isn’t an issue. For whatever reason though mine has held up fine. I don’t know if I got lucky or what. I’m pretty careful with it, but my 2 year old is not so it’s had some falls from him grabbing it off my desk. I have had issues with the standard controller geting the bumpers jammed after a fall though for sure.
This, they should include gyro too ideally if that doesn’t go without saying
The original Steam Controller has gyro, so I can’t imagine they’d leave it out of a successor.
I never got into gyro controls. What are the pros for you?
For me personally, it’s just a nice to have for games that require it. I remember pulling out my steam controller a few times when Breath of the Wild needed motion controls.
I’ve managed to use it as a steering wheel for the old NFS:MW
I find it works really well (as a combo with stick) for FPS games on the steamdeck, feels a bit closer to mouse & keyboard in precision
I really need to give this another try. Any games you’ve tested this with in which gyro aim works particularly well?
Nintendo’s work is solid on the Switch. With all the gyro control, I got so used to it that whenever I’m using my Xbox controller on Steam I instinctively tilt the controller for control. Once you’re used to stick for general direction and tilt for specifics it feels natural.
I used to play a lot of Fallout 4 with gyro aiming on the Steam Controller, there was a lot of downtime between fights and gunplay didn’t require perfect precision, which was great for learning how the controller felt. I’d find that I’d sit back with my hands on my lap, tilting the controller very slightly up and down for vertical aim and unconsciously using my foot to rotate the chair for horizontal. Once I got used to how it worked (including setting the gyro to only activate while the left trigger was held and fine-tuning the sensitivity) it became natural. My body just kind of figured it all out in the most comfortable way.
I’d recommend playing 2 types of games to get used to it.
First a single player FPS with gyro working on some kind of switch, if you have a Steam Controller, this would be when you are touching the right touchpad, otherwise with a PS5 controller for example maybe it’s always on, but when you touch the touchpad it disables.
This allows you to recentre the controller when you need to so you’re not twisting around in your chair.
Second play a third person action game with some kind of shooting and enable the gyro only when you pull the button to aim, usually left trigger, this will help you fine tune your aim and get used to that enhancement. I really enjoyed Horizen Zero Dawn like this and Alien: Fire team Elite.
if it ends up being like the steam deck layout, they’ll probably just fuse the touch screens into one larger one in the center of the controller, towards the bottom. At that point, it would probably just be pretty similar to the playstation controller, but with slightly more questionable ergonomics, or maybe a more usable touchscreen.
This 100%. Personally I’m happy with the build quality on my Elite 2, but I hate that it requires Windows 10+ to update the firmware. And it really needs a trackpad.
I get the cheap GameSir controllers and they work fine. I’ve got probably 10 of them running around and I need to grab two more to replace my dying Stadia controllers. None have given me a moment of trouble.
That said, I’m not picking up two more if there’s a new steam controller coming. I’ll wait. I don’t usually need more than 8 at once so I can put it on the back burner for now until I need to host a holiday.
I don’t usually need more than 8 at once
This implies that sometimes you do—what situations are coming up where you need 8+ controllers?
3 mini PCs, 4 players each, round robin Mario Kart tournament.
I semi-regularly need between 6 and 8. When I throw a barbecue there’s live music, a large selection of meats with plenty to snack on while everyone is waiting for the brisket and ribs to finish up, vegetarian options that are more than just sides or salads, vegan options if any of my vegan friends stop by, games like darts and cornhole, video games, drinks, and general fuckery.
I like to do it big and I’ve got the means and space to do that.
But with hall effect, and slightly more angled triggers for better ergonomics since it doesnt have to be flat. And… and…
You’re not seriously asking for that button arrangement right? The D-pad is so uncomfortable to use. I love my Steam Deck, but I accept the button arrangement as an acceptable cope.