Mnemonic Tutor

When the Xbox One Elite Controller was first announced in 2015, I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical. I had been using “regular” controllers for console gaming for years, and I didn’t see a reason to get one. So I went a little over a year after launch before getting one for myself. Why did I decide to get it? Quite simply, it was the most highly recommended controller for console First Person Shooter (FPS) games. This was mostly because you could remap buttons to the paddles on the back of the controller. This would allow you do things, such as jump, without having to take your right thumb off the analog stick that you aim with. In other words, you could jump (or perform any other mapped button action) and still aim with your left thumb as you flew through the air in a jump. Bottom line, it increased your accuracy while on the move and performing other actions in a given game. After having it for over a year now, and buying the new “white” update for the controller (review of that coming soon), was it worth it?

To put it simply, the answer is yes, but it does have some quirks. Let’s start off with the positives. This thing is super flexible. Being able to remap buttons to the paddles on the back seems weird at first, but once you get used to it, you will wonder how you ever played without them. As a matter of fact, because of playing with the Elite controller on my Xbox One X, I had to get a SCUF Vantage (review coming soon) to get a similar experience on my PS4 Pro. For FPS games, where aim accuracy is critical, mapping the jump button (as well as others) to a rear paddle is a godsend. You will never be able to go back to a regular controller after using this thing.

The next positive for this controller is the easily swappable thumb sticks, d-pad, and paddles. They are all magnetic, so with a little bit of force, they come off, and you can select a different one to put on. If you look at the photo on this page, you can see the swappable pieces below the controller. It comes with two different d-pad options, a single set of four paddles, and three pair of thumb sticks. The thumb sticks come in the following variants: tall height with concave tips, short height with concave tips, and medium height with convex tips. While in theory you can continually swap these out for different games, if you are a serious gamer, then you know that muscle memory is key, and you will find the most comfortable set and stick with those. Having all of these swappable components, including some from third party companies like Insignia (Best Buy) is pretty amazing. 

Next we will tackle the quality. The first thing you notice when you handle this controller is that it is hefty. Some people say it is heavy. It is definitely heavier than the regular cheap plastic Xbox One controller, but this thing has a lot of metal in it. All of the magnet pieces and their bases are metal – for obvious reasons. In hand, the build quality just feels solid and premium. The rubber grips on the bottom sides of the controller “arms” is a nice touch, and helps you to keep your grip during sweaty FPS sessions. The included micro USB cable is a high-quality braided cable. It is even a bit stiff, so you get the impression that it is going to last a long time, even if you don’t really use it much as most people won’t. The carrying case is also very nice. It is a molded “hard” nylon case with a mesh pocket to hold accessory cables, and foam inserts to hold both the swappable components as well as to hold the controller in place when in transit. I’ve travelled a lot with this controller – to gaming conventions all over the US, and after dozens of zip-unzip usage, the case is still perfect. 

What about gaming controls? Well, they are precise just like an original controller. There are some additional features here, though. The Xbox One has a built-in app that you use to remap all of the buttons, and you can also set the dead zones and sensitivity for each analog stick separately, as well as the trigger pull sensitivity. The controller also has two switches that allow you to shorten the trigger pull distance dramatically. So instead of having to fully pull in the trigger to do things like shoot, you only have to pull it in a fraction of the distance. It is almost like having a feather trigger on a real gun. I like this setting so much, my controller has the pull shortened all the time – in all games. Because you can adjust the dead zones, you can make sure that your analog stick movements are read accurately, and that you don’t get analog stick “drift”. This won’t account for a completely broken analog stick, but it does keep the controller working better and longer than a regular controller.

And now onto the negatives. There really are only two negatives that I’ve found using this controller for a long time. The first one is obvious – the price. This thing cost twice to thrice what a regular controller costs. I’d have been happier if it were to come in around $100, but I know that higher quality costs more. As I stated above, despite the cost, the controller is absolutely worth it. The second negative, however, is a little harder to describe. Remember when I said above that the swappable pieces and the bases that they connect to on the controller are metal? This is because the connections or mount points are magnetic. As a result, the thumb sticks themselves are a lot heavier than plastic ones. If you’re scientifically inclined, you know that mass and inertia are proportional. These metal thumb sticks have more mass, therefore they also have more inertia when moving. This is especially evident with the longest thumb sticks. So why is this an issue? Well, imagine this, you’re pushing a thumb stick all the way to the left, and then you decide to let it go to allow it to re-center itself. With a plastic controller, the thumb will snap back to the center position and stay there until you move it again. With these metal thumb sticks, the force generated when you release the thumb stick and allow it to freely snap back to the center actually gives the metal mass of the thumb stick more inertia than needed to return to the center. This causes the thumb stick to snap to center and actually pass the center point somewhat in the same linear direction it was traveling. If you don’t have your dead zones configured rather muddy (as opposed to having zero dead zone), the controller will register this movement past the center point as you trying to move the thumb stick. So where does this become a problem? If you are using the left thumb stick to navigate menus, you will repeatedly have the cursor (or whatever is indicating what you’re selecting) snap back one menu item position item or two. You have to deliberately not allow the stick to travel freely and actually use your thumb to let it slowly go back to center. If you are moving the right thumb stick to aim, or to build in a game like Fortnite, when you let it go, your vision on screen will over-correct in the opposite direction you are facing. Needless to say, this is pretty annoying, but like I said, you can muck with the dead zones for the analog sticks and mostly negate this behavior. This is one “advantage” I will give to SCUF over the Xbox One Elite Controller – SCUF uses regular plastic pieces and there is a tool to remove and swap them out. You don’t have this issue of mass and inertia messing with your analog sticks. I know that was a long winded explanation of a single negative quirk of this controller, but I wanted you to know exactly what you’re buying before you put your hard earned money down on this thing.

Conclusion

So, what do I think about this controller after a long time of use. I still love it. I have several original Xbox One controllers, and while I will occasionally use those if I’m gaming outside of my dedicated game room, I will almost always go get the Elite when I want to play FPS games or any game that requires precision and flexibility. If you are looking to get into competitive console gaming, with a game like Fortnite, the Elite controller is necessary – not optional. If you’re a good FPS player, but getting lasered by other players on Xbox Live, chances are it is because they are using an Elite controller and you aren’t. It makes that much of a difference. Is it going to elevate an average player to play on par with a competitive one? No. But it will help you get as close as possible without dedicating the time and effort a competitive player does to a game. I give this controller 9 out of 10 jalapeños. Pick one up at this link: https://amzn.to/2PFOr34. This is an Amazon Affiliate link, so your purchase using this link helps us keep doing reviews and videos for you!