Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

I needed to get one of these plastic toy things for my PC because I was playtesting a game that demanded a controller. I hate controllers. They're an awful way to play games. The thumbsticks are horribly imprecise, and your shoulders are all hunched up, so you get back ache. Give me a mouse and a keyboard ANY day. However, I have had a few controllers over the years, mainly because I feel I have to have one to be "a gamer"... But I don't tend to use them. I've had a logitech wingman, a SNES-shaped one, a Logitech F-170 which was utter garbage (a shame), a Retrobit Legacy 16 and an XBox controller. Plus, of course, the controllers with the SNES, Atari 2600 and PS1 and PS2. So, although I hate the blasted things, at least I've had some experience with them. The Xbox controller was the most recent addition. I got it for my son to play GRIP Racing on his laptop. He kinda likes it, but he's got used to WASD+Mouse too, so finds the controller a bit restrictive. So I ended up playing with his XBox controller. I quite liked it. It had a weight to it, and the buttons had a positivity to them. So, when I had to get one for my laptop for this plaaytesting I thought I'd try to go "top of the line" and get an Elite 2. Well, I can confirm, it feels pretty darn good. although it's the same hand-crampy shape and size of a usual controller, it's really hefty. It feels solid, not plasticcy at all. The grips are grippy, and the magnetic snap-on thumbsticks and d-pad are lush to look at. Being able to adjust the force of the buttons is a lovely feature. I've set them to "middle" which feels good for me. The Core edition doesn't come with the back-paddles, but they can be bought separately for £9 (get the metallic ones!). I have to admit I'm very impressed with it. Aiming is still an absolute shambles, but that's a problem with trying to use a thumbstick. The buttons and controls otherwise feel really solid. It screams quality. I can see why it's more expensive than the standard controller. Given the magnets and snap-on configurability of it, I can see why it's as expensive as it is. It's a nice piece of well-engineered kit. It'll never replace a Kbd+Mouse for me, but if I have to play a game with a controller, I'm playing it with this! Nothing else comes close!

The official XBOX Elite controller Series 2 is a high-quality, top-tier controller. Aimed at the hardcore gamer, it actually is also very handy solution for gamers (such as myself) with limited hand mobility or other hand issues, thanks to its back paddles. The controller is heavier than the default XBOX controllers and has a more sturdy construction including metal back plate and triggers and special rubber grips. Unlike the standard controller it is supplied with the controller itself, a built-in battery and charging dock, a lovely solid hard transport case, four metal back paddles, six stick options , and thumbstick adjustment tool, two D-pad options and a USB-C charging cable. The sticks, paddles and D-pad are attached magnetically and are simple to swap out. The sticks offer a choice of lengths and grip textures. Please note the standard controller and set is black as pictured on the product images; my photos are of my custom XBOX Design Lab Series 2 Elite controller which was the only one I have to hand right now. The back paddles offer all sorts of options to you as they can be assigned in the XBOX Accessory settings dashboard to duplicate any of the other functions of the controller, and can also be given a second "shift" function. They sit exactly where you need them to be, and are easily accessible. Personally I set them as the A. B, X and Y buttons so that I can do whatever the buttons are set to do in the game without taking my hands off the thumbstick - great for fast twitch-shooters! The other advantage to having paddles replace the face buttons, I found, is that it means I can continue to play games despite finding using the face buttons difficult. I can suffer severe pain when repeatedly pressing the face buttons in long gameplay sessions, and this was making gaming almost impossible for me. Now, being able to easily access A. B, X and Y on the paddles means I can enjoy my Xbox again with no pain or discomfort. I would suggest this may be helpful for many gamers who find the face buttons tricky to easily use but can comfortably grip the controller as designed. You can of course assign pretty much ANY function to the paddles. The adjustment tool allows you to tighten or loosen the sticks very simply, just how you like. The charger dock can be used from within the case through the hole on the back of the case, or can be used outside of the case. It can be hooked up to your console or any device with a powered USB slot. It is optional; the controller can also be directly connected to your XBOX without the dock. The controller offers massive flexibility so that you can set it up just as you like. Not only can you choose the hardware and adjust stick tension, you can also use the small switches on the back to adjust the trigger pull distance. You will also find great in-depth settings within the Accessories option in the XBOX settings, where you can set button assignments, dead zones, stick adjustments and more. Lastly, you can also use the controller settings on your XBOX to save up to three different profiles, which can be swapped between with the button below the guide button on the controller. This allows you to save specific button layouts and settings for individual games or types of game and switch on the fly. I have used a number of Series 2 Elites for several years each now and at no time have encountered stick drift, sticky buttons, peeling grips or any other issue that the older Series 1 controllers were prone to. They all still work perfectly and I find them much more durable, more comfortable overall than the standard controllers, with a nice heft and feel of quality, and I find the paddles indispensable to the point that I cannot now use a controller without them. The only negative I can think of is that cleaning the inevitable hand-jam off the textured rubber grips is a massive pain in the rear because BOY does that crissy-crossy texture refuse to give it up without a fight. And don't doubt that no matter how fastidious you are keeping your hands clean, you'll need to do it eventually! These are not cheap; but are by far the best controller you will ever use, IMHO.

Brilliant controller which is well made and has lots of customizable options. Whether it's the look of the controller itself or to assign buttons to different uses using the 4 paddle buttons. The Xbox accessories app offers other options like adjusting your triggers dead zones to make them more responsive, left and right anolog sticks, vibration strength on the main part and triggers. You can also change the colour and brightness of the Xbox controller button. You can also adjust the tension of the analog sticks using the adjustable tool which is included. You can create lots of different profiles for multiple different games but can only have 3 active at one time on the quick profile switch button. I owned my previous one for around 6 years and have bought this one as a replacement. You definitely get value for money, when using normal controllers I would be spending £50-£60 every 6 months due to stick drift. This controller is amazing!

This is my second elite 2 controller. I had my first one for a couple of years and it served me well. Some of the buttons weren't working properly and the paddles weren't working great. To be fair I did drop it a couple of times, but it seemed unaffected. Anyway they are brilliant controllers. Everything just feels much nicer than the basic normal controllers. The paddles on the back make a huge difference. For example being able to push a paddle to run instead of clicking down on the analog stucks really saves my thumbs. I regularly use all paddles and they help me out a lot. Battery life is really good, can go days without charging, maybe weeks depending on use. A few negatives though... The bumper buttons are prone to failure The paddles might need to be replaced as the metal wears down after a while They are very expensive controllers but worth it for me as they make playing much more comfortable

The build quality of this controller is abysmal. I had the series 1 which has outlasted this “new” version by years. The only reason I had to “upgrade” to this version was due to an accident breaking the original series 1… The thumb sticks have got stick drift after a couple of months of moderate use. The bumper buttons are not recognising presses consistently and the rear panel buttons are terrible. The case finish is nice and comfortable but that’s about the only positive comment which doesn’t last long as it is starting to peel at the edges. The thumbstick rubber has now disintegrated after 2 years which is now out of warranty. The changeable parts from the first version are not compatible.

First thing I noticed about this controller is that on first impressions the rubber grips are very very slippy, the complete opposite of what I expected and I hated them.... But, after using the controller for a day and getting a feel for it I realised that they actually become very very grippy. But then the next day they felt slippy again almost like trying to hold a bar of soap. But what I figured out is that whilst the rubber is cold it's very slippy, but once you've held the controller for 5 minutes it becomes grippy. The only problem is if you stop holding the controller for 5 minutes it becomes slippy again. It's really quite strange. The grip isn't even the reason I bought the controller I've never really struggled with grip on a controller before, but it's the first thing I noticed about it and initially I thought it was a bad thing. Now I'm just used to it and don't mind it at all. You can easily map the controls to do what you like and set 3 profiles to have different paddles do a different action and different games without having to make a new profile every time you switch games. The best thing about the controller is the thumb sticks. They are next level you can't feel any friction whatsoever against the out outside ring it's amazing. The changeable llsrucksbthatbcomebwith it I have trued but I've just stuck with the standard sticks. The buttons on the back are really nice a super premium feel to them too. I started with all 4 on there hover a finger over each paddle but it was really awkward to hold the controller that way. Basically only leaving your pinky finger to grip on. Now I just use 2 paddles on the back. I've move the 2 smaller ones to the lower pisituon and use my middle fingers to press them and that's a much more natural feeling. The adjustable triggers a good feature also. The overall feel of the controller is very premium. And I'm glas I have it. Its very expensive for what it is though so I'm not 100% sure it's worth the money. I just had some burning a hole on my pocket. The only cons I can think of is that there is no share button like on the series x/s controller, though you can actually completely remap all the buttons and turn one of the paddles into this button if you wanted. I also prefer the D pad on the series x/s controller. The big dish thing tgat comes with this is too flat for me and I have opted for the old school + shaped D pad instead. I hope the bring out a series x/s one out for this it wouldn't be hard to do as its all swappable parts. And finally the center part of the controller has a kind of silicone covering or something. It's feels really nice and premium but it leaves grease marks.

So glad I bought, it just feels so much sturdier and love the control of the paddle depressions. Underneath triggers took a little of getting used to but now I love them. The sticks change so easily and the case is great for protecting your investment with a great touch about being able to leave the control in its case to charge. Feels and acts like a quality controller, wished I’d bought one earlier

Amazing controller, best feeling and shape you can buy with a very premium feel, worth the price if you want an excellent controller for a long time.