SCUF’s Valor Pro is an excellent wired controller that nails ergonomics for competitive players who want a Hall Effect controller on a budget. Even if you aren’t a competitive player, it’s worth your consideration if you need a durable and well-designed controller for your PC/XBOX gaming needs.
I am not the biggest fan of XBOX’s line of controllers. They’re too bulky and rounded for my hands. From my experience using XBOX’s controllers, I’ve had issues with keeping my hands comfortable during long gaming sessions. I’ve resorted to using third-party controllers on my PC and laptop (when traveling) that have more features and feel more ergonomic. My hands are large, yes, but there’s something about the XBOX controller that feels alien.
The SCUF Valor Pro is one of the first designed-for-XBOX controllers I’ve tested that feels like it was designed for me. It feels like it was properly designed for ergonomics and competitive gameplay, two seemingly incompatible elements.
Yes, the SCUF Valor Pro is a wired controller, but that shouldn’t be off-putting for those who want a premium controller experience but don’t want to cough up nearly $200 for Hall Effect joysticks and durability. I’ll talk about Hall Effect joysticks in a moment, but the fact remains that the SCUF Valor Pro is a steal of a deal in the third-party XBOX/PC controller space.
SCUF has been a third-party peripheral manufacturer since 2011, now a part of Corsair’s family of brands. Their controllers have often been focused with competitive gaming in mind, emphasizing ergonomics, additional buttons, and on-device profiles. They have also partnered with pro esports players to create customizable frontplates, adding color and flair to the controllers.
The Valor Pro is SCUF’s newest controllers, redesigned from the ground up to feature greater durability and improved ergonomics for longer gaming sessions. It’s impressively thin; when I first held the controller, it felt like it was too thin to function. As I used it, however, it naturally conformed to my hand when playing FPS and twin-stick shooters. I used the SCUF Valor Pro for the entirety of my Star of Providence review (amongst other games) – it felt fantastic.
Ergonomics are quite important for competitive shooters. Practice makes perfect, meaning that many hours are needed with a controller in-hand to improve one’s skills. The Valor Pro was thin enough for my hands to naturally wrap around the edges of the controller while also having buttons properly spaced for easy reaching. The Valor Pro has buttons on the front and back, so being able to reach all of the buttons in a natural fashion is important.
The Valor Pro also has a “performance grip” featuring textured rubber ridges on the lower handles. The ridges feel especially fantastic, offering resistance to keep my hands from slipping. Even when my hands were at their sweatiest (they got sweaty, trust me), the controller did not slip out of my grip. If you’ve felt the PS5’s DualSense controller and its light textured handles (with small PlayStation symbols), the Valor Pro’s rubber ridges feel far better.
“Pro” controllers from the likes of PlayStation and XBOX feature Hall Effect joysticks to prevent the dreaded joystick drift. Joystick drift has impacted my Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons and several DualSense controllers over the past few years, and I know others have experienced similar degrees of frustration with their own controllers and drift. Hall Effect joysticks use magnets to drastically reduce the friction and ensure the joysticks are durable. Oh yeah, these Pro controllers with Hall Effect joysticks cost hundreds of dollars.
The Valor Pro is $99.99 and features anti-drift Hall Effect thumbsticks – the same joysticks on the DualSense Edge and XBOX Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. While the Valor Pro is wired, it bears repeating that its price point for anti-drift thumbsticks is quite competitive for players who want the durability of Hall Effect without breaking the bank.
How do these joysticks feel, though? Short answer: Excellent. The anti-drift thumbsticks feel snappy and responsive. They are just as sensitive as other pro controllers I have tested. When testing first-person shooters, the thumbsticks could accommodate my attempts to peek with ease. Even better, the joysticks’ textured ridges ensured that there was no slippage. The textured ridges on the edges of the joysticks look like simple crosshatches but are effective in keeping my thumbs in place.
It bears repeating – this controller nails the ergonomics and appropriate textures to prevent slippery hands from botching high-intensity gameplay.
The controller’s ABXY buttons feel clicky and not-too deep. I’ve often been disappointed with third-party controllers having mushy buttons that lack satisfaction – not the Valor Pro! Interestingly, the D-Pad feels shallow. I prefer my D-Pads to be properly cross-shaped and raised above the controller, but the shallow concave D-Pad works just fine for me.
I personally don’t use back paddles on third-party controllers, but the Valor Pro’s buttons got me interested. There are 4 paddles on the back of the controller: two of them feel like gems at the center while the other two, located on the handles, feel like they’re peeling away from the controller in a natural fashion. The buttons are customizable, but they’re set to D-Pad inputs by default.
The Valor Pro also has redesigned bumper buttons (think L1/R1). These bumpers wrap around the controller in such a way that I could activate them by pressing the side of the controller instead of pressing downward like a traditional controller. It feels foreign at first, especially for someone whose hands have been trained to press down instead of pressing from the side.
The controller’s triggers can be swapped between two modes: Instant and Deep. The Deep Trigger setting is the traditional setting, think pressing R2 all the way down to fire a gun in-game. By flicking a switch nestled on the backside of the controller, I converted the triggers to their “Instant” setting and only lets me slightly press down to activate the buttons. My experience with swapping between Instant and Deep triggers on other third-party controllers have involved me being frustrated with accidentally switching between the modes thanks to improper switch placement. The Valor Pro’s trigger switches prevent accidental inputs and switching – I love it.
Interestingly, the Valor Pro has two wheels at the base of the unit that control volume (when a headset is plugged into the controller) and chat/game mix if you’re wanting to increase chat volume and decrease gameplay music. I use a Bluetooth headset by default, but the inclusion of volume wheels and mute functions are great for those who rely on wired headphones when using their controllers.
I wasn’t able to test out additional faceplates on the Valor Pro over the past two weeks, but the available designs (sold separately) look awesome. If you’re into changing up your controller’s designs, the Valor Pro will allow you to swap out buttons and faceplates at will.
With that said, let’s wrap this review.
SCUF’s Valor Pro is an excellent wired controller that nails ergonomics for competitive players who want a Hall Effect controller on a budget. Even if you aren’t a competitive player, it’s worth your consideration if you need a durable and well-designed controller for your PC/XBOX gaming needs.
