Scuf Vantage 2 Modern Warfare Edition

Since the launch of the PlayStation 4, I’ve owned over five DualShock 4 controllers. One evening after playing Assassin’s Creed Unity, I noticed that my nimble assassin was not crouching properly during a co-op mission, which is kind of important to maintain stealth. After switching over to Destiny, I soon realized my R2 button had broken when whatever light-infused gun wouldn’t fire. It was a struggle to open up the controller to inspect it because Sony required you to break a piece of plastic or something proving the device was “tampered” with. It was frustrating because my original DualShock 3 still worked and had never broken.

Though I never had the common problem with thumbsticks easily becoming worn, the L3 button on each new DualShock 4 I’ve bought slowly wears itself out. While playing Death Stranding, Sam nearly fell off a cliff because my left stick would slightly drift, meaning he rarely would stand still. At $60 when not on sale, a DualShock 4 is not a cheap investment, especially when they don’t last as long as expected. And just because I play a lot of games for extended sessions doesn’t mean I should fall prey to this common occurrence.

The Scuf Vantage 2, Scuf Gaming’s premiere controller for the PlayStation 4, potentially alleviates many concerns players may have for their controller, while enhancing how they interact with games. Over the past few weeks I’ve only used the Scuf Vantage 2 Modern Warfare edition while gaming. Naturally, this means I cannot predict the natural wear and tear of the controller that impacted the performance of my previous DualShocks. Could the L3 button give out over time? Possibly. Will the trigger buttons break after countless hours of mashing in shooters? Possibly.

However, what the Vantage 2 brings to the table are workarounds to how these problems persist in controllers. For most, the central draw of these kinds of performance controllers is the added functionality of back paddles that act as extra buttons. Placed in the back center of the controller between the hand grips, these paddles allow players to perform certain button presses without having to navigate their thumbs away from the left and right sticks. In a simple, two-paddle set up, one could be used for the circle button–commonly crouching and sliding–and one could be used for the cross button–commonly jumping. With just two paddles, a player can execute a slide-jump while seamlessly aiming their gun. It’s a crafty, annoying technique that has no doubt got many of us killed in competitive online shooters. Because the right thumb or index finger doesn’t have to do the work of button pressing and can instead focus on aiming and pulling the trigger, players are more likely to pull this move off with better timing and accuracy.

I’m not here to tell you that the Vantage 2 is going to drastically improve your gaming performance–after all, sometimes you’re just terrible at a game for a long time. What the Vantage 2 will absolutely do is give you the tools to tweak your performance and customize it to a level of comfort that could just make you a better player.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has a new feature called the tactical sprint. It gives you a temporary burst of speed that is slightly faster than the normal sprint. By default, a player activates tactical sprint by double clicking L3. As I mentioned, I’ve had the left stick and L3 button go bad on me with previous controllers and was nervous about the amount of times I was clicking L3 in nearly every game. When Modern Warfare rolled around, it was difficult not for me to constantly use tactical sprint because of my frequency of running and gunning. Clicking the thumbsticks on controllers has never felt that natural to me.

This is where the Vantage 2 immediately drew me in. I could program the left-most paddle as the L3 button so my left thumb would never feel forced to press in on the stick. Not only did it give me peace of mind that I wasn’t jamming down on a sensitive piece of tech, it felt more natural to execute tactical sprint as a double trigger press.

One thing to keep in mind with the Vantage 2, however, is that it is not a DualShock 4. Though they are built similar, the extra features could mean that getting used to the Vantage 2 will take a bit of time. The Vantage 2’s left stick swaps places with the location of the directional pad, looking more in line with Xbox controllers. Personally, this change has never really affected me as location of the left stick feels natural either way. The Vantage 2 also features four back paddles rather than two. About an inch of space separates the two paddles on each side of the controller. The outside paddles are slightly larger and longer and curve in to more naturally allow your middle or ring finger to slide to the inside paddles. A textured end on each paddle allows players to better sense where they can push on them.

Remapping the paddles is a breeze and one of the biggest value points of the Vantage 2. At the bottom of the controller near the audio jack, players can flip the right switch to enable button mapping. Simply hold down the paddle you want to map, press the button you want that paddle to function as, release the button, then release the paddle. Do this to any combination you wish and then flip the remap switch back and you’re set. This seamless remapping feature means that players can try out different controller layouts with no hassle or switch layouts between games while sitting in a lobby or waiting for a disc to load.

The ergonomics of the paddles feel natural to the touch but may be initially less so when first using the Vantage 2. After reprogramming the paddles, it took several hours of play to get comfortable with rapidly pressing the paddles when I wanted to. My first goal was to designate sprinting, crouching, and jumping to the paddles so all my focus could be aiming and precise shooting in Modern Warfare. With so many years of using virtually the same controller layout, it was a process to make it all feel natural. The paddles being in such close proximity to each other resulted in a few stumbles but after familiarity, it became less so.

The Vantage 2 also has two additional SAX buttons located at the top left and right sides of the controller, near the L1 and R1 buttons. These buttons can be remapped to suit your preference as well. One of my friends owns the original Scuf Vantage and said he usually removes the SAX buttons from his controller because he accidentally presses them, a fair assessment. The placement of the SAX buttons accentuates the way a player’s index finger cradles the side of the controller. Where the tips of the finger will press the shoulder buttons and triggers, the middle part of your index finger can push in on the SAX buttons. Depending on how hard you typically grip the controller when playing, the SAX buttons may get in the way. Out of the box, the left SAX button was mapped to L2 while the right was mapped to R2. I actually like this default mapping because it meant that I could give my fingertip and the triggers a break when I knew I might be aiming down sights for an extended period of time.

Being able to use these added buttons and paddles is the primary draw of the Vantage 2 and a reason players will be interested in purchasing one. The numerous combinations can bring out added flexibility in a game, especially in fast-paced shooters. But I also noticed myself casually using the paddles in other games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to simply run. The ease of remapping buttons also means that if something doesn’t work, you can course correct in a matter of seconds. It’s the closest thing a controller can have to keyboard macros.

The Modern Warfare edition is the top of the line in terms of what the Vantage 2 offers. What’s instantly noticeable is the Modern Warfare logo emblazoned right on the touchpad. The easily removable magnetic faceplate is a dark blue rendition of a tactical map dotted with a few symbols and signs to give it the look of a sniper rifle. The faceplate can be easily taken off and replaced with any of Scuf’s offerings. With the faceplate removed, players can take out the vibration modules (also decked out with the sniper veneer) to make the controller lighter and have a bit more battery life. With a simple pull, the control sticks can be swapped out. Included are two shorter concave sticks and two longer domed ones. The traditional directional pad can be replaced with a circular control disk but I prefer the feel of the original pad. Players can also remove the tops of the shoulder triggers and insert an included tool to increase the tension on them and/or use the included long triggers. An audio bar at the bottom of the controller allows players to control the volume or mute a headset when it’s plugged into the controller. Inside the box is also a case for the controller, some stickers, and a code for a weapon charm for use in Modern Warfare.

Feature-wise, the Modern Warfare edition is packed. The dark look of the controller is not too flashy and doesn’t distract at all. Holding it in my hands I loved the weight and sturdy feel with the vibration modules included. The textured grip on the back is one of my favorite features outside of the button mapping, as it feels like the controller will never slip out of place.

Despite the obvious quality, I do have a few small gripes. The concave thumbsticks I’ve mainly used do collect a bit of dirt and grime in the Scuf logo that is pressed into them. Additionally, the textured part around the edges of the sticks has worn a bit but again, I’ve put a great deal of time into this controller. The battery life is maxed out around 15 hours and with the vibration modules and using wireless mode, I was able to get two full evenings of play in before it needed to be recharged. For some reason, the first time I let the battery run out on the controller, I had to mess with my Bluetooth settings on my PS4 and remove some recognized controllers before the Vantage 2 would work wirelessly again. Also, it can be a little difficult to insert the included USB charging cable into the controller because Scuf has built a retention area around where the cable goes into. Lastly (and this may just be user error), I feel that after putting my PS4 in rest mode, the Vantage 2 would randomly wake it up if it were plugged into the console. After waking up at night or coming back for the day I would notice my PS4 was on with no explanation. It could be the multiple Bluetooth devices trying to connect to it or some other issue. Either way, it’s something worth noting.

Scuf has been in the gaming accessory business for awhile and as this console generation winds down, it should be no surprise that the Vantage 2 is the peak of controller performance. Because of this, players should expect to pay a substantial amount for a Vantage 2. The default wired version of the Vantage 2 retails for $169.96 while the Modern Warfare edition retails for $219.95. Additionally, players may expect to pay a bit extra down the line if new thumbsticks or paddles are needed. I’ve heard feedback from friends and others that the paddles can break with enough constant force, yet I expect that is also due to the iron grip a few might place on their controllers in tense moments. Since using the controller, I felt that the buttons and paddles were responsive and had satisfying clicks that didn’t indicate they would snap or break anytime soon.

The Vantage 2 is meant to be an investment and the price reflects that at about the cost of three DualShock 4 controllers at retail. In between the highest and lowest price points, players can go on Scuf’s website and choose different faceplates that feature branding from all avenues of gaming and tastes. Though it may seem like a luxury item, the Vantage 2 is also a great tool for players who know they are going to be playing a lot of games, especially competitive ones. The bells and whistles included in the Modern Warfare edition don’t just have to be for hardcore Call of Duty fans, but they do represent the maximum amount of features players can get.

If Scuf could make players better just by providing them with controllers, the Vantage 2 would always be sold out. As it stands, the Scuf Vantage 2 Modern Warfare edition is an essential gaming accessory because it gives players countless options to not only improve their performance but enhance their enjoyment of playing any game on PlayStation 4.