PowerA is a joke. (PowerA Battle Dragon/OPS v3/Fusion 4 Review)

[@n64slayer]

There have been many reports on PowerA's poor build quality for well over 3 years now and unfortunately it seems to continue into their newest line of controllers (Battle Dragon, OPS, Fusion 4). They all use K-Silver JH16 modules that were among the first hall effect modules to hit the market and are very poor quality. Since they have made JH20 modules that are far superior and with the right calibration are the best on the market as seen in my Machenike G6 Pro Star Flash review and incoming G5 Pro v2 review. The JH20 hall modules can achieve a perfect resting value of 0% unlike any other hall effect joysticks. It also seems people have had issues with the software of the OPS v1/v3 and Fusion 4 Pro. Since the battle dragon does not use the same software, no such problems have occurred during my testing. I have also encountered an issue with the shortest trigger stop on my unit. When the left trigger is fully pressed, it doesn't always input despite it working just fine on the right trigger. I know many people will like these PowerA controllers despite these issues, and it would be very appreciated if there was no hate towards myself in the comments.

[@GutsAces]

one HUGE issue i have and the only issue i have so far 2 months in, joystick doesnt lock in place on the left side so if you push on the edge of it in any direction your thumb just spins right off it. anyone know if you can take this controller apart? i wanna swap joysticks

[@ojasyadav3661]

so which controller you recommend only for PC btw iam from India so i dont have much choice except going for the original xbox controller which is like $59 and for this battlemage i paid $34 and does the drift issue occur fast on xbox controller?

[@abhijeetdey]

I bought it with 10 days returnable no question asked on amazon. Hopefully it works well for me because in my country there is no other wireless xbox controller with hall effect sticks.

[@Akshay99996]

i just ordered it now How it compared to xbox controller

[@n64slayer]

It's just as bad if not worse, but if you like it props to you.

[@abhijeetdey]

@@n64slayer how much worse is it from the standard controller? I am not a pro player I just play casual single player games

[@n64slayer]

@abhijeetdey the joysticks on the controller are really loose, causing drift. Even the potentiometer joysticks on the Xbox controller are better. The wireless on both controllers isn't great, but powerA has better wired performance. I can't recommend either of these controllers tbh.

[@Akshay99996]

I just ordered it bcs it had hall effect joystick Otherwise I go for ps5 dualsense

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

I've got a PowerA ops v3 pro coming next week, as Amazon finally got their stock issues sorted out, instead of telling me to wait 3-7 months. I fully expect to send it back, but I'm curious to see just how bad the quality of PowerA controllers actually are.

[@n64slayer]

@@StardustLegacyFighter by far the worst controller I've used in terms of quality, I've never really thought any controllers I've used felt cheap until I used this one. This makes gamesir controllers look good 😭

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

​@@n64slayerLol, I'm planning on trying the T3 Pro sometime next month to see what it's all about.

[@n64slayer]

​@@StardustLegacyFighterwhat is the t3 pro? Is it by gamesir?

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

​​@@n64slayerYeah, it's the Tarantula by Gamesir, they changed the name again to scare arachnophobes iirc.

[@mythydamashii9978]

bro you cant say that it will offend the gamepadla glazers11!!11111!!1

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

I just got the PowerA ops v3 pro controller, and these are the issues that I've noticed so far: - One of the two extra shoulder buttons has a spring that makes a noise, each time it is held and depressed. - The RT button has a shorter locking distance than the LT button (according to gamepad tester), and I have never had this issue with other controllers that also use trigger stops. - The LT button unlocks full travel in the second trigger stop, unlike the RT button, which is wildly inconsistent. - Only 250Hz in wireless dongle mode, which is 4x less than the advertised 1000Hz. - Controller makes a rattling noise when shaken, because of a loose spring for the right extra shoulder button. - Pressing the home button doesn't bring up the game menu on my PC, even when all my other controllers do so with no issues. (Will continue to update this comment the more I test this controller).

[@n64slayer]

@@StardustLegacyFighter maybe you have to change the deadzone in the settings or calibrate the controller. I did notice the left trigger on mine has a shorter distance on the trigger stop by maybe a mm though.

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

​​@@n64slayerNothing to do with the sticks, although they're obviously not good at all. There are several QC issues with my unit, whereas I've had none with every other controller I've ever tried so far. There's no surprise why their reputation is so bad, even when there are some nice things about this controller's design.

[@n64slayer]

@StardustLegacyFighter when you calibrate the controller it calibrated all of the trigger stops as well

[@n64slayer]

@StardustLegacyFighter yeah I agree, the controller looks amazing but performs horribly

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

​@@n64slayerAh I see, will give that a go, thanks. I wonder if that fixes the glitchy home button issue as well, as it seems to be software related. Even if those software related issues get fixed, the right extra shoulder button being loose is so bad, and it honestly feels like cheap crap when compared to the Wolverine V3 Pro.

[@shilpatanksale531]

Can you connect a battle dragon to an xbox one

[@n64slayer]

@@shilpatanksale531 with an adapter

[@thecalagm6435]

oye que me recomiendas el thunder robot g80 o el vader 4 pro o tarantula pro ?

[@n64slayer]

@@thecalagm6435 I would recommend the Machenike G6 Star Flash or Gamesir Cyclone 2.

[@8BitPasta]

Whats the go with their newest controller?

[@n64slayer]

It's horrible

[@abhijeetdey]

Are you talking about the Pro Wirless with Lumectra?

[@n64slayer]

Yeah, it's even worse than the ops v3

[@kleadguitarist]

Can you please suggest any other controllers. Most hall effect controllers are not avalailble in India. So do suggest a a few. Is cosmic byte blitz better? That's available in India. Thanks

[@luciferwr9105]

It's good

[@leee121]

i have the powerA pro for my xbox. had it for like 2 months. couple weeks in the LB button snapped. I wont be buying another powerA product. which sucks because the controller itself is much better than the stock xbox controllers

[@n64slayer]

May I ask how it's better than a stock controller? Besides the features they are far worse in design and quality.

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

The resistance on the shoulder buttons is concerning, as you're not the first one I've heard complaining about this issue.

[@krusty07]

Thank you for the review I was going to buy it but thought to wait for your review Which one you recommend with hall effects ???

[@n64slayer]

There are really good options right now. I'll just drop a list and you can see for yourself. Controllers I own that i'd recommend: Flydigi Apex 4/vader 4 Pro, Machenike G5 Pro v2/G6 Pro Star Flash. Controllers I don't own that I would give a fair shake: Fantech EOS/Nova Pro, Gulikit KK3 Max, and maybe a slew of gamesir controllers. If your willing to wait I'd look at the Easysmx x20, BigBig Won Blitz 2, and the Thunderobot G80.

[@krusty07]

@@n64slayer So the thing is I am from India and aside of gamesir, none of options listed are available for me. If I import them, 100% tax aka price of Xbox Elite 2 which is way too much price for a controller for me. Which exact gamesir model are good can you recommend, primary use on pc

[@n64slayer]

@krusty07 I would recommend either the gamesir t4 Kaleid. If you need it for xbox, get the standard kaleid. If you have the budget and want trigger stops, I would get the tarantula. How is it that you can't get any of the other controllers and what kind of controllers can you get there?

[@krusty07]

​@@n64slayeraside of powerA, cosmtic byte and ant esports are the local importers of here that mostly provide shitty products. then there are official xbox and playstation controller in rupees 6,000 (~70usd). tarantula is not available, t4 Kaleid is around 6,367 (~76 usd) and i have other option of T4 Wireless for 4,800(~57 usd) which one shall i go for ???

[@skreph2717]

​@@n64slayer My BigBig Won Blitz 2 (TMR) shipped today.

[@ThunderTheYellowJolteon]

Are you gonna review any PC handhelds?

[@n64slayer]

When I get one I will probably do a review but that won't be any time soon.

[@ThunderTheYellowJolteon]

Eh, I already have a Hall Effect controller, the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro. I'm just gonna get myself a Nacon Revolution X Unlimited Xbox controller when it comes out.

[@GamersAreUs1928]

i had one controller from this brand for xbox. used on my pc updated the software and literally fried the entire thing now i have a fly digi vader 4 absolutely amazing

[@n64slayer]

@@GamersAreUs1928 lol, they are cheap in every way except price 🤣

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

Lmao, sounds like PowerA.

[@StardustLegacyFighter]

It's a shame that this controller is so cheaply made, because I really like the design and much prefer it over many of my other pro controllers. The docking station design is just genius, because it's able to store and use the dongle like those 8Bitdo controllers, but it has a much smaller footprint, meaning that it can be safely put inside a carrying case. The metal back buttons feel premium and make plastic back buttons (featured on many controllers) look like cheap crap.

[@MrVP-do9eb]

Your Right Brother This Controller is Totally Waste...... Poor in Aiming......

[@LysergicLemon]

"Like a mushy d pad" proceeds to touch the clickiest d pad ever made. Your lights are gay and your parents are tired of buying you stuff you don't appreciate.

[@n64slayer]

@@LysergicLemon just because it's a mechanical switch doesn't mean it's not mushy 💀 and I pay for all of my own stuff lil bro