The Victrix Professional FS has been round for a few years, but it surely now comes armed with a mannequin that comes with native PS5 help. However, is it definitely worth the extremely costly $400 value level?
Through the years, we’ve taken a take a look at arcade sticks which vary from low-cost and cheerful, to extra premium choices. However, we will firmly say that we’ve by no means examined a stick fairly as high-end because the Victrix Professional FS. Whereas choices just like the Hori Combating Stick Alpha may attraction to these seeking to get their ft moist, the Victrix Professional FS is firmly for individuals who know their manner round a bit and is designed with that in thoughts.
This is similar stick that was given to event winners at EVO 2022. It’s extra of a high-end instrument than a gaming accent. Nonetheless, coming in at an extremely steep $399, it instructions an extremely excessive value.
Key specs
- Buttons: Sanwa Denshi 30mm
- Lever: Sanwa Denshi Ball-top (with detachable shaft)
- Gate: Sq. (detachable)
- Connectivity: USB-C
- Platform: PS5, PS4, PC
- Options: 6.28-degree wrist slope, aluminum development, event lock capabilities, LED lighting
- Value: $399.99
- The place to purchase: Victrix
Included within the field: Victrix Professional FS arcade stick, 3m braided USB-C to USB-A cable, Allan wrench, Sanwa ball-top.
Design
Chilly to the contact, the aluminum of the Victrix Professional FS is oozing premium high quality, regardless of the place you may care to look. The only piece of machined aluminum offers the stick a assured heft, with sufficient space to relaxation your wrist upon its left aspect. A slight 6-degree slope additionally offers the stick extra ergonomic consolation than many different arcade sticks on the market.
We normally endure from RSI after lengthy classes in combating video games, nevertheless, the slight slant relieves that considerably, and retains issues feeling comfy even after prolonged use. Over on the highest, you’ll see a Viewlix-style structure for the black Sanwa buttons, along with a detachable lever to the left. There’s additionally a 3.5mm headphone jack passthrough on the underside for good measure.
Victrix additionally sells an all-button variant of the gadget, which has barely smaller buttons to accommodate the structure.
Over on the highest of the stick, you even have operate buttons. This features a PS Button, touchpad, and extra. Fairly awkwardly, you must convey the left and proper stick buttons with the Victrix Modifier, that means that you must program easy accessibility to R3. This might show to be a little bit of a ache when utilizing issues like Coaching mode. You even have a helpful event lock operate, along with varied lighting mode buttons.
Lastly, on the prime of the stick, you will have two prongs to wrap your USB-C cable, along with a deeply recessed USB-C port. There isn’t any keying on the port, that means you should utilize nearly any cable you will have mendacity round.
What’s occurring across the again?
Over on the underside of the chassis, you will have two non-slip pads on the underside. Although, we didn’t suppose that the supplies used have been too spectacular. Our trusty Nacon Daija has a a lot grippier floor, and so does the Hori Combating Stick Alpha, too.
Flanked by the 2 non-slip pads is a small hinge, topped with a neoprene-like materials, which will get dented and broken simply. Opening the hinge reveals the innards of the Victrix Professional FS. The hinge is made from extremely creaky plastic. It ended up bugging us a lot that when we put a drop of machine oil on them, the hinges ceased to creak.
When you’re contained in the small and compact area, you’re greeted with the underside. Right here, you’ll be able to swap out the Sanwa buttons, and even change the lever, or a gate, when you so want. The detachable lever might be positioned on the door, alongside an Allan wrench, in case you wanted to swap out the ball prime.
Probably the most spectacular issues about this undercarriage is how nicely cable-managed all of it is. The button cables are all wrapped in a braided cable, and so is the stick itself. There are simple ports to exchange the lever, and you may simply swap out buttons with out the stress of worrying about tangling your self up in a multitude. The snap-in buttons are incredible, and also you’ll have the ability to slot in nearly any 30mm button. Over on the highest. Nonetheless, these seeking to put a Korean lever on this stick will probably be dissatisfied, as there merely isn’t any area for it.
There’s no area for a lot of something in there, both. A far cry from different arcade sticks with ample cupboard space. For the reason that Victrix Professional FS wraps its cable round on the prime, there are not any allowances for further goodies inside.
You even have a dipswitch right here, the place you’re in a position to swap modes from PS5, to PS4 and PC.
That detachable lever
For simple storage, you’re in a position to detach the ball-top lever from the highest of the stick. That is achieved by pulling the shaft of the stick upwards to launch and lock it. We by no means discovered that the stick disconnected, and it offered an extremely stable connection. Because it’s only a modified Sanwa joystick, we personally wouldn’t select to take away this helpful characteristic. The stick additionally comes with a mud cowl for the lever when it’s disconnected.
Beautiful-looking LEDs
The Victrix Professional FS additionally has a customizable LED characteristic. The LEDs are positioned on either side of the stick, with a subtle ring of LEDs encircling the acrylic plastic deeply recessed on either side of the stick. There are a few totally different illumination modes, together with a great-looking reactive one. Nonetheless, we ended up sticking to a stable white shade. The stick proved to look wonderful, in any occasion, and we didn’t have any hassle setting it up. Small touches like this are good to have on an arcade stick, whose characteristic units have been stagnating over time.
Gaming efficiency
The Victrix Professional FS arcade stick is a tournament-grade instrument above all else. The stick feels top quality, and we had no difficulty utilizing it in video games like Road Fighter V, Third Strike, and in Responsible Gear Try. The stick comes with a sq. gate out of the field, which allowed us to tug off any and all motions with ease.
The high-quality Sanwa elements be sure that you get good longevity out of the gadget, too. Since we’re entering into the weeds, we additionally examined the controller’s enter latency. This got here out to a mean of round 4ms, which is lightning quick.
In video games, we observed the dearth of devoted L3 and R3, and when you can bind them to a modifier, it nonetheless feels prefer it wanted a “actual” devoted button.
After lengthy hours of play, the ergonomics of the stick shine. We didn’t really feel our wrists getting drained, as we did with the Nacon Daija or the Hori Combating Stick Alpha. The Victrix Professional FS offers you ample area up on the prime, and it felt completely unparalleled in comparison with just about each different stick we’ve ever used.
Even sticks just like the TES+, the Nacon Daija, and the Qanba Dragon don’t really feel wherever close to as premium because the Victrix Professional FS.
Do you have to purchase it?
The Victrix Professional FS will not be with out fault. However, every one we discovered was pretty minimal. The dearth of a devoted L3 / R3, minimal cupboard space, and the non-slip pads in the end don’t detract from what’s an unimaginable arcade stick in nearly each single manner.
9/10
The worth is a sore level. However, you’re feeling each single greenback spent on the manufacturing within the high quality of the elements used. Many will probably be turned off, however for critical combating recreation gamers, it doesn’t get significantly better than this. It additionally has a 12-button variant, when you swing that manner, too.
Information Abstract:
- Victrix Professional FS (PS5) evaluate: The last word arcade stick – Dexerto
- Test all information and articles from the newest Gaming Tech updates.