Best D-pad for Fighting Games?

[Connatic]

I dabbled modern fighting games a while back (SF4,MK10), and I tried a budget Arcade Stick, and the Hori Fighting Commander.

Arcade stick I just can't get into, and I'm not a big enough die hard fighting game fan to retrain muscle memory.

I heard good things about Hori, but the Older Fighting Commander had a terrible D-pad. Was painful to play on, and it would miss a lot of inputs, I think my Down/Back was bad/dud.

What are some other great budget gamepads for for fighting games? I have a Razor Wolverine V2 for my PC, and I love the D-pad's feel on that, it's just too small, and of course the overall layout sucks. I don't like to have to use shoulder/trigger buttons for fighting games.

[Unrighteous]

I use the Razer Raion, but it might be tough to get your hands on. The Hori Fighting Commander OCTA just came out and although I don't like it quite as much as the Raion, it's the second best pad I've tried. I'd definitely swap to that if my Raion broke.

If you have a big budget, you could check out the Victrix Pro BFG. Haven't used it myself, but I was tempted.

[Connatic]

Originally posted by Unrighteous:

I use the Razer Raion, but it might be tough to get your hands on. ..

Hot damn, how do they justify the price on that thing?

[Grampire]

Originally posted by Connatic:

Originally posted by nwad:

I have this one, too. It's awesome. Better than Hori Octa, Retro-Bit Genesis pad and PowerA Fightpad. IMO. It's a little small, though. I use it when my arm gets tired from playing on stick.

D-pad isn't as wiggly as most others, and it has a nice rubberized grip to it.
...

Originally posted by Grampire:

It's less tactile and has less resistance than the XBone and Dual Sense's D-Pads which makes it feel faster but doesnt feel loose. It's easy to place your thumb in the center and make movements without sliding your finger around on the DPad which makes it feel more comfortable and accurate and works better with charge characters.

...

8bitdo M30 sounds like the way to go then, especially for the price.

It concluded my search for the perfect D-Pad. For the price it's a no-brainer, highly recommend it.

Mine is about 3-4 years old and it's held up really well. Amazing value and playability is awesome.

[Poop King]

Well its not cheap, but I use the Gulikit King Kong Pro 2, and no other controller I've used before can compare for fighting games or anything else.

The mechanical or whatever they are D pads are unbelievably smooth and perfectly precise.

[Prismatic Lollipop]

dualsende edge with the dualshock 3 like analog stick sets.
it's perfect.

[Arschhaarraucher]

never get a stick in 2023, leverless is so much better

[Connatic]

Originally posted by Brudi Völler:

never get a stick in 2023, leverless is so much better

Say what now?

[Oku]

I personally use an 8bitdo Pro 2. Really nice dpad that's a bit bigger than usual which is great for people with bigger hands like mine. All the buttons are really crisp and it's a great controller for all sorts of games, not just fighers.

[Grampire]

Originally posted by Brudi Völler:

never get a stick in 2023, leverless is so much better

Building a stick with a seimetsu Nobi pro lever this month.

Because it's fun.

[moomeacow]

my 2 cents

I play on pc but the current pad I use works on PS5 I'll list out all the ones i've used.

victrix bfg (current one i'm using) best d pad out of all of them - works on ps5

hori octa d pad is pretty good I'd get this if I was on a budget also works on ps5

hori fight commander this one is also good but might be mushy for some people, I had the switch version does not work for ps5 unless you find the old ps4 version

xbox series x - d pad felt good but the ergomics of having it on the bottom is horrible hated the d pad placement on this control

8bitdo pro 2 d pad is ok better than ds4 and ds5 but not as good as the ones above

ds4 controller / ds4 with battlebeaver mod, without the mod the control feels solid but I would get misinputs so it wasn't reliable to me w the mod it made it to accurate and I would mis diagonal because of the mod

ds5 control - this controller sucks ass lol its a step down from the ds4, the dpad is really unreliable many misinputs.

I have 2 more controls on the way lets see if they are any good or if victrix will remain on top.
razer raion
betop thorn

[midori]

m30 is really good, I use it all the time. But honestly if you haven't you should try a stick. Infinitely better than pad imo. Huge buttons + joystick (or try leverless) are just much better/more fun to use. Doesn't rely so much on your thumbs.

[RichDude]

Hori Fighting Commander Pro 3 - much better than my FC Octa and Victrix BFG Pro. The FC3 doesn't work on PS5/Series X though, so you can only play PC version.

[Chewie]

I picked up the 8bitdo M30 based on everyone's recommendation. I absolutely love the Dpad, however I'm having a very hard time adjusting to the six button layout.

Are there any other controllers with a similar Dpad but have a Xbox style controller layout, bumpers/triggers and 4 button layout.

I also have the 8bitdo SN30pro, but have the opposite problem. I love the button/controller layout but really dislike the Dpad. On occasions, I'll get a jump when I'm just trying to crouch block.

Thanks!

[Raskol]

Originally posted by Unrighteous:

I use the Razer Raion, but it might be tough to get your hands on. The Hori Fighting Commander OCTA just came out and although I don't like it quite as much as the Raion, it's the second best pad I've tried. I'd definitely swap to that if my Raion broke.

If you have a big budget, you could check out the Victrix Pro BFG. Haven't used it myself, but I was tempted.

Don't buy that ♥♥♥♥. EVER.
I ordered two Raion from the official website.
Both arrived broken and it was a battle with the support team to get a refund. Never buy from this brand.

[Dekaas]

I like Hori fighting commander octa or the ps5 dual sense which does have not so great triggers but other than, i love it :)