In order to be successful, a controller needs three things: comfort, function, and convenience. There’s a reason why the Duke–the notoriously large controller that accompanied the original Xbox in 2001–was eventually replaced with a smaller design, durable as it was. The Duke was heavy and huge, with buttons spread out a little too far across the interface.
Scuf’s newest controller, the Valor Pro Wired Controller for Xbox and PC, nails all three of these elements. Its light weight and smooth front faceplate makes it easy to carry and hold without irritation. The design of the bumpers and triggers on the top of the controller make it very simple to alternate between, while the four rear paddles offer extra control in tight situations. A few other additional features–like built-in audio controls–add additional convenience. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but the Valor Pro is a great choice for Xbox and PC players alike, provided you can live with a wire attached to whatever you’re playing on.
Right out of the box, the Valor Pro felt great in my hands, which are larger than most. The placement of the buttons and sticks seem to slot right into the positions my hands want them to be. It’s surprisingly light in the hands too, to the point where it feels like a toy rather than a pro controller. That’s not to say it feels cheap, though, as the sticks, buttons, and d-pad feel strong to the touch. The smooth faceplate creates a tight grip, and the nonslip grips work as advertised, no matter how sweaty the palms get–and I, a person with pretty sweaty hands, would know.
The sticks on the Valor Pro are especially comfortable thanks to a ridged fabric-like border on the outside rim. There’s no hard edge to irritate the thumb; instead, that fabric serves as a nice cushion when I’m blasting people in Fortnite or Call of Duty. The sticks should last a while too, as the Valor Pro contains Hall Effect anti-drift measures to keep them precise longer. There was no drift to speak of during this review–which, if there were, would be a huge issue for a brand-new controller–and hopefully it’ll stay that way for a while. Meanwhile, the d-pad’s contoured shape fits the thumb nicely, and where other controller d-pads sometimes feel flimsy, this one has some weight to it with every touch.
The four back paddles on the controller are the most impressive thing on it, as each one avoids a common pitfall I’ve experienced with back buttons for some time: They resist accidental button presses. I’ve routinely pressed a button on the back of a controller at inopportune times, usually in quiet moments where stealth is key, and it immediately turns my strategy into mush. These paddles feel more like front face buttons than any I’ve used before, and that feeling has resulted in zero accidental activations during this review period.
The Valor Pro also offers controller profiles, where you can alternate between three different button designations for the back buttons. One is specific for shooters, and puts the change-weapon and reload buttons in the back; another is for sports games and assigns the A and B buttons back there, which helps with, for example, easy shooting and passing in NBA 2K. The third profile is for racing games, turning each back button into a different direction, and while I wasn’t quite as enamored with that profile, the experience wasn’t so bad that it killed the convenience of the other two.
If none of those profiles fit for you, the Valor Pro’s custom remapping feature lets you set each profile to the buttons you use the most in the games you play the most. Remapping is simple; each profile is set to a different color, and if you hold in the profile button on the back until the colored LED blinks, you can then assign paddles to buttons however you like. Controller customization is increasingly becoming the standard, and the Valor Pro’s version gets the job done.
If you plug a headset into your Valor Pro, you’ll have extra control over the audio thanks to the controller’s built-in volume knobs. The left knob on the bottom of the controller handles in-game audio, while the knob to its right focuses on chat volume, and both can be pressed down to mute the corresponding audio. Having these controls onboard the controller is super convenient, not to mention the knobs are, like the rest of the buttons on the Valor Pro, placed in a comfortable spot for your fingers to reach.
Despite its execution, the Valor Pro doesn’t provide much in the way of new features. At $99, it sits in the “budget pro” controller tier with options like the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro Tournament Edition and Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot–or, at about two-thirds the price, the 8BitDo Ultimate. Those offer similar features to what the Valor Pro is doing here. Still, Scuf has done a great job designing this controller to feel like the top of the line rather than the less expensive option.
There’s also the matter of that pesky wire. Wired controllers are fine if your gaming setup allows for it, but wireless controllers are also popular for a reason–and something like the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, Razer Wolverine V3 Pro or Xbox Elite 2 offers those options on a wireless controller for a similar price. It’s true that latency is reduced with a wired controller, and Scuf’s focus on precision calls for a low-latency solution, which something like a wire provides.
Again, people with close-quarters gaming setups won’t be worried about this, but if your Xbox is across the room from your couch, the Valor Pro being shackled to the system likely won’t work for you–even with the 10-foot USB-C cord included with the controller; a wireless controller works better than a potential tripping hazard.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Scuf Valor Pro. It’s one of the most comfortable controllers I’ve ever used, with buttons placed so naturally that it’s as if the controller was made for my hands specifically. The back paddles are fully customizable and resistant to frantic accidental pushes, the smooth grip keeps the controller in my hand no matter how wild a gameplay session gets, and the built-in audio controls give me easy access to both game sound and chat audio. A wireless version would have been great, but even with the wire, the Scuf Valor Pro is a fantastic option for your next Xbox or PC controller.
The Scuf Valor Pro Wired Controller is available now for $99 at select retailers and at scufgaming.com.