Review: SCUF Valor Pro offers the best value for elite-style controllers

Although the basic form of the video meeting controller hasn t changed much since the Xbox innovations in how players interact with games are still alive It just comes in the form of elite-style controllers and the company at the forefront of it is SCUF The peripheral maker is responsible for emerging paddles on the back of gamepads giving players another layer of control It has introduced adjustable triggers and other refinements The improvements between a stock controller and a SCUF product are akin to the difference between a Honda Civic and a Bentley They both get drivers from Point A to B but one does it with much better performance and at a higher cost That has reliably been a challenge with the brand The controllers are fantastic but starting at they re also more than double the price of stock controllers That changes with the SCUF Valor Pro Wired for the Xbox Series X and S and PC which acts as a middle ground for consumers The new elite-style controllers aren t as luxuriously made as the SCUF Reflex nor does it have all the bells and whistles but they maintain core features that fans have come to expect Best of all it all comes at a price of DESIGN IS IN THE DETAILS It puts the controller on par with other value-minded products such as the Razer Wolverine and PDP s Victrix Gambit but what separates the Valor Pro is SCUF s attention to detail The design flows in the hand with wider bumper buttons that are easier to access and triggers that sit more flush so that there s less expedition time between the two The handlebars have a rubbery grip that makes it less likely to slip out of the hand Those are nice touches but the more meaningful design choices lie in the elite parts of the controller First off the analog sticks use Hall Effect instrument which means they are more durable and less likely to drift over time because of their contactless design It s a step up from the system of the past which have pieces that wear out forcing players to buy another controller The SCUF Valor Pro s paddle placements feel perfect They fit the ring and middle fingers well so players don t feel as if they have to reach for them SCUF PERFECT PADDLE PLACEMENT The second meaningful element is the placement of the back paddles themselves The Valor Pro comes with four of them but SCUF designed them in a way that makes this part of the controller feel less cluttered compared to Xbox Elite Wireless Controllers The P and P buttons touch the middle fingers and feel like clickable bumps while the P and P tucked into grips are easily hittable with the ring fingers It feels natural while holding the controller and players never feel like they re reaching for them That s major because paddles are the reason the Valor Pro has an edge over stock controllers With them players never have to take their thumbs off the sticks to jump duck or reload The one second players use to hit the A button is time that they re not aiming and that could be the difference between a loss and supremacy in an online shooter Players can customize the paddle buttons to activate whatever face button they want including the L or R Unfortunately it can be cumbersome to make that move because the Valor Pro doesn t come with any supportive application Players can t tweak the sensitivity curves or the like but they can recalibrate through a cumbersome process The controller has three profile settings or they can add their own profile by holding the Profile button and remapping the back buttons The SCUF Valor Pro also features controls that let players control the sound feeds for chat and meeting audio SCUF INSTANT TRIGGERS AND FIRMWARE UPGRADE The last notable bit of tech is the instant triggers that transform the LT and RT buttons from an analog button that players have to pull to a clicky one that instantly works with a slight press It s a feature that s helpful in first-person shooters because it cuts down on the passage time of a button press Thankfully players can turn it off with a flick of a switch so the Valor Pro works for racing games That s a genre where players need to feather the throttle on the triggers to speed out of a turn More not long ago SCUF added an update to the controller firmware that enabled hz polling rate making it even more responsive but it s a function that only works on PC It s a feature that s pivotal for online shooters and fighting games which require quick twitch movements and wins are measured in frames The Valor Pro also boast a limited other extras On the audio side players can plug in a headset and they can use the two wheels on the bottom to control chat and in-game audio along with the mute The rubble in the controller notable for its strength It has an extra oomph Meanwhile users can also switch out the faceplate so that they can customize the controller s look They snap in and out via magnets These features won t be major reasons for buying the controller but the audio controller is a great backup for those don t have a dedicated headset while the faceplate offers a way to personalize the controller At a time when players need to stretch their dollars the SCUF Valor Pro offers the best value for its price range giving gamers the features they need with quality and design that s a step above SCUF Valor Pro Four stars PLATFORM Xbox Series X and Series S PC Price