Joystick for Star Wars squadrons

Blitzcrieg · August 10, 2020

Have not used a joystick for years and price range is huge, would it be best to buy a cheap one and once i work out what i like dislike then buy a more expensive one? Have been caught in the past buying a mid range price wise item and working out i should have spent that extra few dollars at the start.

trufret · August 10, 2020

The Thrustmaster T16000M Hotas kit with the stick and throttle is pretty highly recommended in the flight sim community for having a good amount of buttons and very accurate positional sensors for a decent price (although thanks to COVID the supply is low so prices are up)

It is arguably the best bang for the buck stick/throttle.

If you're going to be playing in VR your going to want all the controls at your fingertips.

If you're playing on a monitor you could probably get away with a Logitech 3d stick ($50 USD) and use keyboard buttons to supply any extra buttons you need.

To get a meaningful upgrade over a T16000M ($150ish USD) your looking at gear costing $500-1500 USD which unless you're getting to study level combat flight simulators is going to be massive overkill for Squadrons with little noticeable difference.

If you do want to go a bit overkill the VKB Gladiator K (stick only $150-175 USD) has recently come out and looks very promising.

Last I saw it was back-ordered and for some reason the store page is missing off their site now.

Arphis · August 10, 2020

Was just about to reply mostly what @trufret wrote.

One more thing about the T.16000m. It is using the same sensor as the way more expensive Warthog.

I do actually own both and I can really recommend the T.16000m Hotas even compared to the Warthog. Especially when it comes to space combat with a lot of movement on each axis the T.16000m is easier to pitch/roll and therefore less fatiguing. That is also the case if you actually want to make some space on your desk and move the stick and throttle.

If you go for a cheaper stick I really recommend you also pay attention to the width of the base, as it stops you from accidentally tilting the whole stick.