XBOX One Elite controller paddle mod (plus mini rant/review)

[pwn_intended]

Hello World,

This is my first mod posting on here, and unfortunately it is for a console...Sorry about that, I promise it wont happen again. On the other hand, it is for a peripheral that can be used on PC as well so I don't feel as guilty.

Before judgement sets in, let me preface this by saying I bought an Xbox One for one reason and one reason only: Halo Master Chief Collection. The only other games that I have actually purchased were Destiny and Halo 5. With the exception of those, ALL my gaming has taken place on a PC since way back in the N64 days.

 

So since the initial press release about the Elite controller from the summer (or whenever it exactly was) I have been debating buying one. Everything looked really cool (I love shiny things...), and all the reviewers and press that got to hold one months before launch said that they felt amazing, but surprisingly, NO ONE said anything about the paddles. So on Halo 5 launch day I decided to pony up and get one, without getting to actually see or hold one beforehand, since they were in such short supply that no stores had display models. I got home all excited to use the paddles and realized before even connecting it to my Xbox that the paddles were gonna be a bit of a problem. As soon as I actually fired the system on, I couldn't even navigate the dashboard without pressing every button. The paddle placement by Microsoft was SO good, that you couldn't NOT press the buttons. I debated returning it since you can pick up almost 3 regular controllers for the price of an elite, and the paddles were the thing I was looking forward to the most. But I liked the feel of it and the swappable thumbsticks, hair triggers and other things so much that I figured YOLO, and kept it. The whole time knowing that I would have to mod the paddles before I actually can put them back on the controller for use.

Instead of cutting up the paddles that came with my controller, I decided to order a set of replacement ones from MS for about $18 Canadian pesos. Just in case I decided to return it, but in hindsight, I should have just used the ones that came with it.

 

With all that out of the way, onto the actual mod

Tools and supplies needed:

• Hacksaw or Dremel tool (due to my current situation, I am without access to most of my tools and made to with just a triangular file just fine)
• A file and/or sandpaper/emerycloth/sanding sponge
• A vise or c-clamps or even vise-grip pliers to hold the paddle while you cut and sand it (also due to my lack of tools, I used a pair of needle nose pliers with paracord to work as a pair of vise-grips)
• Optional: SUGRU!!!! This last part is optional, and many things like silicone caulking, hot glue, epoxy can be used in its purpose, but I had a small pack of black sugru that I have been waiting for a purpose to present itself to use it

After spending a good few hours (probably actually about 15 minutes) figuring out how the things actually function, and the best course of action, I decided to just chop off the long paddle part, and only keep the small section which actually goes into the controller and actuates the little button.

 

I started off by chopping off the paddles right at where the bend starts. I did this with a triangular file since that was what I had on hand, but a dremel or a hacksaw would be much cleaner and easier.

Here they are on the controller compared to the stock ones.

 

After holding it in my hand, they felt much better, and I was no longer pressing them accidentally. Not only are they no longer in the way of your fingers just holding the controller, but with the MUCH shorter length of paddle (read: lever) it took a bit more force to actuate. However, I found out a big flaw with my design, the buttons were now really small and kinda hard to figure out which one you were pressing. Without even thinking about it, I knew my solution was as simple as sugru to the rescue. If you don't know what sugru is, it is this awesome, moldable silicone putty that has thousands of uses. Google it up, there is even a whole subreddit on it.

 

So I made little sugru beads and stuck them onto the little paddle nubs I prepared earlier. I tried to make them as symmetrical as possible, making sure to have the top and bottom ones pointing in different directions to easily distinguish them.

and here they are on the controller

Yes, I know that they are not symmetrical, but I tried my best.

 

So since I did not have access to proper tools (namely a hacksaw or dremel) this took me almost 2 hours to do while I watched an episode of WAN show. The majority of this time spent was attempting to use a triangle file as a hacksaw. With the right tools, I could have had this done in less than 30 minutes, not including the sugru drying time.

 

In conclusion, did this help? Yes it did a lot, the only thing now is to get used to using them, as I have never used a paddled controller before. Now would I recommend an Elite Controller? That depends on if you have an extra $200 ish laying around, and you can justify it. Even without paddles, the controller was worth it to me, but YMMV. The other qualification for getting one is that you like new gadgets, but lets face it, on this forum everybody likes new tech things. For me, it was pretty much love at first sight since I saw the early press releases and I knew I had to have one. The ONLY complaint that I had with the controller was the stock paddles, and everything else actually totally blew away my expectations. The quality feel, grip, swappable sticks and d-pad, adjustable triggers, super nice long braided micro usb cable and storage case were way better than I was expecting. Also the amount of customization in the controller settings app was more extensive than I expected. Many things can (and were) adjusted to make it behave exactly as I wanted. You can change the sensitivity curves for the thumbsticks separately, along with adjusting how much the trigger button rumble motors kick in, along with re-mapping all but the 3 middle buttons (the Xbox button along with whatever "start" and "back" are now called.) All of these things can also be saved to 2 separate profiles on the controller itself, and you can keep as many as you want on the Xbox itself for all your different games.

 

If you guys have any questions or suggestions, let me know and I may do a version 2.0 with the 2nd set of paddles I still have. I can also post more pics and share my preferred config with whay sticks and settings I am using if anyone cares. Also, let me know if anyone out there tries this, I'd love to see what some of the other brilliant minds on here can think up of.