Best joystick for simulator battles?

[_Yukari__Akiyama 323]

Here's the matter: I am planning to fully move to simulator battles after the current patch dropped, because it's clear they are not interested in improving Air RB anymore. I've already played a couple of matches with American jets in sim using mouse and keyboard, and I must say the experience was good enough to encourage me. I would love to play with props as well, however I'm aware that it's going to be a huge bother with mouse and keyboard.

 

Hence why I would like to ask the sim community what's a good joystick, especially for a sim beginner. I'm not requiring too much, just something that's at least of decent quality and quite durable.

If you got any suggestions, please feel free to drop a message here.

Cheers.

[Razielkaine 4,866]

I'm a Ace in sim so take that into consideration. I started with a saitek x52 stick with throttle but i could never get it right so I bit the bullet and went directly to the thrustmaster warthog.  An impressive bit of equipment and worked well from the start but warthunder can't properly utilise many of the switches adequately and sitting o  top of the desk the firmness of the stick left me tired after long sim battles.  I have recently returned to the x52 and I'm really enjoying it now after making some changes from what I learnt using the warthog.

 

Long story short despite my first impressions the x52 is really good starting hotas or the thrustmaster equivalent the t16000M

[warthogboy09 193]

If you plan to stick with it and want the best quality for price, VKB Gladiator NXT is where it's at. I'd argue it without a Throttle quadrant is better than the T16K and TWCS. And forget the dinosaur that is the X-52. The only stick from Logitech worth the plastic it's molded in it the extreme 3D pro as a dip your toes in stick.

[ТhеКомгаdе 853]

VKB Gladiator NXT, The best joystick you can get for that price without going into extreme prices. Top quality 

 

X52 is very outdated and feels glimzy and cheap

Edited July 3, 2022 by TheKomrade

[_Yukari__Akiyama 323]

1 hour ago, warthogboy09 said:

If you plan to stick with it and want the best quality for price, VKB Gladiator NXT is where it's at. I'd argue it without a Throttle quadrant is better than the T16K and TWCS. And forget the dinosaur that is the X-52. The only stick from Logitech worth the plastic it's molded in it the extreme 3D pro as a dip your toes in stick.

 

1 hour ago, TheKomrade said:

VKB Gladiator NXT, The best joystick you can get for that price without going into extreme prices. Top quality 

 

X52 is very outdated and feels glimzy and cheap

Hi, I just checked the VXB Gladiator NXT and it looks like a good choice. I also noticed the NXT EVO, what can you tell me about that one?

Cheers.

[Asghaad 2,474]

3 hours ago, _Yukari__Akiyama said:

Here's the matter: I am planning to fully move to simulator battles after the current patch dropped, because it's clear they are not interested in improving Air RB anymore. I've already played a couple of matches with American jets in sim using mouse and keyboard, and I must say the experience was good enough to encourage me. I would love to play with props as well, however I'm aware that it's going to be a huge bother with mouse and keyboard.

 

Hence why I would like to ask the sim community what's a good joystick, especially for a sim beginner. I'm not requiring too much, just something that's at least of decent quality and quite durable.

If you got any suggestions, please feel free to drop a message here.

Cheers.

 

"the best" depends on your intentions and budget

it will vary widely whether you just want something to play with that will last, something cheap to dip your toes in before committing or something that will last you for years.

 

anyway i would advise you to steer clear from anything from Saitek/Logitech especially X-52 that is known to be unreliable piece of junk that destroys itself in record times

 

 

as a starter option i would go with Thrustmaster T-16000M HOTAS combo

 

- its relatively cheap, costs less for full HOTAS than what you pay for VXB or Warthog sticks alone

- it uses hall magnetic sensors instead of potentiometers, it will last and more importantly not develop deadzones as it ages

- it has plenty of buttons for everything

- it has twist stick functionality so you can skip on rudder pedals

 

other than that there is the good old Thrustmaster Warthog for people that want something better than a piece of plastic

 

- heavy stiff stick that is 1:1 modeled after Warthog/F-16 stick that can be replaced with plethora of aftermarket alternatives

 

- hall sensors - its quite the advantage to have digital contactless sensors, much better than analogue pots that not only wear and are less precise but also have much lower input granularity (16000 values on the axis vs few hundred for the pot ...)

 

- solid build that will last and lasts through abuse

 

- but its EXPENSIVE, takes a lot of room and is heavy

 

- it also doesnt have twist stick so you will need a rudder pedals to go with it increasing price quite a bit because cheap rudders are BAD ...

 

 

 

my personal setup is Thrustmaster Warthog with Thrustmaster TPR pedals (VERY expensive piece of kit for just pedals, but probably the best pedals on the "amateur" market - at least i know of no better pedals) and i wouldnt change a thing aside of few aftermarket modifications for the throttle (slew sensor control replacement to be exact) i havent got the patience and will to buy and install

 

it worked well for me in many MANY hours i spent in Elite Dangerous using it and quite a bit less in IL2 and WT

 

 

of course the abovementioned VKB is the middle of the road solution but i have no experience with that one so you will have to ask someone who tried it against Warthog whether the Hog stick is worth its basically double the price

 

 

[warthogboy09 193]

On 03/07/2022 at 14:33, Asghaad said:

of course the abovementioned VKB is the middle of the road solution but i have no experience with that one so you will have to ask someone who tried it against Warthog whether the Hog stick is worth its basically double the price

I do rate the VKB far above the Warthog for just the stick. The throttle is still very good on the Warthog, but the stick is ancient. The Gladiator has the feel of a Gunfighter or Mongoose, but for a fraction of the cost being plastic and not metal cams. VKB is also developing aftermarket grips for it similar to the Warthog, but the base Cosmosima is all you really need for WT.

[LanceLynxx 503]

On 03/07/2022 at 06:57, _Yukari__Akiyama said:

because it's clear they are not interested in improving Air RB anymore

If you think SB is getting any love, I have bad news

it's been downhill since august 2021

[DeltaSBW 303]

Stick - Virpil WarBRD + extension(up to 15cm)

Throttle - HOTAS Warthog Throttle + SLEW upgrade

Rudder - Virpil VPC Ace rudder(Interceptor or Flight or Collection)

Edited July 17, 2022 by DeltaSBW

[Waelse 272]

That changed my life :

 

Grip : Thrustmaster F/A-18

Base : Virpil  MongoosT-50CM2 Base (the most important thing)

Throttle : Thrustmaster TWCS 

 

It's smooth, it feels solid, it's ergonomic. Magic, pure magic.

 

Before i used a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, ergonomic but terrible to aim...

After the Gladiator NXT - lot of buttons but again bad aiming.

Bought my first expensive stuff - VKB  Modern Combat Grip (MCG) + Gunfighter Mk.II base - Best software ever! But grip feels light and cheap, base springs are not strong enough for grip extension use. Aim very nervous (maybe can be fixed in the settings, i tried but with no results).

[mpsteidle 0]

If you're on a tight budget, I really enjoyed my CH Products Combatstick and Thrustmaster TWCS.  You can get the stick for $30-40 on ebay, and TWCS are easy to find used.  Ive since upgraded to a VKB base and Warthog Throttle, but the budget kit held me over for a while.

[IesousEinaiTheos 460]

Way late on this post, but T16000m is the best stick imo.
It is very comfortable, you can get pedals, throttle, and the stick for less than what most sticks are.
It is magnetic so it is beyond accurate.

I have a X56 hotas as well, and I prefer the T16000m hands down over the X56.

[II_BEAIREM_II 0]

On 03/07/2022 at 13:22, TheKomrade said:

VKB Gladiator NXT, The best joystick you can get for that price without going into extreme prices. Top quality 

 

X52 is very outdated and feels glimzy and cheap

Which version is easiest? or best because im low on money and i dont know which one would be cool to amateur like me

 

[Foche 888]

On a budget , i would clearly recommand the thrustmaster t1600m , it's cheap and the magnetic system is extremely good 

 

It is , imho , the best way to really give a try to simulator , plus it save you some money to invest in a track ir 

 

I only moved to an hotas (x56) after playing DCS . On war thunder , you can enjoy sim without 150 buttons , dial and 3 positions triggers .

[ТhеКомгаdе 853]

16 minutes ago, II_BEAIREM_II said:

Which version is easiest? or best because im low on money and i dont know which one would be cool to amateur like me

 

You can always try out logitched 3d, it's cheap, but still solid joystick. Can't go wrong with that, if you like and want to upgrade you buy VKB ones

[[email protected] 16]

I used a CH Products fighter stick for many years along with their throttle quad and pedals and was overly happy with it. I’ve recently upgraded to a VKB MCG Ultimate with the long extension and oh wow has it changed everything. It’s expensive but it’s worth it for the metal grip and weight. 
 

any cheap joystick will get you going to see how you like it but once you get hooked it’s worth getting a throttle and pedals too. If you’ve got the money go for the ultimate though, it’s amazing!!!

Edited December 24, 2022 by [email protected]

[Bloodlet 408]

I've had the Thrustmaster T16000m flight pack now for like a year and a half and have been happy with it as a HOTAS. It's not as elaborate as some out there but it works for me. My only real complaint is that the pedals are a little too close together making it a bit uncomfortable to us. If you're a small person or a lanklet then you should have no issues. They're still usable regardless and some people mod them to make them more comfortable.

[Usagi__ 64]

CH quality has dropped so much from the golden years...

 

I had full CH set from early 2000's to somewhere around 2018. Then I sold it as I had no time for gaming / simming. I really regred that.

2020 I bought new CH set... And they weren't internally nowhere near as good job as my earlier set. I had to open them, clean pots, dry to fix wiring but eventually after one and half year I replaced whole set with Virpil throttle + pedals and VKB Gladiator NXT. No problems since - I should go with this set at the beginning but my memories and old experiences with CH gear were so good that I didn't even thought any other brand.

[dyllan_duran 6]

Okay so this is going to go against the grain, but I'd say don't get pedals. Get two NXT EVOs on turn the left one into a throttle (box comes with modification hardware and tools). You put roll on the left stick's twist axis, throttle on the y. For the right stick, you put yaw on x and pitch on y. Very counter intuitive I know, but if you've ever played star citizen it makes sense. I hate using pedals, went through so many and dislike them all. Once I put yaw on my right stick, I could suddenly aim a thousand times better in deflection shots.

 

I say this as you're just entering flight siming, and pedals are very expensive. What you do absolutely need however is Track IR. Its a must. I use Grassmonkey simulations track ir, its cheaper and works just as well as the standard.

 

^ nothing special, just demonstrating that you can fly fluidly without pedals

 

And again I highly recommend the NXT EVO/Gladiators. Spend the $20-30 extra that a T.1600 + Throttle would cost and not have to worry about the quality of your sticks for a very long time.

Edited January 3 by DOGwithExtraMSG

[LawManDan 62]

@_Yukari__Akiyama I’m late to the party on this one and I imagine you have purchased you r set up by now. Still going to throw in my two cents lol. 
 

For the best quality go with WinWing without a doubt. Personally I have WinWing Super Libra Base with the F-18 grip for my stick set up and the WinWing Orion2 F-18 throttle assembly. 
 

I try to let people learn from my experience. 
 

This is the order of what I purchased and owned: 

-Logitech Extreme 3D Pro

- Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS 

-Logitech X56 Rhino HOTAS

-(Again) Logitech X56 Rhino Hotas

-WinWing Set Up

 

The 3D pro was an excellent beginner stick but that is all it is. It was around $35 USD from BestBuy. Just something to get you familiar with how to use a Joystick. 
 

Then I decided to move to the Thrustmaster T Flight Hotas. It was like $80. USD. Thought I was saving compared to the Mid/High range set ups. Two weeks in I had my X-Axis sensors go out. 
 

Purchased The X56 Twice. Both times I ended up having ghost button input issues with the throttle assembly, and drift axis on the Z-Axis (Not relevant because I use rudder pedals now but some people don’t.) 

 

Why did I choose WinWing? I decided I didn’t want to have to buy another set up for a long long time so I needed to make this choice right. It came down to WinWing, Virpil, or VKB for me. VKB was out because at the time they did not have any throttle assemblies. 
 

I started looking closely into Virpil and found that a lot of their components are still plastic including the majority of their flight stick assemblies. I also found that most of the time they are out of stock from the manufacturer and that leaves you to paying for one via third party. Third party sellers normally scalp the price to 2x, sometimes 3x the retail price. Right now a $350 throttle from Virpil is being scalped at $650-$850 USD from third parties. I’m not paying that much for plastic. 
 

Then I looked at WinWing. 98% Metal components. Cam and bearing CNC machined internals for the flight stick (Virpil Does this too I believe). EXCELLENT customer service and Warranty. And the best part, availability. You’ll find some people scalping WinWing stuff but if you wait two weeks I guarantee whatever you wanted that was sold out will be back in stock on their official website. That’s just a short run down. 
 

My opinion? Buy once, cry once. WinWing all day. If you’re just trying to start out? Logitech 3D Pro for the price of three McDonalds trips. 
 

See you in the skies~
 

-LawManDan

[Waelse 272]

15 hours ago, LawManDan said:

@_Yukari__Akiyama I’m late to the party on this one and I imagine you have purchased you r set up by now. Still going to throw in my two cents lol. 
 

For the best quality go with WinWing without a doubt. Personally I have WinWing Super Libra Base with the F-18 grip for my stick set up and the WinWing Orion2 F-18 throttle assembly. 
 

I try to let people learn from my experience. 
 

This is the order of what I purchased and owned: 

-Logitech Extreme 3D Pro

- Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS 

-Logitech X56 Rhino HOTAS

-(Again) Logitech X56 Rhino Hotas

-WinWing Set Up

 

The 3D pro was an excellent beginner stick but that is all it is. It was around $35 USD from BestBuy. Just something to get you familiar with how to use a Joystick. 
 

Then I decided to move to the Thrustmaster T Flight Hotas. It was like $80. USD. Thought I was saving compared to the Mid/High range set ups. Two weeks in I had my X-Axis sensors go out. 
 

Purchased The X56 Twice. Both times I ended up having ghost button input issues with the throttle assembly, and drift axis on the Z-Axis (Not relevant because I use rudder pedals now but some people don’t.) 

 

Why did I choose WinWing? I decided I didn’t want to have to buy another set up for a long long time so I needed to make this choice right. It came down to WinWing, Virpil, or VKB for me. VKB was out because at the time they did not have any throttle assemblies. 
 

I started looking closely into Virpil and found that a lot of their components are still plastic including the majority of their flight stick assemblies. I also found that most of the time they are out of stock from the manufacturer and that leaves you to paying for one via third party. Third party sellers normally scalp the price to 2x, sometimes 3x the retail price. Right now a $350 throttle from Virpil is being scalped at $650-$850 USD from third parties. I’m not paying that much for plastic. 
 

Then I looked at WinWing. 98% Metal components. Cam and bearing CNC machined internals for the flight stick (Virpil Does this too I believe). EXCELLENT customer service and Warranty. And the best part, availability. You’ll find some people scalping WinWing stuff but if you wait two weeks I guarantee whatever you wanted that was sold out will be back in stock on their official website. That’s just a short run down. 
 

My opinion? Buy once, cry once. WinWing all day. If you’re just trying to start out? Logitech 3D Pro for the price of three McDonalds trips. 
 

See you in the skies~
 

-LawManDan

I am thinking for the WinWing Viper Throttle. Question about your throttle - can you configure it in WT so you can use the WEP separately from the normal throttle axis?

[LawManDan 62]

On 17/01/2023 at 03:16, Waelse said:

I am thinking for the WinWing Viper Throttle. Question about your throttle - can you configure it in WT so you can use the WEP separately from the normal throttle axis?

Unfortunately I don’t believe so. The WEP is tied to the throttle axis. But rest assured you can adjust the curve for the throttle axis to match your actual throttle. With my F-18 throttle, when my throttle hits the middle decent I’m at 48-50% in game. All they way forward my throttle is at 98% in game, and then when I engage the finger lift and push it further forward for afterburner my throttle in game is then in WEP (which you can also fine tune for “1st/2nd stage”. When you pull all the way back it’s at 0%. You can adjust it to your preference. 

[MOBB 1,351]

There is so much more to this that has not been addressed here.  I will do flight stick guide to help.  In addition I will do a dedicated throttle guide because one does heavily affect the other.

 

budget, accessories desktop/desk mount all have an influence… none of that has been addressed here

[LawManDan 62]

14 hours ago, MOBB said:

There is so much more to this that has not been addressed here.  I will do flight stick guide to help.  In addition I will do a dedicated throttle guide because one does heavily affect the other.

 

budget, accessories desktop/desk mount all have an influence… none of that has been addressed here

I just did a quick run down of my opinion. I'll be making a guide soon to, but I will be only covering the more popular products. 

[MOBB 1,351]

8 hours ago, LawManDan said:

I just did a quick run down of my opinion. I'll be making a guide soon to, but I will be only covering the more popular products. 

Sounds great!  I’m currently using vkb mcg pro flight stick, I also have an mcg ultimate and scg sticks.  If it helps I can opine to those and why I prefer the mcg pro over the others.

 

im currently using a Virpil cm3 throttle but I have used a thrustmaster twcs throttle.

 

I have virpil tork rudder pedals which are compact but have a dampener which is great for stability.  although rudder pedals are great for immersion I found the twist axis on the vkb sticks so good that they provided similar fidelity but faster response time.  
 

Finally I’ve also used the vkb gladiator with scg grip.  While hands down this is the best option for a budget stick there are some things that should be mentioned  before purchasing.  
 

Logitech 3d pro I strongly recommend against, it will only provide a disadvantage and overall poor experience due to drift and massive deadzones.  The biggest reason to not use is the lack of analogue thumb stick to look around