Ended up seeing the Wuchang version of the G7 Pro hit Amazon, and decided to try it out. (phone picture came a little blown out, sorry)
Impressions
I wasn't sure how good the actual paint-job was going to be in person, but it looks quite nice. Instead of the dot textured plastic like the Black Ember model on the right front, the Wuchang feathers aren't just painted, they are embossed to actually be the textured pattern on the front for grip. Basically you get this kind of scaled feel than little bumps, and it grips well (the back is rubber like the Xbox Elite). I like the turquoise color choice quite a bit, though I wish it was transparent on the triggers like the Black Ember.
The
main reason though I got this was to validate if the internet was right, and the Mech White + Wuchang version of this controller improved the d-pad, since the Black Ember apparently got rushed to production. Apparently this d-pad has better latency, and rattles less. I tried a few games, and it's hard for me to notice if the latency is really improved, both feel responsive to me. However, the d-pad is absolutely more
stable, and after popping off the d-pad covers on both I think I found out why. The plate below the switches seems to have less flex, and the 4 holes you can see in the picture (below) that each plate have rods to fit into are slightly smaller. So the d-pad plates fit more snugly in, so brushing my finger around doesn't move it much.
For me it's worth the upgrade, but then I tried ONE more thing, that I
100% recommend on this because it cost nothing on Amazon for me to do. I heard that you can attach o-rings (you can see them above, they're black) around those 4 white holes where the rods connect, and it will further reduce that rattle + make it a bit firmer. It absolutely works, and I think it's because the rubber is flexible, but absorbs some of the play when bending the plate to do sweep movements in fighting games like Blazblue: Chronophantasm Extend that I tried. Even the Black Ember improved, so if you have that one
150% do this.
All you need to do is place 2 o-rings around the holes, and with a pencil, tweezers or any thin pointy thing stuff them down to fill up the hole. You can try 3 if you want (too firm imo), but people on reddit were right 2 each hole is best. I found a pack of 50 of these for like $5 on Amazon. Already loved the controller, this seals the deal for me to pick over the 8BitDo Ultimate 2.
The O-Ring Measurements:
- 6mm outer diameter (OD)
- 4mm inner diameter (ID)
- 1mm width
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