Customer Ratings & Reviews

This controller is an amazing piece to have for a gamer. This controller is a must if you are a more competitive player in certain games. The unit is premium with a bit of heft to it, so keep that in mind. The back paddles have a nice premium touch, while they conform to your hand without feeling awkward. The device itself has many presets you can configure as well. My last one lasted six years, so yes do not drop it so it can last you.

Best in comfort. Best in Quality. Bad in overall life. Sticks tend to start drifting 1 month after use. When purchasing, make sure to grab the warranty so you can return yours when it breaks and get a replacement for free.

The Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller is a premium gaming accessory that excels in comfort, customization, and performance. With adjustable tension thumbsticks, remappable paddles, and hair-trigger locks, it offers exceptional precision and control. The built-in rechargeable battery lasts up to 40 hours, and its Bluetooth connectivity ensures easy compatibility with both Xbox and PC. While it’s on the pricier side, the Elite Series 2 is a must-have for serious gamers looking to elevate their experience.

This is my first review with this controller after owning each elite controller since launch. They are amazing controllers for the most part, however, the build quality is lacking. You might run into toggle or top bumper problems the most (like in my case). Each time I've had to replace this controller, it's either the joystick toggle, or the top bumpers. So the build quality doesn't justify the price tag at all. The battery life and grip and the back bumpers make this controller worth it for more seasoned players. I would at least always recommend the protection plan... it's worth it for the extra $65 or so.

I'm writing this in July, 2020. I bought the controller the week it came out and I'm now awaiting my second controller after using the extended warranty I purchased. The reason: Stick drift. This is an issue that came up with the original Elite and I figured the MS engineers maybe fixed it. Maybe not. The controller is truly fantastic. It's heavy, has excellent options for programming/customization, and has a lovely, tactile feel. But don't buy it without the protection plan. Without the drift, this controller would be the best out there and I still love it. The specific drift I'm dealing with is on the left analog stick. I returned it and the BB rep, also an Elite user, immediately recognized it and helped me out, so 5 stars for the great customer service. I'd love to blame AC: Odyssey for causing the problem because if you've never played this game, you'll put lots of hours in pressing up on the left stick. But that's not enough reason for a $180 controller to fail. Buy the protection plan and enjoy the controller with the understanding that if you're willing to pay this much, you need the extra insurance to protect your investment.

so just to put this out there i am mkr being paid for this review. So i have tried many pro controllers in the past from scuf, turthe beach and dualsense edge and this by far is the best one as far as responsiveness, comfort and grip, and the 4 mappable back paddles, and interchangable thumbsticks which is why i settled on this one for my FPS games like Apex Legends and The Finals, ive pesosnlly seen a great improvemnt in my gameplay espcially tracking and aiming, granted skill plays a huge part but having a controller like this keeps my thumbs on the sticks at all times with the rear paddles. I reccmomend it, you can use it on xbox series X/S and also on PC, works great with handheld PCs like ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go. If the price tag is a bit much i reccomend waiting for a sale or just buy a second hand one like i did from Best Buy i paid 110 for mine its practically new no issues 3 months in.

If you are buying this controller because you want to be a pro gamer who uses can press the A, B, X, Y buttons while still using the joy sticks, then this IS the controller for you. If you are buying this controller because you like to play game pad compatible PC games or driving sim games and just want a few more buttons to map actions to, DO NOT BUY THIS CONTROLLER. You cannot remap the extra buttons to other functions not already on the controller. Pros: Build quality is top notch. Feels very solid and the customizable joy sticks and D-pad are a an amazing feature. Battery life is solid going several days without recharging with daily use. Cons: There are some firmware issues that can cause the controller not to be recognized correctly by some windows systems. This issue has been on going for years. That said, even though it doesn't get recognized correctly sometime, it still functions as a game pad all the time. The biggest issue is that the extra buttons on the back of the controller CANNOT BE REMAPPED TO OTHER KEYBOARD BUTTONS. These buttons can only be mapped to buttons already on the controller. This is a completely ridiculous software lockout that makes these buttons obsolete for my purposes. My only reason for keeping my rating as high as it is is that this controller does what it is designed to do and it does it well.

The controller has great responsiveness, comfort, and versatility. It has a quality feel because of the rubberized grips, and a built-in rechargeable battery lasts a long time.

The Elite Series 2 Core is hands down the best controller I’ve ever owned. The build quality feels premium and solid, with a great weight in the hands. The grips are super comfortable for long gaming sessions, and the adjustable tension thumbsticks make a huge difference in precision. Battery life is excellent, and I love that it works seamlessly across my Xbox Series X, PC, and even cloud gaming. The customization options really elevate gameplay, and the overall performance is smooth and responsive. If you want a reliable, pro-level controller that takes gaming to the next level, this is it. Absolutely recommend!

The Microsoft Elite Series 2 Controller is hands down the best controller I’ve ever used. The build quality is solid, the adjustable thumbsticks and trigger stops make a real difference, and the paddles on the back are a game-changer. The battery life is great, and it just feels premium in every way. It’s not cheap, but if you game a lot, it’s 100% worth it. I love it.

It works good when brand new, within a few month of gameplay. Either the left or the right thumbsticks get stick drift. Then I have to get it exchanged l. BestBuy makes it easy to exchange broken warrantied items with their yearly renewable total protection plan as well.

The Elite Series 2 is honestly one of the best-feeling controllers I’ve used. It’s solid, comfortable, and the customization options are great — the paddles and adjustable triggers make a big difference. The battery lasts a long time too. My only real complaint is the stick drift, which showed up after a while and was disappointing for how much it costs. Still, when it’s working right, it’s easily my favorite controller.

I purchased this controller while it was on sale, which, sadly to say would be the only time I'd buy one. Within two months of owning it, the left analog stick developed drift, essentially overnight. It became so bad that I couldn't set the controller down without a character walking in a random direction, or a movie/show skipping forward. I store the controller in it's case, and cleaned it regularly. I had to have this controller replaced five times within it's 1-year warranty from MS and each one failed in almost the exact same way. There are other instances where buttons don't register and/or take multiple presses to execute the action on screen, or to pause a movie. Cons aside, the controller does have a few pros(weight, paddles, overall feel/comfort) but honestly none of these outweigh the cost and very clear QC issues that plague these controllers, buy at your own risk.

Controller is very nice to use and you wont want to go back to a normal xbox controller after but wear and tear can hit it pretty hard. Bumpers fail often, stick drift is decently frequent, and I've even had an A button stop working. Protection plan is almost a must, but it has been one of my favorite controllers.

Problems: buttons (LB AND RB) start to work less over time, causing presses to not register. Some minor issues with the rubberized material peeling at the seem after a while. Too expensive to be having this problem at $180 pros: great controller with amazing customization. love the paddles too. it is great to hold and aiming with them is pretty much a breeze. I also love the adjustable triggers, and the case it comes with that can charge the thing.

This is my 2nd Elite Series Xbox controller. Size, feel, quality is top notch. The paddles are very comfortable and the controller comes with additional paddle and button options for personal preferences. It is easy to connect to the console and the charging station is fantastic. Nothing bad to say about this controller. Highly recommend.

This is a very solid high quality controller. It's substantial weight, interchangable thumbsticks and D pad make for a great gaming experience. Paddles as optional inputs also makes this a great controller. Controller charges by USB C instead of having any internal batteries. Not a deal breaker for me but I can imagine that turns some folks off. My biggest problem is I had stick drift within a few months of using it just outside of the original warranty period. Many people seem to have this problem and it's not easily repairable by end users, even if you're use to taking these things apart. Luckly Microsoft extended the original warranty recently and I was able to get it repaired. Otherwise, I would have had to junk this. This is the 2nd elite controller I've had with the same issue. I would caution anyone against buying this unless you buy the extended warranty.

Great controller, has proven to be more durable than the original elite 2 while being slightly lighter in weight. Ive used elite 2 controllers for about 3 years and the bumpers always fail withing the first year or shortly after and this elite core has been running the longest, so in comparison i definitely would put the core on top, and you can get cool colors.

The first thing I noticed is the ruber grips are better designed, it appears they may have fixed the issue that the series 1 controller had with the rubber grips beginning to peel off after a few months. The extra third slot for saving custom controller configurations is nice and the back pedals are now shorter which makes it feel more comfortable in your hand. With the series one controller I always had to take those paddles out if I weren't using them because they would prevent me from gripping the controller the way that felt comfortable for me. The adjustable tensioner for the thumbsticks is nice as well, and the battery does last a decent amount of time before it has to be recharged. The only downside is the fact that the battery pack is built in and cannot be removed. Overall the quality seems to be much better and it has a USB-C charging connector which is better than the old USB-B that the series 1 controller used, which you had to be very careful when connecting the cable; it could only connect one way and made it feel like if you weren't careful you might damage the connector. So far I am very pleased with my purchase.

I love this controller. I Iike the weight, the paddles on the back, and the feel. I can't even play on a regular controller because they are so light to me now. It's kinda expensive for me.