With the holiday season in full effect, you can expect a fresh stream of Christmas noobs entering your multiplayer lobbies. If you’re on an Xbox or PC and looking to keep the pressure on during ruthless initiation rites, the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Gaming Controller can help maximize your effectiveness. It’s usually a pricey spend at $179.99, but you can get the full kit with its extra back buttons, analog stick toppers, D-pads, and wireless charging dock for just $124 ($56 off) at Amazon and Walmart right now, which is a new record low price.
For comparison’s sake, the Elite Series 2 Core includes none of those extras, save for the tool that lets you adjust the analog stick’s tension. The Core is appropriately cheaper as a result and starts around $94.99 ($45 off) at Best Buy, Target, and Amazon right now. While you can buy the components separately for $59.99, the two combined turn out to be more expensive than buying the full Elite Series 2 package. That said, it’s a viable way to get the full experience with the Core’s exclusive red, blue, and white color options.
The Elite Series 2 — usable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows — offers the most customizability of any first-party pro-style controller and is still one of the most configurable options from any brand. In addition to hot-swappable D-pads and four removable back buttons, you can swap the analog stick tops and adjust their tension. The triggers support three different stop levels. You’ll also get extensive software-based button remapping through Xbox and Windows, but you can’t make changes on the controller itself. And the controller doesn’t use removable batteries like the official standard controllers, meaning you can’t swap in a fresh set if their capacity shrinks over time. But Microsoft says it’ll last up to 40 hours before you need to recharge, and you have convenient charging options between its USB-C cable and the included dock.
