Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got this to upgrade from my failing Saitek x55. I had hoped that the quality of the device would have improved. I was disappointed to have issues right out of the box. I mainly play Elite: Dangerous so my review will mainly cover my experience with that. I have a specific problem with the device, but I’ll try to cover that separately. Pros: First off this is a really cool looking joystick. From the blue accents to the heading markers around the joystick, this thing looks right at home in my cockpit. All the switches and dials turn and work as expected. The analog sticks are really cool. I assigned them to my all of my translation thrusters that I had previously assigned to the two throttle hat switches on my x55. I tried a few landings with them and it worked great! The color changing options are awesome for matching the cockpit colors I have in E:D. Cons: Unfortunately I think that currently there are more cons than pros for this. For starters the throttle is so lubricated on the inside that if it sits for a while, it becomes so gummed up that it becomes difficult to move it at all, regardless of the resistance setting on the side. I have to shove the blasted thing forward and back in quick, violent motions just to work out the lubricant so I can move the throttle forward and back without it going flying into my monitor or falling back off my desk. The analog stick on the throttle feels poorly placed. Saitek originally put the hat switches forward on the x55 throttle. This was wise, since you could have your hand completely on the throttle and still be able to move them easily. Now I’ll admit I have big hands, but I shouldn’t have to pull my hand almost all the way off the throttle just to get good purchase on that analog stick. This is annoying but not a deal breaker since I mainly use the analog stick on the joystick. My issue: The Z axis on my joystick is stuck to the left. On the calibration screen you can see it all the way in the lower left corner just sitting there. I can get it to center by twisting all the way to the right, but this isn’t a prop plane I’m flying here, it’s a freaking spaceship the size of a modern navy destroyer that costs several million credits, and I’m not putting that ship at risk because my joystick makes it spin around uselessly like a helicopter with its tail rotor shot away. I contacted Saitek support and within a few days they got back to me telling me to do the standard: “Check in a different machine, use the Windows calibration, delete all your current calibration files and retry, etc.” I did all that and nothing changed. I’m waiting to hear back from them now. Verdict: They get two stars. One star for the analog switches and the adjustable colors and one star for solid feeling hat switches. They lose two stars for the z axis being shot all to hell since this is something I hope they would have checked before leaving the assembly plant (“Hey! Should we plug this into a computer and try all the axes to make sure everything is calibrated correctly?” “…”). They lose another star for the over-lubricated throttle that I have to work at every time I sit down just to make it usable. TL:DR Pros: Joystick is solid and adjustable. Hat switches are more solid than on the x55. Color changes are nice. Throttle seems solid. Joystick and throttle analog sticks enable more precise translation control. Cons: Throttle has WAY too much lubricant in the works. I have to jerk the throttle back and forth repeatedly every time I sit down to play before I even turn on Elite just so I have a semblance of control. The throttle analog stick is badly positioned. I have to move my entire hand back just to get a good grip on it. Possible bad quality control for axes calibration. Edit: After working with me and identifying my stick as defective, Mad Catz wants me to send the HOTAS back to them for repair. However they will NOT cover the shipping on their own DEFECTIVE product. So they lose a star for that.