The market for eSports-grade controllers for Xbox is pretty much dominated by two major players: Scuf Gaming and Microsoft themselves (with their Elite controllers). Ever since EGL started hosting LAN events, almost every competitor has used a Scuf controller, and this is primarily due to the fact that they were at the time, the best in class. However, Razer is no stranger to the eSports scene. Although they are widely known as developers of the best gaming keyboards, mice and headsets, they have dabbled in the past with console gaming accessories. Although the company already launched the Razer Wolverine, the Wolverine V2 Chroma is really what us eSports gamers have needed for quite some time.
In order to compete with the best in class, Razer identified that it had to achieve the following with its Xbox controller: programmable paddles in the back, interchangeable thumbsticks, trigger stops and also a controller layout that doesn’t digress too far from the original Xbox pad. The original Wolverine lacked a lot of these features, and even the Wolverine V2 doesn’t contain some of these. However, the Wolverine V2 Chroma is a significant upgrade from its predecessors. In true Razer fashion, the controller also contains Chroma RGB lighting, although this is really the least desirable feature.
I have no issues with Chroma RGB. In fact, I love the lighting effects that Razer provides. However, in a pro controller, I really look for the aforementioned key features, and luckily Razer provides all of these. The Wolverine V2 Chroma works on old-gen and new-gen Xbox consoles, and largely mirrors the layout of a standard Xbox controller. The Menu and View buttons sit more diagonally compared to the original controller, but apart from that the layout is essentially the same.
The weight of the controller is also different. At only 270g, the Wolverine V2 Chroma is extremely light. The original Xbox controller feels like a brick in comparison, and what helps is that the weight of the Wolverine V2 Chroma is largely distributed in the middle, meaning that your hands are gripping the controller at its lightest parts.
The buttons on the controller are also different. Although the layouts are the same, the face buttons (Y, X, A and B) are much clickier. It’s almost as if Razer wanted to implement some sort of mechanical keyboard feel to the controller’s face buttons, and the end result is a more tactile and satisfying click that require little to no effort to press. The clicky nature of the buttons is extremely important since you want to be able to hear and feel that you’ve actually pressed the button. The Wolverine V2 Chroma isn’t unique in many departments when compared to other pro controllers, but the quality of the face buttons is by far the best I’ve used.
Interchangeable thumbsticks are also crucial to any pro controller, and the Wolverine V2 Chroma uses magnets to very easily let you swap them out. There are many reasons why you need to be able to change thumbsticks. Firstly, pro gamers have preferences over whether they want to use domed sticks or concave sticks. In some cases, they might even want the left stick to be domed and the right one to be concave (or vice versa). Secondly, the length of the thumbstick is important since the lengthier sticks give you more control in shooters especially. Finally, pro gamers use their controllers for countless hours every day, and eventually thumbsticks wear out. Being able to swap them out means you don’t need to buy a brand new controller every single time.
The D-pad is also very easy to use. It also has a highly tactile feel and requires little to no effort to press. You don’t end up using D-pads very often in shooters, but it’s ensuring to know that Razer hasn’t just repurposed the Microsoft one.
The Wolverine V2 Chroma contains hair triggers. For those who don’t know, the LT and RT triggers can be locked so that they don’t require a complete press to register. Instead, they will only travel approximately half of the way, which is essentially the least amount you need to press when firing a weapon. The true benefit is when you’re playing games like Halo Infinite, where the battle rifle dominates any other weapon. If your triggers only go half way down, it means you can tap the triggers faster and therefore burst fire faster than an opponent with a regular opponent. I love the implementation of the hair triggers since each trigger just has a lock slider behind the controller to activate it. This also does mean that you cannot modulate the travel of the hair triggers (something other controllers do), but I tried the Wolverine V2 Chroma on Halo and it worked like a charm.
The Wolverine V2 Chroma also contains six programmable buttons, four at the back and two on the top of the controller that act as smaller bumpers. These are essentially macro buttons/shortcuts for controller inputs. I found the ones on the top to be very difficult to use. The purpose of these buttons is to speed up your input time. However, in order to press them, I still have to move a finger off the main trigger. The paddles behind the controller are the real appeal, since your fingers would typically rest behind the controller and therefore with enough practice, you can press those buttons the moment you need to, without taking your other fingers off the triggers or thumbsticks.
None of these buttons are removable. They are attached to the controller, so if you end up using the Wolverine V2 Chroma for a game like FIFA, you do need to be aware that you might accidentally end up pressing one of those buttons. The buttons in the back are really designed for shooters. If you want to melee an opponent or jump over a wall, you can just press one of the buttons on the back whilst keeping your thumbs on the thumbsticks.
The Wolverine V2 Chroma is a purely wired solution. Many gamers may have an issue with this, but if you’re going to be competing in LAN events, you’re only going to be allowed to play via a wired connection anyways. In addition, a true pro-level controller needs a wired connection to completely reduce the latency. There’s no point playing a shooter where you’re trying to reduce your input times via programmable paddles, only to increase the delay because of a wireless connection! With this in mind, I personally don’t mind that Razer has gone down this route, but they will face some criticism only because other pro grade controllers offer both a wireless and wired option. It doesn’t help that the cable you get is quite short, which again suggests that the Wolverine V2 Chroma is for gamers who have a monitor setup.
If you want to plug in a gaming headset such as the Razer Kaira series, you’ll be glad to know that the Wolverine V2 Chroma has a 3.5mm jack at the bottom of the controller. One of my favourite features is that there is a shortcut combination to let you modulate the party chat and in-game audio.
Unlike most Razer peripherals, the Wolverine V2 Chroma isn’t configured via Synapse 3. Instead, you program it via the Razer app on the Xbox. This makes perfect sense considering it is designed for Xbox. The app is extremely user-friendly and within seconds, you can reprogram the macro buttons and even create profiles. You can also configure the Chroma RGB lighting and decide how you want the colours to look, what patterns to use etc. You can even modulate the rumble and the deadzone of the thumbsticks.
Ultimately, what matters is whether it matches up (or even betters) the other pro controllers for Xbox. The Wolverine V2 Chroma definitely matches Microsoft’s Elite controller. It contain all of the key functionality that you’d want from a pro controller apart from wireless connectivity, but also gives you the Razer Chroma RGB lighting and a dedicated app on the Xbox. My performance on Call of Duty Warzone didn’t get any better or worse, however this is because I already used a pro-grade controller. This therefore suggests that you’ll be perfectly happy using the Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma as an eSports controller.
The Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma is costs a whopping £149.99 on Razer’s website. Therefore, Razer has priced this at the same level as all of the other best-in-class pro controllers for the Xbox, which is a bold move for a company who has only just really entered this market (I know they made other controllers, but this is the first real Xbox controller that is really designed for eSports). If you only ever play games via a wired connection, then I can highly recommend Razer’s solution since it contains a fantastic app, all of the features you need for eSports and the added chroma effect. However, if you need the flexibility of wireless and wired connectivity, you’ll need to look elsewhere. If the main aim for Razer was to release a controller that eSports gamers would take notice of, they have certainly succeeded.