When speaking about PC gaming, most people think about mouse and keyboard combos. However, many players (most notably in games such as Apex Legends and Fortnite) like using controllers. Aside from that, there’s also obviously a thriving competitive console gaming scene. Knowing all that, it’s clear that there is a demand for premium controllers. In our full Razer Wolverine V3 Pro review, we’re taking a look at Razer’s latest attempt to create the ultimate competitive gaming controller.
At A Glance
Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
Used by 1 player ()The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro is an extremely complete controller that has basically all of the adjustments and extra features that a competitive controller player could ask for. It’s all well-executed, and the whole thing feels premium and reliable.
Pros
- Comes with a nice carrying case
- Comes with extra thumbsticks
- Hall Effect thumb sticks feel good to use
- Nice shape
- Tons of extra buttons and paddles to configure
- Mouse click-style switches underneath buttons give a premium and consistent feeling
Cons
- Expensive
- Battery life is on the shorter side
- No Bluetooth connection or standard Xbox Wireless connection available for more casual gaming sessions
First Impressions
Packaging
Inside the box of the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, you will find:
- The controller itself
- Wireless dongle
- Carrying case
- User documentation
- Additional thumbsticks
- USB-C cable
I for one love the inclusion of the carrying case. It makes the entire package look and feel a lot more premium. On top of that, the fact that it’s decently sturdy makes it incredibly handy to carry the controller around.
The controller itself
The Wolverine V3 Pro looks classy. The Razer logo underneath the Xbox logo lights up if you want it to, but other than that there are no RGB elements to be found. This lack of oversized RGB elements makes the controller look very professional.
On the actual grip sections, you’ll find textured rubber grips. These feel great and come in handy when your hands start to get sweaty. I know that there are people out there who don’t care for rubber grips, but I love them so for me this is a good addition.
It’s expected at this price, but the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro looks and feels like a high quality, premium product.
Build and Design
The Wolverine V3 Pro is an Xbox controller, so its overall shape is very reminiscent of the official Xbox One controller. However, the Wolverine V3 Pro offers a lot more functionality. Compared to a regular Xbox controller, you get:
- Extra buttons on the shoulders of the controller
- Four paddles on the bottom of the controller
- A selector to make the triggers short-stop and basically act as a mouse click
- Extra thumbsticks to use
In addition to all of that, the Wolverine ups the ante by including mouse click-style mecha-tactile ABXY buttons. These give tactile feedback once you actuate them. The D-Pad also has 8 directions that actuate with that same clicky feeling. Lastly, the thumbsticks are hall effect thumbsticks, meaning that you should theoretically never have any issues with stick drift.
All of this results in a controller that is extremely customizable. I’ll speak more about the gaming performance further down in this review, but it’s quite obvious that this type of controller has a ton of advantages over regular controllers.
Shape is obviously subjective but I’ve always been partial to the Xbox style of controller as opposed to the smaller PS-style controllers, so for me this is a great shape.
Connectivity and Battery Life
You can connect the Wolverine V3 Pro via a USB dongle or via a cable. There is no Bluetooth present here, nor is there a way to connect it wirelessly through your Xbox via the built-in system: you will have to plug the dongle into your Xbox if you want to play wirelessly.
As is expected from Razer, the wireless connection is flawless and lag-free. I had absolutely no problems with dropped connections or inputs registering late.
The battery life on my unit sits at around 15 hours. With that said: I personally mostly use the controller on my PC via a wired connection, so for me the battery life is of less importance. However, if you want to use it wirelessly you will have to charge the controller multiple times per week if you’re a serious gamer. The battery life is respectable, but it’s certainly not the best on the market.
Gaming Performance
Comfort
I used to be a hardcore Halo player (I even played Reach and 4 in a competitive setting against semi-pros) so I am right at home on this type of controller. Based on the pictures, I initially thought it would feel too big in my hands (which are 18×10.5 cm) but the controller is actually on the smaller side and fits me like a glove. The chosen materials handle sweat and finger oils wonderfully well, so I have absolutely no complaints about the comfort of this controller.
For those who aren’t in the know: claw grip means that you use the pointer finger of your right hand to press the ABXY buttons. It was especially popular back in the days where custom controllers were a rare occurrence and most players used first-party controllers.
Additional inputs
Back in my day, I used to play claw grip so that I could keep aiming while pressing other buttons to (for example) melee. On a controller that has so many extra input options, I don’t even find it necessary to play claw any longer. I am personally not a huge fan of paddles on the bottom of a controller (these can easily be disabled though) but I do love the extra buttons that sit next to the bumpers and triggers. These give you two extra input options in a very natural position with no learning curve attached.
If you somehow find the six shoulder buttons to be lacking, you can always bind up to four extra paddles, meaning that there’s no reason to ever take your thumb off of the aiming stick. This in itself is a major advantage over traditional controllers, where the amount of buttons you can press without having to lift your thumb is limited.
Hall effect sticks
Hall effect sticks use magnetic fields to determine their exact position. These are more precise and -perhaps most importantly- more durable than traditional sticks.
It’s been years since I’ve been a controller tryhard, so I am perhaps not as sensitive to how sticks feel as I used to be, but the sticks on my unit feel good. They feel tight and consistent even in the middle, with no loose spots. I know that controller sticks can be very hit-or-miss (even within the same model of controller) so your mileage here may vary, but I can obviously only review what’s in front of me.
During most of my testing, I used them with an in-app deadzone of 1 since that felt most natural to me personally. With a deadzone of 0, there is some stick drift present as the sticks don’t center to X:0 Y:0 values after flicking, but on my unit they’re close enough even with a deadzone of 0 to still be used accurately for people who want no deadzone at all. It would be nice if Razer offered a way to calibrate these sticks for people whose ‘true center’ is off by more though, so perhaps that’s something they can add in a later update.
The following is personal preference so don’t take this as a knock on the controller, but I like a bit more resistance on my thumb sticks since it helps me be more accurate when aiming. For regular readers, this perhaps doesn’t come as a surprise, as I also like more controlling mouse and keyboard setups.
The controller also comes with a bunch of additional sticks that you can use so that the entire thing suits your preferences perfectly. These are super easy to swap out.
Mouse trigger buttons
Most of the buttons on the Wolverine V3 Pro have mouse triggers underneath them. This means that they actuate with a nice clicking sound and feeling. This all adds to the premium feeling of the controller, and while I love this tactility on the D-Pad I’m not so sure if I’m a big fan of it on the ABXY buttons. Sure, they feel good, but they also feel a bit less spammable to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve used regular dome buttons for thousands of hours back when I was in my console gaming phase, but I personally find these a bit difficult to get used to.
The triggers themselves
Finally, we arrive at the triggers. In their default config, they quite simply feel like nicely executed controller trigger buttons. However, there’s also a slide that you can use to lock the triggers. This drastically reduces their overall travel time and gives them that same mouse-style click that I mentioned earlier. This is incredibly useful in games where you don’t need the gradual input options that traditional triggers offer.
In racing games, for example, it’s great that you can control how hard you’re pressing the virtual gas pedal, but in shooter games you can save precious time by not having to pull the trigger down all the way before a shot gets registered. Having the option to choose between the two is yet another way in which the Wolverine V3 Pro sets itself apart from default controllers.
Customization
You can customize the behavior of the controller via an Xbox app or via an app (not Synapse) on the PC. There, you can adjust the thumbstick sensitivity, rebind buttons (or disable things such as the back paddles), adjust or disable the vibration, and customize the lighting of the Razer logo. All of this is extremely easy to do and very straightforward.
There’s also an option to turn on sensitivity clutch. Using that, you can hold a certain assigned button, which will then in turn drastically lower the sensitivity of your thumbstick. This is a cool option for games where long-distance battles are often fought, like Apex Legends or Fortnite.
Razer Wolverine V3 Pro Review – Conclusion
The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro is an extremely complete controller that has basically all of the adjustments and extra features that a competitive controller player could ask for. It’s all well-executed, and the whole thing feels premium and reliable. With all of these options, you’re bound to find a configuration that matches your exact preferences.
It should also be noted that this comes at a price though. With an MSRP of $199.99, it’s playing in the very highest leagues when it comes to premium controllers.
Whether this controller is worth the price will obviously come down to your personal circumstances. If you’re not a very competitive player who wants to get the very best out of their system, I would recommend you to look towards cheaper alternatives. If you are a player who wants to do everything they can to get the edge on opponents and you want to use a controller that can be tweaked to become something that feels exactly tailored to your playing style, this might very well be it.
It’s an extremely impressive controller, but it comes at a price. People who want a more affordable option can always look towards the Tournament Edition of this controller. You can compare them on Razer’s website.
This product was received for free from the manufacturer and given to our reviewer to test and review. Brands and manufacturers have no editorial control over our reviews. For more information, check out our review FAQ.