LogiCrap Gamepads

Ever since returning to FFxi, roughly a year now I have gone through THREE of these Logitech Gamepads. If there is any advice I can give that may save someone else some frustration it would be, do not purchase this..

http://gaming.logitech.com/en-us/product/f310-gamepad

The first one died within two weeks of owning it, I made it into a spare part controller. It's pretty sad when you buy two of something in hopes of not needing to re-up for a while and your hopes are shattered by "Made in China". Likewise if you need to buy two so that one may part out to fix the other one. Just WTF!

Any advice on a good two toggle D-pad 4 trigger PS style controller? It doesn't have to make coffee for me, just work for as long as I require it to.

Thanks for the advice.

You can try using an actual PS2/PS3 controller, finding the drivers, and going from there.

Or, I use an XBox 360 wireless controller. I did have to remap the triggers though, because FFXI doesn't natively detect the force-sensitive trigger on XBox 360.

I went through a bunch of controllers over the years trying to find a good one. Oddly enough, that very Logitech listed did me the best. It lasted longer than any other before the one I use now; 2 years.

What I'm using now is a regular Xbox One controller. They figured out the drivers for the thing and it works like a charm, just not wirelessly. They haven't worked that out yet. But ff you don't have issues with having to be tethered, and given what you're coming from I don't see why you would, you should have no problems with a plain X1 controller.

If your PC supports the Windows Bluetooth stack, or you have or are willing to get a compatible dongle, a PS4 controller with the program InputMapper is the superior option, IMO. You can also use the touchpad like a shitty trackpad on your PC (does not work in FFXI).

I won't lie, it sits in my lap and anytime I set it down and move it generally slips falls onto the floor. But still, you wouldn't think it falling 15 inches to the carpet would break em so easily? First one was NOT my fault, few weeks after using it the button 9 became almost impossible to press. That button is only used to turn off auto-target (Very Rarely). So ya I can say they do drop to the carpet, console controllers do as well and I don't hear people saying they broke from it =\

50/50 I'll give ya that Floppy, it's still IMO a crap gamepad. I've put other through hell and they're in a box somewhere still working. They just don't have the buttons I need to use them instead =(

This sounds do-able for sure. SE doesn't piss on the Input Mapping idea? I really like that as I wanted to get a gamepad profiler anyhow, this sounds like it'll do just that.

I always just used a ps2 controller for XI

It's the best and toughest option, if you can still find one. I use the OP's Logitech controllers because that's the only DInput controller still readily available. Tried a Steelseries controller this summer. It's broken after three months. Compared to that the Logitech option isn't bad.

I've had my F310 for about 2 years now. Before that I had a F710 which lasted about 3 years (it actually still works, but I got fed up of rechargable batteries dying at inopportune times), and before that I had another F310 was so old, you could actually scrape off crusty dirt from the rubber pad (gross, I know, but it makes my point).

Stop throwing your gamepad around, and it wont break.

I had the same problem w/ that model. After a month of use something would go wrong with the cord and the camera would spin uncontrollably. I used to buy them at bestbuy just for the warranty to get a free one after the first one broke.

Now I have found some wireless gamepads at microcenter that I really like that are made by thrustmaster: http://www.microcenter.com/product/404811/T-Wireless_Duo_Pack_Gamepad_PS3_and_PC. Looks like target has them as well. I've had mine now for a year and a half and while the first gamepad is starting to break a little (one of the joysticks kind of comes out of socket sometimes) I haven't even thought of switching over to the second gamepad yet. I know that PS3 or X-box controllers are the best way to go but I've had trouble with joy2motion and this worked without having to configure anything. The only drawback is that they're a little smaller than your standard controller. Not a problem for girl hands but if you have big hands they might be uncomfortable.

Do you come here just to be cynical? I've owned FOUR of these in the past EIGHT years. Caps intended. The previous models, the only difference was that they could not be turned into a Xbox controller on the flip of a switch. These new ones can. My previous two that I played FFXI with were powerhouses. Thus when I returned I bought two more thinking they would last.

Go ahead and be cynical, go ahead try to argue.. It's all relevant when I ask. Are you a *** all the time orrrr just while you are awake? You have been no help. If you wanna buy one, do it. I'm not here to defend myself, I've owned these long enough and know what I did or did not do.

Bottom line is, Logitech has become crap. That's coming from a decade long customer.

Take care.. The end.

Wish I would have though of that lol. I got mine from Newegg.com. Even if, they're dieing so fast and easily, I don't want a new one lol I want my money back to buy something that works. I think the older versions were much better. I don't know if it was adding Xbox to it or what. They absolutely suck now =(

Thanks for the replies.

How's battery life? I've owned Wifi in the passed and it was kinda meh. Middle of a Arena fight or something that batteries would start to die and the controllers would get cooky, like not steer, button only working 1/2 the time. By the time you realize it's happening you're in a bad spot, dead or dieing.

That was before these lithium ion batteries that seem to last a good while. I wouldn't be opposed to buying two so to have a second ready as a "quick swap" option. Plus other in my house borrow my gamepads, so having multiple is a must.

LMFAO!

I've had an F710 for a few years and have been very happy with it. I do not like rechargeable batteries (stupid environment) and disposable ones will literally last me a few months. So, I buy a big pack of batteries like once a year for it.

I too sit it in my lap a lot, you know, to use use my mouse for BGWiki and ffxiah, and it will sometimes fall to the floor. Still, no buttons stick and they all work fine. It is better quality than the standard F310.

Its heaviness takes some getting used to at first, but I don't notice it anymore. I assume when the buttons start to stick a bit, I will do what I used to do with my old F310s...take it apart, remove the buttons, and clean with rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip. Works pretty well for stuck buttons caused by skin oils over long term usage.

Good luck finding a new controller that you like.

My first one broke due to a stupid mistake on my part (accidentally stepped on the wire while trying to pick it up thus pulling it out to the point where it was plugging in and out unless you had the wire in a certain area -.- eventually it stopped working though. ) then got a second one while being very careful and no problems since, this was about 8 months ago now.

My F310 has survived deployments and many years of abuse and still works fine. Maybe OP just has bad luck.

That's the one I use, OP, and I have in the recent past had to replace them a couple times. Once after maybe a month or two of use. The one Im using now has lasted (probably should knock on wood somewhere) since the beginning of this year so far so good. The last one would accept without me pressing the button and that was just toooooo dangerous for me. One of them also had one of the buttons just completely stop working. MASH ALL THE BUTTONS!!! Oh well they are cheaply made but I haven't found anything else that I preferred so I just have a spare on standby. :D

The battery life is ok, I'd say I get in about 56 hours before I have to swap them out. I have 8 rechargeable batteries so I always have 3 ready to go for when the others die. It does tend to happen in the middle of something important but there's no zombie state - the controller works and then it's totally dead.

Thanks man, good info.. I'm pretty sure you would have mentioned it, does it happen to have a battery life meter on it? It's just one of them things you make sure to maintenance every friday - recharge/new batteries?

I admit before when I had wifi GP I didn't have a recharger. I did always have batteries on-hand. With that said it was more than likely the reason I'd let a battery fully die before even bothering with it. AND! As stated with a cord and leaving the GP in my lap, it tends to get yanked sometimes and fall to the floor. It would be kickass to be able to set it down anywhere once again.

For that matter I could still farm while doing dishes or cooking dinner LOL.

Thanks again Hoshi

dual shock 3 is practically plug and play I think at this point, and Xbox 360 controllers are plug and play.

For the DS3 the only "drivers" I know one should avoid are the motioninjoy package. that thing is a pile.

I use what was once scarlet crush production's bluetooth drivers which are also used for pairing my DS3 with a bluetooth dongle(these things are like $20 tops), and I use it for a host of games(nearly everything I don't KB+M[I would KB+M FFXI, but my menu button doesn't work on my keyboard anymore after a few too many clumsy drink spills]). Someone else has taken up the project since scarlet crush went MIA, and it works just as well. Googling something about ds3 drivers would bring up the relevant websites.

I had a Logitech controller that stopped being useful after about 6 months. The D-pad was never sensitive enough for my taste to begin with, but very quickly stopped working altogether. I take very good care of my controllers, keep them clean and never drop them, but it didn't make any difference. Would not buy again.

Following some advice in this thread (might be worth a read), I purchased one of these PS2 controller adapters, which has worked perfectly with ffxi. Highly recommend getting one if you still have a PS2 controller and don't need a wireless option.

Been using my F310 since last feb. when I found out after coming back a ds4 doesn't have triggers since they a xinput. works a treat.

I haven't had any issues with the F310, and I don't take particularly good care of it.

I hated the F710, though. The thing always seemed to lose its connection when I had to Stun something.

No battery meter sadly - that would be awesome. The rechargeable batteries have lasted for the year and a half that I've had the controller though so I haven't had to mess with anything really. It would be smart to replace them once a week on a set day but I just wait til they die and then swap them out on the fly!

I use same as Carrelo, with PS2 controller. After going through half a dozen PC controllers over the years, the PS2 adapter has been solid. Plus if my PS2 controller itself ever starts breaking down (thumbpads rubbing bare, buttons starting to stick, whatever) then I can simply replace it with another PS2 controller and everything *feels* just right. Before the adapter, when one PC controller broke down after a year or two usually I'd find that that exact model was discontinued or very hard to find, and I'd have to get another controller that was similar but not identical, and that 'slightly off' feel would bother me for a bit until I got used to it each time I changed models. PS2 controllers are still relatively easy to find and all identical. Consistent excellence ftw.

I was looking at this thread, and looked at the F310 and thought "ah that looks like mine, but mine doesn't have those coloured buttons, and has an extra function button in the centre-right of the controller..."

Then I realised mine is the RumblePad 2, and is so old it's already discontinued. I think I bought it in 2007 or 2008 (I remember buying it to play some "new games" like Race 07 LOL!) so it's lasted some seven years with constant use (but not abuse)...so I do suspect some care and good treatment of these pads goes a long way towards their longevity, assuming the F310 is the successor to the RumblePad 2.

I do admit games which require a lot of button pressing fatigue me a bit on these controllers (Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae made me have to rest my hands for two days to recover from the blisters and cramping) :p but overall I felt this line is reasonably comfortable and sturdy for the price.