PowerA XP-ULTRA Wireless Controller For Xbox Series X|S

I love everything about this controller – it feels very premium with its soft texture, excellent buttons and adjustable triggers (and extra programmable buttons on the back), and braided cable – and you get all this for a very good price! The lighting is also a very cool touch, and I still stop and look at it every time I plug it in.
I’ve had mine for over 2 years now and it still feels brand new – no stick drift or any issues. The key with any controller is to be gentle with the joysticks (within reason) and protect it from dust when not in use, and you can get a lot of mileage out of it – this controller is definitely no exception.

Son loves it

I’m someone who has a very love-hate relationship with console gaming, specifically with controllers. I love a sturdy, well-made controller. I hate controllers that feel too grippy, or just become outright gooey when a little dust settles on them and etches itself into the finish.

I’m also no stranger to third-party controllers. Early in the “optimization” race for gaming controllers, I picked up a Razer Onza Tournament Edition and Razer Sabertooth when they respectively released. These controllers had a wonderful increase in functionality, and the on-the-fly button remapping was a dream come true as I adapted controller and profiles to each game I played. Eventually it came to the point where I setup a second installation of World of Warcraft, even, intended to be played with controller. Those controllers started to develop issues, though, and I transitioned back to mouse and keyboard.

That lasted for around five years. Recently I’ve had this notion of ordering a high end controller and trying to transition back to controller gameplay for a number of games, namely some first person shooters and hack and slash games. My only controller at this point worth using was my Dualshock 4, and I have never been a huge fan of the center sticks layout of Sony’s controllers. My initial instinct was to order a Scuf controller, but I felt that was far too much of a commitment for something I may use a handful of times and then forget about. I opted to go with something cheaper that has similar functionality. If I liked the cheaper model, I could then opt to upgrade at a later date.

I could not have been prepared for how good this controller feels for the money. It is every bit the controller I wanted without having to drop $300+. It has interchangable faceplates, different height and domed/concave sticks, as well as adjustable trigger pull distance. It is packed with features. Right out of the box, I was elated… because it didn’t feel like a piece of junk plastic like many third party controllers, including many other PowerA controllers I’ve used.

Just a note: The black faceplate has a satin finish and rubberized grips. It requires a bit more maintenance to continue looking clean, as it shows the oil from hands quite easily. Not too big of a deal as it’s removable, you just wipe it off from time to time and it’s good to go. The white faceplate has a matte finish reminiscent of the more traditional XBox controllers.

The voice feature worked well-ish out of the box, perfectly compatible with my PC and Astro A40 even. I say “well-ish” because I’m used to using a full Mixamp split audio setup, which is not in this controller’s wheelhouse. It won’t be replacing my A40 and Mixamp, but it certainly would do in a pinch if something broke with my current setup.

Button remapping was easier than even the old Razer controllers I have, and the four extra paddles have been a godsend when it comes to some of the games I play. It makes simultaneous inputs in some games trivial, when a normal controller would require me to change my hand position to achieve the same result. It does take getting used to, but it’s an adaptation that I’m familiar with due to the Razer Sabertooth I previously used having a pair of remappable rocker switches on the back. Even better, if I ever feel the paddles are getting in the way, I just press a button and pop them off.

My literal one complaint is that I wish it were easier to remove the anti-friction rings around the sticks on the faceplate so that I could swap the black ones from the black faceplate to the white faceplate and the green ones from the white faceplate to the black. This is the most minor of gripes.

Overall, this controller was perfect for my needs. For now, it has quenched my thirst for a sturdy, third-party controller. That may fade over time and I may end up investing in a Scuf, but the PowerA Fusion Pro 2 absolutely shattered my expectations, even more so considering my experience with their past offerings.

Caveat: I have no experience with the modern landscape of high-end controllers. I left the high-end controller scene toward the end of the lifespan of the XBox 360. This is leaps above anything that existed then.

I’d like to share my journey on how I have decided that this controller will be my go to moving forward. It’s in the perfect spot of being affordable ( It’s usually 90.00 but I got mine on sale for 70.00) while still giving you enough quality to compete with a SCUF for less than half the price.
I know some people maybe looking into a SCUF or other high end controller company but are also considering this so I hope to helps in your decision.

I play a lot of shooters like COD, Overwatch, ect and Im not trying to learn how to play Claw so I need remappable buttons to be able to Jump with a paddle so that is essential for me.
I also play alot of NBA2k23 and this controller feels great for that.

Starting off with my SCUF experience I got a fully customized SCUF Prestige (their Xbox one controller) for my birthday about 3 – 4 years ago for about 225.00 Dollars.
I went all in with all the features on the website so I was hoping it would last a really long time.
I had heard the Instinct was coming out (Their Xbox series X/S controller) but it was my birthday and I didn’t want to wait that long.

The SCUF felt AMAZING out of the box and SUPER LIGHT since I had them take the rumble out.
I got extra thumb-sticks too so I ran a short concave on the left and a tall Domed on the right.
I was playing Warzone at the time and I realized how playing on a SCUF made me feel like I could really get better from learning to B Hop with the paddles, to the quality of the Thumb-sticks for aiming.
I was ruined at the idea of Going back to a standard XBOX controller and I saw alot of improvement.

The first issue that came was I started getting stick drift on my right thumb stick from all of the slide cancelling I was doing.
In COD I always play tactical so I crouch with the right thumb stick so playing that game a lot and slide cancelling / right clicking everywhere is what did it.
I believe if it wasn’t for me playing that game alot it would have held up better.
From that point on I had to run my dead zone settings really high for every game which wasn’t feeling good at all.
Also I would leave it out plugged in but then the small USB inside the controller became bent in a way that It would fall out during gameplay which was horrible.
The controller wouldn’t hold a charge so I had to have it plugged in and it falling out constantly was really frustrating. My SCUF felt chalked.
That process happened over 6-8 months which bummed me out since I wasn’t gonna buy 2 SCUFS every year.
There are some pre set ones that are under 200.00 but that’s a still a lot.
2 things I learned from that experience are
1. Always put your controller away
(if it comes with a case use that or anything really to prevent dust from settling.)
2. Stick drift is unavoidable no matter how expensive the controller but you can try to manage it.
Warzone 2.0 just came out and slide canceling is gone so I won’t be right clicking everywhere so that will help a ton.
If you click the left stick to sprint In games that will speed up the process of frying your left sticks deadzone.
Use auto sprint features in games that have it to avoid clicking alot and extend the life span of your controllers.
I have even heard COD pros share on that.

Then the RB button stopped working and I remapped it to the 4th paddle on the right side but it felt too weird so I stopped using the SCUF.

The thought of stick drift being inevitable made me go for the power A wired controllers that are 30.00 – 40.00 dollars.
I thought hey if I’m going to have to buy 2 controllers a year let’s go cheap and these have buttons on the back you can re-map so why not.
I Ended up using one for 6 months and stick drift got the best of it and I bought another one but I was happy with them. The quality felt justified by the price.
My wife now has one and digs it.
I recommend it to all of my more causal friends
And it’s great for them as well as a solid backup controller for more serious gamers.

Then I got this PowerA FUSION Pro controller on sale for around 60 – 70 dollars and it ended up being a steal!
It felt really heavy for a controller which I don’t really care for but I don’t mind it.
I know some people may like that heavy feel.
I heard a rumor that somebody on YouTube took the controller apart and found that they put weights in the controller to make it feel heavier but I’m not sure if that’s true.

I like the grips on it a lot.

The swappable thumb-sticks are a Win for sure.
I did the short concave on the left and the tall concave on the right.
You can use Kontrol freeks with these as well which I was doing.

The black and white face plates are pretty basic but they are easy to swap so that’s nice.

The paddles were interesting to get used to but I really like them now.
They are easy to take off but hard to put on.
I used only the bottom two paddles ( left is A and right is B) for the longest but recently I added a 3rd paddle on the right side and set it to X for reloading and looting in games and I Dig it now.
Using all 4 would feel funny to me.

The thumb sticks feel really solid and good for aiming and the stick drift is holding up really good and is at a normal level for the amount of time I’ve had it. I feel like I can compete and get better on this controller.

The Case it comes with is really nice and I put the controller away every time and it’s nice and easy and is holding up really well over these last 8 months.

I actually figured out that my extra SCUF prestige thumb-sticks fit on this controller so I started using those and it feels REALLY good.
When I play NBA2k23 I put the regular Concave longer stick back on the right stick since it feels great for timing step back jumpers but I use the SCUF one for all shooters.

My SCUF Prestige has been in its box for a year and a half now but I recently did played a few shooters on it again just to compare a bit.
My Power A cheaper controller is the same micro USB as the SCUF so I used that and that doesn’t fall out so that fixed that issue but The RB Button not working is too much for me to get over.
In it’s prime for aiming and feel the SCUF is S Tier and even now is is still A tier but the Fusion Pro is the A tier for 70.00 – 90.00 dollars compared to 225.00 so moving forward I’m rolling with the PowerA Fusion PRO.
Iv used both of the power A enhanced and those are B tier for aiming and feel but the back buttons on those feel pretty good and I would use those over a standard XBOX controller any day for that alone. You put some Kontrol Freeks on those which are cheap and you are gonna be good to go.
If you have a more causal need I would go with that for sure and you can’t beat 30.00 – 40.00 dollars.
If you want something that will get you close that SCUF level of quality and feel really good while still being affordable roll with the PowerA FUSION Pro.
If you want to ball out and go all in on something like a SCUF then go for it but just know that it will feel amazing but do your best to extend its life span with some of the tips I shared above.

As for me I’m going to order some more SCUF prestige Thumb-sticks and When this controller goes out I will take a look at what may be new on the market, but will maybe likely get another FUSION pro.
I hope this was helpful and happy shopping to you all!