Gamers everywhere are looking to mitigate the problem of controller drift, and here are a few tips to help prevent it from happening.

Controller drift is a curse that befalls every gamer at one time or another, but few feelings are worse than when it occurs mid-play session. For the uninitiated, controller drift is the terminology for joysticks that take on a life of their own, wrestling control away from the user. Sounds familiar?

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Ironically, frustratingly, it's a modern issue, as it rarely occurred in older consoles. In conjunction with how much more expensive every facet of gaming is in the present day, it can easily be the last straw. Fortunately, there are a few options for overcoming drift. Here are a few options that can mitigate the damage.

Updated May 24, 2022 by Cameron Roy Hall: In the year 2022, it should be illegal that controller drift is still as present an issue as it is. After all, what are all those dollars going to, if not to fix such a modern issue? Food? Shelter? Bah. In case this article can be of any help to potential readers, we've taken the time to make it a little more user-friendly. Here's what we know.

Some controllers are more well built than others. Nintendo's Joy-Cons, for example, aren't exactly designed to handle much stress. All that protects the joystick component from outside agents, like dust particles or grime, is a thin flap of soft plastic. If that flap is lifted, even briefly during gameplay, all sorts of stuff could get inside the controller and ruin functionality.

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If drift occurs and funds are tight (as they too often are), the first line of correction should be to rule out possible factors. The Nintendo Switch has a handy calibration function in its settings, which will help the controller figure out where the stick's neutral point really is. Definition time: A neutral point simply translates to the resting position of the stick and drift causes a controller to think the neutral point is floating around.

For controllers that don't have a calibration function, some games offer dead zone calibration settings, although such features are rarely marketed. It's the kind of thing that players will ultimately have to search around the settings for. These options will (hopefully) make it so inputs caused by drift aren't registered and executed.

Drift isn't just caused by rough gameplay or bad design, but also by the environment. While dust and grime were previously mentioned, environmental containments might look like greasy, salty snacks, or otherwise the fur shed by a cute pet. Has the controller been improperly stored during a trip, or have unwashed hands used it? Both might cause contaminants to enter unwanted areas. Whatever the case, external agents can easily cause even the best-designed controllers to drift.

The best way to prevent stick drift is to make sure the controller isn't passively exposed to stuff that might be floating in the air. Put it inside a clean cupboard to that it's basically living in a quarantine zone from The Last Of Us. While inarguably tempting, snack time should not coincide with game time, either.

A common reason why controllers run into drift problems is that they are prone to deterioration, which will naturally occur with use. In more recent years, the life cycle of technology has shortened dramatically to promote further purchases (yay, capitalism), thereby further exacerbating the issue. Take the DualSense, for example; the joystick component, responsible for the controller's longevity, has an operating life of about 2 million input cycles. That translates to about 400 hours of Call Of Duty gameplay.

The best way to postpone drift is to treat the controller like a brand new car every time it's used. This isn't a wash and wax situation, but rather mindful attention when operating a cool new DualSense. Tossing it, whether out of boredom or anger, is a bad idea. A good idea, on the other hand, is to treat the joysticks with extreme care. Dutiful kindness may not prevent eventual drift entirely, but it will prolong the golden days.

Yes, wear and tear are expected to occur with time, even on the sturdiest controllers, but the longevity of the joystick can heavily depend on the games being played. By the law of averages, most games allow for normal — or minimal — wear upon the joysticks (specifically the right one, or whichever a player uses to control the camera) but there are some titles that will put a controller through grueling paces.

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Consider Enter The Gungeon; the twin-stick shooter title puts a lot of emphasis on constant movement and aiming. Players who find themselves loading up these types of games often will likely see drift issues far sooner than someone who is playing a turn-based RPG. Unfortunately, there's only one way to prevent such wear and that's to avoid input heavy games altogether, and that's no option at all, not really. Enter The Gungeon is incredible and deserves to be played.

In such cases, then, the best option is to prepare for the inevitable. Although it may seem intimidating at first, changing out the joysticks on a controller is simple enough once the information is digested. Thankfully, there are tons of easy-to-follow and helpful step-by-step guides on YouTube for every possible controller type. Even better, there are inexpensive kits available that have everything a gamer needs to effectively fix their drifting issues.

Consider a DIY approach as the last line of defense, so it should involve (at least) the following steps:

As the famous old saying goes, "Give a man a controller, and he'll game for a day. But teach him how to disassemble and reassemble its basic components, and he'll game for a lifetime."

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Cameron Roy Hall is fresh to the professional writing sphere, although he’s hovered in its gravity his entire life. He currently works for the sites TheGamer and Looper, where he shares his expertise on videogames and pop culture, respectively. Cameron has written 10 theatrical plays for regional production and educational festivals. He is a musical theatre performer in the great state of Texas, a pretend model, and an ex-gymnast.