Do Joysticks Make Star Citizen Better? 

What control setup do you use in Star Citizen?

By far, this is the best joystick setup breakdown for Star Citizen on the internet.

Yaw and roll are better swapped imo. Roll gets a lot more use and the twist motion brings on rsi sooner or later.

I started with m&k then went to HOTAS w/pedals then finally settling on HOSAS w/ pedals. Definitely adds to the immersion. Pair it with some kind of head tracking and it definitely feels like you are in the cockpit. Hell of an investment, but if you have the money and want to add the immersive factor in it is definitely worth it!

I have been researching sticks for a while and discussing it with people but this video by far made more sense then my last year of research. Thank you for this!

I've been playing the game with Xbox One controller since the day1. I've then upgraded to Elite controller which gives you more freedom to bind different actions. The pad works great but I've been thinking about upgrading to dual sticks for quite some time now. I've never really looked that deep into different setups but this video made it really clear how they work. Excellent pack of information! Will definitely come back to rewatch this when I get new dedicated gaming room and it's time to get the new set of controllers.

Thank-you that was a nice summary of the options. I've been using a seat mounted Virpil HOSAS set-up with pedals for some years now. Yaw on the rudder pedals, since this reflects full size aircraft practice.

Great informational video!! Definetly saving this for later. I’ve seen a lot of talk about Virpil and will probably end up with them as my first ever stick setup!

Fantastic video. Lots of digestible information about various options. Thank you for taking the time to make this video

I use a unique layout for HOSAS + Pedals: Right stick Y: pitch Right stick X: yaw Pedals: Roll Left stick X: strafe forward/back Left stick Y: strafe up/down Left stick twist: strafe left/right It's not intuitive at first and took me a long time to get used to. But I like this layout because I have more precision on my strafe up, and throttle forward, than my strafe left/right, which I like. The second layout you mentioned, with throttle forward/back on the pedals, and roll on the twist, may be optimal though.

Thanks for making this video, very informative and helpful for someone who has owned SC for years, but is only just about to jump in and start playing it

This was a fantastic overview. I've been running dual T1600m in HOSAS and looking to upgrade. This was a big big help. Thanks RedLir

Thanks for making this video, you let me know you would be answering my issue immediately. Then told me more than I was expecting to learn. I'm a lefty and didn't realise left-handed options were as available as they are. Will deffo be coming back to this vid again to research

Great video. Especially appreciated the explanations of different control mappings.

great timing with this video, I was juts getting into this game and was doing a lot of research on this topic, thanks for the insight :D

I started with the X56 HOTAS, i just got a VKB gladiator stick with SEM module. So now i have HOSAS and love it.

Thank you for the quick down and dirty for sticks. I wasn't aware of the HOTAS....HOSAS...ECT. This gets me a starting point and I appreciate your input thanks

That was fantastic thank you, a great overview to point people in the right direction. I needed this, because the happy puppy inside me was just going to buy it all..!

Thanks for this video! I'm looking for a setup for Starfield and I had no idea that this whole world of various stick setups existed. A stick on the left and right hand sounds like the most immersive experience to me so I'm going to give that a try.

Been a long time star citizen fan who left to come back to it when it was playable. For me that was 3.16 and the decision to go joysticks came real soon after. I went with VKB Gladiator NXT EVO with Omni throttle for left hand and VKB Gunfighter MK3 ultimate both with twist. I also got the rail mounts from monstertech and I can say it's heaven right now. Just flying around is a Joy with joysticks (heh). Highly recommended for SC and plus future space games.

This is THE video I’ve been searching so long for with regards to flying in star citizen! Thank you for laying out exactly what I’ve been needing to know about all these controls. Subscribed now cheers 👍

I use similar controls to your self except with the roll on the left twist instead of the pedals, i cant aim as well as i could with mouse but its much more fun using a stick to aim and i think thats more important than having pin point accuracy, especially with all the aim assist stuff added in recent years.

Thank you! This was the video I was looking for. A+ work my friend.

Thanks for the informative video. I run dual NXTs with the OMNI adapter on the left. Feels very natural. Cheers!

first long term use of this type of gameplay i had was Steel Battalion for Xbox and I've been fiending for a game that uses them. I'm sold on the idea now ty liked and subbed!

Cheers bud, great information. This cleared some things up for me, I appreciate it.

Finally a video that explains and draw everything we need to know about joysticks. Thank you for that!

Fantastic informative video! VERY well done. I have both LIKED and SUBSCRIBED. The quality and content of your video deserve it!

This was incredibly helpful, thank you so much for sharing!

Awesome video! Great summary. I can definitely recommend joysticks over mouse. The only issue is super-precise aiming for me. As in tracking a pixel-sized enemy that i moving diagonally. I started with Thrustmaster T Flight X Hotas. It was great, but very soon it became clear that I need more accuracy. Plus I needed something sturdier. I went all in and bought Hotas Warthog. It was a huge step up, but soon I found myself lacking axes and controls on the throttle weren't exactly intuitive (except forward and back). So I got myself cheap T Flight Rudder Pedals from Thrustmaster to get some more axes. They were horrible and broke within a week. So I knew I had to go for quality. Precision, movement, durability. I chose MFG as they were the most praised back then. (Had to wait 3/4 year for them...). The setup was getting better and better and finally I replaced the Warthog throttle with T16000M. I am very happy with it. I might upgrade to something more expensive later on, but I find the setup "complete". I have enough control so that my flying is not limited by hardware, only by my skill. A note why T16000M joystick is an excellent choice: It has magnetic tracking. Your deadzone won't degenerate because of overuse. Not as soon anyway. ;) And last note: Seats. Although they do look great and and feel great and increase the immersion by bother level, make sure you have a keyboard and mouse handy. Especially if you are using VR as well. Getting out of the VR chair every time you need to use a keyboard or a mouse is quite a nightmare. So if you're going for a chair, do make sure you have easy and comfortable access to the keyboard and mouse.

Super informative! Thank you!

This video is going into my permanent reference playlist, thank you!

Thankyou, that was an excellent and informative video.

my head is mangled after watching this, so much info!! but amazing at the same time, Thank you for this

Great guide! A video like this a year ago would save me tons of research time! I already got 2 VKB Gladiators and the VKB pedals, but I had to do a lot of reddit and YT before making my decision.

Thanks for your video it helps me a lot I’m still new to SC and wanting to use sticks cheers mate

so great you put everthing in here

I have the T16000M setup ... but have not actually committed to using them yet. After watching your video, I'm going to give them a go this weekend.

WEEOO! HOSAS & Pedals. RH: Pitch/Roll + Twist for Yaw. LH: U/D/L/R Strafes. Pedals: F/B Thrust. Very much prefer Pitch/Roll for Lowflying =)

Great job man! Subscribed!

2 VKB sticks as HOSAS, left one is with the z adapter. First time using such setup as of last week. Can attest - never going back to Kb+mouse for flying; it is not the same. BTW I have twist on right one for roll and strafe up/down on the left, no pedals but it is an option for some.

Thanks for the detailed info.

you are so joy to listen to about joysticks

great summary thx

I tried with a similar setup in the ED but moved forward and backward thrust to the pedals. Brains just couldn't cope with so many axes for hands. And now have a whole zoo of devices: Thrustmaster Airbus stick (x - roll, y - pitch and twist - yaw) and throttle quadrant (throttle and FSD controls), Logitech Extreme 3D Pro (x - thrust left/right, y - thrust up/down), Logitech G25 for pedals (thrust forward/backwards).

Currently running dual t16kms and Virpil Interceptor pedals, with gameglass and tobii5 atm. I'm looking into upgrading the sticks to a premium set. More important is getting the ergonomics right, I think. I'm toying with mounting the second stick like a collective.

Nice overview! HOSAS + Pedals for me. Right: pitch,yaw,roll Left: up/down,left/right Pedals: fwd/back

I think the halfway solution of the omni throttle deserves a mention. a stick with angle and removed spring for foward/backward behaves and feels exactly like a throttle with the addition of strafe axis.

As my first step from Keyboard and Mouse, I'm looking to go for HOSAM, but with a couple of twists: - I have a mouse that has a 4-way castle and can be rolled in addition to traditional 5-6 button mouse options (Lexip Pu94), and - Will be getting a left stick that has an omni-throttle styles Z-extension. Looking to have rolling the mouse as roll, to pair with the traditional mouse pitch and yaw, and have the forward/back on left twist, to use the left stick as up/down/left/right as you mentioned later in the video. Unconventional, but I think it should be fun.

best guide ive seen so far

I have used nearly every configuration in this video and recently I have tossed around the idea of HOSASAT since SC has enough of a reason now adays to justify dedicated analog inputs for thrust limiters/speed limiters. (Plus the myriad of new keybinds over the years) Also another newer brand that may be of note is Winwing which recently updated their throttle base and seem to be a bit in the middle of the VKB --- Virpil spectrum. Great vid btw.

I feel like yaw and roll would be swapped around in most situations for me. Although actually that said, I get now why the set up as you have it described would make aiming much easier.

Liked and subscribed. Good content :) HOSAS with Virpil Alphas: LH L/R, Fwd/Back, twist is Up/Down. RH pitch, yaw, roll. Thinking about getting a set of pedals. Tried HOSAT with the CM2 and didn’t like it. Added a Button Panel #1 (also Virpil) for common binds that I didn’t need on a stick and love it.

Another alternative is a 3D mouse, which is basically a joystick with all 6dof on the same hand. It may be less competitive than hosas because everything is on the same hand plus it has lower precision, but it works quite nicely for casual flight. It also pairs well with a regular mouse for improved aiming.

Great Video buddy!!

I had Thrustmaster X Hotas available to use when I first got star citizen. They worked good but were too sensitive when it came to light fighters, making non gimbaled weapons almost impossible to use. I ended up buying two VKB Gladiators when they were on sale. Wow, the controls are so much more precise. I still suck as a light fighter pilot, but I am slowly getting better, and I can actually target ships with them. I don’t have pedals, so I use the left stick rotation for up/down movement. I might buy the slanted adapter in the future so it feels more natural, and maybe pedals. Anyone on the fence with purchasing a stick over Keyboard and mouse, I’ll just say it increases the enjoyment of flying x10.

Yo PopeLir, I use Virpil sticks with Fanatec club sport V3 pedals...My rig is dual- Flight and racing. Great video. See ya in the verse someday..lol

I really had a hard time using mouse and keyboard, So I switched to a x-box controller. For getting started its actually a really good, the switch after almost year to HOSAS was pretty small.

Good video 🙌🏻

Yes it does, it gives me better control in flight and especially landing. I used twin stick plus a throttle and a foot pedals. I used Hosas and pedal for dogfight while Hotas for general flying.

Very helpful video, should've watch this before buying my hotas 🙂. I bought the warthog throttle + a gladiator mk2 stick. It was sold second hand together for 170$ all is working fine except that none of the flight game I have recognize them, so I had to do the mapping from scratch. Once it's done it's great. I might switch the warthog throttle for a vkbsim left stick throttle, those looks really cool and gave you a more control in space sims.

Dual Virpils here, i flipped yaw and roll though as i feel it makes more sense. Twist to turn lay the stick over to roll, you're doing the action you want the ship to emulate.

good forward video ! thx

Just started playing this week after waiting for 4 years for a rig to actually run the game well. I fly in a lot of Milsim games and other space games (X4 etc.) and always wondered why my flying skill at this game was severely lacking. I really appreciate this video as it shows me something that i should consider if im actually going to dive into this game like i think i will.

An excellent introduction 👍👍 Maybe do a more in-depth video on your own set-up?

i have VKB NXT Gladiator premium for right hand and VKB NXT EVO with OMNI Throttle for left hand. The Omni Throttle is a cool compromise between Throttle and joystick. You have the full range of a joystick and the feeling of a throttle. And if you want you can change the EVO into a full trottle by blocking the left/right direction. VKB is very cool when it comes to customisation. Also i like the buttons on the bases. I am looking forward to some extensions for more buttons. And to answer your question in the tittle. YES, using HOSAS or HOTAS is a game changer. i highly recomend. also i recomend a HOSAS setup.

Having switched to roll on twist and seeing the benefit, I'm left struggling with yaw on X. Considering getting pedals now. Control systems are the biggest rabbit hole 😜

I swapped the the roll to the left for my preferences. I like to separate it from the pitch and yaw and then the strafe up\down has a rather large dead zone on the right stick since I don't use it much accept during landing take off.

Amazing breakdown. That said - X axis is aeleron (roll) and twist is yaw, like non negotiable as an actual pilot XD Twin stick looks amazing. Thanks for this video!

Answer in one word - YES. Running VKB NXT Hosas since 2021 and previously T16000m Hosas in 2020. Worth it.

I'm running Dual VKB NXT Gladiators sticks. one of these has the omni throttle attachment to angle the stick. The key binds I'm running are from Buzzkiller(found on RU-vid.). It has made the greatest single boost to my game enjoyment. I did use to run a single VKB NXT Gladiators Stick and keyboard and just recently crossed over to 2 joysticks. If you can afford it go for it.

This video deserves an upgrade for the VKB STECS, which is finally out and did blow me away.

I glued some short little tubes to the joysticks on an old PS4 controller..I use the sticks as, well sticks with my thumb and forefinger/middle finger, left bumper is my modifier with my ring finger, the triggers are my foot pedals/strafe with my pinkies, d-pad is ship controls like landing gear...It's a little on the tight side but it saved me from having to buy a whole new setup right away.

So I use a setup I don't see discussed much down in the comments : HOSAK - Pitch/Yaw/Roll on my right, and thrust on my keyboard. This let's me use a classic WASD+Ctrl+Space as well as giving me access to my keyboard keys for hotkeys. Thanks for the video. I learned something

Great vid. Watched it about 12 times now. Just a side question.. ehere fid u get the swivel mounts from?

I'm fascinated by the fact that no one on this planet seems to use what I find feels most natural. HOTAS (x52 Pro), throttle controls forward & reverse, left index finger mini-joystick controls strafe U D L R, stick forward/back = pitch, stick left/right = roll, stick twist = yaw. Just makes sense to me coming from other flight sims and conventional atmospheric flight. This was a great video, and I'm happy you made it. Hope it helps some folks!

Good short and concise video! You speak very well!!! HOTASAS from the Virpil line. Its a little over kill, but when you just casually running around the verse, the throttle shines in that you do not have to hold a stick in position. I have a set of pedals that I would like to use in place of the twists, but with SC's limit to only being able to adjust the curves and other settings on the first 4 inputs, and SC doesn't allow more than one input on an action, so I can't get things to work nicely. SC uses the order in which Windows recognizes controls. With the pedals active my throttle gets pushed to input 5. Hoping they give us binding options much like DCS soon. I have found folks who have trouble using twist for roll, it has to do with being used to flight sims. Also folks who are new to sticks with SC, often get a little messed up when they try to do the same when moving it into flight sims.

Mouse and Keyboard for PVE， HOTAS for PVP ^_^ can never get used to HOSAS，but now that you mapped it out, I am incline to give it another shot, thanks my friend.

Hey! I know this video is kind of old but I just ordered 2 Virpil Constellation Alphas and the ACE Interceptor Pedals. Would you be able to make a brief video tutorial on what your setup is or maybe a beginners configuration for HOSAS w/ pedals?

Just cancelled my order for Thrustmaster Warthog. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into haha Thanks for the help! This was right on time

You`ve missed the absolutely BEST Throttle!!! The new and amazing VKB Omni Throttle!!!

Bad ass video. I was just seriously educated.

Beautiful

thx a lot mate

Perfect guide, thank you! VKB Gladiator costs 3x the 16000M though

odd side note pertaining to the t.16k's: due to the position of the magnetic sensor they use, if you live in an environment with iron rich soil, the magnet will accumulate ferrous material over time, which will start throwing phantom inputs, but fixing it is as simple as opening up the stick and cleaning the magnet, although it's better to just order the VKB sticks as your entry level purchase, cause they're superior in every measurable capacity.

Got a HOTAS years ago, specifically for Star Citizen, and it was so satisfying that it made me realize how much I need a proper, mounted HOSAS setup and I've been salty about it ever since. What a game. 😂

Video saved!

I use the Logitech X58 HOTAS, It has enough buttons and switches that I generally only touch the keyboard while on foot or EVA, both the throttle and the stick have analogue mini-sticks, my controls have the right hand X and Y set to Roll and Pitch, the twist is set to Yaw, mini stick is my head movement, for the left hand, the throttle is 0-100 forward, with a thumb button for reverse thrust, and the mini-stick is up-down, left-right. I might consider throwing my flight pedals into the mix, but we will see

Just got myself an x56 HOTAS setup for playing star citizen, war thunder, ac7

thanks for leading us down this very deep rabbt hole......

I would love to see a review between the new winwing orion 2 HOTAS vs others. quality, how the stick feels etc etc :)

Never tried sc properly but with my new PC I might give it a go again. Just need to find time to download the thing again

Yes...flying ships with dual sticks is far more intuitive than a mouse.

X 52 works for me. Some things are on digital switches but it works for me.

Can you make a video on star Citizen in adjusting the deadzones on the sticks?

Amazing video I want to use Hotas with pedals but I dunno

What is the exact setup we see in the clipetts you added, it looks like hotas but act like hosas and I really like that one

Even if joysticks don't make you a PvP PGM, it really makes the experience more immersive and increases a bit the manoeuverability versus keyboard/mouse (personal feeling here). But what I love most is the pedals, that really improves the experience over just 2 joysticks.

Cool video, have seen you on live on twitch. I just really wanted to know if the best players were using mouse/ joystick combo or why I suck at flying. Kinda just makes the game into an exploration game when combat or dying isn’t fun.