Here's Why I Love Using a Paddle Controller for Gaming

howtogeek.com:

The best thing about my 8Bitdo Ultimate 2.4G controller is the pair of paddle buttons on the back. Add to that the fact that both my Steam Deck and ROG Ally come with paddle buttons and I’ve gotten so used to this setup that I don’t want to game with an old-fashioned controller anymore.

Controls Hard to Reach? Remap to a Rear Paddle

During the initial couple of weeks of using the 8Bitdo Ultimate 2.4G, I didn’t pay much attention to its paddle buttons. But then I installed Hi-Fi Rush and found that the dodge, mapped to the right bumper by default, is somewhat hard to reach because of where I usually rest my index fingers. This being a rhythm-based brawler, nailing dodge each time in sync with the rhythm was tiring and sort of hard to pull off.

So, I downloaded the 8Bitdo app and created a custom profile with the right bumper mapped to both of the paddles. And oh boy, did that make a world of difference. Now, I could easily dodge with both my fingers, so I ended up rhythmically pressing the paddles non-stop, which soon turned me into a Hi-Fi Rush dodge master and made nailing massive combos a cakewalk.

This was around the time I purchased a Steam Deck, which has four paddle buttons. So, naturally, I started mapping bumpers to the paddles in most games, especially those that have moves you often use mapped to one or both triggers. Since then, I've never looked back.

Considering that I have medium-sized hands, I found that using paddles is much more convenient than having to reach for bumpers. Nowadays, I use paddles instead of bumpers in most games I play. If you have small hands, I reckon back paddles could massively improve your gaming experience, especially on devices like the Steam Deck, which is not very friendly to gamers with small hands.

Rear Paddles Make Some Control Schemes Easier to Use

But that’s not all. The two buttons I hate using on every controller are the thumbstick clicks, also known as L3 or LS and R3 or RS. They are hard to press on