EDIT - From what I understood from your original post, getting the “cheapest” is not what you wanted.
If you want the cheapest, then buy this piece of shit:
We are here to help you learn, but everything depends on what you want, and in order for us to know what you want, you have to clarify as much as possible. You gave us your budget and said you’re a beginner.
I’m at a crossroads here on what to say. You need to make a decision.
-A- Do you want to learn what is important and why people suggest arcade stick X or Y?
-B- Do you want someone with experience to just choose a quality and reasonably priced stick that would fit your need?
If the answer is A, then you need to man up and read the freaking topic as I originally suggested.
If the answer is B, then don’t question someone’s suggestion when they give you an answer.
IMHO, getting a suggestion from someone is far less rewarding then doing your own research that is readily and easily available.
PLEASE NOTE: READ PAGE ONE BEFORE POSTING IN THIS THREAD!!!
Now that is said, Arcade sticks have a High cost of entry, don’t expect anything too cheap.
Cheap sticks are either fix-em-uppers or there so low quality that they aren’t worth modding.
If you going to Mod a stick, prepare to spend much more than you paid for your stick.
Also finding a $80 stick that decent is pretty hard to do here in the United States, from what I know of the European markets €80 isn’t going to get you much (if at all).
Unless you find a private seller on some classified listings or a pawn shop £90.83 is really good price for a quality stick.
That Kai stick is pretty good value for Europe. Imho the cheapest “useable” stick on this side of the Atlantic is the WWE Brawlstick. Very moddable and has 2 shirtless dudes on the front, so also very cheap. The parts that come with it are good enough for someone to decide if a stick is for them, but if they want better, there’s room for modding.
Cheap sticks, all in all, are a false economy though. The Kai, the SFxTekken stick and the new MadCatz Pro all scrape the £100 mark and will see a beginner all the way through to tournament casual no problem without you having to spend another penny on them. Worth the investment.
Good , that is what I wanted to know , I probably won’t ever get into modding, it’s not for me , I still use the same old keyboard I used 10 years ago , so if it’s good as it is , there is no need for change. Thank you for helping guys =). Btw 90 pounds = 110 euros = 140 $ ^^. But , as I stated , even if I want the cheaper one , I still want it to be good quality so it wouldn’t break on me , cuz i’m not rich enough to change them too often , so spending a little more now should save more on the run .
PS: I’ve found Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U Edition Arcade FightStick for 50 dollars somewhere , is it worth it? Most importantly , does it work on pc? I couldn’t find that info on their website. I’m only asking this because I saw it has those sanwa parts you guys mention and people say the build quality is very good.
Any info on Thrustmaster GPX Lightback Gamepad? Not too expensive and the d-pad looks nice. One review said it was tad unresposive but better than the standard x360 controller.
I’m deciding between a Hori HRAP VX Kai or a Razer Atrox, because they’re the “cheapest” I can buy with high quality parts (from europe and amazon has them).
I like the design of the Hori better and I know they have similar buttons and joystick. Also it’s my first stick.
However I’ve been informed the Atrox is heavier which is better, but how do you feel about this?
Not much. I don’t plan to do any modding, just replacing broken parts so I don’t know if the Hori is easy to change broken buttons or something like that.
Hmmm maybe I’ll go for the Atrox then… much more friendly for a person who doesn’t use tools that often. Anyways they’re both good sticks if I get one of them.
I don’t have much knowledge on fightsticks but am looking for a stick that matches the quality of MadCatz ( my old TE stick lasted 4 years while my Quanba lasted 1 yr ) but that does not have that square gate thing? ( that thing that makes the stick click/ also no corners preferably ). And quality buttons like them sanwa buttons.
It seems to me all sticks nowadays have them square gate clicky thing and corner features. I just want none of the mentioned but with good buttons and quality. Any suggestion appreciated.
You can always just reuse your current TE and just upgrade/replace the parts.
Alternatively, you can always just buy another TE or a Fightstick Pro, or a Hori-branded stick, and just swap out the parts that you want to change if you really want to change the casing.
Do you feel the need to get a whole new stick instead of repairing/replacing/upgrading the parts in your current TE?
Sounds like you like the JLF (for the most part) and the Sanwa buttons already, so why not start with a stick that already has that? Most (if not all) current Mad Catz or Hori sticks already come with all Sanwa parts.
You do not want a square gate, so you can just replace it with a Sanwa GT-Y Octogonal restrictor or a Toodles GT-O Circular restrictor.
You say you don’t want the “clicky thing”, so you either want softer microswitches on the stick (ie, getting a Silent JLF kit) or an optical sensor (a Flash kit or a Spark CE kit).
You can save money from avoiding buying a whole new JLF by swaping/replacing parts of the joystick
Like what FreedomGundam suggested with switches and maybe a different spring