Razer Wolverine V3 Tournament Edition Review

Razer Wolverine V3 Tournament Edition Review

I recently reviewed Razer’s Wolverine V3 Pro. It’s an amazing controller with a pretty serious price tag. It’s a whopping 269 CAD, in fact. So when I found out that their Tournament Edition is functionally identical in almost every way for half the price? That’s some excellent news. The downside is that it’s wired only, which is admittedly a pretty serious difference. Not to me! I’ve been gaming since the Jurassic period, so cables aren’t any kind of deal breaker. But I understand your hesitation.

To be fair, it’s a pretty long cable. Ten feet is more than enough to hang loose over most living room configurations, unless you’re living truly large. But, the Tournament Edition is not really meant for living rooms. This is a PC gaming peripheral. Specifically, this rig comes with a 1000Hz polling mode that requires a wired connection. This represents a reflex speed that I’m physically incapable of testing. Like, I’m simply not fast enough to reach that limit in any games I play. But it’s awesome that this controller can keep up with you, the hypothetical Esports Superhuman reading this review.

Crazy Fast Polling Mode

In addition to that frankly ridiculous polling rate, the Tournament Edition (and the regular V3 Pro) has six extra inputs that can be customized to your heart’s content. I guess there are gamers out there who hold their controllers like a fruit they’re about to rip in half? This upsetting hand posture is apparently perfect for the fastest possible inputs. These extra six buttons help you shave precious partial seconds off your moveset. Plus, the buttons in question feel great. Like the V3 Pro, each input comes with a satisfying click, like a high-grade mouse. It’s downright luxurious.

One minor downside of the wired Tournament Edition is the weight. Having a battery in there adds a little extra heft. It’s pure placebo effect nonsense, but slightly heavier electronics can feel like they’re higher quality. In reality, I stopped noticing this difference after using the controller for ten minutes at most. Once you’re waist-deep in your gaming session, this rig feels exactly like it needs to. The ergonomic design and clicky buttons are weighty enough, truly.

High Quality Clicks

If you’re using this controller on the PC, you’ve got easy access to the Razer Controller Setup app. It’s the far superior way to assign buttons to all those extra inputs. There’s a host of other settings you can tweak, and you can even save different profiles for different games. The app is also where you can activate that 1000Hz polling mode. While I don’t love downloading extra software, I can’t deny how useful it is in this case.

My review for the Tournament Edition controller might seem familiar. That’s no accident. Truly the only difference between this model and the V3 Pro is the battery. Well, that and the price. Here in Canada it’s a mere 139 CAD. I get that wireless is the future, but it’s good to know you’ve got options. If you don’t mind dragging a 10-foot cable about, you can use this for PC or Xbox gaming with no real issues.

On the other hand, I know that cables are a real stumbling block for some players. And that’s okay! This one major difference keeps the Razer Wolverine V3 Tournament Edition from perfection, yes. But you’re also getting it at a fraction of the usual cost. Beyond that unsightly cable, you’re getting clicky buttons, extra inputs, a shapely design, and deep customization. If you’re in the market for a top-shelf PC gaming pad, you can’t ignore this one.

***A retail version of the product was provided by the manufacturer***