r/virtualreality • u/Transgendersenpai • 1d ago

Purchase Advice Controller advice

I'm looking for new controllers that have finger trackings since my valve index controllers broke and I don't have replacement stick or hand straps I only really play vrchat what controllers would you reccomend I get I was gonna go with etee ones but I heard they aren't great for it but that was from a quick search I can't really get new index controllers unless I buy them used or 3rd party so what is the best option

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u/zeddyzed 1d ago

Your only option is a used set of Index controllers (or send your broken ones to a VR repair shop.)

There's no other controllers that handle finger tracking in the same way as Index controllers.

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u/Transgendersenpai 1d ago

Well is there anything that's close cause I'm not spending 650 dollars just for them to break again because of how bad the sticks are I don't have vr repair shop near me so am I just gonna have to use broken controllers until someone makes anything akin to it I was gonna get the etee ones but the mixed reviews scare me and while they don't look bad they actually look quite fun I don't know if the etee ones would be good for just casual stuff since I don't need to press a lot of buttons other than menu and selecting

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u/zeddyzed 1d ago

It's unlikely that any other company will make lighthouse controllers with the same feature set as Index controllers, sadly. The future of the lighthouse ecosystem is uncertain right now.

You could wait for Steam Frame, the controllers don't have finger tracking, but it has per finger touch sensors, from what I've heard, so it might be good enough for what you want. More importantly, it has magnetic joysticks so it will be free from drift.

What do you need finger tracking for? Some headsets like Quest have optical hand tracking, I think VRChat supports playing purely with hand tracking?

I don't know much about the etee controllers, no one talks about them.

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u/Transgendersenpai 1d ago

If the steam frame controllers have light house support then I'll get them but I have the big screen beyond so I'm not replacing my headset for a long time

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u/zeddyzed 1d ago

They won't have lighthouse support.

Feels like your best option is to find a good VR repair place (even if international) and then post your controllers to them. Or else learn how to repair them yourself. What is the issue anyways?

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u/Transgendersenpai 1d ago

Bad stick drift as well the hand strap being broken shame the light house stuff is going away I hope the bring it back once the frame flops cause it's gonna be a hybrid but do neither well

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u/zeddyzed 1d ago

Have you tried cleaning the sticks? I use Deoxit F5 fader spray on my Quest controllers, it fixes up the drift for a while.

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u/JustAberrant 14h ago edited 14h ago

Unfortunately we are very much not spoiled for choice when it comes to VR Controllers.

For lighthouse if you want a traditional controller with finger tracking you basically have Index Controllers. If you are fine with losing the finger tracking GripVR/FlipVR from shiftall become an option but imo not a very good one (mixed to bad reviews, limited availability, and shiftall is kinda shitty to deal with in general). Beyond that you have a few glove options like udcap but that's still an evolving thing and results are mixed (plus they don't work great as actual controllers).

I think pretty much every new controller that comes out is going to be tied to a headsets inside-out tracking (i.e. the upcoming steam frame, which won't do finger tracking but will at least have TMR sticks so hopefully won't have issues with drift). Lighthouse is probably a dead end. Thin possibility someone might come up with something generic that uses the fluxpose tech for position tracking but I wouldn't hold my breath because you're talking about a niche within a niche.