Question for HOTAS Users - Any Issues with Repetitive Stress or Fatigue

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

The Venn diagram of people who actually play games with a HOTAS and have either repetitive stress issues/chronic fatigue is probably so small that I feel dumb even asking, but here goes...

I have fibromyalgia. Fortunately, my chronic pain is nowhere near as bad as most sufferers of it, for which I'm thankful. Mine is more fatigue (which comes and goes) than anything. And occasionally, if I play keyboard/mouse games too much, I have to abstain from game playing for a week or two before that pain will go away.

I currently use a Xbox 360 controller with my PC to play Elite Dangerous, which I started playing back in 12/2015. I've been thinking of buying a HOTAS (particularly the Saitek X52) for some time now, but I'm concerned that I might get fatigued quickly using those controls. I remember finding a Thrustmaster flight stick to be tiring; however, that was 20 years ago and it was only tiring when I tried to use it for normal joystick games and not a flight sim, like Falcon 3.0.

Anyway, I was hoping someone in a similar situation could give me some feedback. I'd hate to plunk down the $$$ for a HOTAS and then find out I can't use it because it wears me out/causes pain.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[dognosh]

Firstly, 2 types of HOTAS,right hand joystick twist,or without. Depends on if you can or want to twist or not?
2ndly, absolutely no RSI from HOTAS for me. When using it I feel free from the mouse, which does give me RSI wrist pain.
Can't give opinion on fatigue as I rest after 2 hours.

 

[Pville_Piper]

It's hard to say but I have Carpal tunnel and the FCS 1600m HOTAS doesn't aggravate that. You may have to mount the setup at a better angle than a desktop possibly although I've found that to of for long sessions for me. I don't use the twist on the stick but I use the thrustmaster pedals. The twist on my stick game me a ton of issues with my carpal tunnel.

 

[h347h]

Okay I had repetitive stress injury from my Razer Naga mouse that came from over 3 months of competitive (yes really at one point I was top 260 as a paladin in the 'West' in progression) mythic + dungeons from WoW. I had to stop raiding and doing mythic + because I of course didn't want permanent injury.

Nothing in Elite comes that close to causing that with a HOTAS. I swapped from WoW back to using my HOT AS with out issue. At any rate if you ever feel like you have these issues hands down take a long extended break.

 

[MarkAusten]

Yes, I do. My trigger finger and little finger on my right hand give me problems after playing for about an hour. I don't combat if I can avoid it but I do have an Advanced Discovery Scanner which I use at every stop and that is on the primary fire button. The problem with the little finger is not pulling it when I'm using the primary fire as the little finger pulls the secondary fire button which I rarely use as it's for the Heat Sink Launcher.

Also, if I have to lean too far forward to use the joystick then I can make my back ache.

I don't use HOTAS but use the keyboard, a trackball and a dedicated button bar as well, so my hands on usage is not that great.

However, I also have been a computer user for 40 years, keyboard and mouse, as soon as it came out, so my finger problems may well be from that and the joystick usage just exacerbates it.

 

[GhostUrsa]

There would be a couple of factors I'd be looking at to determine if it is a good idea for you. What movements cause fatigue/pain for you, and what activities in the game do you prefer? Sadly I don't have any similar health issues for 1st hand accounts, but I can be a decent 'control' for this comparison.

I know that if I do a lot of high gravity flying for a while, my wrist tends to get tired trying to fight with the stick. Combat can be as well if I'm doing it for an hour or more depending on the vehicle I'm flying. (Do I need to do a lot of dog-fighting, or am I in a larger ship relying on turrets) Something like trading, mining, exploring and such normally is fine since my hands aren't always on the stick or maneuvering. With those activities (or the occasional battle) I can play for hours and not feel anything.

With this in mind, if fatigue for you happens to affect your shoulder or wrist with activities I can see the more intensive activities causing fatigue. Changing how you hold the HOTAS (custom seating, lower desk, etc) could alleviate these issues, thinking about it logically.

 

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

It's hard to say but I have Carpal tunnel and the FCS 1600m HOTAS doesn't aggravate that. You may have to mount the setup at a better angle than a desktop possibly although I've found that to of for long sessions for me. I don't use the twist on the stick but I use the thrustmaster pedals. The twist on my stick game me a ton of issues with my carpal tunnel.

Hmm, I was thinking of getting a HOTAS with twist. Now I'm not so sure.

I'm also concerned with how easy/hard it is to drive the SRV with a HOTAS vs. using the Xbox controller.

 

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

Okay I had repetitive stress injury from my Razer Naga mouse that came from over 3 months of competitive (yes really at one point I was top 260 as a paladin in the 'West' in progression) mythic + dungeons from WoW. I had to stop raiding and doing mythic + because I of course didn't want permanent injury.

Nothing in Elite comes that close to causing that with a HOTAS. I swapped from WoW back to using my HOT AS with out issue. At any rate if you ever feel like you have these issues hands down take a long extended break.

I got hand-strain/fatigue back when I played a lot of WoW, though it was never at a competitive level. Getting a Razer Naga actually helped with that. Still, if I use the Naga too much (vs my ergonomic mouse at work) it does start to strain my wrist.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

Yes, I do. My trigger finger and little finger on my right hand give me problems after playing for about an hour. I don't combat if I can avoid it but I do have an Advanced Discovery Scanner which I use at every stop and that is on the primary fire button. The problem with the little finger is not pulling it when I'm using the primary fire as the little finger pulls the secondary fire button which I rarely use as it's for the Heat Sink Launcher.

Also, if I have to lean too far forward to use the joystick then I can make my back ache.

I don't use HOTAS but use the keyboard, a trackball and a dedicated button bar as well, so my hands on usage is not that great.

However, I also have been a computer user for 40 years, keyboard and mouse, as soon as it came out, so my finger problems may well be from that and the joystick usage just exacerbates it.

Yeah, I'm worried about the position of the HOTAS causing issues. I wouldn't put it up on my desk, but rather on the keyboard tray (large sliding board - 3' by 2.5'), so that might work.

Recently, I did get trigger finger fatigue from a lot of discovery scans. I also get fatigue from the repetitive hard pulls I have to do with the Cutter when fuel scooping star after star. Usually it's not that bad and goes away quick. However, if I'm still recovering from overdoing it with the keyboard, then this is much more of an issue.

Thanks for your input.

 

[MarkAusten]

Hmm, I was thinking of getting a HOTAS with twist. Now I'm not so sure.

I'm also concerned with how easy/hard it is to drive the SRV with a HOTAS vs. using the Xbox controller.

I use the X52 with the twist and find it to be fine, but then that particular action, the twist, doesn't give me any problems at all. there again, I'm a longbow archer and that does strengthen your wrists, amongst other things.

However, I should state again that although I have the setup for HOTAS, I don't use it this way. I only use the throttle, for example, when driving the SRV or when having to fight. Otherwise I have buttons set to use the throttle in 25% steps. This gives me plenty of rest from the joystick and throttle when they are not required and for me they are only used when flying or driving. In the station I use the keyboard and mouse.

Even so, when I don't need to be using the X52, such as when I'm lined up for a jump then I take my hands off the controls to rest them.

 

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

Fine here mate, although long periods of twist for yaw can hurt my aging wrists. Aside from that better than a mouse and far better than a joypad for me. Well worth the cash Id say.
ohh and srv. with a hotas, awesome

Good to hear. I do think some of the maneuvers I have to with the xbox controller (pulling down hard over and over to fuel scoop in a cutter) might be lessened by a HOTAS.

It sounds more and more like I should stay away from the twisting sticks, which I suspected might be an issue.

And great to know the SRV is good to drive with a HOTAS. I was really worried about that.

 

[MarkAusten]

Good to hear. I do think some of the maneuvers I have to with the xbox controller (pulling down hard over and over to fuel scoop in a cutter) might be lessened by a HOTAS.

It sounds more and more like I should stay away from the twisting sticks, which I suspected might be an issue.

And great to know the SRV is good to drive with a HOTAS. I was really worried about that.

You can map the SRV left and right to other joystick actions so that the twist is unused. On the ground you are not using the roll left and right actions so that could be used.

 

[h347h]

I got hand-strain/fatigue back when I played a lot of WoW, though it was never at a competitive level. Getting a Razer Naga actually helped with that. Still, if I use the Naga too much (vs my ergonomic mouse at work) it does start to strain my wrist.

Thanks for your input.

I played all three specs for paladin the issue was though that 2 specs were haste based. Which is really bad for you if you play a lot since you basically rely on pressing buttons as much as possible to sustain damage or survivability. So no matter what mouse I used I was doomed from the start.


As far as input for a HOTAS I've used the low tier and mid tier Thrustmaster HOTAS and I highly recommend them as well as voice attack for non combat related stuff. So you can save your important keybinding for combat and use voice attack for landing gear ECT.

 

[the100thmonkey]

I find that the T16000.M is too stiff, particularly twist, and that htis makes my hand hurt after a particularly long session. The x52 Pro, on the other hand, has far looser action on all axes, and I don't get strain from using it at all.

I can't comment medically, as I'm not a doctor. I'd suggest talking to your physiotherapist first, if you have one.

 

[MarkAusten]

I played all three specs for paladin the issue was though that 2 specs were haste based. Which is really bad for you if you play a lot since you basically rely on pressing buttons as much as possible to sustain damage or survivability. So no matter what mouse I used I was doomed from the start.


As far as input for a HOTAS I've used the low tier and mid tier Thrustmaster HOTAS and I highly recommend them as well as voice attack for non combat related stuff. So you can save your important keybinding for combat and use voice attack for landing gear ECT.

This is where I use my button bar. I have Voice Attack but do not use it for voice commands. Instead the buttons on the button bar are used to trigger the VA commands. Works well and I don't disturb my wife when she's trying to sleep!

 

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

I played all three specs for paladin the issue was though that 2 specs were haste based. Which is really bad for you if you play a lot since you basically rely on pressing buttons as much as possible to sustain damage or survivability. So no matter what mouse I used I was doomed from the start.


As far as input for a HOTAS I've used the low tier and mid tier Thrustmaster HOTAS and I highly recommend them as well as voice attack for non combat related stuff. So you can save your important keybinding for combat and use voice attack for landing gear ECT.

Thanks. I've already been using Voice Attack for nearly a year now. I have the Verity and Orion packs, both of which I love. I may break down and add Eli to the collection soon...

 

[Darkfyre99]

I have tendinitis myself from playing WAY too much Ultima Online back in the day. Being able to play this game with HOTAS greatly reduced the amount of times I have to take a "time out" from my computer to give my wrists a chance to heal.

 

[Marklar_]

I have arthritis which is a real issue for me when gaming. I find using a HOTAS much, much easier on me than a keyboard and mouse or console-style controller. YMMV, and good luck.

 

[Deep Thought 42]

It's hard to say but I have Carpal tunnel and the FCS 1600m HOTAS doesn't aggravate that. You may have to mount the setup at a better angle than a desktop possibly although I've found that to of for long sessions for me. I don't use the twist on the stick but I use the thrustmaster pedals. The twist on my stick game me a ton of issues with my carpal tunnel.

Carpal tunnel & twist sticks don't go together well i found!
I use a Warthog now with no wrist problems & its a heavy stick I am also thinking about getting pedals

 

[Arvel Yael]

I'm lucky enough to have neither fibromyalgia or RSI, but I thought I'd give my contribution because I undertake fairly long flights at times.
I use the X56 which has a twist rudder. And even after 12 continuous hours of flying, I am lucky enough to be able to report no pain or discomfort.