Fallout 76 entered its latest season at the start of June, with the Gone Fission update bringing a fishing minigame to the wasteland. Well, five weeks, countless conversations with the fisherman, and a bucket of Improved Bait later, I still wasn’t getting any decent fishing rod mods. If you’re new to the season, you need these mod plans to have any hope in hell of catching the rarer fish in the game. The completionist in me had had enough.
I’d get a bite of something a little heartier than the irradiated minnows I’d been grinding down into fish bits for weeks, but I’d never be able to get my thumbstick into position fast enough to chase it around the screen. I read online that other players were having better luck switching to the d-pad when a lunker took the bait, and that gave me an idea.
Customizable back buttons can be mapped to pretty much any input on a pro controller and are generally used to keep your thumbs on the sticks in faster-paced first-person shooters. What if they were actually the key to me finally enjoying my evenings at Lake Reynolds? Into the cupboard I went, out came the Scuf Reflex, and suddenly, fishing was fun again.
Even with my weak Mark 1, Improved Bearings, and Stabilized Gear Ratio rod, I was catching the flightier fish much easier. Rather than relying on the circular nature of a thumbstick, I can simply give a directional input without having to waste time moving from the sticks to the d-pad. Listen, I never caught a Wavy Willard with this method, but it did give me a boost where it seems Fallout 76’s drop rate was refusing to budge.
That meant I could work my way through the fishing challenges with renewed enthusiasm, finally secure the Advanced Drag mod, and start reeling in Deathjaws like they were small fry.
Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone having trouble catching up with Fallout fishing needs to go out and spend $200 on a new controller. In fact, the only reason I’m using such a premium gamepad is because it remains in the GamesRadar+ testing and comparison pool all these years after release. I would, however, strongly recommend looking into a gamepad with extra back buttons.
Even outside of fishing, these clickers speed up your gameplay in pretty much any way you want them to. Whether you’re remapping face button or d-pad functions, you’ll always keep your thumbs on the sticks, and that’s what truly counts.
Cheaper alternatives are a little difficult to come by on the PS5, though. The best PS5 controllers all still have to stick to Sony‘s rules, and that makes things expensive. If you do want to save some cash, the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro is your best bet. It’s currently on sale from $199.99 to $149.99 at Amazon, and offers all the back buttons, trigger stops, and thumbstick swaps you could ask for from a pro controller.
If you’re on PC, there’s some much better news. You can grab controllers with back buttons for far less – the best PC controller I’ve tested on a budget is the EasySMX X10. While actually assigning the functions of those buttons is a little more complicated here, all the functionality is there, and it only costs $39.99 at Amazon right now (down from $49.99).
Of course, we’re also hunting down all the best Xbox Series X controllers if you’re playing on Microsoft‘s platform. Or, take a look at the best Nintendo Switch controllers and best mobile controllers if you prefer to take your gameplay on the road.
