Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS Review for DCS, MSFS, Star Citizen

Join Lead this week as we dive into a years use of the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS and see if this is really the kit of your dreams, or if you should be looking elsewhere at these prices.

0:00 - Intro
1:45 - Stick Review
6:50 - Throttle Review
11:40 - Should You Buy One

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[williamsternritter]

Over the few years of owning Warthog HOTAS, I've upgraded the nipple on throttle and replaced stick base with Virpil's Warbrd. Flight experience went noticeably up, maneuvers are smoother and so on but the HOTAS itself is a workhorse. Yes, the switches are a bummer sometimes, SC should offer more options that use sticky buttons to utilize it properly. That's definitely feedback I'm going to submit once I get more familiar with SC. You can still map them even to toggles though, it just means you will flip the switch on and off more. But hey, who does not like some switch flipping, right? :D

[Putti]

i've had the warthog for 9 years now, it was expencive back then and i bet it still is but damn what a quality! i used it in DCS and now i use it in microsoft flight simulator! Best purchase i've ever done

[shaneduc]

Good review.
Someone gave me a Saitek X52 and that has done me ok in both Star Citizen and DCS. One day I'll save up the money to get a better one being disable that's hard to do.

[ackattacker]

The switch issue you discuss is (relatively) easily overcome either with direct lua edits or a variety of joystick key-mappers such as joystick gremlin. It’s not very intuitive but there are forum posts walk you through it, the basic concept is that you map the change of state (off - on and on - off) to a virtual button press.

[Vesperninja]

The Warthog is definitely something special but seeing others use it makes me really appreciate the availability and more importantly value for price of VKB's Gladiator NXTs

[AK--]

great review. nice that you've actually reviewed after extensive use. I was lucky and got dual T16000M for little money with some cashback vouchers during the COVID hype which suits my very casual play

[PublicVoodoo]

I’ve had my warthog for just under a year now and do not regret the purchase. Thinking about doing some upgrades though.

[johnmarius]

Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

2
In large bowl, beat softened butter and sugars with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon about 1 minute or until fluffy, scraping side of bowl occasionally.

3
Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture just until blended (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

4
Onto ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.

5
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store covered in airtight container.

[demoniclittlekid]

I will say I have always been satisfied in using my Warthog since buying it in 2015 (and it’s on and off use throughout the years) with its only ware is also on the front cm hat where it feels mushy but I’m sure some cleaning is all that is required, although their is some left to be desired when I was flying in Elite/ flying in the dog fight model in SC back then, when it came to dcs and IL2 games I couldn’t see a better stick to use. I am happy that their are so many newer options to choose from like VirPil but even then I’m only looming at their additional upgrade kits that also don’t come with their base Hotas set ups as well to add some extra quality of life such as the arming and punching of drip tanks off a f-18 in dcs

[onewish]

iv watch 2 videos of yours (this was my 2nd) i love the description, recommendation and more. Ill be recommending you to some of my friends. Thank you! 🙏🙏

[chaser]

Great Review.. I have been a Thrustmaster guy my entire Sim flying career since 1995 with Falcon and Falcon 4 along with all the Janes Sims. I own TMS set, Cougar set as well as the Warthog HOTAS systems by Thrustmaster. Can never complain about there quality.

[neonsamurai]

At the current price point for thrustmaster warthogs, I would look at virpil instead. I also cannot say I was very impressed with the build quality of the winwing stuff. Way too much silastic everywhere on the inside.

[alapone]

Great review and thanks for taking the time to do it. I want one of these but I also like the look of the Logitech X56, I going crazy trying to decide (DCS, ARMA3, MSFS2020 mostly).

[jaerbear]

I’ve got one coming by the end of the month. I’ve been using an x52 for many years, though not for flight simulation. Jumping ship from X-Plane to DCS. What I find interesting is that when I ordered this, I starting looking at virpl panels because of all the switches on the throttle. I held off because I wasn’t sure, but if I had watched this, they would be on the way. Thanks for this review.

[tripperdan]

When I was looking at changing my flight inputs I decided to go with the dual TM 16000 because of budget and thought that two sticks would be easier for 6-axis control over a stick and throttle. I have had to crack open one of them to clean the pot after it began to malfunction. So no matter the setup, sometimes we have to work on them

[robertellis]

I purchased a used Warthog stick and throttle back in 2015. I used them as is for near 5 years before biting on the Virpil bullet to upgrade my gimbal. The stick still works on the new gimbal, and you can even use Virpil software to spoof the device as the warthog still. This is important for the thing that Leadnap didn't touch on - the software. Yes, the switches on the throttle base can be problematic. Most of the time, game and sim software is expecting momentary impulses, which can make those non-momentary toggles difficult to map. With the software, it's possible to map the toggles such that flipping one on now sends a momentary pulse, and flipping it off sends a second one, allowing for easier mapping.

That said, it's more work, and not always a 100% solution. In the end, if you have the extra $300, get yourself the virpil stick amd throttle over spending 750 for the Warthog. But if you want a step up from the X56, and can get it for retail, or better used for like 300, it can last most users a long while.

[Vildjur]

Thanks a lot man! great unbiased review, this kind of things really help people out.

[kybertech]

Great review. I feel better about sticking with my T1600m hotas setup since I only really play Star Citizen. I appreciate your input on not spending money if you don’t need to. But when I eventually play DCS I know I’m going with the Virpil setup as the Throttle seems the most versatile.

[penny]

It really looks like a lot of fun. Is definitely worth considering to buy a jockstick. Probably great feeling to do space battles with it in SC.

[Giggles_]

Just picked this thing up to upgrade from a busted x56. So far using the f/a-18 model with this setup is not too bad. Luckily you can use the “<>” types of certain commands to allow the on offs to function like you would expect. Arm<>safe using back and forth on one switch rather than arm or safe being isolated to forward “on” position of a single switch being separate.