Bionik Quickshot Accessory for the Xbox One Controller

 Pump your enemies full of your fury faster with this controller mod!

The other day I was getting my butt kicked in Titanfall 2 by an enemy using a semi-automatic rifle. Naturally, I was pissed, and as is traditional with any FPS, I switched my weapon to mimic my enemy's and I completely annihilated him. Ha, just kidding, I was still getting my head blown off. "Boy do I suck," I thought, "There's gotta be better a way other than skill to compete with semi-auto weapons!"

Some digging online revealed the Bionik Quickshot custom grips and trigger locks for the Xbox One controller. They've received nothing but praise on Amazon when similar products did not, so I decided it was time find out if this performance enhancing controller mod actually worked as advertised, which is to "increase reaction time". A few hours later, I discovered...

What's In the Box?!!!! 

Honestly, my heart sank after seeing the packaging after realizing I bought an accessory from an unknown brand. Have you ever heard of the company Bionik? If this breaks during installation, will my return be accepted? How will I make rent this month? The questions flew until I discovered the packaging lacked that flimsy feel of Chinese generic products. Then, I opened the sucker up and let me tell ya', revealing a product via viewing window is the sort of drama that I can appreciate.

Ooooooooh, ahhhhhhhh, plastic.

The box includes the grips with trigger locks, instructions, and a prying tool.

Thankfully, my fears of owning a cheap accessory I'll never used were unfound. The included Quickshot grips have an awesome rubberized feel to them unlike the textured plastic of the normal Xbox One controller. The plastic areas, too, feel sturdy and unlikely to break easily. I released a sigh of relief and hung up the phone to my bank; there won't be any need to dispute this charge because the Bionik Quickshot grips feel so damn good.

Installing 'em was a piece of cake, thankfully. Using the orange prying tool, you gently yank the Xbox one's grips off from above, inserting the prying tool into the gaps around the triggers. There'll be some unsettling creaking noise but nothing broke during my installation. Don't be afraid, though, just keep prying until you can see the controller's skin. Easy, Action! Take it slow. You don't wanna rush this. Next, just snap the Quickshot grips into place.

The rubber grips are much more pleasurable than those of the Xbox One controller.

I can't stress enough just how much better than the Xbox One controller grips the Quickshot grips feel. It's like shopping at Target instead of Walmart, it just feels premium even though it's not. But the true question is if they improve reaction time as the box suggests. Well...

They Actually Work as Advertised
Kind of. Allow me to explain: Having a solid grip on anything tends to improve performance, so in that way the Quickshot theoretically improves reaction time. Your aim is less likely to be affected by slimly palms in those twitch shooters. After using them it's difficult to go back to a normal Xbox One controller's plastic grips.

Now, pulling up the orange switch on either side of the controller locks in a shorter travel for the
respective trigger. In FPS games with semi-auto weapons, a shorter trigger travels allows you to fire more rounds more quickly, decreasing your time to kill any given target. The change is slight, but in games where one projectile or hit-scan is the difference between life and death, the effect is noticeable. So yes, because the time between you seeing an enemy and a round leaving your rifle is shorten, the trigger locks do improve reaction time.

And after many long FPS sessions, I was happy to own the Quickshot custom grips and trigger locks. I honestly generally suck less with semi-auto rifles in Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. But you see, it really depends on how you play. Squeezing a trigger as fast as you can will send more bullets down range, but with cumulative recoil, you'll probably miss most of your shots. It is possible to fire more quickly and accurately if you practice for some time with the Quickshot trigger locks engaged. The key is to wait for your in game weapon's recoil to settle before firing the next shot. That's a helpful tip no matter the FPS game you're playing, but for controlling the potential rate of fire increase allowed by the Quickshot trigger locks it's crucial advice.

The only downside to this accessory is that the short trigger travel mostly only helps when using semi-automatic rifles in FPS games. The quicker reaction time helps fully automatic weapons, but less so than the semi-automatic rifles. But hey if you notice a benefit there too then all power to you.

Then again, though, that depends on the game you are playing, doesn't it? Some shooters don't require you to squeeze the trigger completely in the first place, negating some of the benefits of having a locked trigger. In other games, you'll actually want the normal, full range of motion from your triggers. Awesome, you can switch back to that full range by pushing down on the orange switches, turning the Quickshot into a $20 pair of rubber grips.

Another quibble: The included prying tool developed stress marks during installation of the grips. Its a harmless procedure, but seeing the stress marks adds to the pressure, the fear, of breaking something. I am glad that the tool is designed to break before anything else important, but if it did break during installation I'm unsure of how I would have removed the grips.

You only get one, so don't fuck up.

Conclusion
So do performance enhancing controller mods work? In my usage, yes. The Bionik Quickshot Custom Grip and Trigger Locks reduces decreases reaction time while offering improved grip over the normal Xbox One controller. It's trigger lock function mainly benefits semi-automatic rifles in FPS games, though, and while the rubber grips helps no matter the game you are playing, there are better, cheaper options out there if you are shopping for improved controller grip.

But if you play a lot of FPS games like I do, you understand that every millisecond in an engagement count and the Quickshot can improve your performance with a little practice. So for the right type of gamer, the Bionik Quickshot Custom Grips and Trigger Locks are worth a shot.

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