Joy Con drift in New Horizons
- Thread starter Yoshi155
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VanitasFan26
I'm just a ghost.
Welp my Switch Pro Controllor started to drift. My character keeps going all the way to the left. Gonna have to buy a new controllor.
Halloqueen
Senior Member
Since getting my Switch in late 2018, I've only used the Joy-Cons on a few occasions when completely necessary. I used them in the month before I got my Pro Controller strictly to have access to the Home button because I was using the GameCube controller to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and that controller obviously lacks a Home button. Since getting the Pro Controller that month afterward, the only times I've really used the Joy-Cons for any amount of time were when playing Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!, which I only bought because I wanted to have a Mew in the modern games since you can get a Mew in Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl if you have a Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! save file on your Switch. Additionally, I played Super Mario Party when visiting my best friend a few years ago, since that game only allows you to play with Joy-Cons, but those were her Joy-Cons, not mine.
I've stuck with the official Pro Controller and have had that same one controller since 2018. I've never had drift with it in all that time, the left stick is fine. That said, in the past month, the right stick on it has begun to drift to the left. Fortunately this is, in the games I usually play at least, mostly just relegated to camera positioning and doesn't affect character movement. The degree of drift is also very slight, is manageable to realign and hasn't yet degraded to being truly awful. It's a mild annoyance and I'm thinking about just getting a new one. I'm pretty sure it would still be working perfectly fine as it had been all these years if not for an incident where it got tangled up with something and the stick was pressed down diagonally for a while without my knowledge. No idea how long it was like that, so the internal component probably ground down.
Long story short, I have had a great experience with the official Pro Controller and recommend it to anyone who can afford it and/or who is willing to play with it, since I know some people prefer to play handheld. I prefer to play docked, myself, as I prefer games to be on a big screen, whether that be a television or computer monitor. The Pro Controller can apparently be used with a Switch Lite, though you'd need to set the Switch on something, which depending on the person and their circumstances and preferences might defeat the purpose a little. Worth considering though.
I've stuck with the official Pro Controller and have had that same one controller since 2018. I've never had drift with it in all that time, the left stick is fine. That said, in the past month, the right stick on it has begun to drift to the left. Fortunately this is, in the games I usually play at least, mostly just relegated to camera positioning and doesn't affect character movement. The degree of drift is also very slight, is manageable to realign and hasn't yet degraded to being truly awful. It's a mild annoyance and I'm thinking about just getting a new one. I'm pretty sure it would still be working perfectly fine as it had been all these years if not for an incident where it got tangled up with something and the stick was pressed down diagonally for a while without my knowledge. No idea how long it was like that, so the internal component probably ground down.
Long story short, I have had a great experience with the official Pro Controller and recommend it to anyone who can afford it and/or who is willing to play with it, since I know some people prefer to play handheld. I prefer to play docked, myself, as I prefer games to be on a big screen, whether that be a television or computer monitor. The Pro Controller can apparently be used with a Switch Lite, though you'd need to set the Switch on something, which depending on the person and their circumstances and preferences might defeat the purpose a little. Worth considering though.
Captain Jigglypuff
Leader of the Jigglypuff Army
I do have the Pro Controller but I don’t use it very often to play games. I’ll use it for Smash Bros and occasionally Zelda but that’s it. I like the controller but it’s a bit annoying having to prop up my Switch on the table since I play mostly in handheld mode.
I've always had drift on my Pro controller where my character sometimes won't move fast upwards. The solution? Push and hold down the left stick while moving.
Problem solved. Thanks Coach Bam!
Okay, jokes aside, since this problem only happens occasionally for me, I don't really get bothered by it with my Pro controller. I do have a brand new one still in the box sitting in my closet, so if my current one breaks at least I have a backup. I'd imagine if I played action heavy games that require me to move forward all the time (such as Mario Odyssey, Zelda or Splatoon), I would have a hard time, but I haven't played much of any other game than Animal Crossing.
Problem solved. Thanks Coach Bam!
Okay, jokes aside, since this problem only happens occasionally for me, I don't really get bothered by it with my Pro controller. I do have a brand new one still in the box sitting in my closet, so if my current one breaks at least I have a backup. I'd imagine if I played action heavy games that require me to move forward all the time (such as Mario Odyssey, Zelda or Splatoon), I would have a hard time, but I haven't played much of any other game than Animal Crossing.
I can deal with it in NH, it’s definitely annoying but the worst of it is with navigating menus. My right stick also drifts, so when I’m looking through items the list goes wild
Moving in NH on the overworld isn’t so bad… meanwhile can’t play MK8D at all because the game forces me into reverse
Moving in NH on the overworld isn’t so bad… meanwhile can’t play MK8D at all because the game forces me into reverse
been having it a bit with my non-nintendo issues ergonomic controllers and it generally resets after i restart the system/fudge a little with the c-stick but it is sooo annoying and the fact that this is still such a big thing for so many players, is so frustrating.
like so many have mentioned, it makes menu navigation And terraforming hard, even if the overworld isn't the worst victim of this particular flaw.
like so many have mentioned, it makes menu navigation And terraforming hard, even if the overworld isn't the worst victim of this particular flaw.
Sharksheep
(⨀🞃 ⨀ )◄
I havent had the drift issues but I have an issue where the controller will disconnect while its still connected into the switch randomly. I got a switch controller instead to help with the issue.
FrostyAlmonds
Senior Member
I dealt with drift for like a year before games started becoming unplayable, do not recommend, it isn't worth it lol. The rason I waited so long was half because of covid, half because there were games I was playing at the time and I wasn't ready to take a month long break the stated repair would take. I finally did the repair a couple months ago and it's such a breath of fresh air to actually be able to play games properly again lol!
My stick drift is my right one so when decorating it is SO annoying. I’m gonna eventually buy some new joy-cons just haven’t got round to it. They were relatively new already but I have a feeling maybe one of my kids sat on them 
corlee1289
Senior Member
Yeah, my current blue one on the left side drifts. It isn't too bad, but it is annoying to play with
It happened to me on New Leaf, till this day my 3ds is drifting, I hope I don't experience this, because I play on switch lite, so I can just buy a new joycon
Honestly I had no idea my switch started drifting until I played ACNH. It's weird because I've never seen my characters drift in my other games like Splatoon 3 and Pokemon Violet, but in ACNH say for example I leave my character standing, often times she starts moving very slightly to the right. Moving the stick helps in stopping her, but it's bugging me so much considering I don't like the idea of spending for a new pair of joycons (sending it to Nintendo for repair would cost a lot in terms of shipping since there's no Nintendo office in my country, so no I won't bother lol). I have a third-party pro-controller though, but it's gonna take some getting used to since I play on handheld 95% of the time.
ShinyDungeoneer
Helpful Life-Form
I had drift problems on my grey joy-cons for awhile, but it's been fixed because I got 3rd party joy-cons that look like 2 halves of a Pro Controller (the switch even counts them as a wirelessly connected controller, which means no amiibo functionality :l). But these did drift once, and haven't done it again since, so I think it's fixed permanently for me!
Hsn97
Inexperienced Person
I had this issue with my AC special edition controller. I put up with it for as long as I could then sent it into Nintendo for them to fix when it became unbearable. They fixed it free of charge and I had it back within the week. Works like new again now.
DJ-Mika
Chief is best boy🐺✨
The drift in my Joy-Cons during the time when I was playing New Horizons the most was SO BAD that I literally couldn't stand in one place long enough to even pick up items 
I remember I was on another person's island when they were doing a giveaway and I had to fight with the controls to even be able to see what items I was looking at, it was indeed completely unplayable....
I heard that one of the reasons drift happens is due to dust/debris getting into the mechanisms of the joysticks; the best way I could solve it was to store my Pro Controllers/Joy-Cons in an enclosed space, like a drawer, so that they wouldn't be exposed to dust. It kind of helped, but they definitely still drift occasionally
I remember I was on another person's island when they were doing a giveaway and I had to fight with the controls to even be able to see what items I was looking at, it was indeed completely unplayable....
I heard that one of the reasons drift happens is due to dust/debris getting into the mechanisms of the joysticks; the best way I could solve it was to store my Pro Controllers/Joy-Cons in an enclosed space, like a drawer, so that they wouldn't be exposed to dust. It kind of helped, but they definitely still drift occasionally
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