I want to get into fighting games, but I'm really not sure

Buy a shit one first so you can appreciate why the good one is good when you eventually get it.

There are a lot of factors here.
Do you ever plan to do art modding? If so, don't buy a Hori.

I just spent the money and got a brand name stick with Sanwa parts, to be fair modding is reasonably easy if you have the know how.
Razor Atrox and what ever the PS4 equivalent is are great sticks with full Sanwa parts and you can even swap out the artwork, perfect for lazy fucks like me.

>>382721584
I think custom faceplates are pretty cool, so I'd probably consider that.

>>382721403
Buy stick and replace parts: Yeah that works. It means more work for you as you have to do the part swapping

Buy a Quanba: If you got money, yeah, do it. Price does not always equal quality thought. Be careful and do research but regardless it'll be around 100 bucks.

Those are both options. A third option is to find your local fighting game scene and hang out with them. There's always some richfag/stick-tourist there that has a few sticks they don't use and you can pick one up of them up cheap if they like you. All my sticks have been hand-me-downs .

Best advice overall, find your local community and talk/hang with them. Once you prove you can be sociable, you can ask to try out peoples sticks and find out what you like and then buy knowing you'll like the feel.

Anon I'm going to say something that is different from a lot of people's perspective.

I purchased a really cheap Hori V3 fighting stick and it was awful but it served me well enough. I dropped and picked up fighting games so many times, but it was purchased on sale for like $50 so I didn't mind it.

If I were in your shoes, I would buy something like a Qanba drone - its around $60 and is small and it works.

After I stuck with it for like 6 months finally, I just picked up a HRAP 4 and I couldn't be happier.

>>382721939
pretty much what this guy said

If your area has a community you should definitely get in contact with them. For some people being an online warrior works just fine, but the social interaction from my local community is pretty much the only reason I'm still playing.

You don't NEED a stick to play fighting games, there's plenty of padmonsters out there that win international tournaments. It's more about what's comfortable for you.

>>382721403
Qanba Drone is probably the best starter stick right now for PS4/PS3/PC. It's cheap as fuck, and you can crack it open easily and replace the stick with a 20 dollar sanwa lever that works way better later on down the road (just some minor soldering.)

OP,

Unless the circuit board literally shits out on you every arcade stick is the same quality once you add Sanwa parts to it.

This is a fact.

>>382721914
OP,

I have a Razer but it was a fucking bitch to do this with. Stay away from Razer if its your first stick and you plan on adding custom art to it.

Try to get a Quanba or a old used MadCatz I'd say. HORI are actually really easy to add art to, but the reason people don't recommend it is because it doesn't look as good because you have to get REALLY thin plexiglass.

>>382723265
Different circuit boards support different platforms and have varying response times
This is why I wish someone made a good cheap art moddable case that you can buy your own parts for

OP here, just wondering, where is a good place in the UK/Europe to buy arcade sticks? Not seeing alot of these on Amazon or eBay.

Are there usually sales when EVO is going on? Im trying to find a solid starter stick for ps4/pc.

>>382721403
A good stick is the Mayflash F300. It works with all platforms, is square gate, is easy to mod, and is only $60. The only problem is the buttons feel a bit odd but they can easily be modded.

>>382724401

Usually, but they're usually more like "10% off the Capcom Pro Tour Official EVO Stick", which means you're still paying like $200.

>>382721403
unless you're willing to dedicate hours upon hours at gittn' gud through a slow arduous grind I wouldn't recommend dropping $150 to $200+ on a fight stick.