The HTC Vive is one of the premier PC-based VR systems on the market, and part of the full package are two motion controllers, colloquially called "wands." Each wand has a touchpad on it that allows for locomotion and menu navigation, and while it works well, some feel that a joystick makes a bit more sense. If you include yourself in that camp, I have a solution that can help easily (and cheaply) add joysticks to your wands.

A GIF was posted in the Reddit Gaming subreddit showing a plastic joystick being clipped onto a Vive wand, and ever since, creator Eisenmeower has been getting slammed by orders on their ebay page . A single joystick costs only about $7.50 , and pretty much everyone who's ordered one has enjoyed it without much issue.

The 3D-printed joystick is simple but intelligently designed, with a clip that attaches to the wand above the touchpad and a joystick that sort of hangs down over the actual touchpad. Eisenmeower has posted the design to Thingiverse , allowing anyone with a 3D printer to print their own joystick.

The touchpad on Vive wands can either be clicked down or simply tapped, effectively doubling the amount of buttons without cluttering things up. Fallout 4 VR is a perfect example of a game that uses all of the touchpad. You click down to move, but you use light touches to navigate your Pip-Boy menus. So won't placing a joystick over the touchpad ruin the effect of actually touching it with your thumb?

I thought the same thing when I first saw the joystick, but because the joystick is printed using conductive PLA filament (the rest uses PLA+ filament), the wand can't tell that it's not actually your thumb touching down.

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If you have a 3D printer and have been pining for Vive joysticks, definitely give this a try. Eisenmeower's ebay page seems to still be taking orders, and at about $15 for two, these are relatively cheap accessories. For more, be sure to check out the HTC Vive accessory guide!

See the HTC Vive accessory guide