Trigger Deadzones
Set a floor, a ceiling, an anti-deadzone, and a sensitivity curve for every trigger.
Triggers go from 0% released to 100% pressed in one direction. The Triggers tab carves out which part of the physical pull counts and reshapes the response on top.
Each trigger has a range slider with two handles. The two handles set the active physical range.
Any physical value below the floor counts as 0% output.
- Fixes trigger drift. A worn trigger can report a small non-zero value at rest, and a floor of 5–10% ignores that.
- Example. Floor at 8%, trigger reports 3% at rest. PadForge treats anything below 8% as zero.
The trigger only needs to reach the ceiling to register as 100% output.
- Fixes triggers that cannot reach full travel.
- Also gives you a hair-trigger effect.
- Example. Ceiling at 60%. The moment the trigger reaches 60% travel, the game sees 100%. The last 40% is ignored.
Output is linearly rescaled between the floor and ceiling. You always get the full 0–100% virtual range across the physical range you picked.
Example with floor 8% and ceiling 60%:
| Physical | Virtual |
|---|---|
| Below 8% | 0% (deadzone) |
| 8% | 0% |
| 34% | 50% |
| 60% | 100% |
| Above 60% | 100% (clamped) |
The Anti-Deadzone slider (0–100%) cancels out in-game deadzones that stack on top of PadForge's floor.
Many games apply their own internal deadzone. PadForge rescales output to start at 0% at the floor edge, but if the game also has a 10% deadzone the trigger has to travel past both before anything happens.
Anti-deadzone adds an instant jump the moment the trigger crosses the floor. Output starts at the anti-deadzone value instead of 0%, then climbs to 100%.
Example. Anti-deadzone at 15%. The moment the trigger crosses the floor, output jumps to 15% and the game's internal deadzone is already covered.
| Value | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0% (default) | No jump. Output climbs from 0%. Use when the game has no internal deadzone. |
| 5–15% | Covers a typical in-game deadzone. Good starting point. |
| 20–30% | Stronger compensation for sluggish triggers. |
| 50%+ | Near-digital feel (on or off) at light press. |
Each trigger has its own Sensitivity Curve. It runs after the floor, ceiling, and anti-deadzone. Horizontal axis is the physical trigger position after processing. Vertical axis is the final value sent to the game.
| Preset | Behavior | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Linear | 1:1 input to output. Straight diagonal. | General use (default). |
| Smooth | Precision at light press, flattened at the bottom. | Fine low-end control with full output at full press. |
| Aggressive | Amplifies small inputs. Steep early rise. | Quick response to light presses. Faster fire threshold. |
| Instant | Near-digital. Almost a step function. | Triggers used as binary buttons. |
| S-Curve | Flat at the bottom, steep at the top. | Driving. Fine throttle at low speed, quick ramp to full. |
| Delay | Flat at the bottom, steep later. | Larger dead area before the trigger kicks in. |
| Custom | Appears once you edit any control point. | When no preset fits. |
A curve chart sits to the right of the trigger settings.
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Double-click the chart | Add a control point |
| Drag a point | Reshape the curve |
| Right-click a point | Remove it |
A live indicator dot tracks the trigger's current position on the curve.
Editing any point switches the preset to Custom. The reset button restores Linear.
A bar and numeric readout under each trigger show the current output after all processing (floor, ceiling, anti-deadzone, and curve).
Press and release the trigger to watch your settings shape the output. The display shows both raw value and percentage, like 32768 (50.0%).
Every slider has 0.1% precision. Each row has two input fields:
| Field | What it accepts |
|---|---|
| Percentage | Human-friendly value (12.5 for 12.5%). |
| Digit | Raw 16-bit axis unit (0–65535). 0 is 0%, 32768 is 50%, 65535 is 100%. |
Changes apply immediately.
Every row has a reset button (circular arrow icon) that restores the default. Reset All at the top of each trigger section resets everything for that trigger in one click.
Starting points only. Test in-game and adjust.
Fine analog control across the full range.
| Setting | Left trigger (brake) | Right trigger (throttle) |
|---|---|---|
| Floor | 0–5% | 0–5% |
| Ceiling | 100% | 100% |
| Anti-Deadzone | 0–5% | 0–5% |
| Sensitivity Curve | S-Curve or Smooth | S-Curve or Smooth |
Full physical range plus a curve that adds precision at partial press.
The fire trigger must reach full output as fast as possible.
| Setting | Left trigger (aim) | Right trigger (fire) |
|---|---|---|
| Floor | 0–5% | 0% |
| Ceiling | 80–100% | 40–60% |
| Anti-Deadzone | 10–15% | 15–25% |
| Sensitivity Curve | Linear or Smooth | Aggressive or Instant |
A low fire ceiling means you only press halfway. Aggressive sensitivity makes light presses send high values. Keep the aim trigger range wider for control.
Triggers used as binary buttons (jump, dash, ability). Snappy feel.
| Setting | Both triggers |
|---|---|
| Floor | 5–10% |
| Ceiling | 70–80% |
| Anti-Deadzone | 10–20% |
| Sensitivity Curve | Aggressive |
Full precision across the full range.
| Setting | Throttle trigger |
|---|---|
| Floor | 0% |
| Ceiling | 100% |
| Anti-Deadzone | 0% |
| Sensitivity Curve | Linear |
Keep defaults. Physical range maps 1:1 to virtual.
When a slot uses Extended output with the Custom preset, the Triggers tab adapts to TriggerCount:
| TriggerCount | Display |
|---|---|
| 0 | Triggers tab is empty |
| 1 | Trigger 1 only |
| 2 | Trigger 1 and 2 (same as Xbox or PlayStation) |
| 3–8 | Each extra trigger gets its own row. Each uses 1 of the 8 axes shared with sticks. |
Every trigger gets its own range slider, anti-deadzone, sensitivity curve, and live value bar.
- Controller Slots: Create and configure virtual controllers.
- Button and Axis Mappings: map physical triggers to virtual outputs.
- Stick Deadzones: Same shape of settings for thumbsticks.
- 3D and 2D Visualization: Watch the trigger move on the controller model.
- Force Feedback: Rumble settings, including the new trigger-side audio rumble and constant trigger force.
- Adaptive Triggers: dualSense trigger resistance, weapon, vibration, slope, and multi-position effects.
Last updated for PadForge 3.2.0.