The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Your Nintendo Switch

A brand new Switch is nothing to laugh at. With a huge catalogue of games that include Breath of the Wild — only one of the best-rated games ever — it’s a great investment. You’re probably already discovering your console’s quirks, but if you need some help, this list can help you master the Switch. These tips guarantee the best possible Switch experience, so take note!

Remember your wrist health

It isn’t easy being a gamer dedicated to their craft. All your hard work puts pressure on your joints, especially when your playtime regularly surpasses the two-hour mark. Your binging can leave you hurting once you finally turn off the power, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

You can keep the pain at bay by being conscious of the pressure playing puts on your wrists and thumbs. Though the Joy-Con brings a certain kind of childish joy when you’re playing with them, they aren’t made with an adult’s hands in mind. If they’re too awkward to handle, you should consider switching to the Pro Controller. It’s reminiscent of the GameCube controller, offering up more device for your hands to grip.

Regardless of which controller you use, cramping is a sign you’ve played too long without a break. Any time you feel pain, pause the game and go through these exercises. Reddit user Captain Hanyuu made this helpful list of Splatoon-inspired wrist and hand exercises that will protect your wrists.

Be careful with how you customize your Switch

Sure, the Nintendo Switch color palette is bright and cheery, but not everyone is interested in playing on a system flaunting eye-stabbingly neon hues. If you count yourself amongst their numbers, then customization is an important aspect of your gaming experience. It can also be a challenge.

Cases bloat the Switch’s Joy-Con and Pro Controllers, making it harder to grip in a way that can exacerbate the strain on your wrists, so a decal is your only option. Just be aware that the average decal will transform the look of your Switch, but it’s made with adhesives that damage the controllers, dock, and console. To make sure your Switch is safe under your personalization methods, you should check in with the skin designers at dbrand. They spent a year in development to make sure their Switch skins are 100% safe for its controllers, console, and dock.

Though they’re using a different adhesive, their skins deliver the same precision coverage as with their other designs. You can deck out your Nintendo Switch Pro controller in premium textures like black camo and carbon fiber, or you can mix and match true colors to look like your favorite Mario Kart character.

Know how to play incognito

Switch is a great system to play with friends, but sometimes you want to slide into a game without alerting your buddies of your online status. If you value your privacy, you’ll want to go through your User Settings to find Friend Settings. There, you’ll be able to adjust who gets to see when you’re online. Choose from blocking your entire friend’s list or barring just a select few of them. You can also make it impossible for viewers to see how many hours you’ve logged in a particular game. This will come in handy when you’ve spent an embarrassingly long time playing Vroom In The Night Sky.

Handle your Switch with care

If you didn’t already treat it like it was your baby, the latest reports about common structural problems should make you want to coddle your console. These issues have some users complaining about a warped or cracked console. While there’s no official word from Nintendo explaining why some Switches are suffering from these problems, there are a few “crack” theories that seem possible.

As for the warping, it could be the result of the heat produced by the console when it’s docked. If you’ve kept it docked for 40+ hours, playing for a lot of them, you’ll have noticed the Switch gets hotter than an un-air conditioned Brooklyn apartment. The rising temperatures, plus its position when docked, could account for the curve. As for the cracks, the jury is still out. Some people believe it’s simple rough handling to blame, while others believe it’s the console’s inability to withstand the heat.

You can attempt to prevent these issues from afflicting your Switch by monitoring its temperature. Break up marathon gaming and point a fan towards it to keep it cool. Be careful with it whenever you’re transporting it in a backpack or bag, and don’t let it jostle around loose where it could potentially sustain damages.

The Switch is already an easy console to play, promising hours of fun, but that doesn’t mean it’s flawless. You can curate the best Switch experience by using this cheat sheet and other helpful guides. From signs of damage to ergonomic playing styles, these tips can help you maximize your Switch’s potential.