Keyboard Movement vs. Mouse Movement

poasiods

poasiods

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Apr 2008

R/

Although moving with a,s,d, and w keys feel quite natural to me, I find it much more effective to click with mouse button in most cases. So, I was simply wondering if anyone plays the game without using keyboard movement pads.

RPGmaniac

RPGmaniac

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Aug 2005

I usually use mouse movements to click on stationary NPCs while holding alt as well as if I don't know the way somewhere but I can still click on it.

buddhakl

buddhakl

Academy Page

Join Date: Mar 2006

Northern NY

Ladies' Rhythm and Movement Club [MOVE]

W/Mo

I usually use my mouse's thumb button for auto-run, then hold down the right-click to steer.

Katari

Katari

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2005

Upstate

Me/

When it matters, you can respond faster with mouseclicking.

Jam Jar

Jam Jar

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Apr 2007

[Disc]

W/

Funnily enough, I use keyboard and mouse. For regular moving I use WASD, and for direction I use right click . R is auto run. I barely use the Left Mouse Button at all .

For selecting targets I use C for nearest than cycle with Tab. Space to attack.

Admael

Admael

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Sep 2005

California

Xen of Heroes

It was quite clever of the devs to incorporate both mouse and keyboard movement. Whenever I need the mouse (for example, to examine the area/rotate camera) I'd use the keyboard for movement. Whenever I need the keyboard (chatting, skills) I'd use the mouse for movement.

Vengeful Spirit

Vengeful Spirit

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2007

Rt/

I use the W,A,S,D keys for normal movement and mouse for special moving such as to merchants

Pyra Fade

Pyra Fade

Academy Page

Join Date: Feb 2007

sync dancing at Droks

Elite Order of Grimm [EOG]

E/A

alt/ctrl+left mouse to select npcs/targets
R+hold right mouse for general movement
WASD for precise movements like kiting

pretty typical :P



although, (kinda off-topic) im so used to WASD from other games, when im goin for a long walk, i never just hit R, unless i stop n look at the keyboard. i always go straight for W with my middle finger, then i can find R by feel with my index. idk, random, pointless i know, but oh well. lol

anyone else got random weird habits like that?

KomaTous

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2008

E/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Admael
It was quite clever of the devs to incorporate both mouse and keyboard movement. Whenever I need the mouse (for example, to examine the area/rotate camera) I'd use the keyboard for movement. Whenever I need the keyboard (chatting, skills) I'd use the mouse for movement.
Yea totally agree the whole mouse + keyboard combo is really awesome and allows for much greater customized controlling of characters

RedStar

RedStar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2007

_____________________ (\__/) (\__/) (\__/)Help (='.'=)(='.'=)(='.'=)Bunny (")_(")(")_(")(")_(")

[Bomb]

E/

I generally use the mouse because it takes the fastest route possible to go to my chosen location. And I've never been bodyblocked by monsters while using the mouse on my runs ^^.

gremlin

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Oct 2006

GWAR

Me/Mo

In answer to the op question, no I am a committed wasd person when it comes to games.
I play a lot of first person shooters where that's the only keyboard option so it makes sense for me to keep to that in gw.

I also try to keep similar key configurations for as many games as possible it saves taxing my brain with too many key-combos.

I do however have a friend who will be unable to play gw2 if they remove point and click as its the only way he can work the game, having little use in his left arm.
He got through all the gw games to the end using point and click.

fuzzball

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2008

a let my hands determine my fate...

the_jos

the_jos

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

Hard Mode Legion [HML]

N/

WASD for moving (used to it from playing FPS games), mouse for selecting and looking.

Dwarf Teh Guru

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jun 2007

Desolation Lords [DL]

q,w,e,s for moving, right mouse click to controll the way im going to.

works way better than wasd mouse clickin n shit, but that's Imo...

bathazard

bathazard

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2006

W/

yeah ummm....
well i use both mouse and keyboard. they are both equally good to use, but from force of habit i always have my fingers on wasd.

JR

JR

Re:tired

Join Date: Nov 2005

W/

Mouse movement is more efficient due to the way the netcode works. It talks more directly to the server.

Someone explained it to me more fully in the past, but I've completely forgotten. It is quite noticable though, when you compare the amount of lag/banding you get between the two.

Targuil

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2007

Tampere, Finland

Keep Dreaming [Yawn]

E/

Well, it depends, sometimes wasd and sometimes mouse.

miskav

miskav

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jun 2005

None

Mo/

QWES for general movement.
Mouse for more fine-touches

Gift3d

Gift3d

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2007

Las Vegas

Enraged Whiny Carebears [oR]

W/E

If i'm not sure how to get to one spot, like if it's a tricky/maze-ish area i'll click to a spot to automatically get to it.

Also, mouse-clicking in the Courtyard to assure you get there the quickest way possible.

Clicking is very useful in some situations. I think i read somewhere on official wiki that there won't be click-to-walk in GW2, which makes me a sad panda.

newbie_of_doom

newbie_of_doom

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2006

WTFPRIVACYDUDE

Endangered Feces [DoDo]

W/Mo

I usually only use my mouse prekiting though I should use it more.

jiggles

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2007

N/

WASD for everything, apart from when going to storage etc.

I did try using mouse movments last time the dragon arena was around, but i died so many times im not even going to give it another go

Shayne Hawke

Shayne Hawke

Departed from Tyria

Join Date: May 2007

Clan Dethryche [dth]

R/

Mouse movement is something I would only consider in places like Dragon Arena or Snowball. It's the superior form when trying to kite.

Otherwise, I use WASD with the right mouse-button held down to change camera angle at will.

stale

stale

Academy Page

Join Date: Mar 2008

canada

Bong Wielding Maniacs

R/Mo

i use the keyboard for everything it will let me. mouse is only for clicking on the NPC's, and changing attributes in my skill lines.

for general movement, i always end up doing better with wasd than with the mouse.

that and since i'm monking a lot lately, i rely on the speed of having both hands on the keyboard (numpad for my party members, 1-8 for skills. the speed of the human nervous system dictates that a healthy person will be able to select and depress a finger before they would be able to move their whole wrist. this has nothing to do with movement, just efficient monking)

not going to miss click to move if they do remove it, since other than for the NPC's, it's not something i've used.

as a thought though, if they do remove the whole "click-to-move" thing, will they have hotkeys in towns for NPC's in GW2? or will they have the "click to talk" functionality that we have now?

just wondering....

Commander Ryker

Site Contributor

Join Date: Jun 2005

R/

I use the R for auto run and the arrow keys to steer and stop. I use the mouse to click (and then hit the space bar) on npc's like storage and such.

The Red Messenger

The Red Messenger

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2008

America

I use both asdw and mouse when playing...whichever is faster and easier at the time. choosing targets i either push "C" or choose with mouse, and tab to change targets, or choose with mouse.

I go forward with "R" and adjust with the mouse when running.

SharonC

SharonC

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2007

USA

Confused and Ridiculously Lost [CARL]

R/

Looks like I am in the minority. I almost exclusively use the mouse for movement, along with R for auto run, C and T for targeting. I have never played first person shooters, though. The only other vaguely similar game I played online was Diablo 2, and that is one with frenetic mouse clicking, and limited keyboard controls.

I really hope we get both options in GW2, otherwise I will have a hard time getting used to the new (to me) movement commands.

Quaker

Quaker

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Aug 2005

Canada

Brothers Disgruntled

Quote:
Originally Posted by gremlin
I do however have a friend who will be unable to play gw2 if they remove point and click as its the only way he can work the game, having little use in his left arm.
There is an alternative to point&click. If you hold down both the right and left mouse buttons you move forward and steer with the mouse. This is the movement method I use most often, I only use "W" to move forward when I want to use the mouse for something else. Basically, like Admael, I use the mouse to move and the keyboard to talk on Vent, strafe, etc.,

Randvek

Randvek

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Sep 2006

Rise From the Ashes [phnx]

W/

Quote:
Originally Posted by JR
Mouse movement is more efficient due to the way the netcode works. It talks more directly to the server.

Someone explained it to me more fully in the past, but I've completely forgotten. It is quite noticable though, when you compare the amount of lag/banding you get between the two.
QFT. If you try using the mouse a lot, then try using the keyboard a lot, you will notice that when you use the keyboard you get bodyblocked much more often. It is because of the code, not skill. If you use the keyboard, I would get used to switching to the mouse in a pinch when you need to.

strcpy

strcpy

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jul 2005

One of Many [ONE]

I use mostly the mouse. But even then I'm probably in the smallest minority of them as I as the once mentioned "hold right button and press left to move". They introduced a bug in it about a year ago now I guess where the game will assume you are trying to click on something instead of moving if your mouse is over a clickable object (nothing like needing to move out of a Meteor Shower but instead stop moving to cast Spitefull Spirit - not only standing there taking damage but loosing a cast of the spell). The thread complaining about it had a whopping two or three of us post - more made fun of moving that way than anything else.

I have quite large hands and neither the WASD or the QWES method of moving is comfortable on any keyboard I have found. I tend to get cramps in my hand after a short while playing. If push comes to shove I can usually set a game up to where I use the keyboard to move forward/backward and the mouse to steer. Even in FPS I tend to mostly use the mouse for that reason.

Age

Age

Hall Hero

Join Date: Jul 2005

California Canada/BC

STG Administrator

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by JR
Mouse movement is more efficient due to the way the netcode works. It talks more directly to the server.

Someone explained it to me more fully in the past, but I've completely forgotten. It is quite noticable though, when you compare the amount of lag/banding you get between the two.
Could that have been Kuntz and I use both.

Maca

Maca

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Dec 2005

Guardians Of The Stars

Me/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gift3d
I think i read somewhere on official wiki that there won't be click-to-walk in GW2, which makes me a sad panda.
Sorry to say but that's great news to me
I would love that, I really hate click-to-move, even though I use it in gw..

strcpy

strcpy

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jul 2005

One of Many [ONE]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maca
Sorry to say but that's great news to me
I would love that, I really hate click-to-move, even though I use it in gw..
You can disable it right now if you want a game without it. You can still select a target and move to it (either with the mouse or keyboard) but clicking on some spot on the screen will not move you there. For the style of movement I described above I turned it off as it was annoying - plus I find the whole "click to move" thing to be difficult to position accurately and prone to accidentally clicking a spot and moving when you do not want too.

SilentWhistle

SilentWhistle

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2008

UK

[NoW]

Mo/W

Hey, just wondering, based on monking mainly, do you use the mouse to move and keyboard for skills or mouse for skills and keyboard for moving?
Thanks
SW

Dallcingi

Dallcingi

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Nov 2006

USA

The Black Parades [死人死]

Mo/

mouse to move cause it is quicker and u can take out that weapon swap lag
and keyboard to use skills since its more convenient. just map it out to your liking. (mine is 1234rtgh for example since 5-8 is long reach)
and i use mouse to click to heal cause its kinda hard to click on person for me... but if u can click on person that may be better.

cosyfiep

cosyfiep

are we there yet?

Join Date: Dec 2005

in a land far far away

guild? I am supposed to have a guild?

Rt/

a combination of both...but I mainly use the mouse for moving and the keyboard for things like picking up loot, opening my inventory (though salvaging I do with the mouse)....sometimes I use the numbers for skills other times I use the mouse---depends on which is quicker to get to (and if my mouse is behaving)

Painbringer

Painbringer

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2006

Minnesota

Black Widows of Death

W/Mo

I have a programmable keyboard which is a great but if you do not… a helpful tip is mapping your unused ten key (either for targeting you party or skills so one hand can activate them all. Takes some getting use to, so practice in RA then you can use the “Sorry I am trying new build” if things go haywire

Special Note – for my Mesmer (or any I guess) a programmable mouse is a great tool for disrupting fast casted spells ( I have two buttons mapped for skill 5 and 6 ) just in case. It is also good for spamming skills

Dylananimus

Dylananimus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2007

The Eternal Champions

W/Mo

I use keyboard to move, and mouse to...well, click on stuff, like spells

I honestly just can't so it the other way around, I get all confused :/

lyra_song

lyra_song

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Oct 2005

R/Mo

Both!

I personally prefer mousing for skills and buttons to move, but depending on the situation, i may switch.

Striken7

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2007

The District Nudists

R/

I use the keyboard both for movement (WASD) and skills (1-8). Space bar for auto-attacking, Shift+# for chat box control. F1-F4 for equipment switching, F5-F8 to place hero/party flags.

I use the mouse to interact with the Party window, pick up items, use switches/levers, manually activate the occasional hero skill, set attack/defend status of heroes and pets, and control the camera/zooming in and out.

I also have a mouse button mapped to microphone on/off control.

Supervillain

Supervillain

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Dec 2006

England

HML

W/

Keyboard for movement and skills 1-6.
Mouse for camera movement, clicking party list and using skills 5-8.