Keyboard vs Controller

Malyore · May 6

For some reason the forums always bugs out to where I can't add a second option to a poll. So I'm gonna ask it as a discussion. PC players, do you prefer keyboard or controller?
I have always played ESO on console and have just gotten it on PC so I can play the base game with my computer friends. And getting the notable home for free made it a prime time to make a new account. I'm debating whether I should stick with keyboard, or if it's truly more fluid to play on a controller. What do y'all prefer? What are your thoughts?

Monte_Cristo · May 6

Mouse and keyboard, cause I can't physically use a controller. Simple 2 button and scroller mouse for the same reason.

Dax_Draconis · May 6

I started ESO on console. When I switched to the PC version it was easier for me to stay with using a controller and the console UI. The PC interface was too unfamiliar.

virtus753 · May 6

I came from console (other games, not ESO), and for a few years I used gamepad for almost everything. I still use it for combat. The character movement is much smoother on controller and allows for finer control. That’s about the one advantage it has, in my experience.

For everything else now I use keyboard mode. (Settings are now set to switch automatically, which did not always exist as an option.) There are several outstanding issues that mean gamepad is unnecessarily an inferior experience for non-combat tasks. I got tired of switching modes just to pick up a treasure map I already had in my bank or to see into a guild bank that I didn’t have withdrawal perms for. There are also critical tooltips in keyboard mode entirely missing from gamepad mode, as well as helpful details like numerical progress towards ranking up a skill or skill line. What pushed me into using keyboard mode most of the time was actually a very bad bug where the roster would shift every time someone changed zones or logged in or out, so roster management was an utter nightmare with promoting/demoting/kicking the wrong people, but that only impacted gamepad mode. It took them months and months to fix, and it was a recurring bug too. Gamepad mode just isn’t designed and maintained to the same standard as keyboard mode for features like that.

Orbital78 · May 6

I just use both, for combat always controller. For some inventory management, guild trader stocking, and a few others things I'll hotkey to KB&M UI and then back. I had used a Xbox wireless for years but the main thing I didn't like was the lack of buttons. I recently upgraded to a Vader 3 Pro which has 6 more buttons which totally fixed the issues. I find it much more relaxing to sit back with a wireless controller personally.

One big issue is the jump button being an interact button, which can be annoying. There is an addon to help remove some of those obstacles called "no interact" which you can hotkey enable/disable with keyboard. With a controller like mine you could program it to one of the custom buttons too. I have a keyboard nearby so I just turn companion, assistants, or npc rules on when need be.

barney2525 · May 6

well, If I don't use mouse and keyboard the character s does not move.

Quackery · May 6

I have my PC connected to my TV, so it's controller for me. Also, I get confused when playing with k&m.

frogthroat · May 6

I think it largely depends on what your preference is. I haven't played ESO with a controller, but I used to play Bethesda games on a console. I switched to PC and have been playing for several years with a keyboard and mouse. I recently decided to try a controller again when playing a few older Bethesda games I have hundreds of hours each on console but now the controller felt... weird. I now prefer keyboard and mouse.

In the Elder Scrolls games there is not that much difference in how "successful" the playing is, but in Fallout series I noticed aiming a gun is easier with a mouse. Trying to aim with a controller now made me think how could have I ever played like that. Other than that, it's just what you're used to. Not sure if that translates to ESO since there are way more buttons to press in ESO, but if the older Bethesda games are any indication - play with whichever feels more comfortable.

Masteroshi430 · May 6

I use keyboard + Razer Tartarus V2 keypad + mouse,
The keypad offers the ease of (in combat or not) movement control you can have with a controller with it's D-pad, something like 21 keys you can assign for combat, jump, crouch, call horse, etc and you still have all the keys of your keyboard for typing messages fast & assigning more rarely used keybinds.

I tried this config to play "the Witcher 3" and a few PC emulated 3D "the Legend of Zelda" series games years ago and now I can't switch back to just mouse/keyboard or controller... I think it is the best solution for 3D type immersive games.

Danikat · May 6

I'm comfortable using both controllers and keyboard & mouse and use both regularly, but it occured to me a while ago that (maybe because I'm ok with both) I rarely choose, I tend to use whatever the default is for the game/platform. That's especially weird for PC games because I will routinely change the default keybindings, both to make use of the extra buttons on my mouse and because I'm left-handed so default keyboard layouts tend to be uncomfortable for me. But I rarely think to try a controller even though I have 4 or 5 different ones in the room which would work. (Plus several older ones which would need an adapter to connect to the PC.)

That's exactly what I've done with ESO - never tried a controller but have completely changed the keybindings.

I should experiment with it more but to be honest I'm pretty lazy about it, I make a point of trying Switch games handheld, with the pro controller and with the two seperate joycons to see which I prefer, but then tend to stick with 1 for that game.

Sakiri · May 6

The only game I ever got comfortable using a controller on was FFXIV.

The controls for ESO are too confusing for me on controller. And apparently I wouldn't be able to get my PS4 one working easily(I don't play on windows) so there's that.

DigiAngel · May 6

Controller for when I'm on a laptop...just for gathering resources though. K/b mouse for everything else.

M_Volsung · May 6

If a PC game doesn't have controller support, I'm not playing it.

WuffyCerulei · May 6

Controller. It's the most comfortable and easiest for me to use. Wrists tend to hurt after laying on the keyboard for awhile. I only use the kb&mouse UI for linking multiple things or putting things in the trader. People will whine and say that controller is a handicap, but it's just simply easier for a lot of people. I can pull over 100k dps on the dummy with a controller. It's a matter of skill, not whichever input you decide to use.

Gray_howling_parrot · May 6

Controller gang!

tohopka_eso · May 6

Controller here but last couple of days it's been disabling itself. I did buy a new PC recently so might have to double check my settings.

kyatos_binarini · May 6

Playing ESO (and any other game) on mac with touchpad is a pain, so I have "gamepad mode: automatic" selected and use it 95% of the time.

AlienSlof · May 6

PC, mouse & keyboard for everything.

LunaFlora · May 6

When i play eso on pc i use a controller.
Controller is way easier to use compared to mouse and keyboard and the user interface is bigger and more accessible for me.
the other ui is so tiny and hard to read and navigate.

beyond Minecraft i don't really use mouse and keyboard for games if i have the option not to.

arisenlicious · May 6

If I’m doing some casual questing and/or fishing / survey/treasure map hunting I can use the controller. But most of the time I’m using k&m.
Especially with trials and dungeons.

Scaletho · May 6

For PVP, the use of keyboard X controller is a serious unbalanced situation in combat. Controller players do have advantage of quicker reactions, character movements and less buttons to use in combat skills.

This problem is one of the several related to unfair use of advantages in ESO PVP and that's why Cyrodill PVP is a unfair scenario.

oldbobdude · May 6

Controller for trials, dungeons and running around in the world. Keyboard mouse in town for crafting, guild store work. I just like movement and combat better with controller.

Desiato · May 6

I prefer mouse and keyboard because I'm an oldschool twitch gamer who really appreciates quick movements. When I say twitch, I mean the movement style that inspired the name of the streaming site, not the streaming site itself.

When I was at my best in ESO many years ago, I used to play 3200 dpi at 90-100% sensitivity, but now that I'm older I've toned it down to 2400 dpi at 90% sensitivity.

Because precise aim is so unimportant in ESO, I recognize the gamepad offers some advantages over mouse and keyboard, especially in terms of ergonomics, but I am addicted to fast movements and would hate a slower camera.

Also, I'm really sensitive to input lag and love the low latency optical switches on my mouse and keyboard.

TaSheen · May 6

KB/M, since the mid 80s. Never touched a controller, no need.

adirondack · May 6

I love the varied responses here. I’ve been using a Logitech G13 gamepad mouse in ESO since launch. Based on some of the comments here I connect my controller and have been surprised by how different it is - with good and bad impacts all outlined above.

Thanks making this question - it had opened my eyes to some new ideas.

ArchangelIsraphel · May 6

Optical switch mouse and keyboard, for the lowest latency I can get. I've always disliked controllers and always will. I've never found them to be as fast or responsive, personally. (I also just don't like the console interface)

shadyjane62 · May 6

Mouse and keyboard for 23 years through at least 7 different games. Plain old wired 2 button Logitech mouse same type I started with.

BretonMage · May 6

I'd been using the controller for all TES games till now, and ESO is in fact the first ES game I've used the k/m for. It seems like there are just so many more functions in ESO; I spent some hours trying to use a controller for ESO but it didn't feel natural.

WhiteCoatSyndrome · May 6

Mouse and keyboard. I’m not buying a controller for a PC game!

dk_dunkirk · May 6

I spent a couple thousand hours on PC, and tried to use a controller a couple of times, because even though I'm a programmer for 40 years, I lose my bearings on the keyboard in the heat of battle. I never really locked in.

Then I took a long break, and started new on the PS, where a controller is the only option. In a couple hundred hours, I grew to really like it, and I think it makes combat way easier than fumbling around on a keyboard, where you have to use movement keys with the same hand as skills. (I know some people use a mouse with a whole bunch of buttons, but they're too small and too close together for me.)

I'm back on PC now, and use a controller for everything except inventory management, crafting, and banking. These things can be done with a controller, but after mods to assist those functions, the controller really gets left behind.

As others have pointed out, ZOS has made using a controller on PC much easier now with automatic switching of modes. I just wish the UI zoom level was consistent. You have to play with the setting until the mods stop drifting around the screen.

I've used a Playstation controller, which was flawless, and never gave me any trouble. I've now "upgraded" to a SCUF Envision Pro. The hardware is fine, but the software is sometimes glitchy. Recent updates have made things better, which means they're still working on it. But it has tons of extra buttons that you can assign to various things. I especially like the macro I have on one button which maps to a series of keystrokes that types the slash command from Beam Me Up to immediately teleport to party crown.

DrNukenstein · May 6

The upsides of stick movement outweigh the downsides of stick aim, every game.

Also, that scene from Men In Black 2 where Will Smith drives the flying car with a Play Station controller.