GW2 is the best MMO on the Market, imo. Here is the very simple reason I am not currently playing it.

[Obtena.7952]

Weird complaint ... game wasn't designed around a controller so how would GW2 even practically work with one and not having to use the KB? I mean, if you don't play it just because it doesn't have a controller even though it's the best MMO out there ... I guess that's your loss. 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Obtena.7952

[TheDoctor.3821]

Controller is a must for me because of my pain. I play the game using steams controller config and it works very well and i play plenty of WvW. I do wish for official support from them since playing on controller is very different with how few buttons we are able to have and being able to work with them on to get the best accessibility out of the game. Either way its very doable

[Batalix.2873]

Oof.

While I understand why GW2 is falling behind for lack of controller support, look at how much FFXIV gutted class design just to make gamepad support feasible.

GW2 was never designed for controllers. 10 primary keys plus a lot of ground targeting, on top of up to five F buttons, weaponswap, dodge, mount, special action.

FF keymapping is a nightmare and this would just be the same really. Arguably worse since the hotbar around which the entire gameplay revolves is quite literally formed to keyboard.

I say wait for GW3. If that ever gets released, rest assured it will be designed specifically for gamepads.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Batalix.2873

[Bankrotas.8215]

First you give them native controller support then they'll ask for native controller UI support. And that's a hill I'd die on, kitten console UI.

[Gehenna.3625]

I understand what you mean OP because I'm on the other side of it. I tried to like playing games with a controller and even bought a console but I just can't get used to it. For me a controller is awkward and slow (for aiming) and I'm just so used to M&K. So if there's a game I really want to play but it's only on console I just wouldn't play it.

I remember I wanted to play Horizon Zero Dawn. Well, now it's finally on PC so I bought it. However, I didn't expect them to do this. Also some games that were made for consoles that were then ported for PC are just horrible for M&K btw. So a port to console might suffer the same in return.

And yeah, I know that the argument "MMOs can't be ported to consoles because there are a ton more functions than controller buttons" is not true as such, but at the same time it does mean that you have to do all of those inputs with just a few buttons. So I imagine you'll have button combinations and buttons that open menu's and sub-menu's and I suppose for people who really want to, this might be fine to learn but it's trickier to learn than M&K because there are more keys than buttons and the mouse does make it a ton easier as well.

So I'm not sure whether it's worth it for Anet to invest into that. I suspect that with what's currently available to use a controller for GW2 by third parties, Anet's probably keeping their hands off this. I'm sure there are some players who would be happy with this...I'm just not convinced there are enough players who really want this to make this happen and build it into the game itself.

[Kelly.7019]

if they are not going to bother fixing the problems with keybinding you can sure as heck bet they won't care about this either.

[HowlKamui.5120]

On 7/20/2023 at 8:19 AM, JayMadIV.8721 said:

I did exactly as you said for a good while, used Steam to play with my controller. I am very familiar with all of the third-party workarounds.

I decided to stop doing that. Third Party workarounds shouldn't be necessary.

For me it's the principle, despite how much I like the game. And it's perfectly fine if you think it is "kinda ridiculous" and don't understand or whatever. 

I'm not terribly interested in arguing about it at this point either. I've said what I needed to say, it can stand as is.

I've got nothing else to say on the matter, really.

Well okay then. Venting is perfectly fine.

[Abnaxos.4305]

On 7/18/2023 at 5:19 PM, jokke.6239 said:

It's the right stick that's the problem. Mouse is so much better (to no ones surprise)

I've mapped the Gyro to mouse, problem solved (using a DualSense, but SteamDeck/SteamController also have a gyro). 🙂

[almostdaft.4319]

You can’t even play WoW to its full potential on a controller, not sure if you could GW2.

[Dante.1508]

On 7/20/2023 at 8:05 PM, Gehenna.3625 said:

I understand what you mean OP because I'm on the other side of it. I tried to like playing games with a controller and even bought a console but I just can't get used to it. For me a controller is awkward and slow (for aiming) and I'm just so used to M&K. So if there's a game I really want to play but it's only on console I just wouldn't play it.

I remember I wanted to play Horizon Zero Dawn. Well, now it's finally on PC so I bought it. However, I didn't expect them to do this. Also some games that were made for consoles that were then ported for PC are just horrible for M&K btw. So a port to console might suffer the same in return.

And yeah, I know that the argument "MMOs can't be ported to consoles because there are a ton more functions than controller buttons" is not true as such, but at the same time it does mean that you have to do all of those inputs with just a few buttons. So I imagine you'll have button combinations and buttons that open menu's and sub-menu's and I suppose for people who really want to, this might be fine to learn but it's trickier to learn than M&K because there are more keys than buttons and the mouse does make it a ton easier as well.

So I'm not sure whether it's worth it for Anet to invest into that. I suspect that with what's currently available to use a controller for GW2 by third parties, Anet's probably keeping their hands off this. I'm sure there are some players who would be happy with this...I'm just not convinced there are enough players who really want this to make this happen and build it into the game itself.

I agree i grew up on Intellivision, Megadrives, Nintendo's and early Playstations many years ago.. when controllers were semi ok to use. But after using pcs for so long Modern controllers just feel complex to use. I've tried multiple times to try and get used to PS4 controllers but many days later i'm still fighting against them.. Xbox controllers are even worse they are all messed up button wise.. I just cannot do it.

Controllers just feel funky to use.. and my brain cannot get used to them.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Dante.1508

[Abnaxos.4305]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:03 AM, Batalix.2873 said:

While I understand why GW2 is falling behind for lack of controller support, look at how much FFXIV gutted class design just to make gamepad support feasible.

Using controller in FFXIV, I've got 48 actions at my fingertips at any time and these sometimes aren't enough. This is not a controller problem, this is a serious usability problem, even with keyboard and mouse (I'd even argue that controller users are better off than K/M users, some PC players actually switch to controller for combat). FFXIV's issue isn't controller support – job design in general is the issue, regardless of input method. With just 18 actions + weapon swap, GW2 is far from running into such problems. My GW2 mapping is inspired by FFXIV, but it's a lot simpler: I just need L2/R2 for the "cross hotbar", no need for double-L2, double-R2, L2+R2 and R2+L2.
----

Back to topic: I'm playing GW2 with controller. The one important idea that basically saved the game for me was to use the gyro as mouse. Now I have such a close-to-perfect controller configuration that I'm unsure whether I really want ANet to implement native support for controllers. If they did, I'd probably stick with my current mapping. 🙂

There are a few issues, though. I think it's fine to leave controller-to-K/M mapping to players, because it works fine (provided that action cam keeps being supported), but there are some things that ANet could do to support players in doing that:

Movement is one of the most annoying issues with a controller. Mapping the left stick to WASD (just 8 possible directions and only 1 speed) feels very clunky. For a stick to feel good you'd need about 3 movement speeds and a lot more directions, like 32. This would require reading the stick, however → not gonna happen. But if ANet would add a hold-to-walk key binding (even better from a controller mapping perspective: a walk by default option + a hold-to-run key), so we could map that to the inner/outer ring of the stick. This simple feature probably wouldn't be too much work for ANet, but a huge improvement for controller players.

Another issue is that GW2 hides the mouse pointer when turning the camera or character preview. Since Steam uses the visibility of the mouse pointer to determine whether we're in mouse or action mode (which are two completely different bindings), this is a problem for controller users. An option to keep the mouse pointer visible at all times (except in action cam) would be great. It would basically be a feature specifically for Steam Input (tough some K/M players might enjoy it as well).

You see the general idea: add some small features that support mapping the controller to K/M, without actually adding native controller support. This would be a nice middle ground.

Then, ANet could leave it to the community to publish their mappings. Maybe provide some space in the wiki or something to encourage players to actually publish it. I've put hours into my mapping and I perfectly understand anyone who says "nope, I'm not gonna go through this", because it's truly a PITA. So, we controller players need to organise and share our work. ANet might be able to help a little with that.

[Alsandar.7420]

Don’t ridicule this guy

He wants a controller and that’s ok

Maybe one day Anet will grant him his wish

Yall 2023 gotta let people dream and express themselves. Do more encouraging and less discouraging

[Slartibartfast.5416]

On 7/18/2023 at 5:01 PM, Danikat.8537 said:

I keep looking at those. If I was sure I'd like it, or if I could afford to risk wasting the money, I'd get one because it looks good. I wish there was a way for me to try it out in real life.

I've used one for 5 years, got one of the early models.  I wouldn't game with anything else.