Transitioning From PS4 To PC: Any Tips?

[ChaoticCrimson]

So for over two years I've been playing this game on PS4 using a controller. Several months back I put together my own PC and now I finally picked up the Windows game license over the weekend while the sale was going on. Downloaded and installed the game, and I got to login for a little bit to try things out, but as I expected there's quite a bit I'll need to adjust to, particularly with using the keyboard/mouse controls. I've never really done much PC gaming, so I'm not entirely used to trying to move and fight simultaneously that way. I know I could just use a controller here as well, but I'd like to learn to use keyboard/mouse since I've been told countless times that it's supposed to be less clunky and more efficient.

So far, I've decided to finally make an alt character so that I can try to get used to playing on the keyboard as I level up, and I also ordered a Logitech G600 MMO mouse that I saw was pretty well-recommended, which should be shipping out soon. I know practice makes perfect, but does anyone have any good tricks or tips that might help make the transition over go more smoothly? Some advice with keybinds would be very helpful, and I could probably also do with some thoughts on organizing the UI, since I'll likely need to accommodate a bit of a different setup than on the PS4 since the hotbars will be working differently. Thanks in advance!

[reiichi]

The Keyboard/mouse vs controller debate is largely subjective. You can use either input method on both the PS4 and PC, which is what SE does during Fanfest events. (THere are PCs with keyboards and controllers and other areas usually used PS4s with dual shock controllers and mouse/keyboard plugged in too).

A mouse does make some things easier (UI elements), but I wouldn't consider a keyboard to be any more efficient than a controller in this game. Especially if you have to weffectively relearn how to interact with the interface and hotkeys all over. Mix and match for your own comfort/efficiency.

If you are interested in making that switch over, you can upload your settings to thel obby server and download them on the other device as well. So I'd recommend setting things up the way you like it on PS4 or PC, and then sync them to the other for consistency.

[Celaeno]

If your going for an MMO Mouse with buttons on the side of the mouse, make good use of them and use WASD to move in its place but still make use of Shift/CTRL/ALT Modifiers on extra hotbars to get full use out of every button on it. Example being my basic rotation and short CDs are bound to 1 - = which is my 1 - 12 on my mouse buttons, I use Shift for AoE rotation and Higher CDs, and CTRL for Major CDs that way I'm not hitting wrong things, but still can happen usually if my hands shifts from sneezing or something that causes me to move it more then usual.

As for your mouse hand, it comes down to muscle memory from practicing. Best thing to get that down better is to go to a dummy of some sort and practice just doing basics on it without the need of being in battle for at least 30mins to warm up before doing Dungeons or Raids, but if your just going to be out Questing during those times, then you'll be fine cause you'll build hand coordination between the 2 hands.

Biggest thing, don't give up even if it seems hard, I started out in 09 playing WoW as a clicker and I was so slow and bad but I didn't know cause it was easier back then, in 2012 I made the transition cause I wanted to PVP better and after a few months of practicing, learning macro making, it became second nature and now I can do the same thing with any game on the PC.

Another thing to practice for the keyboard is Homekeys. Learning how to type will let you have less down time typing out messages, and more time doing stuff. It might not seem significate but it's a big deal for quick effective communication when you have limited time. There are great tools out there like Typing of the Dead, and other things. Just do a google search and you'll find lots of things. I went to school for computer stuff and my GWAM was 50 which is above average, but not something extremely special either just really helps out and with lots of use you'll get it down with practice.

With Mouse, your Normal Camera will be Left click which won't move you, and Right click will be your movement facing. It becomes easier to turn that way, don't rely on the A&D keys for turning, it's too slow, and easier to get killed that way when you need to face another way. You'll be able to set your DPI with that logitech mouse, find one that fits your hand grip, arm length, and mousepad size. The lower the DPI the more it takes to turn, the Higher the less it takes to turn. The way to find the perfect medium is pick a number, then from the center of your mousepad, pan your camera to either left or right, if it makes a perfect 360 from center to edge then that is the best one to use, if it takes less or more then adjust the number up or down as needed.

Everything in the end comes down to practice, picking what works for you, and over time you'll develop a bind system that works for you. I keep similar buttons on the same keys. (Ex. Stun, Silence, Limit Break, Etc...)

[Nedkel]

You could still play on controller, i did that i moved from console to PC and i still play on controller.

Just plug in your DS4 with USB stick to your PC and thats basically it, it works straight out of the box in ffxiv.

[tdb]

I use an Xbox One controller when playing relaxed content and keyboard+mouse when I need peak performance. Recently I've also acquired a foot-operated controller which I use for movement, reducing the need of finger acrobatics for my left hand in complex raid situations. So now it's pretty much feet = movement, left hand (keyboard) = abilities, right hand (mouse) = camera and occasional targeting.

On the keyboard I find that number keys past 6 are too far from the left side where my hand usually is, which makes them difficult to hit accurately. So I've remapped the movement keys from WASD to ESDF and made the hotbar shortcuts go around that cluster as ZAQ123456TGB. This gives me 12 hotkeys that are in easy reach of my fingers at all times, and another 12 when used with the control key. I've also mapped the side buttons of my mouse to a few extra hotbar slots.

You don't need hotkeys for absolutely everything. It's fine to activate out-of-combat abilities such as mounts, teleport or emotes by clicking. Two hotbars (24 slots) seems to be enough for the combat abilities of most classes.

I find that changing the movement mode to legacy (camera-based) makes it easier to move around quickly using the keyboard. You'll no longer have to worry about which way your character is facing. If you need to dodge to the left on your screen, you simply press the left movement key. The only "drawback" is that you won't be able to walk backwards (since your character turns to face the direction of movement), but this is almost never an issue.

[LaylaTsarra]

I use a DS4 on my PC. I have a license on PS4 but I rarely use my PS4 now.

[TwiibieTwuu]

I personally prefer to use the dualshock just because it makes movement combat much easier. Find rotations easier to do on it too.

Worst part is setting up ALL your hotbars again...

[Vahlnir]

You can still play the game with your PS4 controller. It's basically just plug and play. I would honestly suggest doing just that.

I personally prefer to use the dualshock just because it makes movement combat much easier. Find rotations easier to do on it too.

Worst part is setting up ALL your hotbars again...

Thankfully, our hotbars can be transferred from one place to another with the character data backup feature. All one needs to do is upload them from one system and download them onto another.

[Averax]

Continue using controller

[Rhus]

I done this last week and decided to stick to controller. Muscle memory and what I’m used to. Didn’t like hotbars on screen like pc has. Didn’t feel right lol
Hardest thing after that is resetting hotbars and gear sets and ui displays which don’t carry over (also lost my retainer character data and obv pa4 screenings I’d take )