Game pad vs Keyboard

[Synfrag]

I should use the keyboard and mouse probably as WHM but am still using controller. Going to maybe try controller and mouse today and see if I can get used to it because the 17 buttons on a Naga are hard to live without.

[Kinseykinz]

I use a controller and Main WHM, and typically am faster at buffing/healing than other whm's I'm around...BUUUUTTT

1. I reconfigured my Controller to be what works quickest and best for me.
2. I have anally laid-out my action bars so that I have only 1-2 clicks between most skills, especially the most used or combo'd ones.
3. I use my targeting filters
4. As whm, I find it best to hard target the person who's going to get the most damage so you don't need to reclick them...then if someone else needs attention I just have to click up or down in the party list (you can do this from a gamepad) to heal them, but after that, my target is automatically still the tank or whoever is most likely to need my constant attention...meaning I don't need to re-target or move my mouse back to them.

Basically, this is a preference thing...using a controller requires a little more pre-planning and setup to get the smooth, quick gameplay you are after, but it works. But for folks use to gaming mouses/keyboards etc, the more 'traditional' PC routes probably work better. This is solidly a style thing.

[ispano]

On thing I suggest for people using mice with multiple thumb buttons, at least for the current UI. Set two of them up to rotate the action bars. It makes it much easier to access anything you need.

[ispano]

I use a controller and Main WHM, and typically am faster at buffing/healing than other whm's I'm around...BUUUUTTT

1. I reconfigured my Controller to be what works quickest and best for me.
2. I have anally laid-out my action bars so that I have only 1-2 clicks between most skills, especially the most used or combo'd ones.
3. I use my targeting filters
4. As whm, I find it best to hard target the person who's going to get the most damage so you don't need to reclick them...then if someone else needs attention I just have to click up or down in the party list (you can do this from a gamepad) to heal them, but after that heal/buff whatever, my target is automatically still the tank or whoever is most likely to need my constant attention.

Basically, this is a preference thing...using a controller requires a little more pre-planning and setup to get the smooth, quick gameplay you are after, but it works. But for folks use to gaming mouses/keyboards etc, the more 'traditional' PC routes probably work better. This is solidly a style thing.

This is where I feel most people get confused. For any given person, what suits them best, what they like or work best with, will vary. I will never argue against that. However, once you compare the two devices on their own, without any give persons preferences and such, one will clearly be superior for any given task.

[Kasathar]

Keyboard + mouse here, but still the targeting is so clumsy, sometimes is just nerve wrecking.

The problem is not what kind of set up is superior for 1.X , the problem is that the game was designed based on a console controller scheme, that's why targeting and pretty much everything else feels even more awkward than in FFXI, which was designed with a controller in mind as well.

[Raubahn]

weird. . .i only play with keyboard XD

[TimonLoon]

Keyboard + mouse here, but still the targeting is so clumsy, sometimes is just nerve wrecking.

The problem is not what kind of set up is superior for 1.X , the problem is that the game was designed based on a console controller scheme, that's why targeting and pretty much everything else feels even more awkward than in FFXI, which was designed with a controller in mind as well.

Thats weird since I always felt that the game played very similar to XI. I think what people are having an issue with is the targeting priority. In FFXI, pressing left or right would cycle through all targets from left/right.. In this game I feel like it hops around wherever it wants to. Also pressing OK (X or O) will not always target the closest target in FFXIV like it did in FFXI.

To add on to what Ispano is saying... This whole debate is similar to the debate that the Fighting Game Community has with controllers vs arcade sticks. It all boils down to preference.. but when you get to the nitty gritty one of the two will always have an edge (obviously arcade sticks). Mouse/keyboard vs controller is no different.

[Mishakai]

I simply can't play this game w/o the controller. Which is odd, because with every other single MMO that has allowed controller use, I found it to be a pain in the ass compared to a kb/mouse.

Not sure how I'll play in 2.0, have to see, if it really does respond to UI input like just about every other MMO made in the last 8 years, I'll probably be kb/mousing it again. All depends on if I can make my character run by holding both mouse buttons.

[Altera]

I prefer Controller. I am using the FFXIV controller at current state, and hoping the new UI for PC wont make me have to revert to using Keyboard and the god awful Razer Naga to manage all the various spells etc like I had to with WOW.

[Hycinthus]

I play with keyboard and mouse, not controller, since the new UI will be great it seems.