Many veteran MMO players hang their heads in shame when someone mentions using a game pad with MMOs. But what about us console gamers with no experience in PC MMO's? Avert your eyes PC gamers, here is a tutorial for playing SWTOR with a game pad.
Noob isn't even a word that would describe the knowledge I have as an MMO player. I've played video games on all types of consoles and PC's for most of my life, but I was at a complete loss when it came to the massive amount of key combinations needed to be successful in the MMO world. When Star Wars: The Old Republic (SW:TOR) showed up on the horizon I jumped in line and registered for the beta, got my code and began my journey through the SW:TOR Universe. To say the least I was struggling until I stumbled upon a post on the SW:TOR forums that talked about using a controller / gamepad with an MMO.
Up until recently my gaming background has been mostly FPS (first person shooter). I really didn't need anything more than the keyboard keys W,A,S, and D with the mouse for those games. Enter Star Wars with about 50 or so necessary key combinations and I am mouse clicking like mad. I didn’t like that at all and that is why I went searching for a solution which lead me to the discovery that using a controller is definitely possible.
After multiple bouts with carpal tunnel, getting pwned by noobs, and complete frustatrion in general I began my search for alternatives. I scoured the web to find the answer. What people are using, how well does it work, and how easy is it to learn? These are the questions for which I wanted answers. Thankfully my search was not in vain. Read on for the awesomeness that I’ve discovered.
First thing, you need a controller / gamepad that works with windows. I am using a power Xbox 360 controller although any gamepad will work. Next you’ll need a program that will allow you to map keys to the buttons on the gamepad as SW:TOR does not support the use of gamepads.
There are three programs out there that I researched:
- Xpadder - $10
- Pinnacle Game Profiler- $25
- MotionJoy (PS3 Controllers only - with the use of Joy2Key)- Free
I ended up going with xpadder as it seemd to be the best for my needs. It still costs money but allowed for advanced customizations which SW:TOR needs, supports virtually any controller out there, and also can kick a pirates ass. Any veteran of the MMO Universe is reading this red faced, smoke coming out of their ears and screaming blasphemy at my use of a controller in their precious game world. They’re calling me a noob, and all sorts of other names that aren’t very nice, but why? Well, the main reason is because you can’t possibly fit enough key combinations onto a gamepad. Right? Wrong, you can and I do fit everything I need onto a gamepad. Get your panties out of a twist and hold a second so I can explain myself before I get chased down by these villagers and their pitch forks.
The Xbox controller that I’m using has 10 buttons, two thumbsticks and a d-pad you can click. The thumbsticks which adds another 2 buttons to the controller for a total of 12 physical buttons. That's pretty good but not nearly enough by itself. Here is where the Xpadder software comes into play.
Xpadder is a a program that simulates the keyboard presses on the gamepad. It has full keyboard and mouse emulation. Which means any button that you can hit on a keyboard or mouse can be duplicated on the gamepad. Xpadder also allows for multiple keys to be bound to the same button click on the keypad as well as advanced functions as adding in delays or turbo.
Pictured below is my main layout in Xpadder. I am currently using the default key binds from SW:TOR. I have my complete bind layout at the end of this article for anyone who cares.
Thumbsticks: You can see my left thumb-stick controls my movement and the right thumb-stick works the camera. Xpadder has a nice feature allowing me to combine button presses on a single click. So i combined the mouse movement and mouse button two at the same time which allows me to move the camera. I can now move run and move the camera at the same time.
PVP Tip: Alternatively I have found swapping keys A and D for keys bound to strafe (Q and E for me) works well. Changing to this layout allows for strafing around an opponent and using the right thumb-stick for turning (Mouse Look). In English this lets you move around your enemy without losing line of sight.
Buttons: For the buttons I have my first four abilities in slots 1-4. These are my main rotation attacks once in battle.
Direction pad: These are my buffs or the alternate slots 1-4 on the bottom toolbar in the center.
Bumpers: Here is where I have targeting. Left for enemies and right for friendlies.
Triggers: Here is where the magic happens. Xpadder allows up to 8 profiles on the same gamepad. As you see from the bottom of the screenshot numbers 1-8. I am only using three. When I hold down either the right or left trigger it brings up a different layout. Here are my different layouts.
Left Trigger (Slot 2):
On Slot two the movement actions are the same but my abilities and alt abilities have changes to slots 5-8. 5-8 are my initial fight start abilities and stuns. While the alts are just the least used ones.
Right Trigger (slot 3):
On set up three I have tweaked the movements a bit in order to pick up loot a little easier. I gave the right thumb stick control of cursor movement with the center of the other joystick being mouse button 1. This allows me to pick up loot and select menu options.
Bounty Hunter tip - I do have the use of the ability “Death from above” without too much complexity set at slot 9. By having it on profile three i can select and use the right thumb-stick to target with the left thumb-stick set to fire. As I am up in the air firing away I return the cursor back to me.
I have become fairly comfortable with this layout and can perform in both PVE and PVP fairly well...for a noob. I am however constantly tweaking things because I’m trying to constantly improve my gameplay.
Tips:
- If you are worried about slowness of camera movement, don’t be. I actually have mine set all the way down for camera rotation speed and it’s still damn fast.- Xpadder allows you to set the sensitivity of the thumb-sticks. Right now I have it set in the middle for responsiveness.
- Movement - Center the cursor on the back of your character when not in use this will help you avoid the constant click of the second mouse button when moving the camera.
- Also I have the camera pulled out pretty far in order to get better awareness of my surroundings. This also allows for a little more flexibility so that you do not have to screw with the camera as much. I have mine set at 50% max distance.
- You can make conversation choices with this layout as well. The conversation choices are the same keybinds as slot 1-3. “1” being the top choice and “3” being the bottom.
There are some good places to check for more information like SW:TOR forums and xpadder forums. But more importantly the blog Peeps Plays with His Controller. I have taken his layout for the most part and changed a few things. Lots of great info and more tips here.
Now I will say that this does not completely replace the need for a keyboard for me, even though it could. I still use mine for random things like navigating menus, skill trees, space battles and such.
I am currently running a Bounty Hunter: Powertech. If you are running multiple characters I would highly suggest you make a profile for each. Here is a screen shot of my UI layout in SW:TOR.
Ability Binds:
| Layout 1: Main attack abilities 1 - Rapid Shot 2 - Rocket Punch 3 - Railshot 4 - Flame Burst |
Layout 2: AOE attacks and stuns 5 - Explosive Dart 6 - Electro Dart 7 - Flame sweep 8 - Missle Blast (never use it) |
Layout 3: Abilities an items on the side 9: Death from above 10: Sonic Dart |
Alt Ability Binds:
| Layout 1: Main buffs 1- Energy Shield 2 - Determination 3 - Vent heat (will become Heat Blast when i get it) 4 - Neural Dart |
Layout 2: Handy but seldom used 5 - Kolto Overload 6 - Grapple 7 - Overload 8 - Quell |
Layout 3: Xtra space - sometime I will put mission items, med packs or stims here |
To sum it all up I’m extremely pleased with the Xpadder and the options it has given me for using a controller as my main interface with SW:TOR. Sure there are a few things that could be tweaked here and there, but it beats the hell out of memorizing key combinations on a keyboard. I’ve grown so used to having a controller in my hands over the years that transitioning now doesn’t make much sense, and would make the game a little less enjoyable in my opinion. So if you’re like me and feel more comfortable with a controller in your hands than you do clicking away with a mouse and keyboard check out what Xpadder has to offer, or any of the other software out there for that matter. You might just surprise yourself with the ease of use and accessibility that these companies have brought to the MMO world.
