Controller support & recommendations?

[Krelian]

A little background story if anybody could be interested:
Greetings! I had purchased GW2 some moneths ago on devs/publishers official webbsite before it was released on Steam. And it is prolly one of the best MMORPG's I've ever played.
Unfortunately I couldn't keep on playing the game for long. That is because, in my particual case; after work, I am literally so tired (and a huge case of ''mouse arm'') that my shoulder/elbow hurts and I can't sit in front of my PC using the keyboard/mouse like I usually do. Instead; I primarily sit on my couch and use the PS5 for entertaintment (Youtube, Netflix and Gaming) with the interface based on the remote controller and gamepads.

As an older gamer (approaching 39 years of age); previously in my life, I have tried to use various programs (such as X-padder or what's it's called) in order to be able to play an MMORPG with a gamepad (back than I had done it out of curiousity, and not ''need'').
And although the software worked practiaclly perfectly, I couldn't make or find a ''perfect'' setup for my MMO's with a gamepad myself. If it was implemented by the devs, it was good, but I just couldn't find or make a comfortable/efficient ''a.k.a not very cumbersome'' gamepad-setup for my MMO's.

Last I checked, there was no official gamepad support for Guild Wars 2, but if memory serves, like Secret World Legends and some other MMO's as such, Guild Wars 2 inherently has a ''limited'' hotbar, a.k.a the player doesn't immediately need 10 rows of hotbar buttons in order to be able to play the basic content, rather there are a limitied number of skills immediately needed in order to be able to play the game, which could just theoretically mean that the game (GW2) perhaps could be a little more gamepad-friendly.


Back to topic:
Are any of you guys playing the game exclusively with a gamepad? If so; what kind of gamepad and program (X-padder, Steam fullscreen whatchamacallit? Etc?) are you using? What kind of challenges are there (for example, swithcing between camera control, character steering and mouse-control for the menus?) Are you happy with your setup? Humbly asking; would you perhaps be willing to share what kind of setting/controllers etc. you are using so that a Noob like me could be inspired/encouraged to use it too? Just a wild guess, but perhaps using a Steam-controller instead of an Xbox controller would be a better solution? Just wondering about other folks experiences.
PS! Asking because if I could find a good/efficient way to use a gamepad in GW2, I would definetly be back to the game.

Thanks you for your time. And thanks in advance for any possible answers in regards to the question. Cheers! :)

[PirateNinjaRobot]

You should look into regular chiropractic care and massage for your shoulder and arm, the problem you have can be fixed in this way, hopefully before you need carpal tunnel surgery or something like that.

Not sure about the controller bindings, I've been looking into this as well.

[Infinite Pudding]

Originally posted by PirateNinjaRobot:

You should look into regular chiropractic care and massage for your shoulder and arm, the problem you have can be fixed in this way, hopefully before you need carpal tunnel surgery or something like that.

Not sure about the controller bindings, I've been looking into this as well.

\Do not waste money on Chiropracty. It's an all out scam.

[Gon Freecss]

Originally posted by Infinite Pudding:

Originally posted by PirateNinjaRobot:

You should look into regular chiropractic care and massage for your shoulder and arm, the problem you have can be fixed in this way, hopefully before you need carpal tunnel surgery or something like that.

Not sure about the controller bindings, I've been looking into this as well.

\Do not waste money on Chiropracty. It's an all out scam.

what a load of nonsense.

[Gon Freecss]

Lately i have had terrible back pain. So i cannot sit at the desk for too long. I have played Elder Scrolls Online with controller but that game is awesome for controllers as its officially supported.

I would like to find a good controller scheme for GW2 as well. Your best bet would be steam controller configs. There are so many people have made, so i guess its just trial and error.
Im sure you can find something thats good enough and maybe tweak it to your liking too?

Its a shame it doesnt have official support like ESO where it changes everything including UI to better suit the controller. I wish

[Tyrian Mollusk]

Originally posted by Krelian:

Are any of you guys playing the game exclusively with a gamepad?

Yes, my partner and I play only on controller. Well, controller and trackball, because trackball is generally more convenient with menus, but it's not necessary. We've got over a thousand hours playing together this way, so you definitely can enjoy the game with a controller.

If so; what kind of gamepad and program (X-padder, Steam fullscreen whatchamacallit? Etc?) are you using?

Xbox 360 controller and Steam Input for mapping. You don't need Big Picture Mode to use Steam Input (just the normal Steam overlay), and you don't need the Steam version of the game, since you can add games to your Steam client as "non-Steam games" and Steam Input will do its thing automatically for them. We started out with Xpadder, but it has some serious design problems that get in the way of using shift keys, which are essential for something like GW2.

Also, in GW2's case, you can run the Steam install as the standalone client, which lets you run it like a normal Steam game but use your standalone account. Do this by setting the game's launch argument to "-provider Portal", but take heed that if you do this you only seem to be running the Steam version. It's actually the standalone client with a standalone account and you CANNOT buy anything through Steam for a standalone account. If you buy through Steam, it goes to your Steam-linked GW2 account, and you can't get that changed.

What kind of challenges are there (for example, swithcing between camera control, character steering and mouse-control for the menus?) Are you happy with your setup?

Camera is not an issue at all. You use action cam mode, and the game automatically switches to normal mousing anytime there's a dialog open, and back when closed, so that's all pretty seamless.

You do suffer a bit on things that are designed to convey information only through mouseover, because getting to those quickly is annoying even if you just jump to the mouse. Of course, you are a bit less precise and quick when playing on action cam instead of mouse. There are also a lot of buttons needed to play and no button prompts to go by, so you have to be patient as you get used to any config. A good config should do its best to help get your head attached to how it works, so it can feel relatively intuitive for all the myriad actions you use in play, but no matter what, it's just a lot of buttons.

The biggest problem we have is there's an annoying Steam bug that Valve has just ignored for ages, which can leave you basically stuck with a shift key down. It's easy to trigger when playing quickly, and I basically had to set up a reset shortcut that will reliably clear the config to normal, so I don't have to figure out how to tease it back to the way it's supposed to work in the middle of a fight. I really wish they'd fix that bug, because it's really wrong to have configs sending button press actions when you're releasing the button. Pretty inexcusable, but what does Valve care?

Humbly asking; would you perhaps be willing to share what kind of setting/controllers etc. you are using so that a Noob like me could be inspired/encouraged to use it too?

You really don't have to be so mousy about this. Steam Input has a whole system for automatically sharing configurations, and I don't think any of us config builders try to hide our work. Certainly there have been a number of threads here about using controllers, with various configs mentioned. Anyway, below is the guide for mine. It has setup instructions and game settings and such, because there's way too much for the tiny, broken info box Steam Input let's you attach to a config.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2853314602

Just a wild guess, but perhaps using a Steam-controller instead of an Xbox controller would be a better solution?

Maybe if you have one and it isn't wearing out, but I've always been quite pleased with the way the game plays and wouldn't go through the trouble of getting one just for that, when a trackball covers inventory mousing just as well anyway.

[Tyrian Mollusk]

Originally posted by supad:

Its a shame it doesnt have official support like ESO where it changes everything including UI to better suit the controller. I wish

Yeah, but let's be honest here. Not only has Anet made absolutely clear they are not the least interested in controllers, but they would undoubtedly do an awful job. We're probably better off being allowed the action cam and free use of our own tools for controller play, without getting them any more involved.

[Vision]

Official controller support would be really appreciated as this game runs flawlessly on Steam Deck too. Only controls are kinda meh. You can play it but it's not really easy.