The Best Binds For PvP in Dark Souls 3 (KBM)

Good keybinds are your bread and butter of every competitive game. They can make or break how you play and how skilled you can become. So, I will show you what I consider are the best and most optimal, binds for Keyboard and Mouse.

Intro

First off, I would just like to thank certain content creators for helping me make this guide. They have influenced how I play and taught me almost everything I know.

Please check out:

• The Grim Sleeper on YouTube and Twitch [www.twitch.tv]
  
  
• Amir on YouTube and Twitch [www.twitch.tv]
  
  
• Sebbo on YouTube and Twitch [www.twitch.tv]

They have all contributed to my knowledge and experience of playing Dark Souls on Keyboard and Mouse. So I thank all of them for contributing to this community and making god tier content.

Key Binds

So, you're here either because you've just started the game and you've been mentally disabled by the default controls OR you want better binds for PvP. Either way, you're on KBM and I'm going to give you the best binds for overall use for Dark Souls III.

[DISCLAIMER: You will need a mouse that has side buttons for the optimal setup]

[SIDE NOTE: These binds are very similar to The Grim Sleeper's, I modified a few binds to what I felt were faster / easier, please do the same if you need to.]

Binds

• Q - Menu
  
• E - Interact / Select (menu)
  
  
• Mouse 5 - Light Attack
  
• Mouse 4 - Heavy Attack
  
• Left Click - Block / Select (menu)
  
• Right Click - Parry / Cancel (menu)
  
  
• Middle Mouse - Jump
  
  
• Scroll Up - Spells
  
• Scroll Down - Items
  
  
• Shift - Lock On
  
  
• Alt - Walk
  
  
• V - Two Hand Weapon
  
  
• R - Use Item
  
  
• CTRL + Left Click - Switch Left Hand Weapon
  
• CTRL + Right Click - Switch Right Hand Weapon
  
  
• Shift + Scroll Up - Switch Tab (left)
  
• Shift + Scroll Down - Switch Tab (right)

Everything else is either default, or not worth mentioning.

[SIDE NOTE: For my own personal binds I've started instead using CTRL + Scroll Down to change left hand weapon, and CTRL + Scroll Up to change right hand weapon, this is because it allows me to put away my crossbow when holding right click as you wouldn't be able to normally with the binds above. And vice versa.]

And since I'm very rarely soft swapping my main hand weapon, it's still there in-case I want to swap to a secondary main hand dagger for a riposte. This also allows me to use Mouse 5 as Switch Tab (right) and Mouse 4 as Switch Tab (left) which feels a lot better for swapping, as it's a singular button press and not a constant string of inputs like the mouse wheel, which can have human error.

[But I'd generally consider these binds more nit picky and uncomfortable even if they are technically more optimised.]

General Tips

Here, I am going to provide general movement tips and finger placement.

Finger Placement

Mouse - Thumb for mouse buttons, your light attack should be the mouse button furthest away from you. Keep your index finger on left click, use your middle finger to alternate between right click and scrolling. This is because you'll have more control over your scroll wheel and you'll be able to click items while scrolling or switching tabs in your inventory.

If you feel you can manage keep your middle finger on scroll, use your ring finger for right click. This is more optimal as you have each finger on a different bind, however at least for me, the grip on your mouse isn't very secure.

It almost feels like your mouse has gained the power of going sicko mode and Drake himself is going to hotline bling it out of your hand and start swinging it around like he does on video. You have lost control of the situation. Especially when you aim with bows / crossbows. So I would say do whichever comes natural to you.

Keyboard - Fairly straight forward, general 3 fingers on WASD and pinky finger resting on Shift and alternating to CTRL if needed. Thumb on Space and hovering over V.


Movement

As Keyboard and Mouse doesn't have the full 360° movement range of a controller, we have to compensate by using our mouse.

Backstabbing:

In Dark Souls III the best way to backstab is to do a light attack without pressing any movement keys OR pressing roll / sprint. Holding the roll / sprint key completely removes the possibility of doing a backstab.

Not sure why, those are just the mechanics. If you are sprinting, you'll need to let go of your movement keys along with roll / sprint to get a successful backstab attempt.

You'll know you're doing it right when you do a regular light attack instead of a running attack. If you are not sprinting, you can still use your movement keys, however I suggest you get into the habit of doing it without movement inputs. It's just more consistent. Trust me there's a huge difference.

[NOTE: if you are blocking while sprinting, continue to do the same process, you'll still do a running attack as blocking with a shield, while sprinting, makes it so you do a running attack, even if you stop moving. This however, does NOT affect your ability to backstab. So, it's perfectly fine.]

There are two main types of backstabbing, Pivot Backstabbing and Roll Backstabbing. I'll go over both.



Pivot Backstabbing - Pivot Backstabbing is when you sprint behind someone, generally unlocked and backstab them. For controller this is simple enough, you unlock, you use joystick to position yourself, you backstab. Simple enough.

However, KBM players have a slight issue. And this is the fact that we CAN'T move in 360° directions. At least, not without a few tricks. See, we CAN move in 360° it's just we need to use our mouse to do so.

There are two ways to Pivot Backstab:

• WASD - Point your camera towards your opponent so they are near the centre of your screen, move past them, depending on which side you are on quickly press either W > A > S OR W > D > S. Make sure you release your keys after you do this. Now light attack.
  
  
• WASD + Mouse - Point your camera towards your opponent so they are near the centre of your screen, move past them, depending on which side you are on quickly press either W > A OR W > D. And rotate your mouse quickly 90°. This should make it so you are facing to your left / right and your character is positioned behind their back. Now light attack.

Roll Backstabbing - Roll Backstabbing is when you roll behind someone, it doesn't have to be locked on, but if you are locked on. Unlock when you are mid roll. When you hit the ground move in the direction of your opponents back and delay your light attack to the point where you don't do a rolling attack. This is obviously easier on controller.

There are two ways to Roll Backstab:

• WASD - Point your camera towards your opponent so they are near the centre of your screen, roll past them, hold S or if they move slightly hold S + A or S + D. Now delay your light attack.
  
  
• WASD + Mouse - Point your camera towards your opponent so they are near the centre of your screen, roll past them, rotate your mouse quickly 90°. Hold either A or D. Now delay your light attack. You can also just hold S and micro adjust your movement with your mouse.

[NOTE: Since I've made this guide, Sebbo, who also plays on kbm, has made an in depth and very well made advanced backstab and technique tutorial, I highly recommend it, it will show you all the techniques and plays you should introduce into your gameplay with also the addition of knowledge on how to avoid being backstabbed yourself]

Please also watch Project Goof's tutorials for a better understanding:

Both methods have their Pros and Cons.

WASD - method is generally more consistent but is weighed down by the fact you can only attack at certain directions.

WASD + Mouse - method allows you to attack at any angle and is usually faster but it messes with your camera and spatial awareness and relies on your mouse control which can be more inconsistent.

Practice both methods as they are very useful in different scenarios.

Final Thoughts

I would just like to thank Grim, Amir and Sebbo again for helping me create this guide. They improved my understanding and helped me gain the knowledge I needed to make this.

I hope I have helped improve your Dark Souls KBM experience. I'll consider adding more to this guide in the future, but for right now I'll just stick to this. It's been a pleasure and it'll be rad if you learn something new or enjoy trying out the binds I've provided.

Hope to see you around in game and in Elden Ring.

Peace.

[feron overax]

that's great, glad we could solve this reasonably :) no apology necessary though, this was fun, and i learned some stuff as well.

[Creazzz]

i understand, and i'm sorry. i agree, keybinds are mostly personal preference, i only recommend this layout as it allows you to play the game at its most competitive environment, as well with the rest.

there isn't much information regarding high level mechanics for dark souls 3, especially when it comes to KBM, outside of niche discord servers, so i made this guide to help guide people in the direction of becoming a better player if they so choose to.

i'll rename the title to most optimal binds for pvp as to not confuse newcomers into the souls series, even if it may benefit them.

[feron overax]

what i'm trying to say is, your keybinds are not for everyone, indeed judging by the previous comments, most people seem to dislike it, but if that is your preference, that's totally fine. the problem, is that you are pretending that this layout is so much better than any other layout, that anyone who uses anything else is playing the game worse, when in reality, keybinds are almost entirely preference. i will admit that some of my arguments are not very good though. also, i use parry on m4, block on m5, light attack on m1, and heavy attack on m2. this is what is most comfortable amd easy to do FOR ME. if you fidn it different, that is fine. we are, after all, different people.

[Creazzz]

even if, you didn't have to "relearn" attacking or maybe even blocking, you're still not used to strong attack or weapon art, locking on, parrying will have to be on a weird bind and that's more important timing wise, similar to rolling so does that go on a side button too?

that's not very comfortable.

blocking on that too would be uncomfortable. you'd have to hold that down for a while.

you can critique it all you want, but you haven't made any good suggestions for any of the problems, at best you just say attack on left, block on right. but then literally everything else sucks.

i also find it hilarious how you have to repeat how easy this game is, as if you're lacking something. sure, it's not difficult once you get used to it, even asmongold beat the game. doesn't make him good at it.

[Creazzz]

your literal only point is that other games have attack as left click, which in this game keeping the same with so many combat options, is not like any other game and doesn't make sense.

there is not many or at all that have that sort of layout, so there's nothing being translated from other games.

even if you had that, and block on right click, you would still run into the issue of where to put strong attack and weapon art.

and no, binds do not take months to learn, weeks is for fortnite players who mess up and press their old binds which they have used for that game specifically, for months if not years, and even then that's during high intensity moments.

[Creazzz]

your only point is that light attack isn't M1

there are 4 combat binds in this game, 2 of them are for attacking

3 of them are binds you need to hold, light attack isn't one of them

you're suggesting moving light attack to M1 and putting a hold keybind on a side button, which is worse in literally every single way in terms of comfort

so where do you put the rest on the keyboard without compromising rolling or movement?

at least heavy attack has a set duration at best, even then it's paired with light so it's more intuitive

weapon art has a few click variations but as i said, previous point, pairing 2 attacks next to one makes more sense

and with all of that, you get to use the only aiming aspect of the game, which is offhand crossbows on left and right click, which is way more mouse control dependent than swinging your weapon

[feron overax]

these binds contradict almost every single first person/ third person kbm game these days, it absolutely will be hard to adapt

trying something more optimal helps all players, yes, but failure is almost always far easier to punish, and again, they are all totally unnecessary, as this game really isn't very hard.

a lot of the best bits of these binds are just the defaults as well lol.

adapting to another controller can take weeks or months depending on the player, if you adapt fast, good for you, but you aren't everyone.

[Creazzz]

implying that using something more optimal only affects the highest level of play is simply incorrect, it has more impact there, sure.

but that does not deteriorate the fact your rate of improvement and base skill level is further enhanced by using something which works better. it's the same reason why tracer players on overwatch land more pulse bombs rebinding their ult to Shift then leaving it on Q.

[Creazzz]

also someone who is new to dark souls, won't have any issues adapting to these binds, because they aren't used to any in the first place, and even if they are used to default or customised binds, adapting to another controller scheme takes as little as under a hour, at most. and the reward for using more efficient and optimal binds, raises your skill ceiling and baseline to the point where the benefits outweigh the time investment.

[Creazzz]

explain why it is harder, because there are no downsides.

you can use every combat ability at once, all tools / weapons in a useful way, allows you to unlock during or before an attack to properly space enemies, and also do so with free movement, switch your build on the fly more efficiently, it quite literally makes you perform better.

roll is most optimal on spacebar, it's the most important bind in the game, putting it on shift for example, on your pinky, on a weaker finger, will make you perform worse. especially when the difference of rolling a fast attack is being able to press and release said key quickly.

lock on middle click is clunky, it's simply not designed to be pressed repeatedly, as well as requiring on of your fingers off your mouse buttons. putting it on something such as Q hinders your ability to move left when unlocking, so shift is the only optimal one.

and jumping in dark souls is basically useless, it's a cosmetic bind and therefore not needed.