What's your opinion on playing first-person shooters on a controller?

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Gawd
Joined
Aug 25, 2010
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I'd get a console for gaming but I'm not too sure about playing first-person shooters on a controller. What's everyone's opinion on playing first-person shooters on a controller?
 
It's ok, you get used to it. They have massive amounts of auto-aim and aim-assist so it's easy.

Not as fun as keyboard and mouse IMO, but it's fine.
 
since i rarely play anything multiplayer i use a controller. its also easier to relax with.
 
everything oustide the actual aiming is more natural and seem to have nice advantage, sadly never got used to the aiming part, so much that in cyberpunk-red dead, etc... I something shift to the mouse-keyboard for the big gun battle and back to the controller for the general play, driving, etc....

A mouse is quite the aiming tool and hard to beat, I imagine people forced to use the controller get used too quick enough.
 
I've been exclusively using controller on PC for years because it's more comfortable, it took some adjustment after doing the KBM thing for a long time but it does work even for FPS games.

It helps to think of aiming on controller (with aim assist enabled) as more of a timing thing than precision. Quickly line up the shot as close as you can, then hit the ADS (usually L2) to snap to target, then fire right away before the target moves.

On PC, it's also possible to use gyro aiming with DualShock/DualSense controllers- dunno if that's an option on Playstation though.
 
It takes a bit to get used to it but it's really not bad. Like others have said most games have an aim assist as well as a sensitivity adjustment when ADS. Keep the camera quick to get on target but slow it way down when aiming down the sights to gain precision. Just like anything else it just takes some time to get good at it.
 
My main PC display is the TV and I game almost exclusively from the couch the last few years. It took a long time to get used to and I don't think I'm as accurate to this day, but I still prefer the Elite Series 2 or similar (has to have back triggers/buttons) to keyboard and mouse for most games. Much more comfortable and convenient.
 
Only game I play on keyboard and mouse is the original Dooms, even then sometimes not. I’m not competitive, just a spare time gamer and I really don’t game that much anymore
 
Controller for everything now. Playing in keyboard is very uncomfortable for me now. I am not a sweaty gamer anymore so idc. Play how ever you like.
 
Once you get used to it, it's actually tough to go back to KB/M. Pads will always take a backseat to the mouse when it comes to pure twitch aiming, but games have been getting away from that for a while. I find myself using an Xbox pad for 99% of games these days.
 
I tried it for single player fps just cause it'd be easier on my wrists and forearms but I just can't aim right with a joystick.
 
controller: never...controllers are for consoles, kb/m is for PC ;)

kb/m: always for every PC game...even the games people say are unplayable with kb/m...remapping is your friend...take some time to remap the keys based on your hand layout
 
Interesting answers for [H]ardforum... (which is exactly why I love it)

It is a very strange thing, you cant imagine using anything other than quickest and most accurate control system for decades, and yet you somehow feel you're outgrowing it. I totally understand younger pc gamers who can't use anything but m/k, but things really do change with age. Comfort, ergonomy and experience as a whole come to first place instead of raw performance.

I feel the same about gaming on big screens, after you experience it that way, it is very hard to go back to the old way of thinking. You're gonna perform better on m/k and monitor for sure, but when you see everything on that small screen again...

Age is the biggest factor here I think. At some point you just don't care anymore.
 
I'm 100% against using a controller for FPS. I picked up Last of Us during the Steam Sale and was immediately greeted with a warning that using a controller is highly recommended so I used my Xbox One controller. I couldn't aim accurately quickly with it at all and turned it off during the first gunfight and never looked back. It played great on a mouse/keyboard. Aiming with a mouse for me personally is much quicker and more accurate than the thumbstick. It doesn't cause my any discomfort either. I think the last time I actually used a controller for FPS was on Halo 2 and at that time I was fairly competent with it.

I guess if I really wanted to I could re-train myself to get good but why? Mouse/keyboard will always win. If developers took auto aim / aim assist away from controller players on competitive FPS there would be no competition. I always lol'ed when I saw players in a Call of Duty lobby that were playing on Steam/Battle.net and using a controller.
 
I have a really hard time aiming with a controller in FPS games. I'll either take too long to get on target or just overshoot the target.
I did try this device I have from back in the day to use M/K on my Xbox360 and it was working to a point but didn't mess with it to get it dialed in.
MW2 did see that I was using a controller so the controller features were enabled for me.
I think I read that they are banning people for using these types of devices though.
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Oh, and I find it uncomfortable to use a keyboard for fps gaming, I prefer the keypad devices, like the Razor Orb Weaver, Logitech G13, and Nostromo N52
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Keyboard & mouse for the past 30 years I have a controller but it's for single player games like Batman/Spiderman etc.

The right way to play FPS shooters is with a mouse :)
 
Nah, not really. I've adjusted to using a gamepad for 3rd person shooters, but first person is still KBM preferred for me.

If you have to use a console for FPS, I recommend Xbox. Their KBM support is superior to Sony.
 
I have tried a controller, but even after many hours of time, I cannot contol my shots nearly as well as with KB/M. I simply can't pull off flick shots with my thumb. I have been playing with KB/M combo since it was first avaialble in FPS games, so I am pretty locked in on muscle memory. I do like controllers for many 3rd person games though.
 
Spray and pray stuff is fine like COD or Halo etc. Some really fast reflexes stuff is a bit harder than it should be e.g., doom on higher difficulty settings. Any stealth gameplay with aiming sucks ass. Amount of times I missed hitting an arrow or trying to stealth on a controller and missing is laughable.

Yet somehow I still do fine with a controller but it won’t be my first choice.
 
socK said:
It just never stops feeling awkward after any period of time, just tolerable.

I really don't like controllers 95% of the time.
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This is my experience as well. I will use a controller for emulators, driving and flying but never when on foot or for a FPS. I did use one in Red Dead Redemption 2 only when riding on the horse. When shooting from the horse the auto aim felt like cheating.
 
I recently starting using a controller and I get hand cramps , and also do not play as well. But I think with time it will be easier. The controls for me are so much easier than learning new keybinds.
 
t1337duder said:
It's fine. You missed out on Halo 2 online. People were very good with controllers.
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There were players back even in at height of UT99 and Quake 3 where people using controllers or trackballs were able to keep up with the top ranked pro players of the time to the point of making fools of them. Along the same lines while arcade fight sticks are still the gold standard for fighting games people have gotten good enough with controllers and hitboxes that it's up for debate,

There's for sure situations or genres where one type of input device is ideal, but that line is getting blurred more and more.
 
I feel like my opinion or opinions don't matter here.

Bottom line: playing games is supposed to be fun. If you're having more fun using one peripheral vs the other, then who cares? It's actually one of the reasons why people who chant "glorious PC master race" or whatever are annoying.

If you're talking about playing competitive, that's a different discussion. And I don't think it needs to be said which is better for that purpose (because it's obvious). Casual gaming is a totally different thing.
 
SOAREVERSOR said:
There were players back even in at height of UT99 and Quake 3 where people using controllers or trackballs were able to keep up with the top ranked pro players of the time to the point of making fools of them.
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No they weren't lol.

UT99 and Quake 3 didn't have auto aim and aim assistance for controllers like games do today. The auto-aim/assistance in today's game is so extreme controller players often have advantages over mouse players.

I played in professional tournaments for Halo 1 and 2 on Xbox using controllers and have out-aimed the top players. I'm extremely good with a controller, but with all that auto-aim crap I would absolutely get dumpstered by any high ranking mouse player.
I actually did play Quake 3 arena (in the year 2000) using a controller against people using mice, and I was better than most people, but I wasn't even close to as good as myself using a mouse.
 
pendragon1 said:
a little eh, RB + shoot, RB + shoot, RB + shoot, just popping heads. but its fun!
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Nothing compared to how broken dead eye is with a mouse.

Literally trivial to just wipe the entire screen in 3 seconds.
SOAREVERSOR said:
There were players back even in at height of UT99 and Quake 3 where people using controllers or trackballs were able to keep up with the top ranked pro players of the time to the point of making fools of them. Along the same lines while arcade fight sticks are still the gold standard for fighting games people have gotten good enough with controllers and hitboxes that it's up for debate,

There's for sure situations or genres where one type of input device is ideal, but that line is getting blurred more and more.
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I don't believe this. Even if you had the aim, you can't move the same on a controller or track ball. It's impossible to replicate the movement to accelerate in Quake. And if you have zero map control, winning duel is utterly impossible against anyone who has even the vaguest idea.

You'll literally be moving at half the speed of another player or less on average probably.

There's no way to even do the most basic of trick jumps like jumping from bridge to rail on DM6. You need a decent strafe jump to make the jump - you can't just run at it and you can't just turn into it. There's a deliberate way to do it or you'll gain no speed and fail.


t1337duder said:
It's fine. You missed out on Halo 2 online. People were very good with controllers.
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I don't remember how Halo was, but Destiny was _absurd_ with the aim assist. It was so heavy that someone driving past you on a vehicle in PVP could actually pull your aim off whoever you were shooting as they raced by at 40mph.

Literally your goal was to just get your cross hair on someone then only adjust to their head. The game will track perfectly unless they teleport and you'll actually fuck up your aim if you try to track them.
 
socK said:
Nothing compared to how broken dead eye is with a mouse.

Literally trivial to just wipe the entire screen in 3 seconds.


I don't believe this. Even if you had the aim, you can't move the same on a controller or track ball. It's impossible to replicate the movement to accelerate in Quake. And if you have zero map control, winning duel is utterly impossible against anyone who has even the vaguest idea.

You'll literally be moving at half the speed of another player or less on average probably.

There's no way to even do the most basic of trick jumps like jumping from bridge to rail on DM6. You need a decent strafe jump to make the jump - you can't just run at it and you can't just turn into it. There's a deliberate way to do it or you'll gain no speed and fail.




I don't remember how Halo was, but Destiny was _absurd_ with the aim assist. It was so heavy that someone driving past you on a vehicle in PVP could actually pull your aim off whoever you were shooting as they raced by at 40mph.

Literally your goal was to just get your cross hair on someone then only adjust to their head. The game will track perfectly unless they teleport and you'll actually fuck up your aim if you try to track them.
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They literally brought in soccer moms to test Halo 2 to make sure it was playable by anyone with a controller. I was a big Halo fan back in the day and read all the dev blogs. This is something they bragged about. They wanted Halo to be more mainstream, and it was.


A lot of the pro community did not like Halo 2 because it significantly lessened the skill gap you could have in aim.

It wasn't just the autoaim that was increased, the game was designed around making aiming easier.

In Halo 1 every weapon shot a projectile. In Halo 2 nearly every weapon was hitscan.
This was partially to make online play work better, but also to make aiming easier. In Halo 1 you had to lead people with your shots which is very hard with a controller, even with all the aim assistance.
In Halo 2 you could fire your sniper rifle a foot to the side of someone's head, then swipe your joystick to the side so it crosses their head (after the bullet has already left your gun) and it would count as a headshot.
 
I play Warzone on controller on PS5, soon to shift to PC. People moan all the time about AA being OP but game sense is way more important than help with aim. AA may help you win a 1v1 but it won’t help you win 1v2 or 1v3 unless you have bots running at you one after another in a straight line.
 
SeymourGore said:
Nah, not really. I've adjusted to using a gamepad for 3rd person shooters, but first person is still KBM preferred for me.

If you have to use a console for FPS, I recommend Xbox. Their KBM support is superior to Sony.
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Third-person shooters are no different than first-person and are better on mouse.
 
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Armenius said:
Third-person shooters are no different than first-person and are better on mouse.
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I think playing so many 'Souls-like' style gamepad 3rd person games is what helped me adjust. Sure, the aiming isn't as precise as mouselook but the movement feels smooth to me in 3rd person whereas in a first person shooter, the aiming isn't as precise as mouselook and the movement feels clunky.
 
Old school here - mouse and keyboard only except for 1 game so far that required me to use a controller: Far Cry 5 for flying a plane. I tried it with a mouse and keyboard, but could never get the hang of it. It just seemed more natural using a controller and having a stick to fly the plane.
 
I can't stand controllers with shooter games, and especially not with FPS games. I do use controllers for fighting games, some action adventure games (that don't have shooting), and some action RPG games.

The recent Assassin's Creed games (these do have some guided bows, which worked okay, if I recall there is some auto aim), the Spider Man games, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Hogwarts Legacy, Armored Core 6, Ace Combat 7 are examples of games I used with a controller.

Then there are a large number of games that I cannot remember whether I used a controller or mouse/keyboard. Chorus and Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart are examples. Sometimes I start DLC for games without remembering what I used in the main game, which is always interesting. I should probably start keeping track of what control type I used for games I play.
 
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