I played New World since launch, with m and kb. I’m left handed, so that’s my mouse hand. So I had to reverse some things on the keyboard to make it comfortable. Had to change jump to space bar with my right thumb and the movement keys over to the right side using my right hand, using UJHK instead of the usual WASD.
I made it workable but it was never really COMFORTABLE where I could be really good at PvP. PvE was doable because it’s simply easier. But again never comfortable, but I got good enough with the keys to progress in the game pretty far.
But I also have issues with my hands developing nerve twitches after having my fingers curled in that position for so long while being on the movement and combat keys.
I very much want to use a controller to play this, but no matter what I enabled in the Steam settings, it simply won’t work. When I go into the game, I can spin the camera with the right stick, but the character won’t move with the left stick. Buttons mostly don’t respond at all except one which opens the menus and that’s about ti.
I’m trying to use an Xbox One controller from about 2014-2015, I’m pretty sure they are ones that came with the original Xbox One when it was released in 2013.
I’ve enabled everything you’re supposed to in Steam, I’ve chosen several different community-recommended controller layouts, enabled those. Made sure that Xbox controllers were checked off in the properties and all of that. Game is fully updated.
I have no idea why the controller won’t work. Any troubleshooting ideas?
This is to let you know that New World doesn’t officially support controllers, but, all the inputs in New World are re-bindable and players will be able to create their own controller layouts. Once you connect a controller to your PC, you’ll be able to change your hotkeys and assign all of them to your controller.
In case you are still interested in continuing your New World journey with a controller, you can navigate to the game’s settings. Locate the Key Bindings section. Once you’re inside the Key Bindings part of your settings, you’ll be able to reassign them to your controller one by one.
If you happen to don’t like playing with a controller, you can always revert back to the default settings and switch back to your mouse and keyboard.
Good morning. Back in beta, the first working configuration I encountered was from forum member MysticSushi. Eventually, I modified that into my own version that I have been using ever since in both live and PTR. As you mentioned, there are several configurations available.
Sometimes, although not recently, Steam has been finnicky and wants to start in Big Picture Mode in order to recognize a controller. I’ve found the most success when I turn on my controller first before launching the game, that way the “Controller Layout” option appears on the game’s Steam Library page and you can modify the configuration with whatever works for you.
I am mostly a solo farmer, so I assigned my A button to activate (harvest, open sheds, etc) and I use Left Bumper + A to dodge roll backward. Combat-heavy users may wish to swap that depending on what “feels right” to them. I should probably mention that I still use a mouse to manage inventory and trading posts. Although, I recently discovered that my controller configuration works for fishing and music (with the exception of the double-button mouse note… I find the mouse is easier for that than trying to sync pressing both bumpers).
I can’t say for certain, but it’s possible you might need to buy a more recent controller. All I can do is share what has worked for me and hope that you can get yours going too.
The fact that one stick works for you but the other doesn’t makes me wonder if something is resetting which configuration was selected for your controller. You might have to go into that configuration (Controller Layout) and assign the buttons that work for you based on these screenshots. Hope that helps.
Thank for writing such a detailed response! I had also wondered if maybe the age of the controller was possibly an issue. Could very well be that New World works with more recent Xbox X controllers but not with older controllers. I’m going to purchase a newer controller and play around with it. Thanks again!
One other thing I thought worth mentioning is that I am able to use a controller with my PC for Kingdom Come Deliverance, Skyrim, and Elden Ring without any problems. Works as soon as the games start up, with zero issues. And Elden Ring is a brand new 2022 game. So there must be something in the coding of New World that is an issue with older controllers. I’m not blaming Amazon or the game for that, just pointing it out.
