Guild Wars 2

A year after launch, Guild Wars 2 still does not have native support for Gamepads and while there are programs out there that emulate the mouse/keyboard with gamepads for Guild Wars 2, such as Xpadder, there are elements in the game that prevent streamless implementation via Xpadder. I am not asking for these elements to be removed from the game, since they are a key part of the mouse/keyboard style. Instead, with native support, you can address several issues that occur when using gamepad emulation as well as make the game more streamlined and enjoyable for all audiences (Mouse/Key and Gamepads alike). In the shortrun, you can slowly implement gamepad use into the game to satisfy both audiences. In the long run, if people enjoy it, you could then begin porting the game to the next gen consoles (PS4/XB1/WiiU/Etc.), possibly even with Cross Platform support – allowing PC & Console players to play together. However, it is probably more important to focus on simply the Native Gamepad support and what it remedies in contrast to emulator options.

Note: I will refer to “Tabs” in this writeup, which are basically different mappings/rules for the gamepads layout. For example, Tab 1 could have all the basic controls while Tab 2, activated by holding R2, would have similar controls except A B Y X, which activate different abilities in this case. E.G.
A – Jump
X – 1
Y – 2
B – 3
While holding R2
A – Jump
X – 4
Y – 5
B – 6
etc.

Who am I? Simply someone who used to play Guild Wars 2 a little over a year ago. I stopped sometime after the Halloween event. The more I played it, the more I thought that with some simple changes, the game could easily be played with a gamepad and would be really enjoyable. After quitting GW2 for a while, I tried out TERA and found it enjoyable for a short time with the Gamepad. However, I was quickly bored with the game due to the lack of skills for each class, standard MMO progression, etc. Then along comes Neverwinter, which didn’t have native Gamepad support. So I picked up Xpadder, mapped out my controls and the gameplay was great (despite its economic/exploit problems and P2W style). I still find it strange they would take out the native gamepad support from Neverwinter when it played so well already via emulation. After months of playing Neverwinter, I began to toy around with GW2 with Xpadder and I hit some roadblocks. While Neverwinter was easy to configure due to its combat action style, Guild Wars 2 has several gameplay controls from EQ/WoW that are hard to emulate and require native support. Problems are:

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1. Camera View – In GW2, you need to hold down M1/M2 to enable mouse look mode with the mouse. This sounds simple at first but when you begin to implement it, you begin to see several issues with it. Centering (Keeping the cursor in the center of the screen for AoE/targeting) is a major problem with this step as it will slowly shift little by little every time. The cause is simple but easily overlooked – every time you click both mouse buttons down, you must move the mouse a little bit in any direction; After it is moved a certain small distance, it will then begin mouselook mode – locking and making the mouse cursor invisible. With emulation, the mouse look mode is enabled over and over on average every 10-15 seconds (when you go to a different “tab”). Over the course of a few minutes, the cursor has shifted considerably and needs to be re-calibrated. There are also times when the mouse lock won’t be enabled quickly enough (quickly shifting from one tab to another), causing problems in its own.

2. Targeting – Guild Wars 2 uses Tab targeting and numerous keys for previous/next/etc. Gamepads do not have multiple keys to give away blindly for this purpose and have implemented modes/states for the purpose of targeting. For example, if we press the right stick in, we could go into “target” mode. Depending on whether we can have the camera lock onto the target similar to Neverwinter/Dark Souls will influence how this state works.

3. Inventory/Menus – This is self explanatory. Press “Start” to go to to options/item manage. Allow the use of the D-Pad for item management and such here. Using the sticks to navigate the cursor is odd via emulation.

4. Interaction/Dialogue – Similar to 3.
5. User Interface – Self Explanatory as well – the user interface will have hot keys and a layout that will remind the user of the keyboard/mouse inputs, not the gamepad’s.

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Now, there are several advantages for gamepad implementation:
1. 360 Degree Movement Field – The stick allows characters to move in a 360 Degree Movement field instead of the WASD 8 Degree movement field. The 360 Degree Movement field would allow players to swing left and right as slightly as they want to, making movement fluid.

2. Walk/Run Movement – In addition to the 360 Degree movement field, the player can also tell the player to walk/run depending on far they push the stick.

3. Play anywhere – The main advantage of playing on a gamepad is it is all in your immediate hands. There is no need to set up a keyboard and use a mouse on a flat survive. You can play the game at your desk or on the couch. And in the end, games are just games – if possible, players should be given the chance to enjoy the game the way they want to as long as it doesn’t compromise the game itself (at least in the competitive sense).

It is up for discussion, but I feel that with gamepad support, I might be willing to play Guild Wars 2 again, as will others. As of now, I am tired of the 1-10, keyboard system and wish to try it in another way.
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There, sorry for breaking it into three posts, limit to message size.