Guild Wars 2

http://youtu.be/AyHcobjYfT0

Hello
I’ve created this script for AutoHotKey in order to play the game with the XBox360 controller (with little modifications you can adapt for any other controller though).

AutoHotKey is a freeware application which allows you to cast macros or simply bind keys in games that don’t support devices like gamepad or joystick.

This profile covers:
- Movement (WASD) + dodge
- Camera control (NEW!)
- Jump
- Cursor move + click/right click
- All 10 abilities
- Escape (good for cancelling AoE / channel spells)
- Camera zoom in/out
- Switch weapon
- Next target
- Interact with… (F key)
- Special ability (F1)

AutoHotKey: http://www.autohotkey.net/
Profile: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1512702/AutoHotKey/XBox360%20GW2.ahk
Profile (switched LT/RT): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1512702/AutoHotKey/XBox360%20GW2%20%28alt%29.ahk
Gamepad map: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1512702/AutoHotKey/xbox360_gamepad-AHK.png

Usage: install AutoHotKey, then double-click on the ahk script to start. Right click in the systray to exit.

Known issue: mouse move is OK, but trying to click + move will result in a bad camera behaviour – not sure where the bug is (script’s, AHK mouse movement control, other). Because of this it may feel strange to adapt to the view – I hope I’ll find a solution soon. - fixed

EDIT: just noticed the video is 30 seconds long instead of 4 minutes and a half -.- maybe it’s just because I’ve just uploaded it.

He won’t get banned for this. I’ve done this for almost every MMO I played.

Failsociety.4569:

He won’t get banned for this. I’ve done this for almost every MMO I played.

not sure if serious.

I can’t see it being banned, you’re still controlling your character, it’s no different than using macro’s on a g19 keyboard or something.

Please someone tell me why on earth you would want to play an MMORPG with a gamepad?…

I could see gamepad with this game being a viable option. Don’t knock it till you try it.

DusK.3849:

I could see gamepad with this game being a viable option. Don’t knock it till you try it.

Thanks, but I’m going to let logic prevail and not waste my time trying it.

Clem.2963:

DusK.3849:

I could see gamepad with this game being a viable option. Don’t knock it till you try it.

Thanks, but I’m going to let logic prevail and not waste my time trying it.

Then you’re just being close-minded. This game is designed more as an action RPG than your traditional MMO. I’ve been playing with a 360 pad using Xpadder and Autohotkey since beta, and it’s 10x better than keyboard and mouse (for melee at least…ranged classes might feel more natural with kb/mouse).

Yeah, this works fine with a controller. I’m using Xpadder and I honestly play my melee classes better with a gamepad than without. Even my elementalist works fine with it (dagger elementalist). About the only class I’ve had issue with is grenade Engineer due to the large amount of ground targeting with mob leading (‘nades aren’t just on the spot, you have to lead carefully and quickly, and mouse control ground targeting is a little clunky on the gamepad).

Don’t forget, this isn’t just a “this is better” argument. There are people who suffer from RSI, Tendonitis, and Carpal Tunnel syndrome who seriously benefit from the use of a gamepad over mouse and keyboard. It’s a quality of life issue for some.

Edit – I’m going to go ahead and plug my own controller configuration (using xpadder 5.3 free version) here as well for those who might prefer it or be concerned about using AutoHotKey.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/XBox360-controller-mapping-for-Guild-Wars-2-Enjoy/first#post43281

It implements all skill abilities, movement, dodge, camera zoom, calling and taking targets, nearest, next, previous target, mouse turning on right stick, and the ability to control cursor for ground targeting. Hope this helps people as well.

good job OP thanks for sharing.

Clem

Thanks, but I’m going to let logic prevail and not waste my time trying it.

That’s not letting logic prevail, that’s letting closed-minded preconceptions prevail.

Clem.2963:

Please someone tell me why on earth you would want to play an MMORPG with a gamepad?…

because GW2notHardBrah..only need 10 buttons

Hmm… I might have to give this a look. I’ll admit, circle strafing would be so much easier if I wasn’t lifting the mouse and moving it every few seconds. That get’s hard on my poor little mouse after a few PvP matches.

I am quite serious. I’ve always used a controller in almost every MMO I have played besides in PvP. As I started in XI for 7 years, you get used to it. Xpadder allows you to map all your keys and it’s rather enjoyable to actually be able to sit back in my comfykitten chair or lay on my bed and play.

DusK.3849:

Clem

Thanks, but I’m going to let logic prevail and not waste my time trying it.

That’s not letting logic prevail, that’s letting closed-minded preconceptions prevail.

Sure, if you say so.

Oh men this thread is for who thinks using a gamepad may be fun, not for who thinks it’s forkitten :-\

I am quite serious. I’ve always used a controller in almost every MMO I have played besides in PvP. As I started in XI for 7 years, you get used to it. Xpadder allows you to map all your keys and it’s rather enjoyable to actually be able to sit back in my comfykitten chair or lay on my bed and play.

The fact that you have to admit that it is not good/effective enough in pvp also means you are less effective on the gamepad on PvE compared to your K/M combo, i would not want you in my dungeon run to be honest.

why were you looking at that wall instead of dodging and hitting that boss???

Answer

I was turning all that time to face him !!111

With a gamepad in a game were 99.9% use a K/M setup you are simply never quick and accurate to turn and look around losing mobility and awareness. It might work for you in Solo PvE to a degree (forget about doing those higher level mobs you could be handling otherwise) but in group PvE you are simply a liability ,dead weight that needs to be carried and in PvP you may as well be the enemy.

Even communicating in chat during a dungeon run is a compromised by it.

Lay down gamepad
move hands to keyboard on desk
Type
Pick up the gamepad again to continue playing

Seriously if you want to play a MMO and you choose/prefer to do it with a gamepad you are doing it wrong and not just a little bit.

I don’t agree with you Smackjack: I may if you’d be talking about an FPS where aiming is essential, but this is a target-bound game. Camera movement is fine now after my fix, you can even move it faster than a mouse and fine-control it with the analog stick (it’s not simply on/off).

As of chatting… well, lol! You simply can NOT chat while doing some hard fight, in any MMO. This is why teamspeak/mumble/ventrilo (just to mention some) are so popular among MMO/FPS gamers.

P.S.
Fixed camera control, it was something to do with coords, it seems the game uses absolute ones for moving the camera

EDIT: updated keymap to include the camera control

I’m using Xpadder too. Play Guild Wars 2 with a XBox 360 gamepad is VERY VERY AWESOME. ArenaNet should think about official support.

Smackjack.5071:

I am quite serious. I’ve always used a controller in almost every MMO I have played besides in PvP. As I started in XI for 7 years, you get used to it. Xpadder allows you to map all your keys and it’s rather enjoyable to actually be able to sit back in my comfykitten chair or lay on my bed and play.

The fact that you have to admit that it is not good/effective enough in pvp also means you are less effective on the gamepad on PvE compared to your K/M combo, i would not want you in my dungeon run to be honest.

why were you looking at that wall instead of dodging and hitting that boss???

Answer

I was turning all that time to face him !!111

With a gamepad in a game were 99.9% use a K/M setup you are simply never quick and accurate to turn and look around losing mobility and awareness. It might work for you in Solo PvE to a degree (forget about doing those higher level mobs you could be handling otherwise) but in group PvE you are simply a liability ,dead weight that needs to be carried and in PvP you may as well be the enemy.

Even communicating in chat during a dungeon run is a compromised by it.

Lay down gamepad
move hands to keyboard on desk
Type
Pick up the gamepad again to continue playing

Seriously if you want to play a MMO and you choose/prefer to do it with a gamepad you are doing it wrong and not just a little bit.

How many times have you used a controller? I assume 0, because you have no clue what you’re talking about. You’re trying to tell me because in PvP since I tend to use my keyboard, BECAUSE Players are not AI, you wouldn’t want me in your dungeon group? Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be in your dungeon group. You sound terrible and I could most likely run circles around you in any dungeon, pvp, with or without a controller.

PS: As for communication, I don’t pug with scrubs. I hot key my Vent to my controller.

EDIT: Usually it is I who does the carrying sir. I will gladly give you a piggy back ride anyday, cause I’m a gentleman like that.

Conspiracy Keanu: what if OP is trying to steal your password with keyloggers

Failsociety.4569:

Smackjack.5071:

I am quite serious. I’ve always used a controller in almost every MMO I have played besides in PvP. As I started in XI for 7 years, you get used to it. Xpadder allows you to map all your keys and it’s rather enjoyable to actually be able to sit back in my comfykitten chair or lay on my bed and play.

The fact that you have to admit that it is not good/effective enough in pvp also means you are less effective on the gamepad on PvE compared to your K/M combo, i would not want you in my dungeon run to be honest.

why were you looking at that wall instead of dodging and hitting that boss???

Answer

I was turning all that time to face him !!111

With a gamepad in a game were 99.9% use a K/M setup you are simply never quick and accurate to turn and look around losing mobility and awareness. It might work for you in Solo PvE to a degree (forget about doing those higher level mobs you could be handling otherwise) but in group PvE you are simply a liability ,dead weight that needs to be carried and in PvP you may as well be the enemy.

Even communicating in chat during a dungeon run is a compromised by it.

Lay down gamepad
move hands to keyboard on desk
Type
Pick up the gamepad again to continue playing

Seriously if you want to play a MMO and you choose/prefer to do it with a gamepad you are doing it wrong and not just a little bit.

How many times have you used a controller? I assume 0, because you have no clue what you’re talking about. You’re trying to tell me because in PvP since I tend to use my keyboard, BECAUSE Players are not AI, you wouldn’t want me in your dungeon group? Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be in your dungeon group. You sound terrible and I could most likely run circles around you in any dungeon, pvp, with or without a controller.

PS: As for communication, I don’t pug with scrubs. I hot key my Vent to my controller.

EDIT: Usually it is I who does the carrying sir. I will gladly give you a piggy back ride anyday, cause I’m a gentleman like that.

I don’t have the arrogance to consider people that PUG to be scrubs like you just did. Also i have a 360 since launch and have a 360 controller for my PC and even used it for a bit on DCUO which was even build for it but found that it was still way faster and more responsive to use m/k.

I played with a few people using 360 controllers in Tera not long ago and it was their main and constant excuse for everything that went wrong and tbh i believed them as it was quite noticable and consistent.

But i am sure you will label them as Puggers/scrubs since you own in pvp on your console pad.

Come and bring your scrubbing gamepadding toon into pvp and i will beat it while eating a sammich on any of my 5 toons.

Smackjack needs a smack on the head. He get’s an A+… In ignorance.

Awesome, OP! I love it

I used to be a huge KBAM proponent, but you really can’t beat sitting back on a couch with a controller in your hand. KBAM is just never as comfortable. The PC Master Race really needs to yank the stick out from it’s collective butt.

If I could actually find a proper USB dongle for an existing 360 controller (I don’t want to shell out for the “official” PC version) I’d give this a go.

I’d like to play on my TV, but I can never quite relax sitting with a keyboard in my lap and mouse on a book beside me.

Hey you figured out my name ….or wait no you didn’t. Zero points for you on that one. (Now back to the SMACK talking – there is a slight hint in there)

Yup i get A+ in ignorance because of course we all know how much a gamepad owns a m&k in MMO’s , shows just how ignorant i am….the shame….owh ..the shame..

:)

I would really like to see an admin to come in and let us know if this would get us banned, I am curious, but not foolhardy enough to try it and get bannhammered

Ragnar Dragonfyre.1806:

lol yes, because 15 years of MMO experience makes me a “scrubbing n00b”.

Like I said, obvious troll is obvious. Try harder kid.

I have seen lots of people that have been gaming in a specific genre for years and years and still not have a clue so , yes.

I feel a bit bad for them sometimes tho.

Last time I checked, Smackjack, I never said anything about the gamepad being better than the K&M combo. In fact, I think the K&M is way more efficient. But who am I to tell another player how to play? If they enjoy the gamepad, I say go for it. You shouldn’t be an kitten to people who want to play a specific way.

Mind you, I use the K&M combo myself. I will tell any gamer that the keyboard and mouse is ten times more efficient than any game controller. But I’m not an kitten about it.

Please, don’t flame… it’s not necessary. As already said, this is not a flame war thread, it’s just a script I’ve made FOR MY OWN and decided to give it FOR FREE for whoever wants to try it out. No way to say “No K/M, no MMO”, even because it’s totally wrong. GW2 is not a common MMO, it doesn’t have thousand of macros and skills, it’s developed with 10 abilities in mind per time (plus F1). The mouse control is smooth and precise, and the camera control is pretty owesome now.

So, really, no need to flame.

Amiron.1067:

Last time I checked, Smackjack, I never said anything about the gamepad being better than the K&M combo.

Someone did

Which is what i responded to.

I think you’ve never played with a gamepad. Again I’d be with you about K/M > Gamepad if you’d be talking about other games like WoW or any FPS game. But GW2 is different, I felt it since level 1, the targeting system is awesome by itself so that once you target something your characters looks at it when you cast abilities that move your character (and this is typical of console games, also called “auto aim”, or “aim helper”), and a fine-tuned stick (like the one I think I’ve made out of my script) is an optimum replacement rather than right-click – move mouse (which IMHO moves the camera too slow, while its speed is ok for dialogues / targeting).

TBH I even prefere a gamepad to the default keybinding: I usually hold the mouse with the left hand and use the keyboard with the right one. Being the KB hand on the WASD keys, it’s difficult to press keys 6 <→ 0, while on the gamepad all the keys are in your hands. Sometimes, using the KB, I move the left hand to press the 6 <→ 0 keys, with the gamepad I can do it too, but in way less time.

TL;DR:
Without writing who consider “scrubbing n00b” whom, it’s your personal point of view. You can not objectively write any sentence about what’s better for anyone. AFAIK your subjective best method is K/M (and AFAIK you never tried the gamepad on ARPG games like this).

I could see it working fine with any melee only weapon set. The moment any AOE groudn target moves into the mix you are going to be tipping your view angle in order to try and ground target.

You can move the mouse on the ground and double-use the ability (i.e. Y+Y) to put it down, just like you’d do with the mouse (well with the mouse you can select the ability, move the mouse and click, but it’s pretty the same). I personally use it with the radioactive AoE or the ranged poison/AoE of the gun.

MWeh,ive tried it with another prog and another profile.But it just doesnt work as well as key + mouse.Walking around and all is fine..but the rest is an annoyance.Arenanet should put in their own controller support imo,i REALLY would love to play this sitting on my couch behind my 117 inch tv instead of sitting on my crappy chair behind my 22inch monitor.

Couldn’t edit..thanks for the script btw,alot of people ask money for things like this,very nice of you.

Added an alternative profile which switches LT and RT (IMHO it’s better this way).

VormundGeist.3876:

I would really like to see an admin to come in and let us know if this would get us banned, I am curious, but not foolhardy enough to try it and get bannhammered

Highly doubt it,but an official answer would be very much appreciated indeed.

Im gonna try it out,see how it plays,tried some time ago with xpadder but it just felt wrong and complicated,zoom didnt work etc..hope this profile plays well for melee.

Just so you know, auto-it can also be used for botting and is normally flagged by MMO’s as a botting program.

Be careful.

Well..just got a message that the topic is moved to another form..so they have read it.If it was against the rules i would suspect them to reply it was against the rules instead of just moving it to another form.

[…]as long as the profile that binds controller buttons to keyboard/mouse commands is binding one button to one keypress/activation, you are not in danger of incurring a ban.

Mr. Mark , Your response in this thread is really confusing.
Do you officially approve use of 3rd party programs which lead to botting ?
I expected that you would say something clearly stating that:
" Using third party programs or tools in Guild Wars 2 is strictly prohibited since they allow users to gain an unfair advantage over other players" no matter what.

As you all know autohotkey is widely used for botting.
They guy is asking for donations on official forums in exchange for instructions how to begin botting (just a matter of loaded scripts ).
In my opinion this kind of behavior is unacceptable and this thread should be once more reviewed and hopefully deleted.

Liliana Moore.4237:

[…]as long as the profile that binds controller buttons to keyboard/mouse commands is binding one button to one keypress/activation, you are not in danger of incurring a ban.

Mr. Mark , Your response in this thread is really confusing.
Do you officially approve use of 3rd party programs which lead to botting ?
I expected that you would say something clearly stating that:
" Using third party programs or tools in Guild Wars 2 is strictly prohibited since they allow users to gain an unfair advantage over other players" no matter what.

As you all know autohotkey is widely used for botting.
They guy is asking for donations on official forums in exchange for instructions how to begin botting (just a matter of loaded scripts ).
In my opinion this kind of behavior is unacceptable and this thread should be once more reviewed and hopefully deleted.

Seems clear to me. One button to another button is ok. One button with multiple actions is NOT ok. Scripts, Macros and other ways to emulate multiple key presses or keyboard movement would be considered illegal.

I think the questioning here is how do they distinguish between single button>single button and single button>series of button scripts.

AutoHotkey does not “lead to botting”. If you really want to see the difference between a keybind helper like AHK and true bot scripts go look up MacroQuest (for Everquest) and Inner Space.

Those programs peek into the memory of the game to gain information that is not available normally to players, which is then used with a scripting language to automate gameplay completely.

Data such as the position of monsters throughout an entire zone, what skills they’re currently using etc. are all available in these programs because they pull that data out of the game’s memory, despite it not being normally available.

In the case of MacroQuest, it even hooks DirectX calls so that you can inject UI into the game that will even display this information live. One such type of cheaty UI addon is the ability to see the names and positions of all enemies in a given zone displayed on a convenient mini-map.

There is a MASSIVE difference between these types of third party botting programs and AHK.

And furthermore, AFK macroing (spamming the auto-attack while AFK) is not “botting” at all. It’s AFK macroing. Again, massive difference (I’m not saying AFK macroing is okay, but every single keyboard in the world can already do that, so going after AHK about it is utterly silly).

Those guys saying use of 3rd party programs blanket is misleading and Mark Katzbach took the best response given the situation.

For example I have a razor mouse and have mapped heal, mail, hero and use to my mouse.

Now if that 3rd party program blanket response came into it what I would be doing is breaking the terms and conditions as the razor mouse software to allow me to use extra mouse buttons as keyboard presses would be configured illegal.

Especially those with a razor Naga mice with 12 extra mappable buttons.

Also anyone mapping to a gaming device would be breaking the rules.

So have some common scene as its more to do with how you use the programs rather than outright banning every single one of them and Mark got it right.

What Mark is essentially saying in basic terms is that automating gameplay outside of the game by multiple key presses to one function etc is not allowed but mapping buttons to commands is harmless.

Its not about use of 3rd party programs its all about if gameplay is automated.

" if you press one button on your controller and it activates a chain of skills, that’s where you run into forbidden territory."

This is not something Anet would ever be able to even detect. Not to mention that is not automation. It requires manual interaction with the game. I dont see the disadvantage to other playes if players do that. Also, maybe they would be less inclined to if the keybind system in GW2 were from this century.

paultimate.8790:

" if you press one button on your controller and it activates a chain of skills, that’s where you run into forbidden territory."

This is not something Anet would ever be able to even detect. Not to mention that is not automation. It requires manual interaction with the game. I dont see the disadvantage to other playes if players do that. Also, maybe they would be less inclined to if the keybind system in GW2 were from this century.

First off, speaking as a software dev, its actually pretty “simple” to identify automation in that sense. Its about pattern recognition tying together when a player presses button A, button W X Y and Z always follow and are always in that order, and the average time difference between each button press is so similar (extremely low standard deviation, to the point of being predictable). Once both triggers are recognized, its a fairly good guarantee some form of scripting is going on.

I say “simple” because the concept is simple. Implementing it could be fairly complicated depending on how exhaustive they want it to be. But totally doable.

Second, pressing one button to fire a chain of commands does not at all require interfering with the game client. How many 3rd party, extreme gaming peripheral have this functionality? Do you really think they all integrate with every game?

Finally, scripting chains of commands have pretty clear advantages when used in competitive settings. Why do you think macros were so popular in WoW? Every class had a list of “go to” macros built for either PvP or PvE.

But I dont understand your argument against the GW2 keybinds. Everything can be bound to whatever you want… even a xbox gamepad, should you choose… so whats the problem?

I’d like to thank Mark Katzbach for the reply, so that it makes clear what’s forbidden and what’s not. As far as people don’t edit my script, it should be fine to run it, as it only binds Gamepad key → Keyboard key OR Gamepad key → Mouse move. Also, as someone else mentioned, using the gamepad prevents mouse-depending tendonitis, so it’s up to you.

I’m really enjoying the game with this controller and I’m happy I’ll be able to use it with no risk

Thanks for the explanation.I tried playing the game using this script and a controller,but i cannot seem to get it work probably because i changed the original keyboard settings to different keys.The only thing it does is zoom in and out and walk around,use some skills and jump,but other then that i cant strafe left or right etc,see no mouse cursor etc.

@Liliana Moore,you are obviously missing the entire point as to why people would like to play with a controller,your assumptions are wrong.People want it to play in a more relaxed state,sitting on the couch with a gamepad vs keyboard + mouse on a chair…You do the math,without the talk about botting now.

Caedmon: open the script with Notepad and change the key bindings