I have been using a Logitech controller with 19 functions mapped to Logitech software for 2 years and 9000+ AP now. I wouldn’t pvp with it, but then I don’t pvp. My hands and wrists aren’t great and the controller is easy and fun to use. Why does it upset others that the OP would ask for that support when it just another option which doesn’t prevent anyone else from playing just the way they want?
Because those of us that have played console-imports on PC are afraid, that changes will be made that make the KBM-experience feel like a console-import. As long as controllers are not officially supportet, ANet can utilize KBM to it’s fullest and noone can complain that controllers can’t keep up (Our controller-experts most likely won’t complain, but other casual players will).
The opposite is also true. However, It has been proven that dedicated developers can make both options work, and work well, regardless of system used. A certain Fantasy game that was the last in its series for the 14th time proved that.
And I’m not saying Anet isn’t dedicated, but…Looking at other systems and how poorly they are done (Like the fact that helmets makes characters bald, and really every graphical system in the game involving hair in general)(On technical/gameplay side, the camera system is pretty awful, since the camera is tied to the meshes that characters can/can’t pass, causing the camera to screw up, even on invisible walls), I’m not too confident that Anet could make official controller support work.
There’s also the problem where they hate hotkeys that perform more than one physical action at a time (like a key that clicks the mouse twice), and full controller support would certainly violate that, which just creates more unecessary work for Anet that they probably don’t want to do anyways.