WASD/Keyboard movement

Feedback and Suggestions
1

I know this has been a post that has been discussed previously., however I am brand new to the forum, and honestly had stepped away from LE for a bit of time.

First I just want to say that I love the game. I had played earlier releases and created a Druid character and a Sorc. I liked both classes very much and I do intend to get back into the game here in the coming time period, and look forward to trying out more classes.

That being said. With the news of the upcoming release of the Falconer class, I started a new rogue character, As I wanted to try something with long range melee instead of magic this go around, and I do feel that having WASD movement options would vastly improve the playablility of the class. The character starts with a sword, which is fine, but I wanted to play with a bow., and it felt very unnatural to me that when I finally picked up a bow, I canā€™t move the character and attack simultaneously. I feel like that would be kind of a key core component of a class with ranged abilities, being able to attack or support while on the move.

I obviously started with the current Keyboard configurations and while the skill keys and attack on the RMB is fine. it is difficult to keep distance from an enemy, having to run away in a different direction, then having to aim and click on a target which then stops character movement in order to attack, then having to continue running away and repeating the process until said target is defeated.

I tried the controller option afterward, and while the movement felt much better., there is no lock on, or auto-lock for targeting enemies, Well let me clarify that statement. the current lock on simply targets an enemy that is close to you. as far as being able to attack that enemy. you must be facing said enemy. which is fine. I understand thatā€™s part of any combat situation. But the problems continues where you still have to run back and forth like mad just to attack something. it feels like taking 2 steps forward, just to take 20 steps back, just to advance slightly forward, only to be repeating the same processes.

Furthermore, I honestly wasnā€™t a major fan of the Controller configuration options in general. I donā€™t know if maybe I ran into a bug, or some other issue that may have already been addressed. But I was not able to configure the controller inputs either to change the skill or menu options. Not being able to open the Skill tree or Character/Inventory menus from the controller is also a pretty major issue I feel. But again, if this is something that has been remedied, then I am more than happy to look into what went wrong on my end.

I know there are mobility skills, and I did unlock the dashing ability, which did help a little bit. but the class so far still just feels like a major disadvantage without being able to move and attack simultaneously. I racked my brain for almost 30 minutes, trying to find a viable alternative or remedy to the situation, but I just havenā€™t found anything.

I am open to recommendations, or any solutions that other players may have found to this situation. but honestly, the current configuration options are a major turn off for me if I want to use this new class. I just personally feel that the configuration options available simply prioritize close quarters combat, or distance magic.

Again, it has been quite some time since I last played the game. and honestly the controls felt foreign to me to begin with. I know there is a lot of work and testing and a vast number of other things that go along with implementing anything new to any game. Especially something as critical as player control. and movement. And I also know many players are against WASD movement, as Iā€™ve read in previous closed threads, for a variety reasons.

Please donā€™t misinterpret what I am asking. I am not asking or demanding to replace any of the current movement methods already implemented under any circumstance. I just simply want to know. Is there any news or information about any kind of implementation of a movement configuration, other than what is currently available?

Iā€™m not looking to stir up any drama here. I understand that everyone has their own opinions and preferred methods of play, and thatā€™s perfectly fine. Iā€™m not here to say that any one method is better or worse than any other. I am not personally a super serious or competitive gamer,. If anyone has any information or suggestions, Iā€™m more than willing to try something out and find what I feel may work best in my case. I just feel personally that WASD movement for my situation would be a major help.

Iā€™m sorry, I know the post was long winded, but I just felt it was the best way to convey my thoughts and feelings about the matter, without causing anyone to get upset or starting any kind of back and forth drama between anyone. I hope everyone enjoys their own playing experiences, and I look forward to seeing what EHG has to come here in the coming weeks. Everyone stay good!

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2

In very recent broadcasts, Mike acknowledged that the team has heard this feedback, but that WASD is not currently planned due to technical limitations having to do with animations of the upper and lower halves of character models.

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3

WASD answer at 1h29m:

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4

Alot of these games (D3,D4, LE, PoE) are usually based around the premise that your survivability is heavily influenced by your mobility. Stand in one place too long, it usually ends up badly for you.

Having to stop and shoot feels a little jarring. Comparing this to say the warpath skill, where you can move around and attack at the same time, that skills feels far more responsive.

What I do like about LE compared to say D4 is that if you are a ranged character and shoot, and your not directly targetting a mob (but just their general direction), you dont start stupidly walking in that direction.

5

You can use the shift key (rebindable, I think) to hold in place while shooting. Skills should only walk in their direction if youā€™re outside range and they need to close in to activate them.

6

Thank you very much for this. This is literally all I wanted to know, and I appreciate that your reply was simple and right to the point.

Like I stated in my original post, I fully understand that adding something like that is no minor feat by any means, I know it takes dozens, if not hundreds of hours to implement properly and I donā€™t take EHGā€™s efforts lightly in the slightest. Iā€™m glad the topic was atleast recognized and addressed properly, Hopefully they are able to work with implementing the system in the future, regardless of however much time is needed. Whether it be in release 1.1 or even 1.2.

I will still find a way to enjoy the game regardless. there are a dozen other paths and options that I can turn to in the meantime.

Thanks again, and everyone stay good!

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7

Devs said, that WASD control is just way too good, so they will never add it, cause it would be unfair to the old people who canā€™t move on from Diablo 2. Here is exact citate from the devs:

Iā€™m sorry to say that we recently debated adding this in a game design meeting. We are intentionally not adding WASD movement to Last Epoch at this time.
The primary method of control for the game links your targeting and movement positions to the same point, your mouse cursor. If we include WASD movement then you can move left and shoot right at the same time. Now you might just be thinking, ā€œyea, thatā€™s what I wantā€. Itā€™s a not insignificant advantage. Suddenly the way you have to play is with WASD movement if you want to be competitive. This is a deal breaker for us.

8

That is an old stance. Mike has said recently, a few days after launch, on discord:

This is a long story, the timing of which is just comically bad. The short version is that we had a small influx of people (less than 5) ask about it just before WASD blew up as a thing. We decided we didnā€™t want to do it. The community sentiment shifted, we had moved on and locked in our 1.0 features. Then we delayed launch but it was too late to even consider WASD as an option. Now we are going to discuss it again once things have calmed down. We arenā€™t guaranteeing that it will or wonā€™t be in the game yet but itā€™s back on the list of things to talk about at a design meeting.

The one big misconception that I like to clear up is that this is a very major feature for us to implement at this point. There is currently no way to move in one direction and use an ability in another direction at the same time. This might seem trivial but it impacts so many other nearby systems that those systems are what cause the real work in implementing this.

OK, not so short version but I skimmed over a bunch.

9

Ah, should wait for PoE 2 anyway, that one looks to be great and will have WASD, of course.

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But regarding to your answer, there is no problems at all with moving to one direction, then use ability other direction ā€” it is exactly what people are doing with the mouse. We could use WASD by rebinding joystick, but devs blocked that option by hiding mouse cursor when you use joystick.

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I donā€™t know how the system is implemented, so I canā€™t tell you either way. I only know what the dev said and he knows the code. If he says itā€™s not an easy thing to implement, then I believe him. As a programmer, Iā€™m aware that many times things that seem simple to implement really arenā€™t.

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12

No, I mean it is already implemented ā€” when they added joystick control, as a bonus they implemented WASD basically (you just need to rebind keys for it to be WASD instead of joystick). They just made small additional efforts to block such option.

13

I donā€™t know how joystick controls work, but I would assume itā€™s move in one direction, then instantly stop and attack in a different direction? If so, this is not the type of WASD movement in question, which should be move in one direction and simultaneously, without stopping, attack in a different direction.

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14

Oh, youā€™re actually right. Well, devs decided to not even implement that simple thing, itā€™s hopeless try to discuss something more difficult.

But again, in PoE 2 it will be simultaneously and it look really cool!

15

As mentioned before, the devs arenā€™t against this. Itā€™s just not easy to implement, not to mention it will require rebalancing the game, because WASD gives you a clear advantage to play the game, since you can dodge attacks while attacking at the same time, rather than having to alternate between them.
And you donā€™t need to wait for PoE2. If WASD is so important to you, D4 implemented it a while ago.

16

Oh, thanks, will check D4. Not sure if I will like it though, I kind of disappointed in the Blizzard. But well, maybe itā€™s not bad.

17

Devs NEVER said they will never add wasd.

18

By the way, itā€™s not just give advantage in terms of how fast you can do things, but also gives advantage in how easy and relaxing you can do it, so it just makes the game more enjoyable.

19

Do you think it will become fair at some point? No, it will be always much stronger, that part will never gonna change.

20

Sure, Iā€™m not saying you want this to have an advantage. But it does provide one, especially with bosses and their mechanics. WASD makes it much easier to avoid them while still being able to do damage at the same time. So balance will have to change.

That also means that players that donā€™t like to use WASD will be forced to do so or leave. Which is why the devs havenā€™t implemented it yet.

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