So honest question…run and gun WASD movement like in POE2 is strictly off the table. We’re not revamping our animation system and rebalancing the game to shoehorn that in at the 11th hour. That style of gameplay is generally what we think of when we consider proper WASD implementation.
But controller-based WASD movement where you need to stop to cast/attack (as on display here) is doable. Is that what the community is looking for?
I would dread to have the team implement this, say we have WASD movement, only to get skewered for it not being like POE2, which had run and gun gameplay implemented early on in development and not, say, 9 years after release.
To offer some clarity: if we added WASD functionality, it would definitely not become the default control scheme, nor would it require rebalancing the game. Controller-based WASD would fundamentally work like the controller support already does (and how the game plays on console). It would not shift the game’s balance.
With Diablo 4 (and soon Last Epoch) reacting to POE2’s WASD support, there is certainly precedent for it in the genre, but just because someone else is doing it, it does not mean it is necessarily what we need to do. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
“Run-and-Gun” is probably exactly what people want when they talk about it. They want to be able to have their cake and eat it too. I’m happy to stick to mouse movement.
Any accessibility advance is good tho.
I’ve known people that don’t play most ARPGs because their mouse hand can’t take the stress of controlling the movement + attacks. If WASD brings more people to the game, since it won’t be as stressful, I’m all for it.
I’m personally in the same team. “Run-and-Gun” especially for channelling skills like AAR would be the only use case for me personally. So if that’s off the table, I’d say you should rather use your dev time elsewhere.
That said, there are gonna be people that would still enjoy non “run-and-gun” WASD.
Honestly I think the people asking for WASD in a game that can never truly support it (well, true WASD ofc) are a vocal minority. Most people playing the game don’t even register a forum account; and likely are completely fine with the game as it is.
Far be it from me to tell you guys how to run your company, but I think you should focus the development time and resources to other tasks. (Get that expansion here asap lol).
Sticky subject! Don’t envy you for needing to make a decision on this. As you say, if you implement it you get skewered for it not being 1:1 what PoE2 has. If you don’t, is the justification “well we asked the community in this thread over here, and they said don’t bother”? That might be a tough sell to people a few months/years down the road that aren’t present here and now.
I say do it.
Rip the band-aid off.
It won’t be for everyone, most of us here are used to not having it. But it’ll be for someone, either for accessibility reasons or purely from entertainment, and that’ll be enough.
And who knows? Maybe the gameplay it creates will prove to be more fun to some than run-and-gun after all.
If that gets implemented, some will argue why not sooner, if it won’t then it will be kept being asked. There will always be someone who complains.
But what I suggest is maybe make a small demo for 1 skill like the same ray and see how it goes. If playtesters and self-included devs like you see giant potential in it, then I do have to say it… maybe it will be worth a shot.
when i read posts wanting wasd i get the impression most want the off the table kind, but some still are seeking the other/"toss us a bone"kind to just not fully use mouse the way it is atm
do it, and just come up with some clever "marketing"term/settings name for it instead of outright calling it WASD or whatever, so them there run-and-gun-scheme people don’t come in with “muh false advertising you said we got true wasd steering”
I already don’t like how the controller works. It’s not necessarily bad, but it makes the gameplay quite different from what I’m used to. I wouldn’t like that same experience with the keyboard.
Obviously I won’t complain if it’s there, but I won’t be the one using it.
So you mean I’d be able to use WASD to move my character and only needing to use the mouse to aim? Sounds good to me. PoE 2’s system of being able to continue to move to where you clicked while performing other actions with the mouse is very neat, but not necessary to solving the issue of over stressing your mouse hand.
Would also solve the issue of needing to find somewhere empty to click to move your character when swamped by enemies.
