Is it worth buying a Razer Nostromo/ Logitech G13/ Belkin n52te specifically for GW2?

[ellorien]

Gamepads look quite convenient for an action-oriented game like GW2, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying one specifically for it.

Did anyone use a gamepad in the last BWE? Can you tell me how it made a difference for you from using the standard keyboard? (Also what brand you are using and recommendations--I'm all ears!)

[Deleted]

Gamepads look quite convenient for an action-oriented game like GW2, but I'm not sure if it's worth buying one specifically for it.

Did anyone use a gamepad in the last BWE? Can you tell me how it made a difference for you from using the standard keyboard? (Also what brand you are using and recommendations--I'm all ears!)

After a long conversation in the one thread, I got a razer nostromo right before the stress test. I suffer from weak wrists and sometimes gaming is a bit painful. I found the nostromo to be VERY comfortable, and I was able to play and be comfortable even though I wasn't even at a desk.

If you think you can adapt - muscle memory is necessary and the first 5 minutes for me were just 'whaaaaat?!?!!?!' - I can definitely say that the nostromo is comfortable. Even with small hands!

Now it all depends on either you feel like you can adapt and it's worth it for you. I'm a lefty so my hand seemed to not take too long to adapt to reaching the keys. Also, because of weak wrists as I said before, I invest a lot in comfy ergonomic gaming stuff.

I hope that helps!

[Deleted]

I'm also interested in this. I've been pondering to buy a gamepad for a while now, but I can't quite decide which one to go for. What are the major differences between the popular ones?

[Deleted]

I'm also interested in this. I've been pondering to buy a gamepad for a while now, but I can't quite decide which one to go for. What are the major differences between the popular ones?

As far as I'm aware price and size are the most clear differences. I must say I love and know Razer for the ergonomics so I didn't particularly look that much into the Logitech version, but the Logitech is larger than the Nostromo (it has more buttons too).
I think the Belkin is the old version of the Nostromo.

[Merendel]

I got an old N52 years ago, stoped useing it after a while as it was not gaining me much aside from being able to remap the keys. Not even sure where that thing is right now probably in a box around here. Keys were a bit stiff for my tastes but the newer versions may have fixed that. Personaly I prefer to be able to shift to typing quickly if I need too. I find its much easier to only have to shift one hand from an alternate input device and try to make it land in the right spot.

[Deleted]

I just bought "Razer Anansi" and it's really great Got some extra bindnings + I've the Naga since before. This leaves me with plenty of binds (way to many really, but now I can choose the best ones)

[Mif]

Support added in today's patch

[Deleted]

While we're on the topic, I've been wondering - what do people use that thumb stick for? Movement?

[Mif]

While we're on the topic, I've been wondering - what do people use that thumb stick for? Movement?

Yep. Makes using skills much easier when you free up your fingers.

[Deleted]

Yep. Makes using skills much easier when you free up your fingers.

Doesn't it get tiring in the long run though?

(pun actually not intended)

[Mif]

Doesn't it get tiring in the long run though?

(pun actually not intended)

It can when you're just running forward non-stop for long periods of time, if you're running every which-way like in combat, you don't notice it. I think the main culprit on the G13 is that it's not very ergonomic, and I've actually been meaning to cut off the joystick part of the housing and remount it at a 45 degree angle, similar to this.

[Deleted]

Thanks for all the info. I'll look into this some more when I'm home, but it looks like the Nostromo might be a likely buy (it's approx. €10 cheaper, or ~$15 for you in the US, and with the thumbstick angle thoughts it looks more comfy).

[Mif]

you in the US

Am not! D:

[Drihan]

I love the Razer Nostromo (which is exactly the same as the Belkin, the biggest difference being Razer has the threaded wire) and if you want to spend money on something then that is definitely worth it, but I wouldn't say that it's a big game changer. A comfortable upgrade from the keyboard, but it wouldn't make you better at the game, at least not much.

[fishious]

Support added in today's patch

img snip

Weeeeeeee!!!! Just patched it myself. I used a G13 over the last weekend and found it made things easier, but for me it wasn't a necessity. It took about 3 hours of play until I was really comfortable with how I had set it up. By the end of the BWE I was able to juggle around my Ele attunements (g15-18 keys) without any difficulty. That being said, I don't feel that I had a distinct advantage over people who did not have a gamepad. I also played around without the keypad and the biggest difference I noticed was that I couldn't hit the utility side of my action bar nearly as easy. My heal key is g5, so not having that right next to my movement keys definitely messed with me when I switched from gamepad to traditional keyboard.

Overall, I'd say if you have a keyboard where you can easily reach 1-5 and F1-F4 with your hand on the directional keys (W,A,S,D) then you probably don't really need a gamepad. For people with smaller hands, or weaker wrists as mentioned before, a gamepad may be somewhat helpful to be able to access all the keys quicker.

TL;DR - Gamepad isn't necessary, but it is nice. Get one if it won't break your bank.

[Merendel]

Overall, I'd say if you have a keyboard where you can easily reach 1-5 and F1-F4 with your hand on the directional keys (W,A,S,D) then you probably don't really need a gamepad. For people with smaller hands, or weaker wrists as mentioned before, a gamepad may be somewhat helpful to be able to access all the keys quicker.
[/B]

Or you could just map F1-4 to Z-V being easier to reach and get a decent mouse with more than 2 buttons to map the utility skills to I hate the F keys I normaly put the interface shortcut keys up there where they are available but I'm not going to need them in the middle of combat.

[vicious796]

Forgive my ignorance - but do you still use a mouse in conjunction with the gamepad? Or does the joystick remove most functions of the mouse?

[Merendel]

Forgive my ignorance - but do you still use a mouse in conjunction with the gamepad? Or does the joystick remove most functions of the mouse?

Eh I guess if you were masochistic you could find a way to rig that joystick up to controlling your mouse pointer but it would be alot less efficent unless your other hand was unavailable to handle the mouse for whatever reason. The joystick is normaly for handeling player movement if you want to free up your fingers from the more traditional WSAD type movement controlls.

[vicious796]

Eh I guess if you were masochistic you could find a way to rig that joystick up to controlling your mouse pointer but it would be alot less efficent unless your other hand was unavailable to handle the mouse for whatever reason. The joystick is normaly for handeling player movement if you want to free up your fingers from the more traditional WSAD type movement controlls.

Thanks, that's what I thought but just wanted to make sure. I don't know about the gamepad, though I can see how it would be very beneficial to those with the aforementioned small hands and/or weak wrists. It just looks so... weird. At least to me, the big handed strong wristed guy.

[Meledelion]

If running forwards for a long time is anoying with the keypad thingy, just bind "autorun" to forward instead of forward