Spiral Knights - Newbie: Key Controls and general queries

Newbie: Key Controls and general queries

11 replies [Last post]

Fri, 11/18/2011 - 22:44

Ronninn

Hello,

I have read the newbie guides and browsed the threads. I started a couple of days ago.

(1) I am having a terrible time with the controls. Moving and attacking with the mouse is tricky - so I used keypad (WASD) to move: but the knight does not face the direction he is moving when I use arrow keys, still need mouse to make him face the right direction (and RT. Mouse to attack).

Are there any non-default key combinations which would be easier/preferred by you? Please post them. I use a laptop (touchpad mouse/ or external mouse)

Due to my complete inability to master these basic controls, I get slaughtered in Tier 2 (end up facing wrong direction/blocking instead of attacking - run into blocks etc :-P)

(2) I bought an elevator pass yesterday, and so have been doing tier 1 levels a lot - just for crowns and materials - Used the crowns to buy energy when needed. Due to this I now have a 3 * Calibur - I got a UV when I crafted it first (charge timer reduction: Very High) and my partymates say it is a good UV.

I have tier 2 armor also (Crafted hat, shield). I did the snarl boss run with others a few times, and got the shield.

Any specific items I should aim for which go well with the Calibur (got the wolver hat)?

(3) any other weapon advise (bombs/guns? I still use the newbie gun).

Thanks in advance.

Ronninn

Sat, 11/19/2011 - 00:02

Windsickle

(1) The way I quickly became

(1) The way I quickly became accustomed to, and that I believe many others use, is to keep the WASD as it is, keep Right Click as Attack, but turn Left Click into Shield.
(2) Definitely get the all the Wolver equipment if you plan to specialize with the blade. If not, you can try to build a Loadout that defends against every damage type.
(3) If you haven't yet decided where you stand weapons-wise, it's useful to have a Handgun that deals Elemental damage. The Alchemer series are a good place to start. Bombs depend more on what you plan to use them for. The Vaporizer series are ideal as support bombs to complement other weapons and are not particularly useful as primary weapons (except for maybe the Fire one).

Sat, 11/19/2011 - 02:56

Myllakka

---

See, if I could learn to use WASD my gunslinging woes would be far less, but I digress.

What I do is to use mouse to move and aim. I use two keys for attack and shield (left hand) and generally I attack while standing still. This set up works pretty well with swords and bombs (hold charge with left hand, run around like a lunatic with my mouse), but very crappy for guns. I really, really suck at WASDing, and you'll see me run into corners/spikes/fire when I try.

If you're used to WASD, definitely keep using that. Like Wind says, maybe re-map your keys so you can both shield and kill with your mouse. I actually have shield bound to space as well as another key so that when I do WASD, I can shield with my thumb. Not that I ever remember to do it, actually. =_= A good way to maybe make yourself used to the way attacking works in SK (I played games where you can stand faaar away, select an enemy, then hit keys to aim spells or whatever at them...which is more or less conventional for MMOs, I think) is to always put your mouse on the thing you want to hit. Shield works 360 degrees, so you don't have to move your cursor. It takes a bit of practice, for sure.

NOTE that if you're good with using WASD to move and your only problem is that your knight isn't faced in the direction that you're moving to, you can re-map your WASD to 'Move North', 'Move South', etc. This means that your knight will always face the direction in which you press the keys, but your cursor will effectively disappear and you can only really attack in four directions. Right now, these keys are bound to the arrows, so maybe hop into the training hall (or a Clockworks since you have the pass) and try using those keys to see if you can play better with them.

Haha, sorry for the completely useless verbal diarrhea. It's 5 in the morning and I'm way past the point of sanity.

Sat, 11/19/2011 - 05:38

Prisega

I actually found the mouse to

I actually found the mouse to be much easier to use than the arrow keys that I was using before. First I want to say there are buttons that are mapped to turn the knight in a certain direction or as Myllakka said, move a certain direction. You'll still be slightly limited but that will work out best for you. I actually use the mouse to move (left click) and attack (right click) while using "N" to shield and spacebar to switch weapons. I used to play with keys solely bvefore I started to use a mouse (I have a laptop) but I find the mouse much better to use. If you like the keys though stick with it, its a good way to play. If you decide you like guns then you'll love the keys a lot.

For you second question, the Wolver set is pretty good whether or not you want to specialize with the blade. It'll still make your Calibur a force to be reckoned with until you decide on what you want to do. You have the Barb Shield which is very good for swords (if you have full Skolver and the Barb you get sword damage maxed).

Other weapons I'd suggest are the Snarble Barb if you like swords since its a very excellent piercing sword and its so quickly accesible. The Brandish line is very good too, then, when you get to defeating Royal Jelly, you can aim for a Sealed Sword to get the Gran Faust or Divine Avenger. You might want to carry a bomb or gun on hand regardless of being a sword user (if you choose to go this route) since they'll be helpful to have in some situations. Some turrets can't be hit with a sword because of their distance or because they're surrounded by spikes but a gun would help a lot there. Then with big mobs like in arenas you may want a bomb to help destroy them, probably Ash of Agni or Voltaic Tempest. You COULD use the Winmillion as a range weapon but its energy disc is very weak so I don't recommend using it that way.

When you do decide what you want to work on, you'll want to check out the Elite Modules from the Krogmo exchange thing to help your damage or charge time.

Sat, 11/19/2011 - 06:08

Ronninn

Thanks everyone. "I played

Thanks everyone.

"I played games where you can stand faaar away, select an enemy, then hit keys to aim spells or whatever at them...which is more or less conventional for MMOs"

I think my problem is exactly that Myllakka - I dont think I have really played a fast paced click-and-move-game like this in a decade or more :(

I tried the move north/south thing, and if at all possible, I ran into EVERY wall/block / corner possible :)

I am trying to use WASD , and as Windsickle said, have mapped LMousebutton to shield - helps a lot.

I just wish I was better at this so I could go make some crowns in Tier 2 without dying every 15 seconds because of my awful key control abilities;)

Sat, 11/19/2011 - 06:21

Prisega

You'll get used to it.

You'll get used to it. Believe it or not, the game actually takes some skill to be good at. Before the Halloween event, I hadn't played in a few months and I was getting my ass handed to me in T2. I was pretty much like "Wow, this game does take skill". BTW armor contributes to how easily you can survive a tier, just because 2* gear allows you access to T2 doesn't mean its very ideal for it. 3* gear should be better to accurately test your abilities in T2. It also depends on if you have a team or not and how good they are. I haven't traveled with a team in a long while now, with good reason...

Sun, 11/20/2011 - 06:10

Ronninn

Quick Update: I changed my

Quick Update:

I changed my mouse mapping to : Left Mouse: attack, Right Mouse: Shield. and use mouse to point/aim

WASD for moving.

Got used to this is a bit and made a HUGE difference - not running into obstacles as much, and getting the hang of it - did a few Tier2 runs, did not die every 5 seconds because my knight was facing wrong way and swinging his sword)

Thanks everyone

P.S: Is Jelly shield a good one to craft and sell on the AH? ( bought the recipe, and got mats to make 2)

Sun, 11/20/2011 - 15:51

Myllakka

---

I'm glad that it's working out for you! It's not all due to your controls, either. The jump from T1 to T2 is pretty huge, and it took me quite a few runs to be confident in my ability to survive. And then you reach T3, where every monster attack takes 5 pips of your health... Basically, the transition from tier to tier is a large jump in difficulty.

As for the Jelly Shield--the Snarby shield is usually considered a better piercing shield, so I'm not sure how much it would sell for. Though at current prices, crafting and selling 2*s with your mist when you only have one account isn't worth it. You can make more crowns by doing T2 runs (especially JK) with those 100 energies.

Sun, 11/20/2011 - 16:13

Kitty-Softpaws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNwCojCJ3-Q&feature=youtu.be

Mon, 11/21/2011 - 13:58

Icee

Controller + Mouse

I leave the keyboard out of my playing entirely and instead use a controller (Logitech for me, but you can use an XBox controller or several others) with the mouse. It feels like using a Wiimote with a nunchuck.

I move with the left analog stick, aim with the mouse pointer, shield with the controller's left trigger, attack with the right mouse, and switch weapons with the mouse wheel. This setup is, for me at least, especially optimal for gunslinging as it allows perfectly controlled strafing. WASD only lets you move in 4 directions. The analog stick lets you move diagonally or along a curve.

Wed, 11/23/2011 - 14:23

#10

Aragoth

@Icee WASD lets you run in 8

@Icee
WASD lets you run in 8 directions.. .. .. and works wonders for me..

Wed, 11/23/2011 - 22:48

#11

Anakletos

Redone

I completely re-did my control scheme to fit something I'm more used to. I have WASD for movement, Q to switch weapons, Space for shield, and Mouse + Left-Click for aiming and attacking. Works great for me.

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Newbie: Key Controls and general queries