What Are The Best Controls?
 

I need to know this because I always watch pros play this game and they use A,S,K and L or something like that but I always use the arrows and cant keep up most of the time. So should I keep my controls or change them to something better? What controls do you guys use?

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Use what's comfortable. I use az and ']

Also make sure your keyboard can push all 4 buttons at once. You can easily find out on Google.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

perhaps more importantly, at least to address first: which fingers are you using on those arrow keys?

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

It is generally assumed, going by the playstyles of -most- (but not all) of the top players, that "spread" is the optimal playstyle for playing at the higher level.

That is, any set of keybindings where you are using the index and middle finger of both hands for your four arrows. Things like ASKL or ASL; or AXML or whatever is most comfortable given the shape of your hand and length of your fingers.

That said, there are plenty of high-skill players who play Index (only index fingers) and even one-handed, but they do appear to be the exception statistically.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Index finger: Left
Middle finger: Up, Down
Ring finger: Right

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

We call that "One-hand 3 finger" and it is how most people start.

If you switch to a "spread" keybinding, for at least a little bit while you get used to it, your ability might drop, but there's an awful lot of data from an awful lot of people that you'll probably do better in the long run.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

for 1 handed play you should try out ~space bar ,./~ i play 1 handed this way using my thumb index middle and ring. I started out a couple weeks ago and it's working quite well for me!

Other than that if you really want to push hard and get incredible scores consider learning 2 handed play with index middle from both hands on a setup like dfjk

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

For optimal play, I would definitely recommend spread as has been suggested. Of course, if you're just playing for fun, you can play however you want (sometimes I like to see what kind of scores I'm able to get playing with alternate play styles).

ASKL is a common choice for spread but there are a lot of other choices and it boils down to what feels comfortable and if your keyboard supports hitting all four of these keys at once. Here are some things to consider:
-spacing: you might want to do spread but have the key close together, such as FGHJ or have them far apart like QWOP.
-angled: ASKL has no angling to it. Some people like to play with V-shaped angle such QSLP or a ^-shaped angle such as AWIL.
-fingers used: most people play spread with their index and middle fingers although I know of at least one player that plays with their middle and ring fingers instead
-wrists: some people like to play with their wrists planted (resting on whatever surface) or non-planted (so that the part of your hand that's touching anything is your fingers). I've noticed most upper-tier players play with their wrists non-planted. I personally play with them planted. The reason I play planted is that I feel like I have more 'control' when doing so and because I find playing with them non-planted makes my wrists tired or sore. Players that play with their wrists non-planted usually experience more speed from what I've seen.
-general position: sometimes the general location of where you press keys could be more comfortable for you. For example, a FGHJ-player probably would not want to play QWER even though they are "equivalent" in a sense since QWER is shifted way too much to the left. Also, sometimes the position of keys relative to other keys could be important (e.g. you might want to avoid hitting the Windows key). I usually play with QWOP, but sometimes I switch to something else because I don't like how my left hand/wrist lays on edge of my laptop.
-keyboards: I personally just play on my laptop, but many higher-tiered players will tend to play on certain keyboards for optimal performance. There are multiple threads regarding keyboards if you look around.

I think that covers a lot of it. Happy keysmashing!

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

"Can't keep up most of the time" Well, the pros you see playing stuff have been playing for very long times, so you can't just get the besta settings and do well right away, it takes a lot of practice on those settings.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

best response so far ty

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

That being said, I don't think there's anyone in the top 1000 who plays with one hand.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

ASDF is the #1 pick.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

natural selection

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Legit curious who still plays index.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

I think???????? DJ RiDDeR does. When he plays that is.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

You literally can't play most of the songs on ffr with index style though, that's why there are files made specifically for index.

Also curious who still plays index.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

I still play with the arrows (index is left, middle is up and down, and and ring is right) but I think the best answers atm woud be ASDF or ASKL

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Tell me if I'm wrong, though. That's just what I think lol

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

If you have two hands you should use them both.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Historically over time. We've had some high-end players who play index.

Bearing in mind that literally being D2 puts you in probably the best 10% of all players who've ever played, so even being a d5 or d6 index player makes you one of the best players on the site, even if it's not the best currently still active players.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

I play with the arrows as well, it seems to me the most convenient option...

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

you should try to move away from that if at all possible. If you're still playing with 1 hand, switch to two, you will recoup your current skill level remarkably quickly, trust me and don't get stuck in a rut. If you are playing with two hands, try a different key setup with the same shape that you're already used to (like left down, num8, num6) because crowding your hands into the small area of your arrow keys is not very productive.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Not anymore. But i used to be in the top few hundred iirc. same with bynary.
Nothing is wrong with playing with one hand, it just takes way longer to skill boost. I did with spread in months what took me years with one hand. I think i was considered one of the best so it can happen. Just takes more time, more patience and more playing haha

EDIT: It is possible to get ONI one handed, and some of the other harder skill tokens BTW.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Rgko for life

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Does slanted feel better? I use xcm, and it feels pretty good tbh.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Honestly, slanted is probably only better if you are uncomfortable playing without it. I for example, used to play with sd45 for quite a few year. After a while i started to feel like my right hand was getting cramped so i switch to sd48 and titled my keyboard. my hand was in a more natural resting position and, although it felt really weird at first since the keys were more spread out, its much more comfortable and what i continue to play with today.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

I used to use "z x . /" but have changed over the last year to "K L Down Right" due to destroying the bottom of my keyboard (z to / anyway), anything else feels awkward at this point.

I used to play One hand 3 fingers when i started the game though. One hand can be fun, just like index. Long term improvements and skill though, you'd want spread. Key setup is all about what feels comfortable i guess.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

I used to play zx./

It was alt bait.

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Concave has always felt better for me. It might have to do with my giant ass hands but I can't play standard setup at all

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Welll.....i tried concave and its a no go. I cant even.. Like, i literally cant even. My fingers kept moving over and it feels so awkward XD I guess i only did try a few songs but i think imma stick to my normal setup haha

Re: What Are The Best Controls?
 

Oh yeah, for sure. That's why when you see me stream, i have no alt keycaps. It was from when i was using those keys, and keys near them lol.