Keyboard PWNAGE: WASD vs. EDSF - Poll

So, I'm curious to know how many people use WASD as their movement keys versus people that don't. I know that there is a strong contigent of people (myself included) that use EDSF in lieu of WASD on their keyboard. What are your reasons for using your chosen movement keys?

The reason I ask is that seemingly every gaming keyboard that is released, more manufacturers are choosing to distinguish the WASD keys with special features. These features include lights, highlighted keys, or even a special "coating" that helps prevent your fingers from sliding off the keys.

Remember to vote, and give a reason why you choose your particular set of movement keys!

 

I don't know anybody that uses EDSF lol

 

EDSF? lol! It's all about WASD!

 

wsad mate, wsad ... who even uses edsf!?

 

Well, like I said, I use EDSF, and many of my gamer friends do as well. In fact, they're the ones that switched me to the dark side of EDSF.

Anyway, the reasons I use EDSF are as follows:

1) Moving the keys to the right by one allows for more hotkeys to be used.
2) I have pretty large hands and long fingers, so the extra added space on the keyboard is nice.
3) I dunno, it just feels more natural to me.

 

Problem with EDSF for me is that is really hard to press shift/ctrl which i use often. And alt as well since its almost exactly bellow E

 

WASD, for the reasons:
1.- Many games don't even let you customize the movement keys, so it's conventional.
2- Easier access to sprint/crouch keys, which are frequently Shift or Ctrl or C (which would be directly under EDSF).

 

WASD for me, I never heard of anyone using EDSF, i just tried it out and it felt awkward. I have pretty big hands and when i tried and moved to the surrounding keys then back, I kept putting my finger on A instead of S because of how far over Shift is. My palm also hangs onto the touchpad when i try EDSF.

EDIT: i also don't like remapping too many keys unless i have to.

 

WASD. I never tried ESDF before... Just did and I don't like it. CTRL/Shift/1/2 are too far away, and my thumb hits the touchpad...

 

Oh man, definitely. Because I'm strange and weird and enjoy using EDSF, I have to remap the movement keys every time I play a new game. Such a pain.

 

WASD ftw

 

WASD for the proximity to shift/control and also I just slide my ring finger from caps log (bigger key) over one.

 

i used to use WASD when i was a noob... i graduated to ESDF...

i play wow and using a Addon called Macaroon, i was able to set up my action bar so that i have 12 buttons within a finger's reach...

 

i use wasd. i always mess with the keys right when i get the game.

shift - sprint
space - jump
close thumb (mouse) - crouch
far thumb (mouse) - grenade (voice in tf2/cs:s)
rest of the mouse normal

makes it so i can just rest my fingers on the keys without moving them much at all.

edit: i hate macros...i also set my mouse on low sensitivity

 

plus WASD just sounds so much cooler =D

 

WASD FTW.

I actually I dunno how you play with EDSF, Alt key is positioned right under the E key, so you spend more time trying to put your thumb on the Alt key than playing the game leaving you vulnerable because you're spending half the time looking at your keyboard.Reaching the shift key is very uncomfortable because it's so far away, and the control key is so far away that it hurts....plus on a laptop, if you are using EDSF, your palm is going to be touching the touchpad, making it possible to accidently touch the touchpad during gameplay and suddenly have your gun pointing straight up in a firefight.

 

arrow keys?

 

WASD!!! for the win!

 

I voted WASD,

But I also use the N52te speedpad for shooters

 

WASD only because I was never creative enough to think of using anything else when FPS (and FPS RPGs like Ultima Underworld) moved from the cursor keys to the left hand keyboard/right hand mouse combo...

But then I'm right handed...do left handed people use their left hand for the mouse and then use keys towards the Right Shift, Right Alt and Right Ctrl? If they use their right hand on WASD, that would be a wierd mechanic (to me) to use your non-dominant thumb for the Shift, Alt and Ctrl functions...I believe finding left-handed mice (curve of the mouse) is very difficult and even neutral ergonomic mice are few and far between...

 

I'm left handed, but since the ports on my laptop are made for a right handed world I just got used to using the right for the mouse and left hand for WASD.

 

My brother-in-law is left handed and when I visit for Christmas, we usually do some CoD2 or Half-Life 2 multiplayer and that's his first complaint...he does IT work and uses a mouse in his left hand all day at work, and then tries to game with the mouse in his right hand...

I always tell him the complaint is only legitimate before I beat him...afterwards, it's just a whiny excuse...

But I feel for you left-handers...time for a letter writing campaign to Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer?

 

WASD. Been using it since I first got into FPS's.

 

I may be alittle strange but i use left mouse button to move forward, right for shooting, 'Z' weapon scope/aim, 'X' reload, 'ALT' sprint, 'SPACE' interact, 'V' melei.....well you get the idea, its just what works best for me, i like having the forward and look in the same hand....works well for me.

 

WASD FTW woot woot

 

I've used ESDF since the Quakeworld CTF & Team Fortress days, but I'm a weird one.
I use the right-mouse button as my primary fire, because priming grenades in TF felt more natural with the left-mouse button.

With more recent games, however, I've stuck with ESDF, not because "old habits die hard", but a lot of games now throw in all sorts of additional actions such as lean left/right, reload, fire selection, flashlight, use item, crouch, prone, move up, change vision, melee, etc.
WASD doesn't have enough easy-to-reach keys for all of that. ESDF, on the other hand, gives me an extra three keys I can reach with my pinky.

 

I use both. Depends on the game and what other keys are preset to.
Also depends on which keyboard I'm using at the time.

 

WASD, first time I have heard about ESDF.

 

It's all about hands-free, baby.

But I use WASD, since I don't need the plethora of hotkeys that ESDF opens up to you.

 

arrow keys here too

 

I dont use any of them, I use the arrow buttons.

 

are you left handed?

 

I use this: http://www.steelseries.com/us/products/keyboards/fang/information

And arrow keys otherwise.

 

WASD - just because it's default on the only FPS I play, TF2.

 

cuz i'm lazy i use wasd, also, your sprint key for most games is shift, so remapping to z will make it hard to hit sometimes, since its so small, and tab for fragging...

 

WASD for me. My hands are on the large side, but it still feels more natural to stick with WASD. Getting to the Ctrl key isn't too bad since the Fn and Ctrl keys are switched on my keyboard. However, reaching the shift key doesn't feel right while using ESDF.

 

I am left handed and I use WSAD with the mouse in my right hand (can't stand it with my left). My cousin is also left handed but he can't use WSAD, he uses P;l' and uses the mouse with his left. Maybe I'm right handed when gaming

 

WSAD!! Just alway's have.

 

WASD for life!

 

i must be a real oddball then. i use right mouse button for forward, a for left strafe, s for right strafe, and z for backwards. i've used it for at least 10 years now.

w -jump
shift - run
x - alt fire
c - crouch
v - melee (cod4)
e - use
q - last weapon used (tf2)

 

that is very odd.

 

No im a righty but I was never comfortable using the WASD keys. I dont like using them for gaming because the other keys are so close. the arrows have spaces between the other keys. I also like using the numpad as well as the delete and enter keys and the ones near them to game. Its just my preference.

 

I didn't know there was anything else than WASD. When I was young and played a lot of UT99 I used to use my number pad! Oh the good old days!

 

edsf, because I get extra keys on the left side for small things like reload/flashlight and leaning... also, wasd started sticking when more than 2 keys were pressed, so I count move diagonally when crouched in some games, lol

 

wasd for me..

 

WASD. With ESDF, a lot of people lose out on the Ctrl key. I know a guy that udes ESDF. A lot of his new hotkeys I already have hotkeyed to my mouse. If you have a MX518/G7/G9, you already have lots more hotkeys on the mouse to play with. Add on the fact that you can Alt/Ctrl/Shift + Mousekey adds another layer.

But I can see the reasoning behind ESDF. It's the default position for typing. I didn't start using WASD until Half Life. During the days of Doom and Quake, I used the rightclick as "foward" and ASD. That was before scroll wheels. Plus weapon switching was instantaneous and a necessary skill. Today, weapon switching is more of a secondary skill, with people runnning around with their primary weapon almost 90% of the time. During the days of Doom and Quake, switching from rocket launcher to the lighting gun was as necessary as eating and breathing.

 

WASD for me. A long long time ago when I was a n00b (around 1999) I used the numpad keys because WASD was too weird for me. But that didn't last too long, maybe a year or so.

 

ESDF makes sense, and I'd love to try it, but after years of WASD I don't think I could make the switch. The little gamer guy in my head just wouldn't understand and probably pull a kurt cobain or something.

 

I used to use ESDF when my stupid friend accidentally swiped off the W key on my old laptop...

 

WASD 4 LYF!

p.s. - oh snaps! 1k posts!