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[64bitmodels]

over in PC land we play a ton of shooters- the genre was birthed on the PC afterall and it's a major part of gaming culture on PC.

One major part of a shooter game is a variety of weapons that you choose from in certain scenarios, and there's 2 different types of selecting weapons- Scroll wheels and keyboard keys.

Which one do you prefer? Which do you find faster? I've always used scroll wheel more but there are times where I think keys and their accuracy work better than scroll wheel, however I think all weapon related actions (besides reload) are best handled and more convenient on the mouse, so I tend to go for scroll wheel more. Plus weapon muscle memory can change depending on game when keys have so many different buttons, whereas scroll wheel is just a very fast scroll throughout your inventory that doesn't need to be memorized as much.

This is just a shit post that I thought of when playing Quake.

 

[Ocean Dweller]

scroll

 

[Bombolone]

When I was younger I used to hit those keys with precision.
My old self has a much more difficult time with coordination under pressure now. Something I definitely noticed.
Playing Apex Legends and using the numbers for weapons, health, nades... I try to bind everything to the mouse to retain movement and aim accuracy. Even crouch is bound to mouse4.

 

[Edgelord79]

Keys all the way for me.

 

[intbal]

Foot pedals

 

[JBat]

Scroll wheel I guess but extra buttons on the mouse is where it's at

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Keys preferably because I find it more reliable.

Foot pedals

Look at this fucking nerd with pedals under his desk lol

 

[Sushi_Combo]

Magic mouse scroll

 

[willothedog]

keys or mapped mouse buttons

 

[64bitmodels]

When I was younger I used to hit those keys with precision.
My old self has a much more difficult time with coordination under pressure now. Something I definitely noticed.

not very old myself, and i have a hard time memorizing where those keys can be. plus, you have to hit them well too which is difficult, sometimes you might miss and get the wrong weapon etc.

though, scroll wheel is far worse in that aspect, it is much less accurate. But it is much faster

 

[T4keD0wN]

keys
scroll wheel is too inconsistent, slow, unpredictable and limited

Ive played roboquest today (game has maximum of 2 weapons) and ive been messing up constantly with the wheel. Maybe i just suck though.

 

[BlackTron]

Both really. Sometimes it's faster to use the wheel, sometimes it's faster to tap the key even if you have to look down. That's how I played Doom 2016...

I like how Halo sidesteps this issue entirely by only having two weapon slots. I still use the tab key which was the default in Halo CE. Which then opens up more functions on the wheel (you get up, down and click). Ultimately I never have to glance at the keyboard while playing this game.

 

[64bitmodels]

Both really. Sometimes it's faster to use the wheel, sometimes it's faster to tap the key even if you have to look down. That's how I played Doom 2016...

I like how Halo sidesteps this issue entirely by only having two weapon slots. I still use the tab key which was the default in Halo CE. Which then opens up more functions on the wheel (you get up, down and click). Ultimately I never have to glance at the keyboard while playing this game.

I'm pretty sure Call of Duty does that too.

However more recent games like Fortnite bring back more than 2 weapons so I think it's still somewhat of a relevant discussion in the modern era.

 

[Sojiro]

Absolutely keys. Back when I played UT 2K4, you didn't have the time to scroll through the large list of weapons you have to use during a match, and binding keys was by far the way to go. I usually binded keys 1-4 and then spread the rest to keys around WSAD. It's the same for abilities/spells in WoW. I had a keybind for most things with only a handful of "clicky" hot keys that were used less often.

 

[DeadOblivion78]

Scroll wheels are too inconsistent to be even considered compared to keys.

 

[64bitmodels]

Scroll wheel I guess but extra buttons on the mouse is where it's at

Not everyone has one of thouse though and it still falls into the same pitfall of needing some muscle memory for each game since weapon bindings differ

Then again many shooters do have similar archetypes of Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun and RPG so it might not be as big of an issue for others. It trips me up, though.

 

[killatopak]

keys.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Weapon wheel

But I choose triangle button on PlayStation for shooters

 

[Buggy Loop]

I was keys a long time ago. Then I went full console. When I came back to PC I was using mouse wheel.

I got into a retro FPS groove a few years ago and I’m fully back to keys. Scroll wheel is basically putting shit between the current weapon and what I want. Pressing a key for what I want makes more sense and are easy to memorize.

 

[JBat]

Not everyone has one of thouse though and it still falls into the same pitfall of needing some muscle memory for each game since weapon bindings differ

Then again many shooters do have similar archetypes of Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun and RPG so it might not be as big of an issue for others. It trips me up, though.

Peasants... Just kidding lol. Fair point. I've had mine for the better part of ten years and don't know what I'll do if it dies. There's 4 buttons on the side for your thumb then 3 more on top easily reached by index finger. I just map keys 1-7. Also has a profiles button so can switch between different game types and the typical forward/back for web browsing. Enough extras to be useful without being overwhelming

 

[Bombolone]

not very old myself, and i have a hard time memorizing where those keys can be. plus, you have to hit them well too which is difficult, sometimes you might miss and get the wrong weapon etc.

though, scroll wheel is far worse in that aspect, it is much less accurate. But it is much faster

yeah sometimes the scroll wheel lands half way through after a weapon change, then suddenly decides to move at the worst time, changing my weapon. The mouse I have has a very soft scroll feel to it. Not a fan.

 

[64bitmodels]

yeah sometimes the scroll wheel lands half way through after a weapon change, then suddenly decides to move at the worst time, changing my weapon. The mouse I have has a very soft scroll feel to it. Not a fan.

my scroll wheel is more rigid but has a button that makes it more loose. You can spin it and it'll keep spinning for a couple seconds. Really useful for long pages.

 

[phaedrus]

Triangle button (or Left shoulder button) + Left thumbstick.

 

[64bitmodels]

Weapon wheel

But I choose triangle button on PlayStation for shooters

Triangle button (or Left shoulder button) + Left thumbstick.

this is a pc thread sirs

 

[phaedrus]

this is a pc thread sirs

Yes, and I prefer to play PC games with my Dualshock 4.

 

[DaciaJC]

Scroll wheel makes more sense on paper, but in practice mice that I've been using for a while tend to have mushy wheels and I hate relying on them. So I'll usually bind weapon switch to Q in games that give you just two guns (e.g. CoD) and the number keys in games where you have a full arsenal.

 

[Sojiro]

Yes, and I prefer to play PC games with my Dualshock 4.

Lol I kid...kind of

 

[a multicultural team of v]

For the times back in the day when I played FPS on PC I never used the scroll wheel, mostly because there were usually animations for switching weapons and if you scrolled with the scroll wheel it would literally blast like 5 chain animations and it just wasn't a good experience.

I also stopped playing by the time you ever would need more than 1-9, so I dunno what the fuck you would do for modern games where every gun has like 4 alt modes.

 

[64bitmodels]

Lol I kid...kind of

With gyro these days it's becoming more of an actual viable option for shooters. can't blame him.

but i also don't remember mentioning weapon wheels or triangle buttons in the op

 

[Danknugz]

i chose neither, because i use the scroll wheel as a button that only selects one weapon with rolling it back (that's how i have rocket launcher bound in quake games) and i don't use number keys for other weapons, i have those bound to keys around the wasd (i don't use wasd, i use shift a z x)

 

[Sojiro]

With gyro these days it's becoming more of an actual viable option for shooters. can't blame him.

but i also don't remember mentioning weapon wheels or triangle buttons in the op

Oh I am a firm believer in gyro as I play a fuckton of Splatoon regularly, but given the option of gyro to kb/m I would still go kb/m between the two. At the end of the day use whatever you like though, I just had give him some shit lol.

 

[Danknugz]

my scroll wheel is more rigid but has a button that makes it more loose. You can spin it and it'll keep spinning for a couple seconds. Really useful for long pages.

is that the g502? i've got one of those but strangely when i play lately i've just used this generic dell mouse.

 

[64bitmodels]

is that the g502? i've got one of those but strangely when i play lately i've just used this generic dell mouse.

generic logi mouse here. it has a mode where you can switch between hard and loose

 

[Icymanipulator]

Custom config that allows both

 

[R6Rider]

Thumb buttons on mouse.

 

[Arsic]

Keys.

I bind usually ping or voice comms to mouse buttons. Scroll wheel gets no use.

 

[outsida]

Both, up and down on the wheel for the two most used weapons. Then the rest bound to they keys around the movment keys.

 

[ReBurn]

Come on...right bumper and left bumper

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Poll options suck, didn't vote. What if you bind to the mouse on something other than the scrollwheel? If you use... keys on your keyboard that don't have numbers on them?

Personally I find binding E highly convenient to "swap weapons" in your average modern "you get two real guns" type games. Otherwise number keys are good. I avoid binding stuff to the scrollwheel in general, not just weapons. But it can be useful for inputs you need to spam. Auxiliary bind for jump in Destiny 2 for movement techniques comes to mind.

 

[64bitmodels]

Come on...right bumper and left bumper

even if we were using console logic what console game in 2024 has you switch weapons through right and left bumper? don't they all use weapon wheels now?

 

[ReBurn]

even if we were using console logic what console game in 2024 has you switch weapons through right and left bumper? don't they all use weapon wheels now?

It's not console logic, it's controller logic because PC games support controllers now and I can map my bumpers however I want so no judging

 

[64bitmodels]

I can map my bumpers however I want so no judging

l1 and r1 are not the best choices for switching weapons not when the dpad exists

 

[Dr.brain64]

I don't play multiplayer. Scrollwheel.

 

[Pimpollo818]

Q for my most recent, then keys. never wheel.

 

[nikos]

Doesn't make a difference to me. Wheel is objectively better because I hit the "2" key with my middle finger, which never lets go of W.

 

[Rawbutt Jellybean]

keys

Been playing MP PC shooters too long to use anything else.

 

[CGNoire]

LB or RB

 

[CGNoire]

l1 and r1 are not the best choices for switching weapons not when the dpad exists

Yea they are since yoj dont have to take yout fingers off the thumbsticks.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

Do what you like..

However, in competitive Quake, no one is using the scroll wheel to change weapons. Much too slow.

 

[Soodanim]

I do like a scroll wheel, but I've noticed that games seem to favour scroll wheel up to move through the list of weapons. This is objectively backwards and may deter people.

If you start with a pistol then pick weapons up, your weapon list becomes:
Pistol
Shotgun
Rifle

You should be scrolling down to move through the list.

Obviously I blame woke western game design.