Playing WoW Forever with a controller: setup, buttons and action bars
Updated · ForeverDB
How to switch WoW Forever to a gamepad, what every button does with Xbox and PlayStation names, how the four action bars and three bar sets work, the shortcuts, and what still needs a keyboard.
WoW Forever can be played with a controller. Blizzard calls the support a "functional beta": targeting, casting, looting and menus work with a gamepad, a few screens don't show controller prompts yet, and you still need a keyboard to type in chat. Everything below comes from Blizzard's gamepad guide of 3 November; the PlayStation names and the layout ideas near the end are ours.
Turning it on
- Plug in or pair any XInput-compatible controller. The game shows Xbox or PlayStation button icons to match.
- Press Escape, choose Options, then Gamepad under Gameplay, and switch from keyboard and mouse to the gamepad.
- In the same Gamepad settings, go through Camera, HUD Modifier, Frame Focus Style, Action Bars, Targeting and Raid Targeting Options before your first fight.
Tip: On controllers with lights, the light turns red when you play a Horde character and blue for an Alliance one.
What each button does
| Xbox | PlayStation | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick | Left stick | Move |
| Right stick | Right stick | Turn the camera |
| LB | L1 | Target a friendly player or NPC |
| RB | R1 | Target an enemy |
| X | Square | Interact |
| A | Cross | Jump |
| B | Circle | Back |
| Y | Triangle | Inspect |
| Hold LT, RT or both | Hold L2, R2 or both | Switch to another action bar while held |
| Menu | Options | Main menu |
| View | Create (Share on PS4) | Change focus frame |
Blizzard lists the Xbox names; the PlayStation buttons are the ones in the same place on the pad. X, A, B and Y also cast whatever you put on them.
Four action bars on one set of buttons
The gamepad HUD shows four action bars, laid out like the buttons in your hands. They all use the same buttons: with no trigger held you're on the default bar, and holding LT, RT or both triggers swaps to one of the other three until you let go. The HUD changes to show the bar you're on.
Blizzard's example is a Mage with four spells on the same d-pad direction:
- Up: Polymorph
- LT + Up: Fireball
- RT + Up: Frostbolt
- LT + RT + Up: Blizzard
On top of that there are three action bar sets. Hold LB + RB and press left or right on the d-pad to switch set. Each set has four bars with 28 slots between them, so you have 84 slots in all, and the buttons stay the same whichever set you're on.
Shortcuts
Hold both shoulder buttons (LB + RB) and press:
| Shortcut | Opens |
|---|---|
| LB + RB + B | Your backpack |
| LB + RB + Up | The quest tracker |
| LB + RB + Down | Chat |
| LB + RB + Y | Your buffs |
The same things are in the main radial menu. A legend in the top-left corner of the screen shows what the buttons do and grows when you do something that has more options, and most windows have a footer with their controls.
A layout to start from
These are ForeverDB's suggestions, not Blizzard's: one way to split the four bars so you always know where to look.
- Default bar (no trigger): the abilities you press every fight, so the ones you use most need no trigger at all.
- LT bar: cooldowns and defensive abilities, the ones you need quickly but not often.
- RT bar: crowd control, interrupts and utility, like Polymorph, Sap or a taunt.
- LT + RT bar: things you use outside a fight, such as food, buffs, your mount and your hearthstone.
- A second set (LB + RB and the d-pad) for a different role or form: a Druid's bear and cat, or a healing set and a damage set.
Try moving, targeting and casting on a few easy mobs before you join a dungeon group. Healers in particular should practise picking party members with LB, since that's how you'll choose who to heal.
What still needs a keyboard
Typing in chat. LB + RB + Down opens it, but you need a keyboard to write anything. Blizzard says a game you can play with no keyboard at all is the longer-term aim, and that the bags and menus are still being reworked for controllers, so expect this to improve after launch.
Checked against WoW Forever build 1.60.1.70862.