Hi all,
Over the last few years I've iterated and improved my DS4 bindings, and now I finally have something that I'm happy with. This setup has been tested in PvE, PvP, FA on, FA off, by new players (my eight-year old!), and by old CMDRs. I can honestly say that with these settings I am not limited by the controller in any situation, and in fact I believe the DS4 (with these settings) is a more ideal input device for Elite: Dangerous than a HOTAS or mouse + keyboard.
I've posted before with a technical note regarding how commands are executed on the PS4 version of Elite: Dangerous. The upshot is that by leaving individual buttons unbound, you open up a large number of comfortable combinations that can be bound. In this way I have achieved a setup that:
Give it a try, and see how you like it.
o7
SViking
UNBOUND
As per the technical note referred to above, we leave the following buttons unbound:
T, C, X, S
t-pad-up-left, t-pad-up-right, t-pad-low-left, t-pad-low-right
d-pad-up, d-pad-down, d-pad-left, d-pad-right
FLIGHT
We steer the ship with the left thumb:
L-vert: pitch
L-horiz: roll
R-vert: F/B thrust
R-horiz: yaw
L1/R1: L/R thrust
L3/R3: D/U thrust
WHILE STEERING
We can execute all of the following commands without taking our left thumb off of the stick:
L2/R2: secondary/primary fire
L1 + R1 + L3/R3: throttle down/up (continuous)
T+C: target ahead
C+X: throttle 50%
X+S: toggle FA
S+T: target highest threat
(defense with L1)
TCXS + L1: shield cell / chaff / heat sink / silent running
t-pad-u-r + L1: charge ECM
(power with R1)
TCXS + R1: divert power to engines / to weapons / balance distribution / to system
t-pad-u-r + R1: boost
t-pad-l-r + L1/R1: target prev / next hostile
L3 + R3 + L1/R1: prev / next fire group
L3 + R3 + L2/R2: target prev / next subsystem
Again, these are all executable without having to interrupt steering the ship. And enjoy how easy it is to toggle FA.
WHILE NOT STEERING
The rest of the commands require us to move our left thumb off the stick. The exact layout here is not critical, but here's what I use --- it's fairly logical and easy to learn:
t-pad-l-l + L1/R1: target prev / next ship
T + (travel related)
FOR CUSTOMIZATION
There are lots of combinations available for custom bindings. These combinations are comfortable to execute (although they require interrupting steering):
t-pad-u-r + d-pad: 4
t-pad-l-r + d-pad: 4
d-pad + L1/L2: 8
These two are technically possible to execute while steering, but are a bit clumsy:
T+X
C+S (I use this one for Camera Suite)
These are uncomfortable to execute, but are available nonetheless:
TCXS + t-pad-u-r: 4
TCXS + t-pad-l-r: 4
d-pad + t-pad-u-l: 4
d-pad + t-pad-l-l: 4
Over the last few years I've iterated and improved my DS4 bindings, and now I finally have something that I'm happy with. This setup has been tested in PvE, PvP, FA on, FA off, by new players (my eight-year old!), and by old CMDRs. I can honestly say that with these settings I am not limited by the controller in any situation, and in fact I believe the DS4 (with these settings) is a more ideal input device for Elite: Dangerous than a HOTAS or mouse + keyboard.
I've posted before with a technical note regarding how commands are executed on the PS4 version of Elite: Dangerous. The upshot is that by leaving individual buttons unbound, you open up a large number of comfortable combinations that can be bound. In this way I have achieved a setup that:
- allows for easy control of all six axes of motion at all times
- provides quick access to all combat-critical commands, without having to stop steering the ship
- has numerous undefined bindings available for individual customization
Give it a try, and see how you like it.
o7
SViking
UNBOUND
As per the technical note referred to above, we leave the following buttons unbound:
T, C, X, S
t-pad-up-left, t-pad-up-right, t-pad-low-left, t-pad-low-right
d-pad-up, d-pad-down, d-pad-left, d-pad-right
FLIGHT
We steer the ship with the left thumb:
L-vert: pitch
L-horiz: roll
R-vert: F/B thrust
R-horiz: yaw
L1/R1: L/R thrust
L3/R3: D/U thrust
WHILE STEERING
We can execute all of the following commands without taking our left thumb off of the stick:
L2/R2: secondary/primary fire
L1 + R1 + L3/R3: throttle down/up (continuous)
T+C: target ahead
C+X: throttle 50%
X+S: toggle FA
S+T: target highest threat
(defense with L1)
TCXS + L1: shield cell / chaff / heat sink / silent running
t-pad-u-r + L1: charge ECM
(power with R1)
TCXS + R1: divert power to engines / to weapons / balance distribution / to system
t-pad-u-r + R1: boost
t-pad-l-r + L1/R1: target prev / next hostile
L3 + R3 + L1/R1: prev / next fire group
L3 + R3 + L2/R2: target prev / next subsystem
Again, these are all executable without having to interrupt steering the ship. And enjoy how easy it is to toggle FA.
WHILE NOT STEERING
The rest of the commands require us to move our left thumb off the stick. The exact layout here is not critical, but here's what I use --- it's fairly logical and easy to learn:
t-pad-l-l + L1/R1: target prev / next ship
T + (travel related)
- d-up: throttle 100%
- d-down: throttle 0%
- d-left: supercruise
- d-right: hyperspace
- t-pad-u-l: target next system in route
- t-pad-l-l: throttle 75%
- d-up: cargo scoop
- d-down: toggle landing gear
- d-left: ship lights
- d-right: night vision
- t-pad-u-l: toggle hardpoints
- t-pad-l-l: switch cockpit mode
- d-up: open FSS
- d-down: toggle orbit lines
- d-left: decrease sensor zoom
- d-right: increase sensor zoom
- t-pad-u-l: open galaxy map
- t-pad-l-l: open system map
- d-up: comms panel
- d-down: role panel
- d-left: target panel
- d-right: system panel
- t-pad-u-l: toggle headlook
- t-pad-l-l: fighter command panel
FOR CUSTOMIZATION
There are lots of combinations available for custom bindings. These combinations are comfortable to execute (although they require interrupting steering):
t-pad-u-r + d-pad: 4
t-pad-l-r + d-pad: 4
d-pad + L1/L2: 8
These two are technically possible to execute while steering, but are a bit clumsy:
T+X
C+S (I use this one for Camera Suite)
These are uncomfortable to execute, but are available nonetheless:
TCXS + t-pad-u-r: 4
TCXS + t-pad-l-r: 4
d-pad + t-pad-u-l: 4
d-pad + t-pad-l-l: 4
Last edited: