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Gamers who don't claw grip - how do you run and control the camera simultaneously in, for example, Souls-likes?

TetraGenesis

TetraGenesis

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,194
Attachable paddles.

Collective Minds Strikepack FPS Dominator. Very cringeworthy Gamer Name™️but, functionally, it's incredible. Best $40 I've ever spent on a gaming accessory.

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I played through Dark Souls 1 and 3, Sekiro, and some Bloodborne with it and it completely transformed the experience. The ability to run and dodge so comfortably while rotating the camera freely is a game changer.

There hasn't been game not made better by these paddles and it's helped me deal with serious chronic hand pain by utilizing more of hand than my thumbs and forefinger when playing. Wish it were wireless, but I just got a 15 foot cable from Amazon so the trade off is worth it (for the price).

I will say that they released a paddle redesign that I prefer but you have to buy them separately from their site because the originals are still the ones included in the box.

tl;dr - I've said it before, I'll say it again: native paddles are an essential evolution for next gen controllers.
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,230
Edmonton
I guess I don't - gonna be honest, I've played through all the Souls games and I've never felt crippled by holding the controller like a human being.
 
Heid

Heid

Member
Jan 7, 2018
1,851
Blayde said:
Idk just be faster at moving thumb between camera stick and button? It's not that difficult.
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I definitely remember moments in games where so much shit is happening you need to be moving, tracking an enemy with the camera (letting go of the stick means the enemy goes off screen) and also using items or shooting. I think MGS3S comes to mind...? Not sure, all vague memories.

Not exactly a position you keep your hands in for more than 10 seconds max though

Honestly surprised certain people have never had to resort to this position ever.
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
I use a semi-claw grip where I press B/O with the inner knuckle of my extended index finger.
 
Poison Jam

Poison Jam

Member
Nov 6, 2017
3,064
I play a lot with the claw. But I have a wonky right thumb, so it kinda started as a way to make up for the limited mobility of that.
 
The Gold Hawk

The Gold Hawk

Member
Jan 30, 2019
5,134
Yorkshire
I get that some people can do it but, damn that picture just looks uncomfortable.

I'd rather hold the controller comfortably and be sat half slouched, than seemingly bolt upright with my hands crunched up like some kind of stressed out T-Rex
 
Trisc

Trisc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,534
Turrican2 said:
Exactly, same here.
The Scuf Impact is the best Controller I ever used.
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Just upgraded from my Impact to a Vantage last week. It was extremely hard to go back after making the change from a DS4 to an Impact. I'd previously played shooters with bumper jumper, but now even that doesn't feel sufficient.
 
HellBlazer

HellBlazer

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,121
Jesus, this thread. To people saying it looks uncomfortable: yeah, no shit. You don't play like that continually, you just switch to the claw for a few seconds when needed.


Patch13 said:
Huh. I instinctively don't want to look around while running. In real life, when you're running, you want to look ahead so that you don't run into things. When you want to look around, you stop running for a moment so that you can do so safely. It makes sense to mirror that behavior in game. It's interesting to hear that others relate differently to their avatar :-)
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Hmm, and how often are you pursued by a giant monster who will kill you if you stop running in real life? 🤔
 
Patch13

Patch13

Member
Oct 27, 2017
398
New England
HellBlazer said:
Hmm, and how often are you pursued by a giant monster who will kill you if you stop running in real life? 🤔
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Heh. I larp, so more often than you might expect :-) I'm usually more focused on places ahead where I can hide or defend myself than on monitoring exactly where my pursuer is behind me. Fundamentally, I'm either successfully evading capture or I'm doomed, and a glance back isn't going to help much in either circumstance.

I don't have a particularly cool head in tense situations, though -- more power to you if you can successfully navigate the terrain in a video game at speed and pan a camera at the same time.
 
Brannon

Brannon

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,636
I run at the enemy Crash Bandicoot style until it's in my field of view behind me, then turn around and fight as normal. Works great; 99.99% of enemies don't expect you to run AT them so their attacks almost always whiff, and I get a back hit.
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
28,610
You switch functions. You don't need to constantly check the surrounding area while sprinting or running in any game.

Claw grips are silly and uncomfortable.
 
Barrel Cannon

Barrel Cannon

It's Pronounced "Aerith"
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
10,257
Thankfully games are designed easier because of the limitations of how controllers are expected to be held. No issues for me, but on occasion I'll mess around with a claw grip. The issue is that for a lot of shooters, claw grip or using a modified controller/controller with back buttons is the most ideal way to play and you will easily have a leg up on the competition with one. For 360 I had a Razer controller and it was so much more useful in shooters over the default controller.
 
GhostTrick

GhostTrick

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,788
Simple: I have a Steam controller and an Elite controller. Basically: Paddles should be mandatory on gamepads.
 
Coi

Coi

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,808
I've been playing Souls PVP/PVE for countless hours and never heard about that "claw grip" thing, and honestly, I never had any trouble playing like everyone else. You never need to move the camera and run at the same time, and If you need to do something like that you're overthinking iy / playing it bad / playing it inefficiently. This happens a lot on PVP when you face 2 or more enemies because it's easy to have a lot of off-screen action, but when you git gud you learn to read attacks based on patterns, weapons, builds and sounds, so it's not a big deal. At least not a big deal to grab a PS4 controller in such dumb position lol.
 
Aske

Aske

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
5,925
Canadia
People just need to do what's comfortable for them. It's like remapping your fingers!

But for real, paddles please. Ergonomics should never need to be sacrificed for functionality.
 
rodrigolfp

rodrigolfp

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,235
impact said:
Someone show this guy a picture of an Elite controller. Blow his mind.
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Read what I quoted next time.

calibos said:
I am missing my right thumb and index finger and have beaten all the Souls games. Play almost everything that comes out without issues. I use my right middle finger on the stick, my right ring and pinky for face buttons at the same time and the elite controller paddles and button remapping for the rest.

For Souls-likes, I remap the face buttons in Ninja Gaiden Style...X is light attack and Y is heavy. RB becomes health or lower right paddle on the Elite controller and RT becomes 2 hand with which I just slip my hand down and tap it to 2 hand.

Really, button remapping is available on both the PS4 and Xbox and can take care of almost any issue as there are usually a few buttons in a game that are not critical. Anything is possible when you love gaming.


The only game I have ever struggled with so far is Nioh. That games buttons are almost all critical in some way...
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Read what I quoted. ;) And I play all Dark Souls on PC. Button mapping is not a problem.
 
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calibos

calibos

Member
Dec 13, 2017
2,286
rodrigolfp said:
Show us how you run and look around at the same time with only the thumb.
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I am missing my right thumb and index finger and have beaten all the Souls games. Play almost everything that comes out without issues. I use my right middle finger on the stick, my right ring and pinky for face buttons at the same time and the elite controller paddles and button remapping for the rest.

For Souls-likes, I remap the face buttons in Ninja Gaiden Style...X is light attack and Y is heavy. RB becomes health or lower right paddle on the Elite controller and RT becomes 2 hand with which I just slip my hand down and tap it to 2 hand.

Really, button remapping is available on both the PS4 and Xbox and can take care of almost any issue as there are usually a few buttons in a game that are not critical. Anything is possible when you love gaming.


The only game I have ever struggled with so far is Nioh. That games buttons are almost all critical in some way...
 
CannonFodder52

CannonFodder52

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,074
Canada
The claw grip is great. I've used it in enough games that I do it without noticing now.

I can't imagine not having camera control while sprinting.
 
JustinH

JustinH

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,691
CannonFodder52 said:
The claw grip is great. I've used it in enough games that I do it without noticing now.

I can't imagine not having camera control while sprinting.
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I remember being really glad they moved sprint to R2/RT in Assassins' Creed II, because it really pissed me off the first time in II when you'd have to chase a dude on the roofs or something when the sprint was on X/A and he'd just make a sharp turn. I'd be like "Wait a minute... oh okay... there he is."
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
I usually just stop running when I need to control the camera. I'm usually only running in one direction at a time.

Or I use L3 to run, if the game offers it.
 
Nameless

Nameless

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,213
Interesting. I probably move the camera around more than most in third person games(I like to see the world from different perspectives and add a cinematic flare to combat) and never claw for anything.
 
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Nzyme32

Nzyme32

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,325
Pargon said:
If I'm using a controller, I'll remap the controls so that nothing which has to be used at the same time as camera control is on the face buttons.
steam-controllerfukh3.jpg



The Souls defense force is embarrassing.
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Same - using the Steam Controller whenever I want to use a gamepad and have mouse-like control.
All functions map to a single hand position, which is perfect

 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,345
There's rarely a reason where I need camera control and the face buttons at the same time, especially not in dark souls. Typically I only need constant camera control in shooters, and fire is usually R1
 
Bhonar

Bhonar

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
6,066
wat da FUK is dat claw grip??!

i've literally never seen anyone in real life hold a controller like dat

u don't need to constantly sprint, nor constantly control the camera during short sprints
 

sickvisionz

Member
Jan 19, 2018
125
If run and look are both on sticks and can't be remapped, all the games I've ever played will put run on left stick click and look on right stick free movement so there's never an issue.

Anything on stick clicks is annoying though.
 
The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
40,800
I used to claw grip in games like GTA, etc, but got an Xbox Elite controller a couple years back and it's been a godsend.

I'm obsessively controlling the camera in free camera games, at all times, so it's really beeen a big help to me.
 
Nanashrew

Nanashrew

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,328
Claw grip hurts my hand so I try to avoid doing it whenever possible. So I do my best to try and avoid stuff while running, even if I cannot see that well.

Honestly, controllers need to get designed better, we need more evolution so claw grip can die off.
 
Captain of Outer Space

Captain of Outer Space

Come Sale Away With Me
Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,705
Running in Souls games is usually not a good idea, so it's pretty easy for this to not be an issue. If I am running and have to do something, I'll stop and do it.
 
Thrill_house

Thrill_house

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,243
Haven't used claw grip much since monster hunter on psp and i used it with my fightpad in my SF 4 days as well since I piano/clawed it up there.

Ive got decently big hands and long fingers so if run is X I can kind of hold it in with the base my thumb and use the tip of my thumb for camera adjustments. PS4 controller all the way here.
 
RPGam3r

RPGam3r

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,870
I constantly fiddle with the camera in games that allow me bc I like to look around and enjoy the scenery. However, I'm sure as hell not going to use the claw grip, nor have I ever felt the need to claw grip a controller to pull that off.
 
FusedAtoms

FusedAtoms

Member
Jul 21, 2018
3,792
Yeah I'm not a big fan of claw grip I usually just switch thumb position or button remap if it's something absolutely necessary.

Like I couldnt imagine playing Titanfall in claw grip and being competent or switching positions so I just map jump which is like the only face button i need constantly to left bumper normally. Same if I'm like playing Lucio in overwatch or something and you need to be jumping and looking constantly
 

Lork

Member
Oct 25, 2017
845
The most amusing thing about this thread is all the people acting like the claw grip is some impossibly painful position that must be avoided at all costs. It's not my preferred way to hold a controller, but it doesn't even register as uncomfortable to do it for the ~5 seconds at a time required to look around while sprinting in a game like Dark Souls.

Whats wrong with your hands, that you can't do this? Do you all have severe arthritis?
 
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