Since WASD and ESDF have grammar issue, I use WAS and ESD instead.
While not widely discussed among PC gamers these days, ESD may be most memorable as being a popular keyboard layout among Doom and Quake players in the mid-90s. Today, ESD isn’t likely to be on your radar unless you’re an old school PC gamer or someone who’s looking for an edge in titles such as Fortnite that can benefit from using it.
If you’ve never experienced the perks of playing PC games with ESD, the idea of switching from WAS might seem like a waste of time or perhaps even discouraging since you’ll have to adapt to a new layout. But playing with ESD makes a big difference once you get used to it.
There’s enough of a difference that for folks who have built their own gaming pc and disable mouse acceleration (everywhere!), switching layouts is worth the effort involved. Going from WAS to ESD could take your game to the next level.
WHY IS ESD BETTER THAN WAS?
ESD provides more familiar and natural hand positioning. Instead of being bunched up on WAS, your left hand is on the home row. This makes it quicker to switch between typing in text chat and getting back to the game because your hand doesn’t change positions. And if you do have to break off the controls, there’s a nub on the F to quickly find your place again.
WAS VS. ESD: DRAWBACKS TO SWITCHING
There is a period of adapting of course it doesn’t take super long if you’re already familiar with having your left hand on the home row for typing. The biggest hassle is having to rebind your keys in most games. This goes beyond changing WAS because E and F usually have something bound to them, and you’ll probably want to move certain keys so they’re the right distance to match your muscle memory. This isn’t a huge issue for most games. But it can be a chore to reset WAS to ESD for titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 where there are many pages of key binds for different actions and in-game scenarios (on foot, on a horse etc.). Especially since you’ll probably also have to change other keys along the way. The only other drawback that comes to mind is that the Control key is a little more awkward to reach with your pinky, but no different than some fingers contortions you have to make when playing with WAS. Control is still reachable, It can be given a lower priority function it can be moved to your Caps Lock key, which some WAS players do anyway.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: RDF AND TFGH
Not enough keys for you? You’ll lose the efficient home row hand positioning of ESD, but playing PC games with RDFG or TFGH opens up access to even more of your keyboard. Reaching for numbers and other keys on the opposite side of the board is a lot easier if your hand is already halfway there.
ESD IS A WORTHY ALTERNATIVE TO WAS
Switching from WAS to ESD comes with a brief learning curve as your muscle memory becomes retrained, as well as the inevitable burden of having to remap key binds in games. But that tends to be a minor hassle for how much more efficient ESD is for playing PC games. I personally love ESD, especially in games that require lots of buttons. But what do you think?
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