Unless Fromsoft removes that stupid "double click" recognition, it's impossible for me to perform the guardbreakers/jump attack.

The delay is insufferable also. I just use the following layout for keyboard:

Buy a controller. Seriously, the game is much better that way.

I truly have no idea how people play this game with M&K, it is and the series always has been designed for a controller.

People that never used a controller would find the transition jarring. Most of the time Mouse and Keyboard can work completely fine if there's no real need for analog control.

Which is funny. Years back some people were still using the argument that you can't use a controller on, mostly, shooters because they were designed for KB/M. Change. It happened.

Seriously. The game is designed from the ground up for controller. Go to drop 20-30 on a wired 360 controller or one of the logitech look alikes people.

Indeed. As someone who played through the entirety of DS with mouse and keyboard the transition would feel quite crippling to me. Mouse and keyboard controls seem fine. Besides, even if I get a controller I'd still have to use the mouse for navigating the menus - even if it's still a bit clunky, using a controller to get through them at this point, just seems like a huge hassle.

The people who complain about "mouse input lag" really just need to stop mashing m1 as if this was Darksiders. I know that probably makes me sound like a huge jerk, but really... they just need to time their swings a bit better. It doesn't take that long to get used to and once I did, I thought it felt great - you need to be a bit more deliberate with every attack. I dunno. Maybe using a controller lets you mash the attack button until you run out of stamina.

I'm not saying it's perfect though. For one, I still don't parry/shield bash/shield takedown/jump attack/attack from behind shields.

I've always used shift to put my shield up, and unless you have a programmable mouse, the key config doesn't allow you to hold your shield up with your keyboard and then hit mouse 1 for an attack...

So I assume using a controller would be far superior when it comes to that kind of stuff. But it's not as if any of the enemies really require that stuff in order to take them out. On the flip side, I find myself using the bow a lot to pull enemies to me or take them out, something which I can only imagine feels better with the mouse. I don't want to struggle with a controller to line up a shot.

I think my play-style just fits mouse & keyboard better. I'm sure if I rolled around a lot I'd probably want that analogue movement, but I don't.

The only times I play the game with a mouse/keyboard are when I'm at work. At those times, I just get in, buy some crap or explore non aggressive areas.

I try to avoid combat as much as possible without a controller.

Some people might be able to put up with this game using a mouse and keyboard, but if you're at all comfortable with a controller then you should play Dark Souls 1 and 2 with a controller.

"That's no excuse for bad adaptation to the KB/M!"

I've never really understood why every single console game should be able to adapt to the keyboard and mouse well while it's almost universally accepted that some PC genres can't be done on a controller very well. This is one of those games that was made with a controller specifically in mind and doesn't really adapt to KB/M well enough to match or exceed the controller.

That's still a thing, shooters are bloody terrible with controllers. Dark souls is not a shooter though.

I realize some people still think so. I'm just saying it's funny how basically the same argument is now reversed in a different type of game.

I personally prefer to play shooters with a controller though. Feels better to me.

It's a pointless argument really. I gamed on PC since I was a little kid until I was mostly through college. Didn't have a lot of consoles growing up, my parents just weren't that into the idea of video games. So I played everything with mouse and keyboard and for the longest time couldn't even imagine trying to play a first person shooter with a controller. Even games like Grand Theft Auto felt really awkward to me when I tried them with a pad a few times. Eventually I became really frustrated with PC bugs, crashes and the growing trend of shoddy pc ports from console. Eventually I got a 360 and kinda tossed the PC to the side. These days I play on both platforms but only with a controller. I find having to play with a mouse and keyboard cramps and hurts my hand, and this is coming from someone who spent countless hours playing Counter Strike in 1999.

So it's just a matter of what you get comfortable with really. Either one is fine for any type of game.

Already said, this is a controller game. Though I am not saying you are not to input it as you like.

Controller seems so native though with the dark souls/demon games...

@humanity: Mostly. But some games are clearly created with a specific control input in mind. It's not always a matter of which you prefer. I don't know if Dark Souls II belongs to this category though. I haven't tried playing it with KB/M.

I've been playing on the PC since 88 and I still remember bugging my mother to buy a sound card with a game port on the thing so I could use a game pad with it. I've owned at least one of every ms sidewinder gamepad ever made, bunch of logitech and saitek etc ones too. Running super video cable from my pc to my tv and spending days trying to get terminal velocity and need for speed working with controllers in DOS, dumb shit like that.

And I've never once thought for a second that playing shooters with a pad is a good idea. It just feels like complete garbage. But then I also don't like the modern tactical (pronounced slow, brown and boring) shooters people are into now. I'd rather play quake 3 rocket arena some more.

I press the shoulder buttons.