K+M Usage Tips

[Daiyus]

I've been gaming for almost fifteen years (spring chicken, I know). Five years ago I finally moved away from consoles as my primary system and started using a PC in my living room with a controller, which works incredibly well and I'm happy with the set-up for the most part. 

 

All that said I'd really like to start getting used to K+M gaming, be it on breaks at work, or to start playing games with different inputs at home. As a PC gamer I really should be able to comfortably use both input options despite my controller preference. 

 

I downloaded the DOOM demo on both my Xbox One at home (my home PC is undergoing upgrades) and on my work PC through Steam. While I can instantly feel the response in the mouse is much better than an analogue stick for this kind of game I'm finding after only ten minutes of gameplay my keyboard hand is feeling stressed and starting to hurt. Is this normal when you first start using a keyboard and mouse for gaming? Is it because I've got basic Microsoft peripherals hooked up to the office PC?

 

Has anyone got any tips to make K+M gaming more comfortable for someone used to controllers?

[vanished]

That's interesting; when I first started using a controller, my hand would get sore but it doesn't any more. I think it's a case of using certain muscles more than they are used to for long periods of time, albeit with very little force.  I would suspect the feeling will subside with increased play time and frequency.

[Daiyus]

I hope so. I'll stick at it and try to adjust my sitting position to take stress off my wrist. It may just be that DOOM is so fast paced it's actually "throwing me in at the deep end" somewhat as I'm switching directions so quickly and often.

[ShadowCaptain]

4 minutes ago, Daiyus said:

I hope so. I'll stick at it and try to adjust my sitting position to take stress off my wrist. It may just be that DOOM is so fast paced it's actually "throwing me in at the deep end" somewhat as I'm switching directions so quickly and often.

Could be your keyboard, does it have a wrist rest? perhaps you could get one to use so that your wrist is not in an akward position or resting on the table

 

or perhaps the seating / peripheral position is wrong

[Daiyus]

2 minutes ago, ShadowCaptain said:

Could be your keyboard, does it have a wrist rest? perhaps you could get one to use so that your wrist is not in an akward position or resting on the table

 

or perhaps the seating / peripheral position is wrong

No, it doesn't have a rest, although fortunately my mouse does. It's just a bog standard workstation set-up that I'm experimenting on in my breaks. For typing I've got the feet at the back raised to tilt the keyboard towards me as I find that more comfortable in an office setting; do people tend to have that kind of set up for gaming or do they lay the board as flat as possible? I'll try and fashion together some kind of rest and experiment with positioning to see what works. Thanks for the advice.

[ShadowCaptain]

5 minutes ago, Daiyus said:

No, it doesn't have a rest, although fortunately my mouse does. It's just a bog standard workstation set-up that I'm experimenting on in my breaks. For typing I've got the feet at the back raised to tilt the keyboard towards me as I find that more comfortable in an office setting; do people tend to have that kind of set up for gaming or do they lay the board as flat as possible? I'll try and fashion together some kind of rest and experiment with positioning to see what works. Thanks for the advice.

Ah I hate using a keyboard without a wrist rest, you can get cheap foam ones, but I always buy keyboards with built in rests since it takes the strain off your wrist trying to hold up your hand and you can just use your fingers for WASD

 

 

[Daiyus]

55 minutes ago, ShadowCaptain said:

Ah I hate using a keyboard without a wrist rest, you can get cheap foam ones, but I always buy keyboards with built in rests since it takes the strain off your wrist trying to hold up your hand and you can just use your fingers for WASD

 

 

I think a wrist-rest is going to be the way forward. I popped an A5 notepad under my wrist to bring it up level with the keyboard and it's much more comfortable. I still suck at moving properly, but at least it doesn't hurt so much. Many thanks sir.

[ShadowCaptain]

1 minute ago, Daiyus said:

I think a wrist-rest is going to be the way forward. I popped an A5 notepad under my wrist to bring it up level with the keyboard and it's much more comfortable. I still suck at moving properly, but at least it doesn't hurt so much. Many thanks sir.

no worries

 

maybe if you get some money you could pick up a nice gaming keyboard+mouse - definitely improves the ergonomics and makes things easier

 

Doom is quite punishing so its a tough game to start with, kudos for trying

[Z3DT]

Also get yourself a nice Mechanical keyboard. They're expensive, but worth every penny, type and game much more comfortable. Massdrop has a bunch of good deals on Mechs and wristrests, especially if you're in the US. Don't be afraid to go for the cheaper Gateron switches, I actually much prefer them to Cherry (I own keyboards with both Cherry MX brown and Gateron brown) though supposedly Cherry lasts longer.

 

If you still prefer to use an analog stock for movement (Can't blame your for that) Looking into a Razer Orbweaver or something similar might be a good idea. Razer's own switches are actually not all bad, the hate is mostly from the fact that it's not Cherry, and it has a built-in wristrest, plus it's RGB and you can bind the keys to whatever you want. I haven't used it myself but it gets pretty good reviews. It's the only Mechanical gaming keypad out there as far as I know though. Logitech also makes a pad like this, but it uses standard membranes.