Apex Legends Controller Vs Mouse

Controller vs mouse and keyboard - what's best for you?

(Image credit: Time to come)

The controller vs mice and keyboard argue has 'raged' for ages now - specially on PC where both can at present be used seamlessly.

If you kit yourself out with either i of the best PC controllers or a combination of the best gaming mouse and the best gaming keyboard, there'due south e'er an element of the grass being greener, but nosotros're here to give y'all a succinct rundown of both sides - even if it just means y'all're happier with the side you're already on. Later on all, they're just games and your beginning instinct should be to use whatever feels the most natural.

However, there are clearly some pros and cons to both sides. Nosotros'll lay it all out straight and hopefully help yous find your way onto i side of the argue if that's what you're after, or help you see the merits in having both setups to paw if that's appropriate for you to do so.

While some folks will be faithful to one side of the divide, no matter the game, it's important to call back that that's just their preference, and that's fine. However, it's largely agreed that a controller is better for some games, and a mouse & keyboard is meliorate for some others. It may well exist that yous recognise this and have both. (Though this is, of form, easier to achieve on PC.)

But how does the controller vs mouse & keyboard conflict fold out in terms of features, pros and cons, accessibility, and more than? Let's find out.

TL;DR: controller vs mouse & keyboard

Controller

Traditional game controller feel
Most comfy; ergonomic design
Smashing for movement and rotation
Extra features like rumble
Excellent inputs
Widely compatible

Mouse & keyboard

All the buttons
Huge corporeality of pick
Doubles-upwards as regular PC gear
Fast and precise
Designed for PC gaming
Customisable

Controllers vs mouse & keyboard: what's the difference?

Naturally, the biggest difference between controllers and mouse & keyboard setups is form factor; they are completely unlike to concord, use, and game with.

Simply put: do you prefer having you gaming controls sit in your easily equally a single unit of measurement, or do yous prefer being able to wield a pointer one one paw and a keyboard in the other?. Personally, I prefer a controller, hands down, every time - just I take different and minor hands and so I am naturally pushed one way. But the logic is there; some folks only adopt to play with a game pad where the inputs are all in reach of both hands beyond one ergonomic unit of measurement, and others prefer the flexibility and greater set up of buttons at their disposal with a mouse & keyboard.

The other chief difference is potentially that of speed and precision. It'south generally accepted that a mouse can be more authentic and precise for most actions, including shooting. For example, with a controller you 'guide' the on-screen reticle to your target, but with a mouse your pointer actually is the reticle. The potential trade-off for that (for most folks) is that a controller's sticks make for much better and smother movement and photographic camera control - no need to lift the mouse and re-position for quick action.

Razer Huntsman Elite — (Paradigm credit: Razer)

These two are genuinely the biggest differences, every bit anybody who plays games - from the nearly casual up to esports professionals tin go going with either. As a result, the similarities are worth confirming and consolidating. Either control solution can exist continued wirelessly or wired. Both control options accept fantabulous ergonomic designs that are improving over time likewise. Such design improvements besides extend to reducing the actuation of buttons, housing extra ports, utilising USB-C connectivity for charging, defended extra media controls, and more!

The mouse and keyboard do have it over controllers when it comes to custom buttons and controls though. While some third-party controllers from the likes of Thrustmaster, Nacon, and Razer offer that extra level of customisation, it is just an objective fact that it's far easier to use custom macros, actress inputs, and shortcuts on mouse and keyboard - this can be the principal driver for some folks to go down this route equally it's something that just isn't a level playing field.

We often mention price as a factor when comparison two options, but the truth is you can pick upward cheap gaming controllers or expensive ones, and you tin also get premium mice and keyboards as often as you can budget ones. As a result, you can spend big or go the upkeep route on all devices.

Notwithstanding, information technology'south very much worth noting that despite the differences between the two setups, it is now increasingly affordable, and arguably sensible, to have them both at your disposal. That'southward particularly true if y'all are a PC gamer (as it's probable you'll take a mouse and keyboard already just for normal PC use), but even if you are on console, and want to cover yourself for a range of games that might need unlike control inputs.

Who should purchase a controller?

Fosmon Dual 2 PS5 DualSense Charging Station — (Paradigm credit: Futurity)

The primary gamer that'll benefit from a controller is someone who solely - or mainly - uses consoles. It'south the default control solution for the main consoles and will remain and then for the foreseeable future. There is some limited mouse & keyboard support on consoles but merely for a relatively few games. Also, if y'all've historically been a console player simply take moved over to PC and then you lot may well enjoy the fact that controllers can exist used on the latter seamlessly now too so you lot tin acquit that over.

Console players won't normally take to pick a side when information technology comes to controllers vs mouse and keyboard setups as the default is, naturally, a gamepad. The final generation established a wide variety of pads that made upwards the best Xbox One controller and the best PS4 controllers, and at that place's still plenty of choice on the shelves for the current generation likewise.

More generally, still, the controller can offering more comfort and ergonomic benefits than a mouse & keyboard setup. If yous adopt not being attached to a desk-bound or surface then a controller will always be for you lot, and it tin can follow all your own movements, rather than having to accept your easily stuck to the desk.

Nonetheless, if y'all're a tournament level competitive histrion, you might want to rethink those buttons. The precision of a mouse & keyboard can't be matched in this scenario. Even so, if you play a lot of racing games or motorcar games (think Rocket League and sim racers) and then a controller is probable to take the border for you too.

You lot should purchase a controller if you lot:

Prefer a traditional pad in both hands
Don't want to be desk-bound
Don't require the utmost precision
Are a console role player
Adopt driving games

Who should purchase a mouse & keyboard

Corsair Sabre RGB Pro — (Image credit: Future)

First and foremost, a mouse and keyboard setup does automatically lean itself more toward PC gamers and players the most. Naturally, a mouse and keyboard is needed for general use on a PC and if y'all game on that platform too, you may as well stick to that and make your 2 tools gaming-focused - as all the GamesRadar+ hardware team does.

Notwithstanding, y'all should aim for the rodent and plank setup more than objectively if y'all are chasing that precision and accuracy in all your gaming deportment. The ability to essentially 'be' the reticle and aim precisely where to shoot or deport out an action is first-class. The choice that a mouse and keyboard setup offers in enormous also - and not only in the breadth of products bachelor - every bit you'll have dozens of buttons at your disposal for inputs and configuration, and not bad RGB options to round out your gaming setup.

What might as well swing it for yous is being able to hone in i actually how the individual buttons works on your keyboard - and that is to say, y'all tin can pick the precise mode of switches that piece of work on your keys. This opens up a whole load of choice every bit to how your keyboard can feel and how fast each button actuates. Not only is there an incredible range of models from manufacturers that offer unlike switch solutions which you can accept your pick from, but in the shape of the best hot-swappable keyboards, you can even bandy these switches in and out at your leisure without having to get the soldering iron out. Controllers, unfortunately, just do not offer this luxury.

If y'all also don't get on with the design and builds of controllers, so a mouse and keyboard are going to exist amend for you - after all most gamepads follow a broadly similar build and shape, and one of two dissimilar push layouts.

Go for a mouse and keyboard setup if yous:

Are striving for the utmost precision in most games
Prefer having access to all kinds of inputs and buttons
Prefer your controls separate
Want to slimline a setup and crossover with day-to-day work
Are predominantly a PC gamer

Check out the latest prices and deals on some top gaming mouse models below.

And complete the combination with i of the best keyboard for gaming correct now as well, with their latest and lowest prices displayed below.

To circular out your research, don't forget to check out the latest and greatest Nintendo Switch headsets , while some gilded ones tin can withal be institute among the best PS4 headsets and best Xbox Ane headsets .

I'thou the Commissioning Editor for Hardware at GamesRadar+ and have been here since late 2018. I'm also a writer on games and have had piece of work published over the final v years or so at the likes of Eurogamer, RPS, PCGN, and more. Day to 24-hour interval, I take care of a whole host of gaming tech reviews, buying guides, and news and deals content that pops up across GamesRadar+. I'm too a qualified landscape and garden designer, so I do that in my spare fourth dimension. I'm likewise an expert on the virtual landscapes and environments of games and love to write about them besides, including in an upcoming book on the topic!