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Flying Wardogs helicopters on a controller

You can fly a Wardogs helicopter on a gamepad, and some pilots find it easier to learn on. The catch is a fixed layout, and on at least one build the minigun trigger was the same as collective up.

Updated 2026-09-28

These setups date from the Wardogs playtests and early access (August–September 2026). Menus and defaults change with patches, so check the names against your version. Where a creator only showed a value on screen, it is not listed here: watch the linked video for it.

The default layout

At early access the air-vehicle gamepad layout could not be remapped (Swaguley, OneTaps and Fallout Plays all say so). IceManIsaac and OneTaps describe it like this. A BisectHosting controls guide lists yaw and free look on the right stick instead of the bumpers, so check your build:

FunctionButton
Collective up (also spins up the rotor)Right trigger
Collective downLeft trigger
Yaw left / rightLB / RB
Pitch and roll (cyclic)Left stick
FlaresD-pad up
ZoomD-pad left
Horn (call troops aboard)L3

Some keyboard actions still need the keyboard: B for the rearm menu when landed and G to drop cargo crates (OneTaps). On PlayStation controllers the bumpers may not register; IceManIsaac suggests DS4Windows.

The fire-button problem

Fallout Plays points out that on his build the default fire button was the same as collective up (BisectHosting and the Steam FAQ list the right trigger as both), so you could not really fire the minigun from a gamepad; attack helicopters were effectively keyboard and mouse only. He learned the basics on a controller because it clicked faster, then moved to keyboard and mouse.

Settings that matter

Workarounds pilots use

Paddles

IceManIsaac flies a SCUF Omega and recommends controllers with extra back paddles, so you can reach flares, free look and yaw without taking a thumb off a stick.

Present the controller as a HOTAS

AbradantMatthew's method gets around both the fixed layout and the mouse-emulation lag of Steam Input: turn the controller into a virtual joystick with vJoy and UCR (Universal Control Remapper), then bind it in the game's HOTAS settings. Roughly:

  1. In vJoy, configure one device with all axes enabled.
  2. In UCR, read the controller as XInput and map left stick X/Y and right stick X/Y to four vJoy axes, with no deadzone in UCR.
  3. In the game, turn HOTAS on and bind only roll, pitch, yaw and collective to the vJoy axes, with UCR running.
  4. Keep buttons on a Steam Input layout; he puts free look (Left Alt) on LB and fire on the right trigger.

He reports instant collective response and smoother minigun aim. It is fiddly to set up; follow his video step by step.

Should you fly on a controller?

OneTaps argues a gamepad kept beside the keyboard is far easier for helicopters than the mouse, and much cheaper than a HOTAS. Most of the top attack-helicopter pilots in this guide still fly keyboard and mouse, mainly for gun aiming. For transport flying, a controller is fine.

Practise it in the browser

The trainer reads any controller your browser sees as a gamepad, and unlike the game every axis and button is rebindable from the cog. Try the game's default layout first, then experiment.

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Sources