Wardogs HOTAS and joystick setup
A HOTAS gives the smoothest input in Wardogs, but the game treats the stick more like a keyboard than a real cyclic. Set it up with that in mind.
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 one thing to understand
Wardogs' stick model is rate-based. Sim Controls explains it as keyboard input on an analog stick: any deflection keeps the aircraft rotating, and it does not hold an attitude for you. The only way to stop a roll or pitch is to return to centre. So you fly in pulses: input, back to centre, correct, back to centre. Parking the stick even slightly off centre makes the aircraft slowly roll or nose over.
Some pilots lean into this physically. Sim Controls removed the centring springs from his VKB Gladiator's pitch and roll and tightened the clutches, so the stick stays exactly where he leaves it.
Axes
| Axis | Typical device | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Collective | Throttle | Sim Controls inverts his TWCS throttle axis. Calibrate against the on-screen collective bar so full throttle is full collective. |
| Roll / pitch | Stick | Rate-based, see above. |
| Yaw | Stick twist or rudder pedals | IceManIsaac flies MOZA pedals; Sim Controls uses the Gladiator twist. |
Settings
- Deadzones: as small as your hardware allows. Sim Controls uses 0.02 on pitch and roll only because his stick has no springs; yaw and collective at 0. A well-sprung stick may need none. AbradantMatthew runs roll 0, pitch 0, yaw 4 and collective 0.5.
- Sensitivity: keep pitch, roll and yaw at 1.0 or higher. Sim Controls found that values below 1.0 also cut the maximum rotation rate, so you lose authority. His collective sits at 0.6, because at 1.0 the in-game collective maxed out before the throttle's physical end.
- Curves: the game has no response curve for stick axes. Build one in your stick's software instead: softer around centre, full authority at the edges (Sim Controls does this in VKB's software; remember it does not auto-save profiles).
Where to find it: Settings → Gamepad → HOTAS → Enable HOTAS, then bind roll, pitch, yaw and collective one axis at a time. AllThingsHow warns that letting auto-detect pick overlapping axes causes erratic input, and that enabling HOTAS without a stick connected kills keyboard flight (also reported on the Steam FAQ).
Bindings to reach without looking
Sim Controls' priority list for buttons: flares, first/third-person toggle, camera rotation, map, voice, cargo drop. Everything else can go wherever there is room.
- Free look: IceManIsaac found no free-look binding for the HOTAS, so he maps a throttle button to Left Alt with Joystick Gremlin.
- Camera on a hat: works, but it is jittery with little sensitivity control (Sim Controls). Bind it anyway.
- Map: awkward on a HOTAS; there is no good zoom control.
Pilot setups
| Pilot | Hardware | Notable settings |
|---|---|---|
| Sim Controls | VKB Gladiator stick (springs removed) + Thrustmaster TWCS throttle | Deadzone 0.02 pitch/roll, 0 yaw/collective. Axis sensitivity ≥1.0, collective 0.6. Curve in VKB software. |
| IceManIsaac | MOZA stick, throttle and rudder pedals, remapped with Joystick Gremlin | All assists off. Free look mapped to a throttle button via Gremlin. |
| Arma Pilot (beta) | Stick with twist yaw, no pedals | Roll, pitch and yaw at 75, from a transcript of his beta settings video. Stability, auto-hover and turn coordination on. Invert yaw on; invert collective and self-centring collective off. |
| AbradantMatthew | Xbox controller presented to the game as a HOTAS (vJoy + UCR) | Deadzones roll 0, pitch 0, yaw 4, collective 0.5. See the controller page. |
Sensitivity advice splits: Sim Controls and AllThingsHow say 1.0 or higher, Arma Pilot and Skycoach start at 0.75. Try 1.0 with a curve in your stick software first; drop toward 0.75 only if it still feels twitchy.
Silk also names two HOTAS-style pilots he rates: one flies dual sticks plus pedals, the other throttle, stick and pedals. He calls HOTAS the smoothest input, and rifle aim or dual sticks the most precise.
First flights on a HOTAS
From Sim Controls' basic flight training: find the stick's centre, raise the collective slowly until you just lift (roughly 30 to 40% of throttle travel), and hold the hover with tiny corrections that always return to centre. His five mistakes to avoid: over-correcting, holding the stick deflected, ignoring the collective (sitting at 100% on approach), chasing a perfect hover, and trying J-hooks too early. The hover hold and hover taxi drills target exactly these.
Practise it in the browser
The trainer reads any stick, throttle or pedals the browser sees as a gamepad, and a HOTAS made of several USB devices is read as one. Bind each axis from the cog, set deadzones and curves there, and fly the drills with the same rate-based cyclic as the game.
Sources
- Sim Controls: WARDOGS HOTAS Setup Guide | Better Controls & Sensitivity (YouTube, 114k views)
- Sim Controls: WARDOGS HOTAS Helicopter Guide | Basic Flight Training (YouTube, 35k views)
- IceManIsaac: Air Force Pilot’s ULTIMATE WARDOGS Helicopter Guide (HOTAS, Mouse, Controller, Settings, & More) (YouTube, 366k views)
- Arma Pilot (transcript on SozAI): Best Wardogs HOTAS Settings from an Experienced Arma Pilot (+ Beta Gameplay). Beta-era settings.
- AbradantMatthew: Wardogs Tutorial - Fly with controller with SUPER responsiveness! (YouTube, 14k views)
- Silk: The ULTIMATE WARDOGS Helicopter Guide (From #1 PILOT!) (YouTube, 543k views)
- OnMapleWings: WARDOGS Pilot Guide: J-Hooks & Double Your Profit From A Real Pilot (YouTube, 256k views)
- AllThingsHow: Wardogs HOTAS setup guide: bindings, deadzones and sensitivity
- Steam Community: WARDOGS Keybind and Helicopter Controls FAQ