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Wardogs helicopter keybinds and mouse settings

Almost every good keyboard and mouse pilot turns on mouse flight, runs a very low heli sensitivity and keeps key binds for every axis. After that they split into two camps.

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 two mouse schemes

Turn on rotary vehicle mouse control first: nearly every creator in this guide does, and Shroud points out many players never find the setting. Mouse up and down is pitch in every setup. Mouse left and right is the choice:

SchemeMouse left/rightWho flies itWhy
“Default” (Battlefield)RollHieb, ProLosco, GhostGaming, IceManIsaacRoll is the most precise aiming axis (ProLosco), and yaw in Wardogs is too weak to aim with (GhostGaming). Circle strafing is easier.
“Rifle aim”YawSilk, LewF20, StratzFPS, Nova GamingSilk says it has the highest ceiling: at low speed the mouse points the nose precisely. Needs hard yaw and roll keys for big turns.

The game's default is neither: mouse flight is off and everything is on keys (see the default binds). The Steam guide by miksu suggests learning keyboard-only first, because the default mouse sensitivity is too high.

A third option is Cologne TM's: no mouse flight at all. Cyclic on WASD, collective on Shift/Ctrl, yaw on the two mouse thumb buttons, and free look always on so the mouse only looks around. He is a real helicopter pilot and says it gives the best awareness.

Pilot setups

Hieb (minigun Little Bird, Default scheme)

FunctionBind
Collective up / downW / S
Yaw left / rightA / D
Pitch and rollMouse
Roll (backup, big rolls)Q / E
Pitch up / down (backup)Space / Ctrl
FlaresX, mainly the front mouse side button

Settings: 800 DPI, general sensitivity 0.85, air vehicle multiplier 2.0 (the maximum, so the Havoc gunner turret is usable), heli mouse pitch 6%, roll 28%, axis isolation 0%, invert Y on, all assists off. First-person vehicle FOV 89, third-person at maximum. He also runs anti-aliasing on and particle spawn rate on Medium so tracers and impacts stay visible.

Silk (rifle aim)

FunctionBind
Collective up / downW / S
Pitch and yawMouse (rifle aim)
Pitch down / up (backup)Ctrl / Space
Roll left / rightA / D
Yaw left / rightLeft Shift (pinky, while rolling) / E
First / third personFront mouse side button
Big mapMouse 4

Settings: 1600 DPI, air vehicle multiplier 2.0 with very low heli pitch and yaw sensitivities, no axis isolation, no invert on helicopters. Auto-hover on in his settings video (he calls it the one useful assist). First-person vehicle FOV 84, third-person 110, wide so you can see a missile before you flare. He binds every mouse axis to keys as well. His tip for copying anyone's setup, his included: take their values, then lower sensitivity by about 10%.

ProLosco (Default scheme)

W/S collective, A/D yaw, mouse roll and pitch, Space/Ctrl pitch up/down on keys for consistent input in hard manoeuvres, keyboard roll as a backup for roll landings. Check nothing else is bound to Space: in the playtests a hidden fire bind sat there, fixed in the Season 1 patch on 9 September. Settings: air vehicle multiplier 0.70, pitch 10%, roll 50% (roll higher, because you roll far more), axis isolation 0%, invert Y on, all assists off (he says it is personal preference). First-person FOV 80, third-person 95.

GhostGaming (Default scheme)

W/S collective, A/D yaw, mouse roll and pitch with invert Y, flares on X. For the minigun he puts roll on keys that do not clash with A/D: Space roll right, Left Shift roll left, with Left Alt as an emergency pitch-up. Free look on the middle mouse button, next seat on Caps Lock. Heli mouse pitch and roll 8% for gun work (his earlier quick-start video used 50/50), axis isolation 0%, all assists off, first-person FOV 85. He warns that unbound keyboard pitch and roll binds reset to defaults on restart, so park them on spare keys such as F6–F8.

LewF20 (rifle aim hybrid)

W/S collective, A/D roll, Ctrl yaw left and Space yaw right, Left Shift hard nose-down, and nose-up on a mouse button because he uses it so much. Settings: 800 DPI, air vehicle multiplier 2.0, pitch 8%, yaw 7% (keep both under 10% or it overshoots), axis isolation about 50%, inverted pitch, stability assist on, envelope limits and turn coordination off. FOV 87 first-person, 104 third-person. His rule on assists: use auto-hover or stability assist, not both, or the helicopter fights you.

IceManIsaac (keys first)

A former USAF instructor pilot. Left Shift/Left Ctrl collective, W/S nose down/up, A/D roll, yaw on Q/E or on foot pedals. Mouse set to roll and pitch but used only for fine adjustments: aiming and gentle touchdowns. Left Alt free look, L to unlock the helicopter for everyone. For beginners he suggests stability assist and turn coordination on; he flies with none.

StratzFPS and Nova Gaming (beginner setups)

StratzFPS flies Left Shift/Left Ctrl collective with mouse yaw and pitch, mostly on WASD with the mouse for fine corrections. Nova Gaming's beginner layout: Space/Left Shift collective, W/S pitch, A/D roll, Q/E yaw, mouse yaw and pitch at 80% with axis isolation 70 and auto-hover on. Shroud suggests learning on the keyboard alone first, then adding the mouse, which is much touchier.

Settings compared

PilotMouse XMultiplierPitch / other axisIsolationAssistsFOV 1st / 3rd
HiebRoll2.06% / 28%0%All off89 / max
SilkYaw2.0Very lowNoneAuto-hover only84 / 110
ProLoscoRoll0.7010% / 50%0%All off80 / 95
GhostGamingRoll1.08% / 8%0%All off85 / 100
LewF20Yaw2.08% / 7%~50%Stability on87 / 104
Nova GamingYawn/a80% / 80%70Auto-hover onn/a

GhostGaming claims the air vehicle multiplier only affects third-person sensitivity. Hieb sets it high specifically for the Havoc gunner turret. Treat it as a coarse scale and tune the heli pitch and roll sliders one at a time, as Fallout Plays advises.

What to start with

  1. Rotary vehicle mouse control on, mouse up/down on pitch, invert Y on if you think in joystick terms.
  2. Pick a scheme. Default (roll on the mouse) is the easier path for circle strafing; rifle aim needs good yaw keys.
  3. Heli mouse sensitivity low: start around 10% and go lower for gun work. Transport pilots can run it higher (ProLosco).
  4. Bind every axis to keys too, and put flares somewhere you can hit without thinking.
  5. Assists: learn with stability or auto-hover, then turn them off one at a time as the hover gets easy.

Practise it in the browser

The trainer's default keyboard layout is the Default scheme above: W/S collective, A/D yaw, mouse roll and pitch, Q/E roll and the arrow keys for pitch. Every key and axis is rebindable from the cog, so you can copy any setup here.

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