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This post was last updated on March 1, 2026
Playing Elden Ring of PC is great. It has relatively low system requirements for a 2022 release, you’re able to use mods, and you often get better sales on PC than you would normally on console. But if you’re not familiar with playing FromSoftware games on a PC, using a keyboard and mouse can be a steep learning curve.
The positive if you are not a fan of the default controls you are able to swap them around and you do get a bit more freedom to assign individual hotkeys. Not to mention that navigating pouches is a quicker with a mouse wheel.
In this article we are going to look at the mouse and keyboard controls of Elden Ring, because not everyone plays with an Xbox or Playstation or uses controllers.
Menus
To start with the easy one, using any of the game menus while playing Elden Ring is largely the same as most other games. You just need to use the mouse cursor to navigate the main menu screen and select the options that you want to select. This is the same for all the menus and the map screen. There will also be some keyboard prompts but in the menu the mouse is best for navigation.
In Game PC Controls
The in game controls in Elden Ring are where things start to become different to other PC games.
Mouse Controls
The main two things the mouse controls is the camera controls and attacks (both light and strong attack). Overall the default controls with a mouse are not too hard to get the hang of as they functions are similar to the majority of PC games.
If your mouse has an excess of buttons, Elden Ring’s double keybindings feature allows you to have some controls mapped to both mouse and keyboard.
Default Controls
- Move Camera: Mouse
- Attack: Left click
- Strong Attack: Shift + Left Click
- Guard: Right Click
- Skill: Shift + Right Click
- Reset Camera, Lock-On/Remove Target: Q / Scroll Wheel Click (pressing the middle mouse button down)
- Switch Right-Hand Weapon: Right Arrow / Shift + Scroll Up
- Switch Left-Hand Weapon: Left Arrow / Shift + Scroll Down
Keyboard Controls
The keyboard controls in Elden Ring can feel a little odd if you haven’t played a FromSoftware game with a mouse and keyboard before. Using W,A,S,D to move makes sense, but almost every other key bind is different than what is known to be the standard. Crouch is X, Jump is F, and dash is bound to space, which are very different to their function in most pc games.
When your character faces its first boss fight the learning curve can make the game feel a little less fun. Thankfully you are able to remap the key binds to give you something more familiar to work with so you can gain the advantage.
Simply go into the system menu to the tab marked as Sound and Display and change the “Device for On-Screen Prompts” to “Keyboard and Mouse”.
We strongly recommend rebinding at least crouch to LCtrl and switch equipment/pouch access (especially if you’re using a 60%keyboard).
Default Key Controls
- Walk: Alt
- Move Forward: W
- Move Backward: S
- Move Left: A
- Move Right: D
- Backstep, Dodge Roll, Dash: Space
- Jump: F
- Crouch / Stand Up: X
- Switch Sorcery/Incantation: Up Arrow
- Switch Item: Down Arrow
- Use Item: R
- Event Action (Examine, Open, etc.): E
- Open world map: G
- Open menu: Esc
- Use Pouch item: E + Arrows
Note: there are two major keys that you’re unable to rebind as they are locked to the default, open menu (Esc) and open world map (G).
Final Thoughts
Honestly Elden Ring is a lot easier to beat with controller plugged than playing with a keyboard and mouse regardless of whether or not your playing on consoles. But if you don’t have access to one you don’t need to rush out and buy a controller. If you’re struggling with the mouse and keyboard controls spend some time altering the defaults and switch up the key bindings.
