My first experience with competitive gaming was in my high school computer lab. The underfunded school didn’t have mice. Keep this in mind.
The only game we were allowed to install was Descent. For those unfamiliar, Descent is a true 6-axis space shooter. Even by today’s standard it was a game difficult to navigate.
There was no “standard” keyboard layout so we all had our own crazy setup. Mine was the AWEFX + numpad solution, and I credit my success in the game due to this layout.
The left hand was responsible for all movement on the z axis. Forward/Back and slide left/right. Q and R were barrel rolls. I could easily strafe in any direction while adjusting my aim with the numpad. 8 and 2 were look up/down and 4 and 6 were looking left/right. W was used to adjust the strafe (I think w + e would be strafe “up”).
I carried this wacky left hand arrangement into my mouse using years. It took me a long time to finally adopt the industry standard WASD.
**Arrow keys. **It might be due to my set up–I write all day, so I’ve a Microsoft Natural Keyboard and a Logitec 12-button mouse[sup]*[/sup]. The curve of the keyboard makes WSDF a bit uncomfortable for movement. The buttons on the mouse are all programmable (Uberoptions enhances SetPoint), so I can map a lot of actions to it (Uberoptions allows program-by-program settings). With my left hand on the arrow keys I can reach the right side of the keyboard two or three keys deep with my pinky without sacrificing movement, a slight shift gives me access to the insert/delete/home/end/pu/pd block (I use those for things I don’t necessarily need to access when moving), and the number pad on the right yields more keys.
Like many of you, I find that re-mapping a new game is a matter of setting standards (e.g., interact, reload, crouch, run, jump, flashlight) to the same keys/mouse buttons and finding homes for the few that are unique to the game.
[sup]*The ridiculous price on Amazon is probably because Logitech doesn’t make these anymore. A year or two ago when I noticed prices were creeping above $50 for one I picked up four extra to replace over time. [/sup]