Finally got all my mods I wanted to use for my computer. Had a hard time playing with keyboard and mouse. When I played with Oblivion, didn't have a good experience with a controller, so I thought would be the same for Skyrim. I thought I would try it again.

So I bought the 360 controller for PC. I bought it for Elder Scrolls Online and it helped. Not perfect but helped a lot for me. Since I play ESO on mac and had to pay for a 3rd party software to make the 360 PC controller work. I thought I would have to get xpadder for Skyrim on PC. I went into my settings in Skyrim to see what I would have to do, and Low and Behold, there is a 360 button to turn on/off.

So I plugged in my 360 PC controller and it worked just exactly if it was on the xbox. I didnt' have to reconfigure anything. Now I am playing just as if I was on the 360. I am loving my experience again. I am so glad I spent the money on the 360 PC controller, now I can really enjoy my Skyrim experience on the PC. I am happier than pigs in.....

Why am I saying this? Just guess just in case anyone is like me, playing on PC but wishing for 360 controls and not knowing that there is an optiong to playe Exactly the same on PC as in playing on the 360. Only thing you need is a 360 controller PC version. I chose the wired controller for simpler installation and not worrying about the wireless adapter breaking. (read they can break easily)

The Wireless Controller has all kinds of issues. Some can get it working, some can not. Best to use the Wired Controller, that has a much better success rate. I have also seen that if you use Rechargeable Batteries in the controller, you can cause system weirdness when plugging the controller in as the USB port does not give enough current to charge the batteries.

That being said, I picked up a 360 controller recently for a few of games that I thought would benefit from it (Tomb Raider, Bioshock and Dishonored). Nope, after a few minutes went back the Keyboard and Mouse. Even on a game that is optimized for the controller like these 3 are, the K/M is still better for me.

I'd be all for KB/M if I could set up the hotkeys to resemble the setup for FFXI. 8,4,6,2 for movement for example.

I only use controller when my arthritis flairs up.

PS3 controller works on PC Skyrim as well, just use the USB cord you plug into the controller & into the PS3 to charge it. Only difference is, you need to download the free program called MotioninJoy. It is basically an emulator, that turns your PS3 controller into an Xbox 360 controller, but nonetheless, very easy to install and use. I've always preferred the PS3 controller to the Xbox Controllers. It varies which I use to play Skyrim, depends upon my mood. But usually for me, when I'm in the mood to just kick back and play Skyrim, I'm more easily immersed using the controller, instead of kb/m. Probably because I can turn the lights out, sit back in my chair, relax , and don't have to ever look at the keyboard to press the appropriate key.

@CCNA post, (why doesn't it quote you?) I think one of the reasons why I am having so much success with the 360 controller is, Skyrim PC is made for the 360 controller.

It would have been great if the games you mentioned had the same setup built in so they could use the 360 controller as well. My guess is, you had to get a 3rd party controller to set it up correctly?

Nope, the controls were all in place and any remapping I would want to do could have been done in the controls section. The games I mentioned, except maybe Dishonored, were made with a controller in mind. For example, there is a movement you do in Tomb Raider to get Laura to grind her feet in order to propel her up a slippery slope, you do this in the tutorial. It is clunky to say the least on the keyboard as you use trigger keys on the controller to do the same thing.

It is using a controller that is the issue, not setting it up. My muscle memory is for Keyboard and Mouse, not the Controller. However, even if I were to take the few hours to re-train myself, the K/M just makes more sense to me. Since I went to backlit keyboard, I can play in a completely darkened room now and never hunt for the keys. Although, I learned more about touch typing playing games in a darkened room than I ever did typing out the The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy cow, or what ever it was we typed out in typing class.

I use the controller; far easier than the keyboard for me.

I personally can't play Skyrim with the controller. My main issues are that it's harder to aim correctly, and I can't quicksave or access menus directly by hotkey. While aiming might just take a bit of getting used to, lacking those additional keys can't be made up for. I think movement feels better on a controller though, but that's it.

I've adapted to using a 360 controller over the years. I've been a PC gamer since the 90s and I always hated the controllers other than a joystick for the old mech warrior games. When they started making games with the 360 pad in mind I started using it. BTW you can just buy a cheap $20 corded controller instead of the Microsoft one. I get the GameStop ones.