Controls

This article covers controls and keybinds in Pillars of Eternity on both PC and console releases.

On PC[ | ]

Mouse controls[ | ]

Control	Context + action
Mouse Click	On Ground	Any selected party members will move to the point clicked.
	On Character	If Friendly: Speak with the character. If Hostile: Attack the character.
	On Transition	The entire party runs to the transition and enters another area. or A world map screen appears.
	On Usable Items	Use the item.
	On User Interface	Select that user interface item.
Left-click, Hold, and Drag	Select party members inside the green box that appears.
Right-click, Hold, and Drag	Rotate the party formation. When released, the party members will move to the location indicated by the user interface.
Middle-click, Hold, and Drag	Pans the camera.
Scroll Wheel	Zooms the camera in and out
Edge of Screen	Moving the mouse toward the edge of a screen will pan the camera in that direction.

Key bindings[ | ]

The following table lists the default key bindings, which may be changed in the Options -> Controls menu. Each action may have two bindings assigned to it. Actions marked with an asterisk cannot be rebound.

Action	Binding	Notes
Party
Select	Mouse0 (Left Click)
Move	Mouse0 (Left Click)
Interact	Mouse0 (Left Click)
Attack	Mouse0 (Left Click)
Attack Cursor	A	Switches the mouse cursor from its normal mode into attack mode. When attack mode is active left clicking on a character will force an attack against it. After one attack, the cursor switches back into normal mode.
Cancel Action	X
Select All	Backspace	Selects all party members.
Formation Rotate	Mouse1 (Right Click)	Rotates the placement of the party formation around the cursor.
Toggle Scouting	Left Alt / Right Alt	Toggles scouting mode
Scouting On
Scouting Off
Select Party Member*	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Selects the party member associated with that slot. For example, pressing "1" will select the party member farthest to the left.
Create Selection Group*	Ctrl+7/8/9/0	Creates custom selection groups.
Activate Selection Group*	7/8/9/0	Selects the custom selection groups.
Game
Camp
Highlight Interactables	Tab	Highlights interactive objects in the current camera view.
Toggle Interactables
Half Speed	S	Toggles Slow Mode, allowing finer control of characters.
Double Speed	D	Toggles Fast Mode, for rapid travel (disabled in combat).
Cycle Game Speed	Keypad0
Pause	Space	Pauses the game. Orders may be given to party members while the game is paused.
Quicksave	F5
Quickload	F8
Camera Left	Left Arrow	Pan the camera in the arrow key direction
Camera Right	Right Arrow
Camera Up	Up Arrow
Camera Down	Down Arrow
Pan Camera	Mouse2 (Middle Click)	Hold and move the mouse to drag the camera around.
Zoom In	Equals (=)
Zoom Out	Minus (-)
Reset Zoom		Resets the zoom level to the default
Follow Selected	Period (.)	Track the selected party member with the camera, keeping them centered in view as they move around the screen (can be disabled by moving the camera manually)
Interface
Toggle HUD	Ctrl+H
Next Tab	Tab
Toggle Console	BackQuote (`)	Toggles the command console.
Select Previous Character	Left Bracket ([)
Select Next Character	Right Bracket (])
Take All	E / Return
Selection Up	KeypadMinus
Selection Down	KeypadPlus
Select	Return
Screens
Previous Menu Screen	Semicolon (;)
Next Menu Screen	Quote (')
Character Sheet	C	Toggles the currently selected party member's character sheet. This sheet displays all of the statistics related to the member.
Formations	F	Opens the party formation window
Inventory	I	Toggles the currently selected party member's inventory.
Journal	J	Toggles the party's journal. This is where the user will be able to view their quest log, bestiary, journal, and notes.
Party Manager	P	Opens the party manager, which allows you to swap in and out companions.
Save
Load
Stronghold	H
Area Map	M
Edit Spells	G	Open grimoire or appropriate spell menu.
Options	Escape	Close window / open options menu
Abilities
Next	KeypadMultiply
Previous	Delete
Next Row	KeypadMinus
PreviousRow	KeypadPlus
Select	Return

Controller support[ | ]

The PC version of Pillars of Eternity does not natively support inputs using a controller. You can however use Steam Input to remap controller buttons to keypresses and mouse inputs. For this, Obsidian Entertainment provides an official layout that may be used with Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch controllers, or any other USB DirectInput or XInput devices.

Keep in mind that the PC version of Pillars of Eternity is designed primarily with keyboard and mouse in mind. When using a controller, much of the game has to be navigated with a cursor, which can be slow and cumbersome.

To enable Steam Input support, plug in a controller and navigate to Properties -> Controller in your Steam library. In this menu, if your controller is detected a blue dot will appear next to the type of device you plug in. If Steam Input is enabled for that controller, "Enabled, ..." will appear next to it. If it does not, you may need to enable Steam Input by overriding the default setting in the dropdown above, or by changing the global setting by navigating to Steam -> Settings -> Controller -> "Enable Steam Input for <type> controllers". The official layout will be downloaded automatically when Steam Input is enabled (as long as you're online).

Next, open up the Controller Layout Settings by clicking the "Controller Layouts" button at the right side of the bar underneath the play button in Steam. Alternatively the layout settings may be opened in-game via the Shift-Tab overlay. In this menu you can freely view and edit the layout, as well as download other layouts from the community.

Steam Input - Official Layout for Pillars of Eternity
Input			Action	Key mapping
Xbox	PlayStation	Switch	Action	Key mapping
A,B,X,Y
			Select ability/response	Enter
			Pause	Space
			Cycle party members	Right Square Bracket ]
			All select party	Backspace
Bumpers
LB	L1	L	Highlight interactables	Tab
RB	R1	R	Stealth	Alt
Triggers
LT	L2	ZL	Right Mouse Click
RT	R2	ZR	Left Mouse Click
Menu Buttons
View / Back	Share / Select	Minus	Inventory	I
Menu / Start	Options / Start	Plus	Options menu	Escape
DPad
			Up ability/convo option	Keypad Minus
			Down ability/convo option	Keypad Plus
			Left ability option	Keypad Period
			Right ability option	Keypad Multiply
Thumbsticks
			Mouse movement
RSB	R3	Press	Left Mouse Click
			Camera movement	Up/Down/Left/Right arrows
LSB	L3	Press	Follow cam	Period

On console[ | ]

The console version of Pillars of Eternity (also called "Complete Edition") provides built-in controller support, adding features which makes it easier for players to interact with the game with the reduced control set. Each platform (Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch) has its own control layout, but for the most part they control identically.

Movement and targeting[ | ]

In the ports, character movement is changed from click-to-move (where you move the cursor and click on a point which the characters automatically navigate to) to thumbstick-to-move (where you push the thumbstick in a direction to move the selected character in that direction).

Usable objects, including containers, examinables, doors, traps, NPCs, and other interactables are automatically highlighted when the party is near, and may be selected when approached (only the closest is shown).

Alternatively, you can interact with distant people and objects without approaching them by holding the "interact" button (which highlights all interactables), aiming with the left thumbstick (which shows a targeting reticle that snaps to the nearest character within view), and then releasing the interact button to confirm. This may also be used in combat to target and attack enemies.

In combat, a reticle/cursor automatically appears at the center of the screen, which the player can move (using the left thumbstick) to target enemies, or move the selected character(s) to that position. Outside combat, the reticle may be brought up by pushing the "top" button, and then interact to issue a move order, which is useful for traversing long distances.

Party members may be selected by tapping LB or RB to cycle between individual members, pressing both LB + RB to select all members, or by holding LB + RB and using the left thumbstick to target a specific party member then releasing to confirm.

Radial menus[ | ]

In addition, two radial menus are added to the game which give the player access to 12 different actions by pressing the right or left trigger. The game automatically pauses while either radial menu is open, and stays paused after an ability is selected.

The combat radial menu (left trigger) is analogous to the character and ability toolbar in the bottom left on PC, and provides quick access to the selected character's abilities (via a submenu), item sets, companion dialogue, quick items, AI scripts, and then 7 custom slots which may be set to abilities or consumable items.

The general menu (right trigger) replaces the action bar in the bottom center on PC, and contains buttons for: inventory, attack, level up, character sheet, area map, camp/rest, journal, active effects, combat log, stronghold, options, and formation.

Tooltips[ | ]

Clicking the left stick (LSB/L3) while in most interfaces will bring up a cursor which you can move over text in the interface to show lore and tooltips in text.

Control layout[ | ]

Console - Native controller mappings
Input			Actions
Xbox	PlayStation	Switch	General	Inventory	Vendor	Loot	Dialogue	Radial
A,B,X,Y
			Confirm / Attack or Move (in combat) / [Hold] Multi-select (in combat) / Interact (outside combat) / [Hold] Distant Interact (outside combat)	Equip / Unequip / [Hold] Pick Up	Move Item		Continue / Select	Use
			Cancel / Back / Close
			Pause / Unpause	Move to Stash	Trade			Customize
			Active Effects (in combat) / Move Orders (outside combat)	Actions		Take All		Examine
Bumpers
LB	L1	L	Select Previous Character / Select Characters (hold with RB + aim with LT) / Select All Characters (press with RB)		Previous Tab
RB	R1	R	Select Next Character / Select Characters (hold with LB + aim with LT) / Select All Characters (press with LB)		Next Tab
Triggers
LT	L2	ZL	General Radial Menu (press or hold)
RT	R2	ZR	Combat Radial Menu (press or hold)
Menu Buttons
View	Touch	Minus	Area Map
Menu	Options	Plus	Options Menu
DPad
			Zoom In	Navigate
			Zoom Out
			Toggle Slow Mode
			Toggle Fast Mode
Thumbsticks
			Pan Camera	Navigate Sections			Scroll
RSB	R3	Press	Toggle Camera Follow	Open Stash		Move to Stash	Reset Scroll
			Movement (outside combat) / Targeting (in combat) / Move Order Targeting (with "top" button)	Navigate Grids and Lists			Navigate
LSB	L3	Press	Toggle Scouting	Tooltips