Crimson Desert Guide

Can you rebind WASD in Crimson Desert? How to move with the arrow keys

Crimson Desert won't let you rebind the WASD movement keys on PC. Players move with the arrow keys or ESDF by remapping them with Microsoft PowerToys instead.

Mechanics · Updated

Steps

  1. Know what the game lets you change. In the game's keybind menu you can rebind most actions, but not the W, A, S and D movement keys. Players answering on Steam in October 2026 said this still hasn't changed.
  2. Install Microsoft PowerToys and open Keyboard Manager. PowerToys is a free Microsoft utility for Windows. Open PowerToys Settings, go to the Keyboard Manager tab, make sure it's turned on and choose Remap a key.
  3. Make your movement keys send W, A, S and D. Add one remap for each direction. For arrow keys, set Up to send W, Left to send A, Down to send S and Right to send D. Use the same idea for another layout, such as ESDF. The game then reads your keys as WASD.
  4. Move the game's other actions next to your new movement keys. In the game's own keybind menu, rebind the actions you use most to keys around your new movement keys. The player who shared this workaround did that around the arrow keys and said it works great.
  5. Switch the remap off when you stop playing. The remap applies everywhere in Windows while PowerToys runs. Turn Keyboard Manager off in PowerToys, or close PowerToys, to get your normal keys back.

The problem: you play with the arrow keys or ESDF, often because you’re left-handed or used to MMOs, but Crimson Desert won’t let you rebind movement. Players who refunded the game over this are still asking whether it’s been fixed.

The short answer: it hasn’t. Players answering on Steam in October 2026 said you can rebind the other keys but not WASD. One player added that a lot of other keys can’t be remapped either, and that a mod is the other way around it.

What works: remapping the keys outside the game with Microsoft PowerToys. Its Keyboard Manager makes the key you press send a different key to Windows, so the game still thinks you’re pressing W, A, S and D. The player who started the workaround thread uses it this way and said it works great. PowerToys also lets you turn the remap on and off with a single switch.

Good to know

  • Microsoft doesn’t officially recommend it for games. Its documentation warns that Keyboard Manager can lower your FPS and that some games read the keyboard in a way it can’t intercept. It worked for the player in the thread, but if you see a frame-rate drop, that’s the likely cause.
  • Watch for doubled-up keys. After the remap, keys like W still send W. If the game also has actions on the arrow keys, rebind those in its keybind menu so they don’t clash.
  • If PowerToys runs as a normal user and the game runs as administrator, the remap won’t reach the game. Microsoft suggests running PowerToys as administrator in that case.
  • Controllers aren’t affected. This is only about keyboard movement on PC.

Sources

This guide summarizes answers from these community threads. Credit goes to the players who worked it out.