How to Set Up Joystick / HOTAS in War Thunder - Guide For Jets & Props

A how to guide for War Thunder keymapper in setting up your joystick and HOTAS that is applicable to both props and jets.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:39 How to Test Flight
01:56 Throttle
02:59 Control Surfaces
05:07 Guns
05:55 Pylon Weapons (Missiles, Bombs)
08:17 Counter Measures
08:49 Sensors (Radars, IRST)
11:25 Closing
11:57 Outro
Epidemic Sounds
An Introduction - Dream Cave
Outro Music:
• Synthwave / Retrowave ...
Patreon Shoutout to my most major patreon supporters who helps makes these videos possible:
RS Hart
Squidder Brother
Nineball
Kolovar
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#warthunder #guide #flightsimulator
This channel focuses on combat flight simulators like DCS World and IL-2 Great Battles. If you play either of these games or flight simulators like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and enjoy aviation and dogfighting then this channel is for you. Even if you are coming from War Thunder and BF2042, you can learn to fly these combat flight simulators.
I play using TrackIR5 and do not use VR, this means that I am able to capture footage for tutorials, how-to-guides and other multiplayer tips and tricks video in 1440p.
Eagle Dynamics has made it easier than ever to learn DCS because the game is technically free. The game has the F-15, F-16, Su-27, Mig-29, Mig-21, Mig-19, Mig-15, F-86 Sabre, Jf-17, Mirage 2000, F-18 Hornet and F-14 Tomcat. There are soon other modules coming such as the Mig-23 and F-4. Lastly, there are helicopters like the Mi-24 Hind and AH-64 Apache.
The same is also true for IL-2 Great Battles. With Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Kuban, Battle of Bodenplatte, Battle of Moscow and Battle of Normandy being released, there is an immense amount of variety covered. The Bf-109, Fw-190, P-51, Tempest, P-47, Mc.202, Stuka, Ju-88, He-111, and so on are all in the game. I focus on making videos to make that part accessible so you can dive into IL-2 Multiplayer.

[@Enigma89]

I have had my keymaps get wiped one too many times and someone had to make a guide like this that was applicable to jets so I hope you found this helpful.

[@something7992]

Is this the legend from the game I’ve never played but definitely should play DCS???

[@JOHNKLERK69]

why when i connect my wheel and the hoystick in game my mouse goes automaticaly always on left side ??? pls help me

[@Enigma89]

Never heard of that happening before. You may have some devices conflicting

[@MadSolarV2]

I'd also recommend binding a key to change the gun pipper mode. Lots of jets default to gyro gunsight, which in war thunder can be pretty hit or miss. The binding will allow you to toggle between gyro and boresight on most jets. For other jets, like the Mig-19 that only has a gyro, you can create a custom skin, then add a few lines of text to completely remove the gyro sight and add a fixed sight. There are tutorials on KZbin for this as well. Good video Engima, I'd really love to see Air Sim gain traction, but alas the snail :,(

[@Enigma89]

I have been playing air sim lately, I have been really enjoying it

[@Iambored48]

Great video, thanks for filling the gap

[@Enigma89]

You bet!

[@khajaja]

Thank you once again mr ligma

[@Frozander]

Little correction: Weapon lock (air to ground) is not for bullpup, bullpup uses weapon steering binds (yaw/pitch axis for aimed weapons). Weapon lock (air to ground) locks the seeker of fire and forget missiles like Kh-29T, or AGM-65 Additionally, radar cursor cueing controls only work if you disable constant radar elevation and cyclic target switching off in the Settings menu. (if you don't turn cyclic off you can still go left and right on the radar but it doesn't move the cursor just moves the scan zones on aircraft with scan zones like Mig-29, Su-27)

[@Enigma89]

Oh derp. I mention the yaw/pitch a bit later. I forgot to take out the air to ground lock. Thank you.

[@ALienViSitoR1991]

Seriously this is the most helpful video I've found from days of searching all over the web!! I liked and subscribed!!! Thank you so much!! Hopefully I'll see you out there in the air!! 😅😅 On your team hopefully lol

[@Enigma89]

Thanks!

[@daemonoid9836]

Huge thanks! I wanted to try playing WT with my Warthog and, as you say, already experienced snail-provoked control wipes...

[@ColonelAkirNakesh]

Awesome vid. My VKB kit shows up this week 🎉 and gotta rework my FC3 bindings, gonna use this as a basis.

[@Enigma89]

Hope it went well

[@jamesbirmingham9951]

Thank you!

[@lordharu8682]

i would also like to add the fact that you can choose radar targets with a reticle instead of just toggeling between them by turning "targets cyclic switching of aircraft radar" off and using the radar/IRST cue control to move the reticle on to a target, i find this to be more usefull in choosing the right target faster instead of switching between every jet visble in my radar scope

[@Enigma89]

Thanks

[@marduk87]

Just my presonnal opinion but i think the keybinds based on the primary/secondary weapon selection are better choice overall.

[@coldclaws2479]

enigma warthunder arc

[@wmouse]

I’m enjoying my time in War Thunder sim battles. I appreciate that War Thunder can be more realistic than DCS in some ways, like damage model, missile behavior, and countermeasures.

[@Enigma89]

@@wmouse I have also been playing more air sim lately, it's actually quite fun

[@wmouse]

@@Enigma89 I hope you'll have some WT events in your community. WT sim battles tend to get blue stacked. Going in with an ECW red team might be fun.

[@shitpost4204]

I've got keybind files saved outside of the normal war thunder files and have it load from there so I have my own layout saved

[@lobnop]

im using a thrustmaster 4 without pedals. why isn't my yaw and throttle axis not working?

[@AmigoAmpz]

do a video for trimming in sim please

[@ysiadpir1423]

Comment for the algorithm. Warthunder Ok DCS YUMMY.

[@code0081]

Detailed guide, thanks, but If you only set one button to both activate and launch air-to-air weapons, how do you switch the lock target of the IR missile? For example, if your IR seeker is locked to a flare or a teammate, so I think the "Weapon lock (air to air) " button is still necessary.

[@Enigma89]

I usually switch weapons to break that but yes good point

[@csii6478]

I just got and setup my hotas but what is the key bind for the wheel brakes after land? Coming from keyboard and mouse it was setup with throttle down and the B key?

[@Enigma89]

B

[@StonedM]

I cant move my mouse curser with the joystick hat in the ingame menu's anyone know how to fix this what setting to change?

[@oohkaay]

Hi Enigma, many thanks for the tutorial! One thing that's not clear for me, is how to switch from air-to-air missiles to air-to-ground missiles in your recommended setup. Thanks in advance..

[@Enigma89]

I map certain weapons to buttons like rockets bombs, a2a. That way you have one dedicated button to each weapon class

[@oohkaay]

@@Enigma89 Thanks. I hoped to get to the jets but that will cost a lot of money and time. The ww II planes are unflyable :)

[@UWfalcin]

It doesn’t recognize anything from my winwing orion2 and virpil cm3. Back to dcs and il-2

[@kVidStream]

What HOTAS are you using? Also, have you tried using a display panel for WT?

[@Enigma89]

VKB STECS and Gladiator

[@psylo_chnop]

Do switches work too in Warthunder, asking cuz I only saw buttons mapped?

[@Enigma89]

Switches are typically just two buttons so yes. I use the switch on my STECS and it works fine

[@comradezy]

Is there a way to move my camera around like with pressing C on mouse mode? I can set my "view in battle" to a joystick but i want my camera o snap back when im done looking around and can't figure out how to make that happen.

[@Enigma89]

You could maybe try replacing the mouse to a ministick and use that

[@comradezy]

@@Enigma89I have it set to a joystick, what I was missing was setting a button to reset the axis. So now i can look around with a little joystick on my throttle and then just push it in to reset. It's been working pretty well.

[@lorenzoboncinelli2262]

then why is my throttle set at 100% but it only goes up to 50% in game? it's even worse with yaw pitch and roll cause all the way to the left is right, a little to the right is left and everything else is so far right that it goes out of the bar. can anyone help me? (stick is Sidewinder Force Feedback 2)

[@steppahouse]

How do I tune my Virpil rudder pedals to work? A little left pedal should give me a little left yaw. No matter what settings under yaw I manipulate, this doesn't seem to work. I tried relative without changing anything else and it acts like regular keybinds with a huge deadzone. I tried min/max each setting under Yaw and while I was able to affect how fast the rudder turns (most between instant max to next to nothing), I wasn't able to get it to work. Any ideas?

[@Raynster]

Sounds like you need to use trim options

[@steppahouse]

@@Raynster if I bump up to the next level of flight controls with the instructor off, they work perfectly fine.

[@Enigma89]

That's odd. I would maybe post on Reddit because it may be specific to your device

[@steppahouse]

@@Enigma89 the answer turned out but to play in arcade mode :) As soon as I go up the realism scale, they work just fine.

[@cykalandon8635]

I'm so lost at the Pylon Weapons setup. So in DCS my fire missile and drop bombs button aka "weapons release" is a single button. I then cycle between weapon types such as bombs or missiles, in the cockpit and then I hit the weapons release to drop the bomb or fire the missile. How do I make it like that in War Thunder?

[@Enigma89]

You would use the secondary weapon button if you want different type of weapons to be on the same button.

[@cykalandon8635]

Thank you!@@Enigma89

[@farmingsimfanatic8827]

Okay this might be kind of a stupid question but is there a way so that when I let go of my stick that the plane will just fly straight and level?

[@Enigma89]

Jets should do that on their own. For props you want trim. What is happening is the torque or rotation of the propeller is spinning and its making the plane lean. You usually use trim to balance it out so it flys straight. I don't even know if WT has trim.

[@farmingsimfanatic8827]

@@Enigma89 okay thanks

[@roberthiggins5863]

I would like to see a video on how to get better control of your aircraft beginner not jets. My joystick has my aircraft all over the place in this War Thunder. I have tried all the sensitivity settings and everything I can find the aircraft just bounces all over the place and cannot stay on target when doing scraping runs or when on target of another plane.

[@Enigma89]

You may have other devices conflicting or your mouse may still be mapped

[@roberthiggins5863]

@@Enigma89 Thank you for the reply. I would think that also. If I were not flying great in other sims. This War Thunder seems to be very basic with little control given to the joysitck. After disabling almost everything in my system of which I don't think with this unit would have conflicts but I thought I would give it a shot. So I guess it I still have to us the mouse in War thunder.

[@deliriousgaming9432]

I made a keybind for my joystick so that I can control where I'm looking, just to make it more convenient for myself

[@Enigma89]

Nice!

[@JOHNKLERK69]

why when i connect my wheel and the hoystick in game my mouse goes automaticaly always on left side ??? pls help me

[@Enigma89]

Never heard of that before

[@JOHNKLERK69]

@@Enigma89 ¨(

[@FileHolder]

1:37

[@rossmarbow-combatflightsim5922]

Unrelated Do you think I can get away playing helis on the dcs server with just stick + pedals + mouse look after taking a long break from flight sims I realised a big reason why I stopped was head tracking made me feel funny

[@Enigma89]

Maybe but you may do better using snapview with a hatswitch instead of mouse view

[@Bj17275]

i need help i can’t find the eject and when i search in the controls i can’t find it

[@Enigma89]

It's J

[@Bj17275]

@@Enigma89 no on the hotas stick

[@networkgeekstuff9090]

Yeah ... playing WT simulator mode, for me the biggest deal breaker is that for a year at least, Gaijin ignores this mode so much that a bug that makes all planes black (burned down texture model) after +-30min flight time makes it so that all other planes in multiplayer are simply black. And it is just ignored and ignored .... playing WT as a flight sim entusiast really makes you feel like second class citizen Just disclaimer, I still play it because it is great for a quick evening solo play with HOTAS + quest3 VR as it has low system requirements. But maybe just stick to props as jets and above it is more and more obvious how lazy the cockpit instruments implementation is. Since it is a game where 99% of players play 3rd person camera mode and NOT simulator mode.

[@Drovek451]

Biggest issue for me (and what stopped me from using HOTAS in WT) is just the game choosing to forget most of my bindings between restarts because it cannot remember device IDs if they connect in different order and what not.

[@networkgeekstuff9090]

For this very reason, I click the export config button at the bottom when I am done with my settings. Because WT likes to forget the settings when you 1) game update sometimes 2) it detects new controller connected/disconnected and tries to autobind what is right at this moment connected to the PC. E.g. I can cause this issue if I disconnect my HOTAS and connect my xbox controller to the PC, it instantly forgets HOTAS settings and replaces them with xbox controller scheme.

[@Drovek451]

@@networkgeekstuff9090 the issue is that even if I export and import, it still confuses things when the order is different. I've never seen any other game do it like this

[@Enigma89]

Are you unplugging and plugging in things often?

[@networkgeekstuff9090]

@@Drovek451 weird, I have the same import file for 15 months now as backup of my controls and works just fine. It keeps my device IDs just fine mapped in the files, even when I import to another PC with my HOTAS (TM Warthog here).

[@Drovek451]

@@Enigma89 Pretty much every time I bring it my HOTAS setup: I don't have the controllers on my desk until I'm going to play something.

[@xz4ct801]

war thunder control setup is awful. and I come from dcs, I just unbound a keyboard key, and even when I try to assign a button, it shows the button I press, but never confirms it in the list. I am stuck with no brakes...

[@xz4ct801]

WHY ARE BRAKES AN AXIS... and why does the "ASSIGN BUTTON" button not work on the axis setup....

[@nevTk-oe9ud]

I have hotas x 56 man And i cannot for the life of me get it sorted , It wont even reconize the stick control so frustrating

[@Enigma89]

X56 has really bad manufacturing issues. I had two that j had to return. It's a very common thing If you search around

[@nevTk-oe9ud]

@@Enigma89 oh man thats not what i wanna hear but thxs anyway LOL :(

[@kripbloodington8714]

My only problem is for some reason my stick is my camera control too how tf do I fix this im about to sell this shit

[@commanderdaniii5176]

I had that problem too but I also have the problem that I need to use a keyboard to look around with mouse look activation because I can’t look around haha probably because I’m on Xbox but yeah I tried to get buttons on the joystick to look around good and can’t haha

[@kripbloodington8714]

@@commanderdaniii5176 i figured it out bro for some reason the game like to wipe the camera movement binds, just type view and change the bottom 5

[@Peti-sx3wk]

first