How to Set Up Custom Controls in Destiny 2: Complete Guide

Destiny 2 custom controls take about five minutes to set up. Getting them right takes a little longer, mostly because Guardians have far more actions than fingers.

This guide uses Bungie's own remapping announcement, Bungie's hotfix notes, and two respected gaming sources. Menus shift between updates, so treat the labels below as a map, not gospel.

What Can You Customize in Destiny 2?

You can change far more than most players realize. Here is what the sources confirm:

• Every PC keyboard and mouse binding, including separate Charged Melee and Uncharged Melee keys (Shacknews).
• A fully custom controller button layout for character actions, vehicles and general settings such as emotes (Bungie).
• Three input types per controller action: Press, Long Press and Double Press.
• Chords, which map one action to two buttons pressed together.
• Toggle or hold behaviour for zoom, sprint and crouch.
• Full Auto Firing and Full Auto Melee, which keep firing while you hold the input (Can I Play That?).

Quick Setup Reference

Sources: Shacknews for the PC path, Bungie's This Week at Bungie post for the controller path.

How to Change Keybindings on PC

PC players get the easier job. A whole keyboard sits in front of you, and Bungie says so itself.

1. Press Esc on your keyboard.
2. Choose Open Settings.
3. Click Keyboard/Mouse.
4. Click the binding you want to change.
5. Press the new key or click the new mouse button.

Shacknews reports that the game accepts the change when no other bound key conflicts. If you get tangled, you can reset to defaults and start again.

Default PC Bindings Worth Knowing

Defaults give you a baseline before you start swapping things. This table shows a selection published by Shacknews in January 2022, so confirm against your own menu.

Shacknews flags melee on C as an oddity. Some players expect it on F, which Destiny 2 gives to Super by default.

Practical PC Tips

• Swap Super and melee if C feels awkward. The Shacknews author put Super on Middle Mouse Button and melee on F.
• Move grenades to a key your ring finger reaches easily. The same author chose G.
• Decide between Auto Melee and the split Charged and Uncharged Melee keys before you rebind.
• Change one binding at a time, then test it in a quiet activity.

Those tips are suggestions, not rules. Your hand size, keyboard and grip matter more than any guide.

How to Set Up Destiny 2 Controller Remapping

Controllers have fewer buttons, so Bungie built a different system. Staff designer Lisa Brown explained it in the June 4, 2020 This Week at Bungie post.

1. Open Settings and go to the Controller section.
2. Choose Button Layout.
3. Select Custom from the list.
4. Select the mapping next to the action you want to change.
5. Press the button you want to assign.

If you usually play a preset, use the Reset button first. That loads the preset, and you can edit from there, according to Bungie.

The Three Input Types

Bungie lets you map an action to a button and an input type. That is how it fits many actions onto few buttons.

Source: Bungie, This Week at Bungie, June 4, 2020.

You can also lengthen the window for a double press. Bungie says that option sits on the main controller page.

Chords: Two Buttons, One Action

A chord maps an action to two buttons pressed together. The default Super uses Left and Right Bumper as a chord.

Bungie shared a face-button-only example for players who want to keep their thumbs off the sticks:

• Fire: X
• Toggle Zoom: Press Y
• Reload: Press A + X
• Alternate Weapon Action: Long press A + X
• Melee: Press B + Y
• Grenade: Double Press B
• Super: Press A + B
• Jump: Press A

Real Setups From Bungie Staff

Bungie also published three layouts its own players use. They show how different the goals can be.

• Stress-clicker fix: One designer moved melee to A, Super back to the double-bumper chord, and finisher to Double Press A.
• True left-handed layout: A left-handed player swapped the face buttons with the d-pad buttons, so emotes took the face buttons.
• Halo-style layout: One employee used a zoom toggle on right stick, grenade on Left Trigger and melee on B.

Limits and Common Mistakes

Custom controls give you freedom, and freedom lets you break things. Bungie listed several caveats in its own post.

• Controller remapping covers gameplay actions, not UI input or menu navigation.
• Weapon firing, class jump, grenade charging and bow drawing still need a held input.
• Chords detect two buttons pressed at the same moment, not hold-then-press.
• The Custom layout has no dynamic controller preview image.
• Some options appeared for controllers before keyboards, such as separate class ability mappings.

The Melee Trap

Bungie's own example is the one to remember. Map melee to Press X and another action to Long Press X, and melee wins.

The melee resolves before the game can detect a long press. You would always melee and never trigger the second action. Bungie adds that the game gives no individual error check for these clashes.

Early Bugs Bungie Fixed

The feature shipped with rough edges. Hotfix 2.9.0.2 on June 23, 2020, fixed several, and you can read the official hotfix notes.

• Analog-based actions no longer required a full button or trigger press.
• Hunter dodge and Warlock Icarus Dash became easier to activate.
• Stormtrance worked again when attack inputs were held during the cast.

Accessibility Settings That Pair Well With Custom Controls

A good layout is half the answer. Bungie's accessibility options cover the rest.

• Hold and toggle options: Bungie offers switches for zoom, sprint and crouch.
• Full Auto Firing: Weapons keep firing while you hold the trigger or button.
• Full Auto Melee: The same behaviour for melee, added alongside the renamed firing option.
• Swap confirm and cancel: Controller players can swap these buttons, starting in Season 21.

Can I Play That? notes that these options can reduce fatigue from repeated presses. Bungie also calls remapping one step in its wider accessibility work.

A Simple Method for Building Your Layout

1. Start from the preset closest to how you already play.
2. Write down your biggest annoyance, such as accidental melee.
3. Fix that one action first.
4. Test the change in a low-pressure activity.
5. Check for button clashes before you change anything else.
6. Repeat until nothing annoys you.

This is an approach, not an official Bungie procedure. It follows the logic of the caveats above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps for Your Setup

Good controls start with good hardware. Our ASUS ROG Strix Scope II X keyboard review covers a gaming keyboard for custom keybindings.

Smoother frames also make new bindings easier to learn. See our guide to how a high-performance gaming monitor can improve gameplay.

Sources

• Bungie, "This Week At Bungie – 6/4/2020" (controller remapping, input types, chords, caveats)
• Bungie, "Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.9.0.2" (controller remapping fixes)
• Shacknews, "Destiny 2 Key Bindings and Key Mapping" (PC steps and default bindings, January 2022)
• Can I Play That?, "Bungie revamps accessibility in Destiny 2" (Full Auto settings, swap confirm and cancel)