WASD Mode
The close camera: WASD movement, mouse look, the crosshair, keyboard menus and fighting on the move.
WASD mode (the game calls it the close camera) turns Aetheria into a modern action MMORPG: the camera sits just behind your character, you steer with WASD, look around with the mouse, and aim with a crosshair. You can switch between it and the classic click-to-walk view at any moment.
Turning it on and off
- Press the backquote key ` (top-left of the keyboard, above Tab, below Esc) to switch to the close camera. Press it again to go back to the classic view.
- While it is on, a small Controls box shows the keys, and an Exit close camera button takes you back to the classic view.
- A controller switches it on by itself the moment you touch a stick or button. Controller support
- On some keyboard layouts the key is labelled differently (for example ², § or ö): it is always the key directly above Tab.
All the keys
| W A S D | Move forward, left, back and right, relative to the camera. Diagonals work too. |
|---|---|
| Shift (hold) | Run |
| Mouse | Look around (mouse look). The cursor is hidden while you look. |
| Mouse wheel | Zoom the camera in and out |
| Alt / Option | Toggle mouse look. With it off, the cursor is free to click interfaces, the minimap and settings. Press again to go back to looking. |
| Space (tap) | Interact with whatever the crosshair is on: attack, talk, pick up, open, chop... |
| Space (hold) | Open the full options menu for what you are aiming at, then ↑ ↓ to choose and Space to confirm |
| Tab / Shift + Tab | Cycle focus between movement, chat and your inventory (or between open interfaces) |
| Arrow keys | In the inventory or an interface: move the selection. At the edge of a row, ← / → switches to the next panel. |
| Esc | Close an open menu |
The crosshair
A crosshair marks where you are aiming. It sits a little above your character, so it lands on players, monsters and objects three to five tiles ahead. Whatever is under it is highlighted and named in the game's mouse-over text, and that is what Space interacts with. Even with the cursor freed (Alt), steering with the keyboard keeps aiming with the crosshair.
Chatting
In WASD mode your letter keys move your character, so they never type into chat by accident. To talk, press Tab until chat has focus, type your message and press Enter. Press Tab again to get back to moving.
Inventory, menus and dialogue
- Tab to the inventory, pick an item with the arrow keys and press Space to use it, or hold Space for all of its options (eat, wield, drop, use on...).
- When an interface such as the bank or a shop is open, Tab cycles between its parts and the arrow keys move around inside it.
- In conversations, ↑ ↓ pick a dialogue option and Space chooses it.
Fighting in WASD mode
- Aim at a monster with the crosshair and tap Space to attack.
- You can keep moving during a fight. If you start steering within 3 tiles of your target you keep fighting it, and you swing whenever it is in reach. Walk more than 6 tiles away and you drop the target.
- Your weapon's combo plays as normal: Action Combat.
- Hits you take flash the screen edge red and jolt the camera; poison and venom pulse green instead.
How the camera behaves
- The camera stays behind and slightly above your character and turns your character to face where you look.
- It stops at walls instead of passing through them, and keeps clear of the ground.
- Running widens the view a little for a sense of speed.
- Look up and down is limited so you never flip the camera upside down.
Tips
- Use Alt whenever you need the mouse for something: prayers, spells, the minimap or settings. Press it again to carry on.
- Prefer clicking for skilling? Switch back to the classic view with ` any time; nothing is lost.
- WASD mode is for computers with a keyboard. On phones and tablets, use the touch controls, or connect a controller.
Built from the game's own files as of 31 October 2026. Something wrong or missing? Tell us in game with ::bug.