Open the Controls Settings
Open the game settings and select the Controls section to review assigned actions. Most hotkeys can be reassigned, and each action can hold two inputs. This lets keyboard players keep a primary key and an alternative without losing the original route.
Some actions begin without a default input, while a small number of inventory actions may be fixed. Read the note beside an action before assuming a failed edit is a bug. A current in-game settings screen takes priority over an older static table when the installed version differs.
Assigned hotkeys can be reset from the same controls menu. The structured reference records a held Backspace action for keyboard reset and a held controller menu button for the equivalent controller reset. Use the visible prompt in the current build to confirm the exact device symbol before holding it.
Learn the Keyboard Fundamentals
The default keyboard movement uses WASD with arrow-key alternatives. Space performs Jump, while E or right-click performs the primary Interact action. Q is assigned to Secondary Interact in the structured default list.
Escape opens the Journal and closes menus. Inventory actions also use mouse input, with right-click used for picking up one item and Control plus right-click recorded for splitting a stack. The stack-split combination is marked as non-rebindable in the current structured reference.
Tool use is separate from interaction. Check the controls screen for ordinary, repeated, and charged tool actions, especially after changing mouse buttons. A farming or mining problem can be an input conflict rather than a missing upgrade, so test the binding on an empty or safe tile first.
Understand Charged Tool Actions
Several tools gain expanded patterns or behavior through progression. Charged tool input is activated by holding the assigned tool button rather than tapping it. The exact affected area depends on the tool and current upgrade or perk, so the control is stable even when the result grows later.
If a charged action does not appear, confirm the tool, upgrade, perk, available resource, and assigned input. A seed-planting perk, for example, can still require enough seeds for the larger pattern. Do not remap multiple important actions to the same physical button without testing how the game resolves the overlap.
Repeated tool input may be useful for ordinary actions, but an unassigned field will not respond until it receives a binding. Add a second input instead of immediately replacing a familiar primary key. This preserves a fallback while the new layout is being tested.
Use a Supported Controller Layout
Fields of Mistria is listed with controller support, and the structured reference records Xbox, USB DualShock, and DualSense controller layouts. Movement uses the directional controls, while face buttons handle jumping, interacting, secondary interaction, and tool use. Button letters or symbols differ by device family, so follow the active on-screen prompts.
The Journal and menu-close actions have controller equivalents, and charged tool use is available on controller as well. When a prompt looks wrong, verify that the game detected the intended controller type and that a remap did not create a conflict. Reconnect or review Steam input settings only after checking the in-game assignments.
Avoid publishing one custom layout as universally recommended. Hand size, accessibility needs, device type, and familiarity all affect a comfortable arrangement. A useful setup keeps movement, interaction, tool use, Journal access, and menu closing reachable without duplicating an action accidentally.
Rebind Safely and Troubleshoot
Change one group at a time: movement first, then interaction, tools, inventory, and menus. Test each group in a low-risk place before moving to the next. This makes the source of a conflict obvious and preserves a working route back to Settings.
If an action stops working, look for duplicate bindings, an empty input, a fixed-action note, or a mismatch between keyboard and controller prompts. Reset the affected assignments when the cause is unclear, then rebuild the layout gradually. Do not delete a save or reinstall the game for a problem confined to key assignments.
Keep this guide focused on stable control behavior rather than every current row in the table. The in-game menu remains the authoritative list for the installed version, while the public source provides the documented defaults and reset rules. That combination answers the main keybind question without inventing unsupported device fixes.