So you've already explored the game thoroughly. You've had a pleasant time discovering everything, you've been around 5 or 10 times, and now you want to try getting around a little faster and fancier. Maybe you've heard about fancy flying and want to get started, flying high and free. But what if you're confused about this 'controller' thing that people keep speaking of? Well here's an introductory guide for keyboard and mouse that goes through the basics, some easy tricks, and some more advanced tricks.

Pretty much everything I'm describing has variations and exceptions. Most of what I'm sharing is from the Journey community; I've used their terms in case you want to explore more on the Journey wiki. My knowledge is thanks to them and any mistakes are mine. But I noticed that there's confusion on Steam about whether some tricks are even possible with keyboard and mouse users, so although I'm a beginner myself, I went through the trouble of making a guide with my own videos to show off my mediocre skills. I'll do my best to explain with kb and mouse in mind.

Don't think you need these tricks to enjoy the game but if you want to try it, don't get discouraged, fly high!

• Fly: Mouse 1 or Spacebar
  
• Chirp: Mouse 2 or Left Ctrl
  
• Meditation: Enter
  
• Screensaver mode: P

Or, things that will be helpful to know for the rest of the guide

Terms I'll be using

• Wayfarer: that's you.
  
• Charge: When your scarf is refilled.
  
• Boost: When your momentum lifts you up into the air without needing to use the Fly button.

Basic moves you'll need

• Dive: When you're gliding downwards headfirst, that's a dive.
  • You can easily enter a dive in midair by holding down your Forward key and angling the camera down. You will move faster in this pose than if you're upright. You'll know you're in a dive by the whooshing sound. This is the basis for a lot of trickier moves.
• Pump: When instead of holding down the Fly button, you "pump" it in a steady rhythm.
  • Generally recommended since it makes your scarf last longer, which is especially helpful with Tandem Flying (described in extras). But there are times when continuously holding Fly is preferred, like when you're getting continuous charge.
• Smooth turning with the keyboard: You may only have four direction keys, you poor keyboard user, but you have 8 possible directions with them by comboing adjacent keys together to create diagonals.
  • To turn smoothly, go through the keys and combos in consecutive order (ie turning around clockwise with WASD keys: W - WD - D - DS - S). Normally not something that needs your attention, it's usually pretty intuitive and turning with the camera is preferred anyway most of the time, except for very specific tricks.

Or, how to meditate in unlikely places.

How it works:

• It takes advantage of screensaver mode, which puts you into a meditation pose. You'll see the screensaver if you wait long enough without moving, but you can also call it up instantly. If you call it up yourself and jump right before the screensaver takes over, you can meditate very creatively.

How to do it:

1. Press "P" to enter screensaver mode.
   
2. Right as the screen fades to black, press the "Fly" button.
   
3. Then press P again to exit screensaver mode and see the glory of your meditative state.

Tips:

• It all comes down to timing your "Fly" for the right moment, so it might take a few tries to get it.

Or, how to give the ground a full-body hug. Or make others think there's a dead body. Or let other white robes know you've got some skill. To show how overcome you are that you've met someone. The possibilities for self-expression are endless!

How it works:

• You make your Wayfarer stumble so much that they fall.

How to do it:

1. Walk forward, and don't let go of that Forward key.
   
2. Spin your camera fast.
   
3. Profit

Tips:

• There's other ways of faceplanting, but the version I'm covering only works if you have control over the camera, so you can't do it this way when the game has a fixed camera angle.
  
• You can trip over your own scarf if it's in the way; somehow this makes you less likely to fall on your face.
  
• If you can't get your camera to turn fast enough, try turning up the sensitivity on your mouse.

Or, the fancy way to travel. Go farther, faster, and higher. We're getting into the complicated stuff now.

How it works:

• Diving increases your momentum, especially if you are actively flying. If you gain enough speed in a short time, at the end of the dive your momentum lifts you without even having to flap your wings. With a successful boost you regain the height you lost during the dive and then some.

How to do it:

1. Get to a high point. If it's not quite high enough but you've got enough scarf, you can lift yourself higher with one or two flaps before the next step.
   
2. Angle your camera down and keep it there.
   
3. Press and hold your Forward key.
   
4. With the combo of camera down and moving forward, you should now be diving headfirst, and you'll soon hear the whooshing sound if you're doing it right.
   
5. Press the "Fly" button to flap your wings. Don't hold it down, pump it in a steady rhythm, about one pump per second.
   
6. Pump about three times. You can get away with two if you're already moving fast, and you can pump more for as long as you have scarf.
   
7. Now stop pumping and raise your camera to the sky. If successful, you'll boost into the air.

Tips:

• The longer the scarf, the more you can build your momentum for a good boost.
  
• Getting too close to the ground will interfere with your camera, lifting it. Companions and certain terrain will also interfere with the camera. Practice from a good height so you get less interference.
  
• The rhythm you use to pump Fly, how many times you pump it, and the angle you're at will create variations in the speed and boost. You'll get a better feel for the variations as you go.

Or, speeding along the ground like you're still in the air. And then returning to the air at the end of it anyway because nothing can hold you down for long.

How it works:

• With the right dive position and camera angle, you can trick the game into thinking you're still capable of flight even though you're scraping along the floor. This will let you build a lot of speed. If you're a white robe - and this move is a white robe favorite - you'll recharge as you touch the ground, which will keep you speeding for as long as you can maintain contact. Then turn towards the sky and watch yourself soar upwards through your own momentum.

How to do it:

1. Get to a moderately high point. It doesn't need to be too high, only enough that you can get into a dive position with the right camera angle. If you need to you can lift yourself higher with one or two flaps before the next step.
   
2. Angle the camera down.
   
3. Press and hold your Forward key as you drop off the high point.
   
4. With the combo of camera down and moving forward, you should now be diving headfirst. Head towards that ground!
   
5. Immediately on contact with the ground, hold down the Fly button. Don't pump it, hold it.
   
6. Count the flaps of your robe to keep track of your time. You should flap at least two or three times.
   
7. Then turn to the sky in one of two ways:
   
   • Turn your camera towards the sky and then stop flying.
     
   • OR, keep your camera completely still and stop flying and then use the direction keys to turn towards the camera.
     Note the difference in order - if you use your camera to boost, you'll boost better with a bit of flying to get you moving in the right direction. If you use your direction keys to boost, you'll need to stop flying first so your flying doesn't move you too much in the wrong direction.
8. If successful, you'll lift into the sky higher than you started.

Tips:

• Your timing as you hit the ground and start flying has to be just right. Too soon or too late and you won't be able to maintain contact and keep up your speed/charge.
  
  • If you're having trouble with it, deliberately try to be too soon and then too late so you can get a better feel for how far off you are. Then gradually correct back to the right timing.
• The longer you can maintain contact with the ground while flying, the more you can build momentum and boost higher.
  
  • At first, maintain contact with the ground for just three flaps. You can try staying in contact longer after you experience successful boosts.
• You'll maintain the momentum you had before contact with the ground. If you just started but your camera is getting out of control or you start lifting off and you need to abort, go ahead and abort and your previous momentum might at least bring you back to the height you started with.
  
• You'll maintain the momentum you had before contact with the ground. So if you dive towards the ground with extra flying as if you were dive boosting, and then dropshoot successfully, you'll add more height to the final boost.
  
• Wiggling the camera back and forth - or just turning it in a circle - will help keep the camera angled down.
  
• If using the direction keys to start your boost, you'll need a smooth turn as described in the basics section.
  
• This is a favorite for traversing the pink desert but I found it easier to practice on a flat surface. Start out with whatever feels easiest so you can grasp the mechanics before upping the challenge.

Or, using weird glitches at very specific places to boost yourself to ludicrous heights.

How it works:

• There are walls at very specific points that will let you continuously dive at them. If you're in just the right spot to hug the corner where the wall meets the ground, you can keep diving AND get charge for your scarf if you're a white robe. If you do this for long enough, you'll build an incredible amount of momentum, which you can then turn around and use to reach never-before-seen heights.

approaching a charge boost point in the pink desert

exiting a charge boost point (the video didn't capture the keystrokes correctly, don't trust it)

How to do it:

1. Identify a charge boost point. My video only demonstrates one, because it has a runway and that was the easiest for me to practice on. You can find more on the Journey wiki.
   
2. Dive at the corner where the wall and ground meet. You'll need to hold down your Forward key and keep your camera angled down, and keep it that way similar to the previous moves.
   
3. Hold down Fly as soon as you reach the corner.
   
4. You'll know you're successful if you don't get pushed away from the wall and you see your scarf flickering as it continuously charges, allowing you to keep flapping forever.
   
5. Maintain the downwards camera angle, forward key, and flying for as much as 25 to 30 seconds. Your Wayfarer will flap about once per second to help you keep count.
   
6. Then keeping the camera angled down and still, let go of fly and use the direction keys to smoothly turn towards the camera.
   
7. If successful, you will hit the sky with your boost. You've reached the pinnacle now.

Tips:

• Works best as a white robe, red robes can dive but they'll need something to help them recharge their scarf.
  
• You don't need to approach the charge boost point in any particular way, you just need to dive at it correctly when you get there.
  
• The journey wiki says you don't get further boost if you stay longer than 25 to 30 seconds at the charge boost point. I'm gonna take their word on that.
  
• You're using the direction keys on this one, so, you'll need a smooth turn as described in the basics.
  
• Camera angle is important here again. Wiggling it back and forth might help keep it angled down.
  
• Don't hold down the fly button until after you've made contact with the charge boost point.

And lastly

Extra stuff you can try out

• Midair flyer charge: If you're flying and chirp as you move towards flyers (those bits of cloth that gather in packs and will recharge your scarf when you Chirp at them), you can get recharged and stay in the air longer. The timing can be tricky, but it's a fun way to try flying forever!
  
• Tandem Flying: When you and a companion chirp to recharge each others' scarves as you fly, so you can stay in the air.
  
• Tandem Coasting/Hovering: You and your companion can recharge each others' scarves simply by being close to each other. If you're enough in sync in the air, this lets you glide or hover without chirping. So they say, I can't explain well what I've never done.
  
• Boost combos: You can combine the dive boost, midair flyer charge, charge boost, dropshoot, etc, any number of ways. It depends on the terrain and what you're comfortable with.

A word on etiquette:

• As other guides say, be a good companion. If you're playing for the company and they're not fancy flyers themselves, stay with them and let them experience the game at their own pace. You can disconnect if you leave people too far behind, or prevent them from exploring if they're always rushing to catch up with you.