1. Exit Steam (minimizing Steam doesn't count).
2. Right-click on Steam and select "Run as Administrator".
3. Turn on Steam Input for Closers.
4. Map the keys '9', '0' and 'Shift' onto your controller.
5. Remember to run Steam as an administrator each time you plan to play Closers.

Are you a player like me, who prefers playing with a controller? Maybe you've tried mapping the keyboard exclusive hotkeys using Steam Input and it didn't work? This is the guide for you.

In battle, the controller UI is missing out on 3 useful hotkeys: "9", "0", and "Shift". While you can set them up on the Keyboard UI and switch back to the Controller UI. You'll be stuck reaching for the keyboard trying to use these.

At the time of writing this guide, there still isn't a way to map these hotkeys to a controller in-game.

Keyboard UI
Controller UI

The keyboard UI has 25 slots white the controller UI has 23 slots, two more hotkeys than the controller. And the controller doesn't have a "Shift" button to change between Slot A and Slot B.

The hotkeys '9' and '0' were added later, a some years into the game, to the keyboard, when each character got a 5th job enhancement and new skills.
Then Slot B, which used to be a paid feature, became unlockable using in-game credits.

You might have Steam as a startup program on your computer. So if you were to try running Steam as an administrator now, it wouldn't make a difference as its already running. You also might have Steam set to minimize on clicking the 'X' in top-right. So if you want to close Steam, go to the System Tray in the bottom-right and find the Steam icon, right-click it and choose "Exit Steam". If you're on Windows 11, you can also right-click Steam on your Taskbar, right-click and choose "Exit Steam".

Once Steam is closed, right-click on Steam and choose "Run as administrator". You'll see the User Account Control window pop-up. As a Closers player, you've seen this before. Click on "Yes" to allow it.

Now Steam with elevated permissions, can map keyboard and mouse events to a controller using Steam Input. By the way, Steam Input isn't the only controller mapping software that has problems with mapping keyboard/mouse to a controller. It happens usually if a game has anti-cheat or requires User Account Control permissions.

You'll want to remember to run Steam as an administrator each time to use Steam Input with keyboard inputs mapped on Closers.

One way to begin configuring your controller using Steam Input is to find Closers in your library and click on the controller button marked with red.

If Steam Input isn't enabled, go ahead and enable it. Then click on "Edit Layout".

Now, feel free to edit your controller to how you would like. One suggestion I have is to change the right stick from "Joystick" to "Directional Pad", allowing you to map 4 additional inputs.

By default, the only thing you can do with the right stick in Closers is to press on it to use the Cancel skill. So let's make use of it. You can see an example below.

You might accidentally move the right stick when trying to click on it, so consider putting "Right Stick Click" on one of the right stick's directions. Alternatively, consider mapping the directional pad instead, if you don't use both the left stick and directional pad for movement.