Active Matter Controls
Known PC defaults, radial menus, map pings, and controller notes — plus what to verify in Options.
Active Matter is a keyboard-and-mouse extraction FPS first. Patches reset binds more often than most shooters, and several menus merged into a single Options tab. After any big update, open Options and confirm the rows below before you take plates into Open. This page lists known defaults from the live PC build. If a row says “check in Options,” the bind exists and the default is not something this wiki will invent.
If you have not played a raid yet, pair this with the beginner guide. If you keep dying because you cannot heal or throw the right grenade, stay here.
Movement, guns, and world
| Action | Known default |
|---|---|
| Move | WASD |
| Jump | Space |
| Sprint | Shift |
| Crouch | Ctrl |
| Prone | Z |
| Walk / sneak toggle | Caps Lock |
| Lean left / right | Q / E |
| Fire | Left mouse |
| ADS | Right mouse, quick-press (tap vs hold is a setting) |
| Reload / check mag | R tap / R hold |
| Fire-mode change | H |
| Weapon slots | 1–4 |
| Cycle weapons | Mouse wheel |
| Melee | Mouse-wheel click |
| Operator flashlight | V |
| Throw rock / bolt (pop gravity traps) | X |
| Zeroing | Page Up / Page Down |
| Interact / use | check in Options (on-screen prompts) |
ADS is the one people fight the settings over. Default is a quick-press on right-click: tap to raise, tap to lower, rather than a pure hold-to-ADS. If that feels wrong, change it in Options instead of fighting the gun. Weapon laser sights need their own toggle bound under Weapon options — the beam is visible once that bind exists. Gun-mounted lights are a separate row from the operator flashlight; many players report L as the gun light. Confirm it in Options so you do not collide with menu binds.
Radial menus, map, inventory
These are the binds that actually change raid survival.
| Action | Known default |
|---|---|
| Heal radial (body-part select) | Hold T |
| Grenade radial | Hold G |
| Quick chat (nearby + squad) | Hold Y |
| Quick-action menu | Hold K |
| Map | M |
| Inventory / Shelter | Tab |
| Full tooltips / cursor | Hold Alt |
| Stash dump from a stack | Alt + left click |
| Move onto body | Shift + left click |
| Chat | Enter |
| Menu | Esc |
Hold T, do not tap T, if you need a specific limb. Tapping T spends the quick-slot meds (the 6/7 pouch pockets) on whatever the game thinks is worst. Hold G to pick F-1 versus smoke versus Molotov instead of yeeting the first grenade in the pouch. Hold Y for the radial voice lines; nearby operatives can hear them, and they copy into squad chat. That is useful on Isolated and suicidal in Open if you are hiding.
The map (M) is how you ping extracts, beacons, and custom markers. Hold it when you need the full map, tap if your build treats tap as compass-focus — check in Options if tap and hold disagree after a patch. Markers sit above extract icons when they work. Ping before you revive; ping before you send a Robot Dog; ping before you assume a squadmate saw the shrinking Unstable Zone.
Inventory is Tarkov-adjacent without being a clone. Pouches hold typed pockets. Body Sleeves add more. Alt shows the long tooltip so you can see Chronotrace types, volume, and whether an item is enriched. Alt-click is the stash vacuum. Shift-click is the “put this on me” vacuum. If you only drag, you will misclick a plate onto a backpack cell and deploy without armor. Tab in the Shelter and Tab in raid are the same family of screens.
Journal, emotes, and Nexus loadout select have rows in Options. Defaults have moved between tests. Do not memorize a YouTube overlay from 2025; open the list.
Controller, settings, and raid hygiene
Controller is playable and still being improved. Expect working move, look, fire, and menus with worse radial precision than mouse. If you queue on a pad, rebind the heal radial and grenade radial to holds you can reach, and do not take Open seriously until those two are muscle memory. There is no complete official pad table that this wiki will fake.
Settings live under Options. Control sub-tabs have been merged; old “on foot” versus “weapon” splits still exist as groups inside that tab. Big patches have reset binds on purpose — Fire Walk said so in the notes. After 250 Shades of Liberty or any controls note in the updates hub, spend two minutes in Options before you spend twenty minutes in a raid.
Raid hygiene that is not a key: flashlight audio is audible to other players, so V is a tell. Sprinting cancels heal. Shooting cancels long actions. Radial menus have, in past bugs, fired a shot — keep the gun off a teammate’s back while you hold T. Map pings do not replace voice. Quick chat does not replace a ping on the extract you actually want.
Learn the radials, the map, and Alt tooltips, then go back to Isolated. How to extract is the loop those keys serve. How to beat anomalies is why you need the rock bind. Nexus battles is where you can miss a grenade radial without losing a Replicator rifle. If the binds still feel like the problem, the Active Matter review is honest about inventory friction too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
What is the default heal key?
Hold T for the body-part radial. A short tap spends quick-slot meds from the pouch pockets. If T does nothing, the bind reset — fix it in Options before you queue.
How do I see full item tooltips?
Hold Alt. Alt plus left click dumps a stack toward stash in the Shelter. Shift plus left click moves items onto the body. Use both or you will deploy with a backpack full of plates and an empty plate slot.
Is controller fully supported?
It is playable and still being improved. Movement and shooting work; radials and inventory are worse than mouse. Rebind heal and grenade holds. Do not expect a complete pad table here.
How do I ping the map?
Open the map with M and place custom markers. They draw above extract icons when the UI is behaving. Confirm tap versus hold in Options after patches.
Where do I rebind keys after an update?
Options. Control groups were merged into that tab, and major patches have reset binds. Check flashlight, radials, and ADS before you take a kit you cannot reprint.