Using a keyboard and mouse through the Cronus Zen: what's supported

#What does the Zen do with a mouse?

A console game built for controllers expects two sticks and a set of buttons. The Zen's translator reads raw mouse movement and converts it into right-stick deflection, reads keys and converts them into button presses, and reads WASD into left-stick direction. The console sees a controller. That is emulation mode.

Some games on some platforms accept a keyboard and mouse directly. For those, the Zen can pass the devices through as themselves. That is native mode, and it is only useful where the game already supports it.

The official guide is careful about expectations: mouse-to-stick translation can never feel exactly like a PC, because a stick has a maximum deflection and a game applies its own acceleration on top. The Zen's Aim Settings exist to reduce that gap.

#What do I need?

• Cronus Zen with current firmware.
• A wired USB mouse and keyboard. Check the official supported lists; devices with built-in hubs, some wireless receivers and heavy RGB lighting can cause power or detection problems.
• On Xbox: an official Xbox controller in A1 for authentication.
• A powered USB hub is strongly recommended. A gaming mouse and keyboard plus a controller can exceed what a console port supplies.

#How do I connect the devices?

1. Program a slot first. A Remapper profile, GamePack or plain script all work; M&K profiles apply on top.
2. Connect the Zen's top port to the console.
3. On Xbox, put the authenticating controller in A1.
4. Plug the mouse into A3 and the keyboard into A2 (the front ports are interchangeable for non-authenticating devices).
5. The OLED shows the detected mouse and keyboard.
6. Open Zen Studio Live via PROG to configure the profile, then unplug PROG to play.

#How is the Mouse & Keyboard panel laid out?

The Live panel has two working areas, Mapping and Aim Settings, plus profile controls.

#Profiles

Six profiles: HIP, ADS, AUX 1 to AUX 4. HIP applies normally, ADS applies while your aim key or button is held, and the AUX profiles are additional maps you switch to with an assigned key. Profiles save as .zmk files, and there is an In-Game Settings notes field so you can record the sensitivity and deadzone you set in the game.

#Mapping tabs

• Primary and Secondary: rows of controller buttons, each with the assigned key or mouse button and a clear button.
• Movement: the left stick. Defaults are W, S, A, D plus a walk key (G by default) with a Walk Scale slider that sets how slowly you move while it is held. Analog Sim converts the on/off WASD input into a gradual, stick-like ramp.
• Controller: remaps left stick, right stick and triggers, each with its own deadzone slider.

#Aim Settings

Sensitivity, acceleration and curve controls for the mouse-to-stick translation, applied per profile so hip-fire and aiming can differ. The Legacy M&K Settings panel offers the same idea with a visual curve editor and XIM curve import.

#How should I tune it?

1. Set the game first. Maximum in-game sensitivity, zero in-game deadzone if the game allows, and disable any aim acceleration the game offers. Note these in the profile's In-Game Settings field.
2. Start with the default curve and adjust only sensitivity until small movements feel responsive without twitching.
3. Add a small Zen deadzone only if the reticle drifts when the mouse is still.
4. Tune ADS separately with a lower sensitivity than HIP.
5. Change one value per session. Mouse feel is subjective and easy to chase in circles.

#What are the limits?

• Turn speed caps. A stick at full deflection is the fastest the game will turn. Fast flicks with a mouse hit that ceiling.
• Acceleration mismatch. Games apply their own stick acceleration, which feels like mouse acceleration you cannot turn off.
• Aim assist. Because the game believes a controller is present, it may apply aim assist to mouse input. This is the specific behaviour that several publishers prohibit.
• Authentication. Xbox needs a real controller in A1 regardless.

#Is this allowed?

Using a mouse and keyboard through an adapter to receive controller aim assist is what Activision's RICOCHET policy targets by name, alongside the XIM Matrix, and Epic's Fortnite rules treat the Zen as restricted hardware. Games that officially support keyboard and mouse on console (native mode) are a different matter. Read Is the Cronus Zen allowed? before using this online, and see XIM Matrix vs Zen for mouse users for how the two devices compare.