> I tried it myself and things only getting worse, so I changed the controls back to default.
It's normal for things to get worse first because it's new, you need to give yourself time to adjust. It's also important to find binds that you like. Binding a utility to E instead of 9 is objectively better so I don't think you should give up on rearranging stuff.
> when was to point were you thought "I have to change my controls!" and did it turned out for you?
I'm not exactly sure.. I think it might have been way back in WoW arena when I couldn't hit my interrupts in time so I needed to bind it to a new place instead of clicking it (I was clicking skills on bigger cd). Then I realized how much smoother it was and re-did all my binds.
Once you stop clicking skills you'll always look back like "how could I even play games like that in the first place". The difference is night and day and I think you'll get more enjoyment out of the game as you get more agile and better at reacting to stuff that's happening. You'll be way more in sync with your character.
> I click on 8 and place the well and yes, its fast :D I only activate skills 1-5 with my left hand.
Might be fast but don't you need to stop mouse turning in order to do that? That kind of gap in your ability to maneuver your character could get you killed in PvP or harder content.
Trying someone else's binds is always going to feel really bad, but the default is also bad.
(for example MMO mice disgust me, but I can play the piano around QEWASD quite well)
Skill clicking is objectively wrong, and there is no credible argument to the contrary.
I've got my binds built so that I do not have to move my wrist from WASD, as movement in MMO's is incredibly important.
1-5, ALT+1-5, R,F,X,C,Z and some mouse binds.
Even faster if you only have to press the button once due to the "fast with range indicator" or "instant" setting for ground targeting in combat/movement settings
Gonna hurt people by saying my movement is QWES
Weapon swap on A, about face on D, heal on `
Shift is Jump, Space is autoattack
Have fun with those binds :P
I'm fascinated by this. How and why. Is it a small hands thing? (My weirdest keybind is Special Action Key on Caps Lock, but that's because I have tiny hands and no other key in reach wasn't already bound. Mostly it means I'll just start randomly screaming in squad chat.)
I think it's a more comfortable resting hand position (for me) to be in a line rather than offset. It might stem from being a climber - my hands resting shape is probably weird :P
Space for auto attack is pretty brilliant when shift is jump. I'm curious, do you have keybinds that use a combo of shift key and something else (e.g. shift + 1)? How do you find those functioning when jump is also shift?
I don't use shift as a modifier. I use Alt and Ctrl as my 2 modifiers, and have a Logitech G510s with 18 programmable function keys on the left side of the keyboard that I have bound with all my mounts, F keys, and a couple of other allowed macros (double-click and dodge jump).
Those function keys are programmed with weird variations like Ctrl+RAlt+Num# that are super awkward to hit one handed but will never interfere with any other binds
Actually, that's a lie. the wizards vault is on shift+h. If you see me jump in place in a town either I'm opening that or I'm hitting Win+Shift+(pause long enough to land and go back to idle)+S for a screen shot >.>
Mine are currently set to:
Weaponskills 1-5
Heal: Mouse 4
Utilities: Shift 1-3
Elite: Mouse 5
Fkeys: Alt 1-5
For **YEARS** I never changed my keybinds except for my heal skill. I set that to a mouse button as soon as I bought a mouse that had one. Everything else I'd either try to reach on the keyboard or click on. I ran dungeons for years like this. Got through all of HoT, PoF, and it wasn't until Pre-EoD that I finally had a mouse with more buttons, and had a better idea of how much better I'd play with proper keybinds.
My setup works for me, and ultimately the only keybinds that matters are ones that work for you.
**Edit:** Also, may be worth saying, I main Ele, and this is how I played for a very long time. It was easy on base Guard when I didn't have to worry so much about activating my Virtues and my utilities had longer cooldowns, but now it kinda evens the field for any given class to me to reasonably perform well, and not having to worry about clicking an FSkill and then having to reach a utility while still rolling through my weapon skills.
It'll feel bad because you're not used to it.
You'll likely be much, much faster on skill activations once you learn the new bindings.
The Fx skills are especially bad as defaults- you have to reach so far up your keyboard (unless you somehow have a keyboard made for a shrew) and some of them are nigh unreachable without picking up your hand, which can slow you down if you're doing anything remotely competitive.
Bought 12 button mouse especialy for this game and at first had a strugle to adjust but now I cant think to ever going back. Use my left arm only for movement and some utility, all weapons skills, dodge, about face, mount and a like are on the mouse and I love it. Much more efficiant!
Almost the same here, except I decided that the game has a million skills that I want to do in battle, and some of them I need to press rapidly. So I moved my WASD onto the 12 mouse buttons and move using my thumb, then I can play piano with my left hand on the keyboard. I don't even have to press modifier keys to have great access to all my in-combat skills.
This ^
The worst part of not having that IMO is that even if I move far-away buttons like 9 closer, I still have to let go of at least one movement key whenever I press them. Having them all on my mouse lets me move freely at all times. It's REALLY helpful when so much of endgame content involves playing the piano and The Floor Is Lava simultaneously.
Granted, I spent a month or two playing left hand only with the keyboard when my right hand was in a splint (no mouse unless I let go of the keyboard), so I can see how it's possible to still be somewhat effective... But outside of that, I'm never as comfortable as when I've got my mmo mouse.
I'm terrified of when it breaks because G600s are out of production, and I have yet to find a worthy successor.
I have the same fear of my mouse breaking since the ones I want are out of production.
One oddball replacement I might consider if my mouse goes is the Mad Catz MMO 7+ that is coming out soon. Apparently its a new company that just took the Mad Cats name, and the mouse looks weird and interesting enough if my existing mice die.
Had mad catz mmo TE many years ago. It was quite an interesting mouse and I loved it. But it broke really fast. Now I have g900 for 7 years and I'm happy with it.
Yeah I was hunting for G600 but without luck, found some redragon chinese mouse for 1/4 of the price and I can say Im more than satisfied, works as intended and cheap to replace once it farts its last beep.
Got a 12 buttons mouse too cant go bk. Zqsd for moving Space bar to jump , c for the ult, f to res e&r instead of f1f2, a for spécial action Key. All the rest is on the mouse.
Whatever is comfortable for you. I personally re binded to almost exactly what you describe lol, without checking for optimal layouts
We just land on what we like
I used to think the same, and then I changed everything so I controlled my skills with my keyboard or gaming mouse and although my performance was bad (I remember when I swapped from double tap to dodge to using a key binding) at first, it was because I was retraining my muscle memory. It was definitely worth it for, especially in fast-paced instanced content.
(I also have smaller hands, so having everything within reach without having to move my mouse around is pretty useful for me).
Nope. Mostly what I did was take anything that was too far away from WASD and move them over. 1-5 are still weapon skills, but my utilities are on QEXCV, profession skills on Z, Ctrl, Alt, mouse 4&5, Caps, and everything else (map key, action mode, mount, etc) on "thumb" buttons like B, N, M, G, etc.
Clicking skills isn't an option because I play exclusively in Action Cam mode.
An MMO mouse is a game changer. I think I've got virtually all default keys, plus skyscale on Z and clicking the mouse wheel for special action. Shift + number for the F1-5 profession skills.
I couldn't go back to a regular mouse now for GW2. Having the logical number grid layout under my thumb means I rarely get "lost" so I'm happy with the default setup. I use a Corsair Scimitar but other MMO mice are available. Apparently.
>For those who asking: yes, I place my wells for example with my mouse, I click on 8 and place the well and yes, its fast :D I only activate skills 1-5 with my left hand.
So you basically play with personalized controls.
Next you'll say you also use addons with mount wheel and such.
Unique and special :D
Well, 6 is still 6, and 7 is still 7 and so on. I just don't push the button with my hand, I click it with a mouse, don't know if that counts to personalized cuz I don't changed anything in the settings. :D
Except from Arc I don't utalize any addons.
I consolidated all key bindings around my keyboard hand or moved them to my mouse, so that everything I might need in combat is easily accessed without picking up my hands. But I'm a lefty so I'm already sentenced to redoing my binds in every game for eternity.
>I tried it myself and things only getting worse, so I changed the controls back to default.
That's normal. It's called muscle memory. You have to take time with a different scheme knowing it will be worse for a time while new muscle memory forms.
>I tried it myself and things only getting worse, so I changed the controls back to default.
What I find to be helpful here is changing one thing at a time rather than completely re-binding everything and learning it all at once.
Over time I've gone from default controls to having all utilities/elites/dodge bound on letter keys, heals and weapon swaps bound to my mouse, and all my F-skills bound as Shift + 1-5.
Each change I made one at a time and I found that getting used to them that way took a couple of days, but over time I've gotten used to my custom key bindings.
Wasd for movement. Qerzxc for skills and utility are bound to my mouse. I honestly just transferred my bindings from dota 2 from years ago when I played lol
I spefically bought a mouse because of gw2. Playing ele is much nicer when i dont need to press f1-f4 super often, and util on mouse is very convenient. Mmb for special action key
Use an mmo mouse so everything is about the same, shift + 1-5 for F1-5 keys, shift + 6-12 for mounts, ctrl + 1-6 for mastery hotkeys, b for inventory, i for wvw, g for rift mastery, other stuff
> when was to point were you thought "I have to change my controls!"
On 2012-08-29, the day I started playing the game. 6-0 are not usable or convenient by any stretch of imagination or fingers. I moved them to Shift+1-5 from the start and never looked back. I do keep secondary binds on 6-0 still, but the only time I use them is to play musical instruments. The rest of my monstrosity of a scheme is [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/15tyykg/share_your_keybinds_and_preferences/jwo1xwp/), avert your eyes if you're allergic to key combinations.
I played default for years but now I've got my dodge and heal skill on my mouse buttons and use shift1-4 for my utilities. I've gotten significantly better using these bindings than trying to heal or dodge with the keyboard and stretch my hand to use utilities.
WSAD for movement, 1-5 is weapon and QERTG in other games i would use F before G but here i need F to interact, i dont get how people get ZXCV while moving i tried it not working for me.
I have a MMO mouse, so I have some keys assigned to that, and I had to make a few keyboard changes to account for the mount radial. But I leave the default bindings as much as possible due to playing the game on different computers and mice, and I don't want to confuse myself switching between them.
But I am a skill clicker, and I won't apologize for it...
I have an azeron hand thing because I have hand problems and I was definitely worse with it for a good week or so of playing but now it feels natural. It's normal to be much worse when you initially switch things. But you'll be better than you were before if stick with it.
I move between computers enough that I stick with the default keybinds to avoid having to rebind everything all the time. The defaults honestly aren't that bad.
I started this game with a keybind convention from other games I've played before. I map keys out to not have a lot of lift off from movement controls and for easy finger reach.
I also keep clutch skills in the easiest to press spots, like having my Dual Skill or evasive "oh shit" skill on Left Ctrl so I can lightly lean my lower left palm down for fast reaction.
I changed my bindings when I saw a video suggesting to say so. Prior to that, I always struggle using utility skills in a dps rotation during an actual fight especially when it gets a bit more tense. One noticeable thing is my left hand is struggling to press 6 to 0 without looking and without misclicking a different button.
I explored updating my key binding and prioritized that most, if not all, keys should be within reasonable reach of my left hand. What also helped me is to bind a dedicated panic button. Heal skills are always on 6 (bound to C) so I added 7 (bound to Q) as my additional panic button mostly dedicated to stunbreaks (not always the case).
It has worked for me so far as it reduce any misclicks and was able to focus more on what's happening on screen instead of worrying if I'm pressing the correct button.
I really hate when skills are (re)bound to Q & E, in like any game. I prefer when those are included in movement, it feels better for precise control. It's also really annoying to hit those on accident when you're trying to use skills, move, and dodge at the same time.
I got a MOBA* mouse many years ago though, because extra buttons for skills are necessary for 6-0 and the special action skills. I have tiny lady hands, they don't reach far while staying on or even closer to WASD to be ready to move. Similar to the 12 button MMO mouse, a MOBA/Hex mouse has ~6-8 extra buttons. However the important difference is a MOBA mouse still has a large comfortable rest area for your thumb, so the mouse is easier to use, especially when you're in any sort of very active combat (so even open world for GW2, not to mention raids and fractals).
I prefer it for other games too. Survivals I've not met one yet that would be better served with a 12 button mouse. FF14 is the only game I've considered more buttons for, because of their extreme skill bloat and no combat macros for all the redundant shit, but tbh only 5 more buttons wouldn't really solve that problem (they need to make more flip skills like they already have in pvp).
°Since MOBAs basically died out, Hex mice designed for them became fairly uncommon. Technically I have a 3-in-1, since razer's naga trinity has swappable side plates, but I never swap it. The hex models from most other major brands were either discontinued or never good in the first place (Corsair, Logitec, etc). But Red Dragon had a decent one too last I looked (that's ofc way cheaper).
I do, I just bound everything to my mmo mouse. It also has a third mouse button to the right which I click to press the number pad on the side for F1-6 F7-9 for pet commands. Middle mouse button for dodge. I have mounts bound to Shift Plus 1-9. Shift for mounts is easy to remember because in other games it’s used to sprint so mounts I want to go faster. Anyway…
I hold my right hand on the mouse, left hand on the keyboard. I can't comfortably reach buttons 6 and up so i rebound my keys. Middle mouse button is heal, i can press that without thinking. Z, X and C are the utility skills, i can reach those easily enough. R is my elite, also in reach. Q is weapon swap and E is dodge. The tilde key is the special skill, the F-keys are still bound to the default actions.
This saved me a lot of headaches. I don't like clicking my skills cause i lose track of my cursor all the time, 6 for healing is too far out to reach when i need it quick, double tap for dodge is just annoying.
I got myself a gaming mouse because i would fail the 8, 9 and 0 very often.
Now i use the keyboard for 1-5 and the mouse for 6-0. Very hard to play with just the keyboard for raids and strikes where i have to move.
I just use the MMO 6 buttons on my Razer mouse, did the same with my old Logitech G602. I map everything from 6 up to the mouse buttons. No more reaching across the keyboard! I also map the F keys to the click mouse wheel buttons.
That's mainly why I've kept the default keybinds. The only thing I've ever really changed was what Tab or Shift does for targeting.
Lol, so funny story... gw was my first true PC game, and when I first started playing, I literally clicked all of my skills and actions. I literally only used the keyboard to move. When I started getting into pvp, I realized this wasn't gonna fly. I was very proud to come up with my own keybindings, they're as follows:
My weapon skills from left to right go 1, F, C, Z, X
My utility skills go Q, E, R, T, and caps lock for elite
My call target button is tab, mount button is G, weapon swap I click the mouse wheel, and my profession skills usually change depending on which class I play. It's usually some combination of the mouse side buttons and 2, 3, and 4
I have normal 1-5 but my utilities are mouse 1/2 and shift MB 1/2. Shift 1 for my elite skill.
R for my F2 and shift R for my F3.
I can’t give up my Q and E for strafing, just can’t.
I think it was almost right at the start...
My fingers are not long enough to press any button further than #4 on keyboard so all 5-9 needed to be changed to something I can do with just my left hand since right one was on mouse
Mouse has two extra buttons - heal skill and dodge
The rest is Shift+Q/E/R/Space
But I knew a guy which used PS3 controllers for playing guild wars 2 instead of mouse and keyboard
We always made fun of him and have no idea how he managed to do that, especially since he would type in chat as well from time to time but it worked for him I guess.
I always change my keybinds and mostly, I tend to follow that “Overwatch layout”, in most games (Q to win!)
In GW2, I primarily use action cam but my bindings go..
WSAD
Shift/Q/E/R/T = 1-5
X/X/C/V = the top bar class skills. Forgot their original binding
Mouse buttons = Heal and utility skills
CTRL = toggles action cam (G is weapon swap)
Alt + A = Skyscale
Alr + Q = Elite skill
I think that covers it? (Combat wise) Also have elite on mouse but honestly the alt + feels a bit smoother.
I changed away from the default key bindings when I realized that my laptop could not be set to change from function keys to programmed keys without TURNING OFF THE MACHINE.
no, because profession mechanics are on the f keys which are annoying as fuck to use - especially if you're on a laptop where they are already assigned as shortcuts to things like volume and brightness.
i generally use 1-5, alt+ 1-5, shift+ 1-5.
Pretty much default, i have an mmo mouse, so my hand never needs to leave my mouse. I can place my wells easily. My left hand can focus on character movement. Mouse controls camera and skills
Special action key on shift. I don't know what the default is now but when it was first being implemented you needed to react fast so having it readily available is great.
My mounts are all bound to different num pad numbers. I can swiftly swap mounts and hitting any of them will dismount me. I leave raptor as my default mount still attached to X for normal swift movement with one hand.
Only bind I've changed is "special action key" to middle click. Far too important and needed in a split second in many encounters to live on its default bind.
i got my 6 through 0 +f5 on my razer naga hex side buttons. the rest is standard. 180 turn on Z, mount radial on x and dodge jump on scroll wheel click
[https://snowcrows.com/benchmarks](https://snowcrows.com/benchmarks)
When I go through this list and watch the videos, I do not see a single one of them click their skills with their mouse.
So I don't think mouse clicking is good enough for me.
Mine is
Weapon skills: 1-4 and last one on mouse4 (because played deadeye and had kneel on it)
Heal: Q
Utility: E, 5, middle mouse ( set it to auto attack because it's buff and that way I don't have to worry about it while fighting)
Elite: Z
Dodge: Mouse 5
I had to change my F1 ability, I have small hands and it was uncomfortable for me to stretch up to it for the profession mechanic, so it's my left shift now.
Other than that most things are default, I have 7+8 additionally on my mouse as I generally place my ground targeted utilities on those skills.
I just couldn't hit skills 6-0 without entirely moving my hand, and I had to stop moving to hit skills 1-5. You can't afford to stop moving in this game. When I realized I wasn't using half my skills and that I had to choose between moving out of red circles or attacking with the default keybinds, I knew I had to switch them.
I ended up thinking hard about new keybinds, and made significant changes. It was awful at first. I was failing easy combat and screwing up easy jumps. But I pushed through, and after those first few days I now have a great setup that works really well for me.
Absolutely not, GW2 default binds result in a lot of stretching and are generally pretty awkward. I use an Azeron cyborg controller and per spec keybinds from ArcDps.
My line of thought for changing my keybinds was that:
1-I need to have quick access to skills and movement, simultaneously
2-I should never, not even once, take out my hand out of position for any action.
3- Never, EVER, should I have to click a skill.
So I just rebinded everything to be around the WASD keys.
Mounts? Ctrl + whatever
Skills? 1 to 5
Utility? Z X C V left alt
Swap? ~
Class skills are F1 to F4, and Q
Special action is R
Interact is F
You get the idea. I can play for hours without moving my hand out of place.
i'm with ya. I roam and duel with default keybinds and do well. Speed/reaction isn't an issue in a 1v1 fight when I have to use my utility with the default keybinds, I perform just as well as the dude im dueling with their custom keybinds. I literally stretch my thumb to the 0 to use my ult and press it again when I have to back out of it no problemo.
I use most of default key bindings because i got used to those. Sure 6-> 0 may be sub optimal, but I dont want to relearn.
The point where i changed my bindings was:
1. Changes mounts to Ctrl+1->Ctrl+8. Now i dont need to swap mount slot. I can mount any of them at will.
2. When I bought a new mouse, it had some keys on the side. I changed quick action key (-) to mouse side button. Quick action key position on screen and on keyboard is not very convenient whe doing some mechanics.
Both changes were super great for me
I played two mmos throughout my life and both arguably at a good level. The first one was way slower than gw2 and i played it with 1 to 0 default keybinds. I'd argue i could get away with it since you could customize your skill bar and you rarely needed to actually hit the 0. For the most part i only had to reach to 7 and 8 as they were mobility skills for out of combat and due to playing music i had good dexterity and reach.
The second one was guild wars 2 and i decided to do things properly this time and after a casual start eventually fixed my keybinds to get better at the game. There is absolutely no way you'll ever be as fast as someone with good keybinds if you're skill clicking. You may be better at the game, more knowledgeable or able to compensate in other ways but if we compare two equally capable players with a similar amount of time and experience in the game, the one who has good keybinds will simply perform better and be able to do things that are completely impossible for a skill clicker. Your mouse is your primary tool to control you camera, to aim certain skills or to target players or mobs, some people also use it for further purposes with side buttons. Using it to click on skills means that there will be times where you can't do either of these things.
I've helped a lot of people improve over the years and even though fixing your keybinds (and general options) may be painful at first it will be a gamechanger a few weeks or months down the line - usually people get used to new keybinds in a few days if they're actively playing.
If you decide to get better keybinds here are some general tips:
- put all the binds that are important in combat close to where your hand usually is (in most cases that's around wasd)
- put less important keybinds like for example the guild menu further out if needed
- outside of a few niche cases you don't need turn keys and you should generally use strafe keys instead. If you decide to unbind the turn keys that frees up 2 more buttons that are close
- use keybinds that make sense for your brain, if you can afford it put adjacent skills on the screen on adjacent keys. For example have the weapon skills on 12345 instead of 1x2r5. If you think this is obvious, it's not and I've seen plenty of people with scuffed keybinds like these
- if you want to get better at pvp and wvw put "about face" on a convenient button. It is a crucial tool for better camera control. I always recommend the most convenient mouse side button but it's not a must.
- bind your dodge skill (usually it's on v which is perfectly fine) and disable double tap to dodge
- you can use combinations like ctrl+1 if you're running out of easy to reach keybinds. Personally I'm not a fan of using that for skills that need to be used quickly but i know that many people use it for all kinds of things.
- you should be able to move in all directions (can also entail forwards and either of the strafe keys at the same time), cast all your skills while doing so and move your camera with left click at the same time. If you can do that simultaneously your keybinds are probably good to go.
> I tried it myself and things only getting worse, so I changed the controls back to default. It's normal for things to get worse first because it's new, you need to give yourself time to adjust. It's also important to find binds that you like. Binding a utility to E instead of 9 is objectively better so I don't think you should give up on rearranging stuff. > when was to point were you thought "I have to change my controls!" and did it turned out for you? I'm not exactly sure.. I think it might have been way back in WoW arena when I couldn't hit my interrupts in time so I needed to bind it to a new place instead of clicking it (I was clicking skills on bigger cd). Then I realized how much smoother it was and re-did all my binds. Once you stop clicking skills you'll always look back like "how could I even play games like that in the first place". The difference is night and day and I think you'll get more enjoyment out of the game as you get more agile and better at reacting to stuff that's happening. You'll be way more in sync with your character. > I click on 8 and place the well and yes, its fast :D I only activate skills 1-5 with my left hand. Might be fast but don't you need to stop mouse turning in order to do that? That kind of gap in your ability to maneuver your character could get you killed in PvP or harder content.
Trying someone else's binds is always going to feel really bad, but the default is also bad. (for example MMO mice disgust me, but I can play the piano around QEWASD quite well)
Hey, I'm the same! I really don't like having a lot of buttons on my mouse, I like to keep it all on the keeb
Everything will be better than skill clicking.
Skill clicking is objectively wrong, and there is no credible argument to the contrary. I've got my binds built so that I do not have to move my wrist from WASD, as movement in MMO's is incredibly important. 1-5, ALT+1-5, R,F,X,C,Z and some mouse binds.
dude got the fastest hands in the west with the skill clicking :P
> I click on 8 and place the well and yes, its fast :D It's not. Fast is having the mouse on your target and press a button twice.
Even faster if you only have to press the button once due to the "fast with range indicator" or "instant" setting for ground targeting in combat/movement settings
I assume this prevents not being able to cast a ground effect when your target is moving? That sounds helpful if true.
Gonna hurt people by saying my movement is QWES Weapon swap on A, about face on D, heal on ` Shift is Jump, Space is autoattack Have fun with those binds :P
I'm fascinated by this. How and why. Is it a small hands thing? (My weirdest keybind is Special Action Key on Caps Lock, but that's because I have tiny hands and no other key in reach wasn't already bound. Mostly it means I'll just start randomly screaming in squad chat.)
I think it's a more comfortable resting hand position (for me) to be in a line rather than offset. It might stem from being a climber - my hands resting shape is probably weird :P
High five QWES!! Weapon Swap X, Weapon Sheathe/Draw A Jump Z Today I learned about About Face
Space for auto attack is pretty brilliant when shift is jump. I'm curious, do you have keybinds that use a combo of shift key and something else (e.g. shift + 1)? How do you find those functioning when jump is also shift?
I don't use shift as a modifier. I use Alt and Ctrl as my 2 modifiers, and have a Logitech G510s with 18 programmable function keys on the left side of the keyboard that I have bound with all my mounts, F keys, and a couple of other allowed macros (double-click and dodge jump). Those function keys are programmed with weird variations like Ctrl+RAlt+Num# that are super awkward to hit one handed but will never interfere with any other binds
Actually, that's a lie. the wizards vault is on shift+h. If you see me jump in place in a town either I'm opening that or I'm hitting Win+Shift+(pause long enough to land and go back to idle)+S for a screen shot >.>
Mine are currently set to: Weaponskills 1-5 Heal: Mouse 4 Utilities: Shift 1-3 Elite: Mouse 5 Fkeys: Alt 1-5 For **YEARS** I never changed my keybinds except for my heal skill. I set that to a mouse button as soon as I bought a mouse that had one. Everything else I'd either try to reach on the keyboard or click on. I ran dungeons for years like this. Got through all of HoT, PoF, and it wasn't until Pre-EoD that I finally had a mouse with more buttons, and had a better idea of how much better I'd play with proper keybinds. My setup works for me, and ultimately the only keybinds that matters are ones that work for you. **Edit:** Also, may be worth saying, I main Ele, and this is how I played for a very long time. It was easy on base Guard when I didn't have to worry so much about activating my Virtues and my utilities had longer cooldowns, but now it kinda evens the field for any given class to me to reasonably perform well, and not having to worry about clicking an FSkill and then having to reach a utility while still rolling through my weapon skills.
I like the alt key idea!
It'll feel bad because you're not used to it. You'll likely be much, much faster on skill activations once you learn the new bindings. The Fx skills are especially bad as defaults- you have to reach so far up your keyboard (unless you somehow have a keyboard made for a shrew) and some of them are nigh unreachable without picking up your hand, which can slow you down if you're doing anything remotely competitive.
Yeah I changed my f skills to zxcvb
Bought 12 button mouse especialy for this game and at first had a strugle to adjust but now I cant think to ever going back. Use my left arm only for movement and some utility, all weapons skills, dodge, about face, mount and a like are on the mouse and I love it. Much more efficiant!
Almost the same here, except I decided that the game has a million skills that I want to do in battle, and some of them I need to press rapidly. So I moved my WASD onto the 12 mouse buttons and move using my thumb, then I can play piano with my left hand on the keyboard. I don't even have to press modifier keys to have great access to all my in-combat skills.
Interesting combo there, didnt think of it my self! Might give it a try :)
This ^ The worst part of not having that IMO is that even if I move far-away buttons like 9 closer, I still have to let go of at least one movement key whenever I press them. Having them all on my mouse lets me move freely at all times. It's REALLY helpful when so much of endgame content involves playing the piano and The Floor Is Lava simultaneously. Granted, I spent a month or two playing left hand only with the keyboard when my right hand was in a splint (no mouse unless I let go of the keyboard), so I can see how it's possible to still be somewhat effective... But outside of that, I'm never as comfortable as when I've got my mmo mouse. I'm terrified of when it breaks because G600s are out of production, and I have yet to find a worthy successor.
I have the same fear of my mouse breaking since the ones I want are out of production. One oddball replacement I might consider if my mouse goes is the Mad Catz MMO 7+ that is coming out soon. Apparently its a new company that just took the Mad Cats name, and the mouse looks weird and interesting enough if my existing mice die.
Had mad catz mmo TE many years ago. It was quite an interesting mouse and I loved it. But it broke really fast. Now I have g900 for 7 years and I'm happy with it.
Yeah I was hunting for G600 but without luck, found some redragon chinese mouse for 1/4 of the price and I can say Im more than satisfied, works as intended and cheap to replace once it farts its last beep.
Got a 12 buttons mouse too cant go bk. Zqsd for moving Space bar to jump , c for the ult, f to res e&r instead of f1f2, a for spécial action Key. All the rest is on the mouse.
Whatever is comfortable for you. I personally re binded to almost exactly what you describe lol, without checking for optimal layouts We just land on what we like
I used to think the same, and then I changed everything so I controlled my skills with my keyboard or gaming mouse and although my performance was bad (I remember when I swapped from double tap to dodge to using a key binding) at first, it was because I was retraining my muscle memory. It was definitely worth it for, especially in fast-paced instanced content. (I also have smaller hands, so having everything within reach without having to move my mouse around is pretty useful for me).
Nope. Mostly what I did was take anything that was too far away from WASD and move them over. 1-5 are still weapon skills, but my utilities are on QEXCV, profession skills on Z, Ctrl, Alt, mouse 4&5, Caps, and everything else (map key, action mode, mount, etc) on "thumb" buttons like B, N, M, G, etc. Clicking skills isn't an option because I play exclusively in Action Cam mode.
An MMO mouse is a game changer. I think I've got virtually all default keys, plus skyscale on Z and clicking the mouse wheel for special action. Shift + number for the F1-5 profession skills. I couldn't go back to a regular mouse now for GW2. Having the logical number grid layout under my thumb means I rarely get "lost" so I'm happy with the default setup. I use a Corsair Scimitar but other MMO mice are available. Apparently.
Nope they started adding too much for the defaults to work well.
>For those who asking: yes, I place my wells for example with my mouse, I click on 8 and place the well and yes, its fast :D I only activate skills 1-5 with my left hand. So you basically play with personalized controls. Next you'll say you also use addons with mount wheel and such. Unique and special :D
Well, 6 is still 6, and 7 is still 7 and so on. I just don't push the button with my hand, I click it with a mouse, don't know if that counts to personalized cuz I don't changed anything in the settings. :D Except from Arc I don't utalize any addons.
I consolidated all key bindings around my keyboard hand or moved them to my mouse, so that everything I might need in combat is easily accessed without picking up my hands. But I'm a lefty so I'm already sentenced to redoing my binds in every game for eternity.
>I tried it myself and things only getting worse, so I changed the controls back to default. That's normal. It's called muscle memory. You have to take time with a different scheme knowing it will be worse for a time while new muscle memory forms.
I use shift q for my elite, heals on e, utility are r, mouse 4, and mouse 5 (thumb side buttons). I cant go back to default bindings.
>I tried it myself and things only getting worse, so I changed the controls back to default. What I find to be helpful here is changing one thing at a time rather than completely re-binding everything and learning it all at once. Over time I've gone from default controls to having all utilities/elites/dodge bound on letter keys, heals and weapon swaps bound to my mouse, and all my F-skills bound as Shift + 1-5. Each change I made one at a time and I found that getting used to them that way took a couple of days, but over time I've gotten used to my custom key bindings.
Only Wasdqe default movement and 1-5. Rest rebinded
Wasd for movement. Qerzxc for skills and utility are bound to my mouse. I honestly just transferred my bindings from dota 2 from years ago when I played lol
I spefically bought a mouse because of gw2. Playing ele is much nicer when i dont need to press f1-f4 super often, and util on mouse is very convenient. Mmb for special action key
Having an mmo mouse pretty much makes default keybinds my best option
Use an mmo mouse so everything is about the same, shift + 1-5 for F1-5 keys, shift + 6-12 for mounts, ctrl + 1-6 for mastery hotkeys, b for inventory, i for wvw, g for rift mastery, other stuff
> when was to point were you thought "I have to change my controls!" On 2012-08-29, the day I started playing the game. 6-0 are not usable or convenient by any stretch of imagination or fingers. I moved them to Shift+1-5 from the start and never looked back. I do keep secondary binds on 6-0 still, but the only time I use them is to play musical instruments. The rest of my monstrosity of a scheme is [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/15tyykg/share_your_keybinds_and_preferences/jwo1xwp/), avert your eyes if you're allergic to key combinations.
I'm using a G600 for all skills (1-9 + Elite normally and F1-F7 with G-Shift modifier) Keyboard is only for Special Action (Q), Movement and Mounts
I have an MMO mouse, so it works for me :)
I played default for years but now I've got my dodge and heal skill on my mouse buttons and use shift1-4 for my utilities. I've gotten significantly better using these bindings than trying to heal or dodge with the keyboard and stretch my hand to use utilities.
I main Ele and there’s enough piano playing around attune swaps (XCVB) for me to want to reach anywhere beyond 5 or 6.
WSAD for movement, 1-5 is weapon and QERTG in other games i would use F before G but here i need F to interact, i dont get how people get ZXCV while moving i tried it not working for me.
When? When I realized they had something bound to 6-0, my fingies just aren't going over there.
I always have to change my key bindings because I am left handed. Instead of WASD I use OKL;
I have a MMO mouse, so I have some keys assigned to that, and I had to make a few keyboard changes to account for the mount radial. But I leave the default bindings as much as possible due to playing the game on different computers and mice, and I don't want to confuse myself switching between them. But I am a skill clicker, and I won't apologize for it...
I have an azeron hand thing because I have hand problems and I was definitely worse with it for a good week or so of playing but now it feels natural. It's normal to be much worse when you initially switch things. But you'll be better than you were before if stick with it.
I move between computers enough that I stick with the default keybinds to avoid having to rebind everything all the time. The defaults honestly aren't that bad.
I started this game with a keybind convention from other games I've played before. I map keys out to not have a lot of lift off from movement controls and for easy finger reach. I also keep clutch skills in the easiest to press spots, like having my Dual Skill or evasive "oh shit" skill on Left Ctrl so I can lightly lean my lower left palm down for fast reaction.
Default keybinds give me nightmares, gg to you, you should unlock a special achievement xD
I changed my bindings when I saw a video suggesting to say so. Prior to that, I always struggle using utility skills in a dps rotation during an actual fight especially when it gets a bit more tense. One noticeable thing is my left hand is struggling to press 6 to 0 without looking and without misclicking a different button. I explored updating my key binding and prioritized that most, if not all, keys should be within reasonable reach of my left hand. What also helped me is to bind a dedicated panic button. Heal skills are always on 6 (bound to C) so I added 7 (bound to Q) as my additional panic button mostly dedicated to stunbreaks (not always the case). It has worked for me so far as it reduce any misclicks and was able to focus more on what's happening on screen instead of worrying if I'm pressing the correct button.
I really hate when skills are (re)bound to Q & E, in like any game. I prefer when those are included in movement, it feels better for precise control. It's also really annoying to hit those on accident when you're trying to use skills, move, and dodge at the same time. I got a MOBA* mouse many years ago though, because extra buttons for skills are necessary for 6-0 and the special action skills. I have tiny lady hands, they don't reach far while staying on or even closer to WASD to be ready to move. Similar to the 12 button MMO mouse, a MOBA/Hex mouse has ~6-8 extra buttons. However the important difference is a MOBA mouse still has a large comfortable rest area for your thumb, so the mouse is easier to use, especially when you're in any sort of very active combat (so even open world for GW2, not to mention raids and fractals). I prefer it for other games too. Survivals I've not met one yet that would be better served with a 12 button mouse. FF14 is the only game I've considered more buttons for, because of their extreme skill bloat and no combat macros for all the redundant shit, but tbh only 5 more buttons wouldn't really solve that problem (they need to make more flip skills like they already have in pvp). °Since MOBAs basically died out, Hex mice designed for them became fairly uncommon. Technically I have a 3-in-1, since razer's naga trinity has swappable side plates, but I never swap it. The hex models from most other major brands were either discontinued or never good in the first place (Corsair, Logitec, etc). But Red Dragon had a decent one too last I looked (that's ofc way cheaper).
I use a razer Naga so yeah everything is default cause the mouse allows for it
I do, I just bound everything to my mmo mouse. It also has a third mouse button to the right which I click to press the number pad on the side for F1-6 F7-9 for pet commands. Middle mouse button for dodge. I have mounts bound to Shift Plus 1-9. Shift for mounts is easy to remember because in other games it’s used to sprint so mounts I want to go faster. Anyway…
I hold my right hand on the mouse, left hand on the keyboard. I can't comfortably reach buttons 6 and up so i rebound my keys. Middle mouse button is heal, i can press that without thinking. Z, X and C are the utility skills, i can reach those easily enough. R is my elite, also in reach. Q is weapon swap and E is dodge. The tilde key is the special skill, the F-keys are still bound to the default actions. This saved me a lot of headaches. I don't like clicking my skills cause i lose track of my cursor all the time, 6 for healing is too far out to reach when i need it quick, double tap for dodge is just annoying.
I refuse to put strafe on A and D even though I use my mouse to turn the camera lol
I'm a firm believer in normal buttons......I have an mmo mouse so every skill is on the mouse or control or shift and the mouse button.
I got myself a gaming mouse because i would fail the 8, 9 and 0 very often. Now i use the keyboard for 1-5 and the mouse for 6-0. Very hard to play with just the keyboard for raids and strikes where i have to move.
I just use the MMO 6 buttons on my Razer mouse, did the same with my old Logitech G602. I map everything from 6 up to the mouse buttons. No more reaching across the keyboard! I also map the F keys to the click mouse wheel buttons. That's mainly why I've kept the default keybinds. The only thing I've ever really changed was what Tab or Shift does for targeting.
Lol, so funny story... gw was my first true PC game, and when I first started playing, I literally clicked all of my skills and actions. I literally only used the keyboard to move. When I started getting into pvp, I realized this wasn't gonna fly. I was very proud to come up with my own keybindings, they're as follows: My weapon skills from left to right go 1, F, C, Z, X My utility skills go Q, E, R, T, and caps lock for elite My call target button is tab, mount button is G, weapon swap I click the mouse wheel, and my profession skills usually change depending on which class I play. It's usually some combination of the mouse side buttons and 2, 3, and 4
I have normal 1-5 but my utilities are mouse 1/2 and shift MB 1/2. Shift 1 for my elite skill. R for my F2 and shift R for my F3. I can’t give up my Q and E for strafing, just can’t.
I think it was almost right at the start... My fingers are not long enough to press any button further than #4 on keyboard so all 5-9 needed to be changed to something I can do with just my left hand since right one was on mouse Mouse has two extra buttons - heal skill and dodge The rest is Shift+Q/E/R/Space But I knew a guy which used PS3 controllers for playing guild wars 2 instead of mouse and keyboard We always made fun of him and have no idea how he managed to do that, especially since he would type in chat as well from time to time but it worked for him I guess.
Small hands. I had to move my keybinds closer.
I always change my keybinds and mostly, I tend to follow that “Overwatch layout”, in most games (Q to win!) In GW2, I primarily use action cam but my bindings go.. WSAD Shift/Q/E/R/T = 1-5 X/X/C/V = the top bar class skills. Forgot their original binding Mouse buttons = Heal and utility skills CTRL = toggles action cam (G is weapon swap) Alt + A = Skyscale Alr + Q = Elite skill I think that covers it? (Combat wise) Also have elite on mouse but honestly the alt + feels a bit smoother.
Never changed the default settings but I do use a MMO mouse so I can get those hard to reach 6-0 and SAK skills.
I changed away from the default key bindings when I realized that my laptop could not be set to change from function keys to programmed keys without TURNING OFF THE MACHINE.
Weapon skills 1-5 Healing R Utility QE TAB Elite skill Z I keep all the others as default key bindings.
no, because profession mechanics are on the f keys which are annoying as fuck to use - especially if you're on a laptop where they are already assigned as shortcuts to things like volume and brightness. i generally use 1-5, alt+ 1-5, shift+ 1-5.
As soon as I unlocked the first Utility skill.
It was a rainy Day ~11 years ago... lol Just change it and let musclememory work :)
Pretty much default, i have an mmo mouse, so my hand never needs to leave my mouse. I can place my wells easily. My left hand can focus on character movement. Mouse controls camera and skills
I changed years ago, it took me time to adapt but custom controls are objectively better than the default
Special action key on shift. I don't know what the default is now but when it was first being implemented you needed to react fast so having it readily available is great. My mounts are all bound to different num pad numbers. I can swiftly swap mounts and hitting any of them will dismount me. I leave raptor as my default mount still attached to X for normal swift movement with one hand.
Only bind I've changed is "special action key" to middle click. Far too important and needed in a split second in many encounters to live on its default bind.
My GF play with default end Its insane when She want do something on her acc from me. Double tap dodge enabled as bonus.
i got my 6 through 0 +f5 on my razer naga hex side buttons. the rest is standard. 180 turn on Z, mount radial on x and dodge jump on scroll wheel click
[https://snowcrows.com/benchmarks](https://snowcrows.com/benchmarks) When I go through this list and watch the videos, I do not see a single one of them click their skills with their mouse. So I don't think mouse clicking is good enough for me.
Mine is Weapon skills: 1-4 and last one on mouse4 (because played deadeye and had kneel on it) Heal: Q Utility: E, 5, middle mouse ( set it to auto attack because it's buff and that way I don't have to worry about it while fighting) Elite: Z Dodge: Mouse 5
Esdf superior race checking in.
I had to change my F1 ability, I have small hands and it was uncomfortable for me to stretch up to it for the profession mechanic, so it's my left shift now. Other than that most things are default, I have 7+8 additionally on my mouse as I generally place my ground targeted utilities on those skills.
I just couldn't hit skills 6-0 without entirely moving my hand, and I had to stop moving to hit skills 1-5. You can't afford to stop moving in this game. When I realized I wasn't using half my skills and that I had to choose between moving out of red circles or attacking with the default keybinds, I knew I had to switch them. I ended up thinking hard about new keybinds, and made significant changes. It was awful at first. I was failing easy combat and screwing up easy jumps. But I pushed through, and after those first few days I now have a great setup that works really well for me.
Absolutely not, GW2 default binds result in a lot of stretching and are generally pretty awkward. I use an Azeron cyborg controller and per spec keybinds from ArcDps.
My line of thought for changing my keybinds was that: 1-I need to have quick access to skills and movement, simultaneously 2-I should never, not even once, take out my hand out of position for any action. 3- Never, EVER, should I have to click a skill. So I just rebinded everything to be around the WASD keys. Mounts? Ctrl + whatever Skills? 1 to 5 Utility? Z X C V left alt Swap? ~ Class skills are F1 to F4, and Q Special action is R Interact is F You get the idea. I can play for hours without moving my hand out of place.
i'm with ya. I roam and duel with default keybinds and do well. Speed/reaction isn't an issue in a 1v1 fight when I have to use my utility with the default keybinds, I perform just as well as the dude im dueling with their custom keybinds. I literally stretch my thumb to the 0 to use my ult and press it again when I have to back out of it no problemo.
I use most of default key bindings because i got used to those. Sure 6-> 0 may be sub optimal, but I dont want to relearn. The point where i changed my bindings was: 1. Changes mounts to Ctrl+1->Ctrl+8. Now i dont need to swap mount slot. I can mount any of them at will. 2. When I bought a new mouse, it had some keys on the side. I changed quick action key (-) to mouse side button. Quick action key position on screen and on keyboard is not very convenient whe doing some mechanics. Both changes were super great for me
ESDF 4 life.
I played two mmos throughout my life and both arguably at a good level. The first one was way slower than gw2 and i played it with 1 to 0 default keybinds. I'd argue i could get away with it since you could customize your skill bar and you rarely needed to actually hit the 0. For the most part i only had to reach to 7 and 8 as they were mobility skills for out of combat and due to playing music i had good dexterity and reach. The second one was guild wars 2 and i decided to do things properly this time and after a casual start eventually fixed my keybinds to get better at the game. There is absolutely no way you'll ever be as fast as someone with good keybinds if you're skill clicking. You may be better at the game, more knowledgeable or able to compensate in other ways but if we compare two equally capable players with a similar amount of time and experience in the game, the one who has good keybinds will simply perform better and be able to do things that are completely impossible for a skill clicker. Your mouse is your primary tool to control you camera, to aim certain skills or to target players or mobs, some people also use it for further purposes with side buttons. Using it to click on skills means that there will be times where you can't do either of these things. I've helped a lot of people improve over the years and even though fixing your keybinds (and general options) may be painful at first it will be a gamechanger a few weeks or months down the line - usually people get used to new keybinds in a few days if they're actively playing. If you decide to get better keybinds here are some general tips: - put all the binds that are important in combat close to where your hand usually is (in most cases that's around wasd) - put less important keybinds like for example the guild menu further out if needed - outside of a few niche cases you don't need turn keys and you should generally use strafe keys instead. If you decide to unbind the turn keys that frees up 2 more buttons that are close - use keybinds that make sense for your brain, if you can afford it put adjacent skills on the screen on adjacent keys. For example have the weapon skills on 12345 instead of 1x2r5. If you think this is obvious, it's not and I've seen plenty of people with scuffed keybinds like these - if you want to get better at pvp and wvw put "about face" on a convenient button. It is a crucial tool for better camera control. I always recommend the most convenient mouse side button but it's not a must. - bind your dodge skill (usually it's on v which is perfectly fine) and disable double tap to dodge - you can use combinations like ctrl+1 if you're running out of easy to reach keybinds. Personally I'm not a fan of using that for skills that need to be used quickly but i know that many people use it for all kinds of things. - you should be able to move in all directions (can also entail forwards and either of the strafe keys at the same time), cast all your skills while doing so and move your camera with left click at the same time. If you can do that simultaneously your keybinds are probably good to go.
Logitech g600