Question For Experienced Non-Clickers. Keyboard/Keypad choices.

[Steampunk]

Hey guys, I've been a clicker since beta and I'm finally willing to learn some new tricks and get out of the mentality. I finally see the real benefits of switching towards a less conventional method than clicking everything on the screen.

I already have a Razer Naga Epic Edition (Wireless Mouse) and I love it; now I'm looking to get a keyboard suited to changing my click habits. Obviously, the Razer Nostromo and the Orbweaver come to mind as the "clear alternatives". I was wondering what the MMOC Non-Clicker Community opinion was about these keypads and if there's any other units I may want to look at.

If this is in the wrong sub-forum, I apologize; but I assume I'm spot on here.

Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on the topic.

If you're a fellow clicker, please don't de-rail the thread with "Well, I'm a clicker and I do just fine". I want answers based on non-clicker experience, not opinions of my fellow clickers. I have a slight disability in my hand and realize this path would be the easiest to turn to.

[xezar]

I guess it depends on how in depth and how much you want to bind (and considering you have a Naga, that's 12 keys there already). But anyways, I've always been a Nostromo fan since the Belkin days and would recommend it in a heartbeat, not to mention it's great for FPS as well. The Logitech G13 is nice and I'm a fan of Logitech as well, but depending on your hand size (mine are on the smaller size), I have trouble hitting everything on the G13, and the palm rest is a bit too low for comfort with the way I sit. The Nostromo for me is better since it is smaller and has the adjustable palm rest, even at the cost of a row or 2 of extra keys.

[judgementofantonidas]

Hey guys, I've been a clicker since beta and I'm finally willing to learn some new tricks and get out of the mentality. I finally see the real benefits of switching towards a less conventional method than clicking everything on the screen.

I already have a Razer Naga Epic Edition (Wireless Mouse) and I love it; now I'm looking to get a keyboard suited to changing my click habits. Obviously, the Razer Nostromo and the Orbweaver come to mind as the "clear alternatives". I was wondering what the MMOC Non-Clicker Community opinion was about these keypads and if there's any other units I may want to look at.

If this is in the wrong sub-forum, I apologize; but I assume I'm spot on here.

Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on the topic.

If you're a fellow clicker, please don't de-rail the thread with "Well, I'm a clicker and I do just fine". I want answers based on non-clicker experience, not opinions of my fellow clickers. I have a slight disability in my hand and realize this path would be the easiest to turn to.

i do not like the naga. the buttons are too close together and i actually prefer using the thumb ball on my track ball to pan my camera instead of chasing a mouse all over the table top, or arm of my recliner as is my case.

i opted for a left hand keypad, razor nostromo. I will NEVER go back to clicking. The only improvement that i would make is in moving up to the model that has a couple more buttons. as it is my keyboard sits beside me for the entirety of a raid with the only things that I ever push being the M1 button for readycheck, and the M2 button for ten second pull timer. everything else I can handle between the nostromo buttons and my track ball.

using bartender and setting it up to mirror the keys that I was using on the nostromo made transitioning away from being a clicktard EASY.

edit, my other issue with the naga when I bought it was that the program that you ran it with appeared to only want to use certain keys as the blueprint of your keybinding and the ones it wanted to use were not the ones I WANTED to use.

[Steampunk]

i opted for a left hand keypad, razor nostromo. I will NEVER go back to clicking. The only improvement that i would make is in moving up to the model that has a couple more buttons. as it is my keyboard sits beside me for the entirety of a raid with the only things that I ever push being the M1 button for readycheck, and the M2 button for ten second pull timer. everything else I can handle between the nostromo buttons and my track ball.

using bartender and setting it up to mirror the keys that I was using on the nostromo made transitioning away from being a clicktard EASY.

edit, my other issue with the naga when I bought it was that the program that you ran it with appeared to only want to use certain keys as the blueprint of your keybinding and the ones it wanted to use were not the ones I WANTED to use.

YES. I'm using a recliner as well. My mouse is on a Goliath mouse pad, on a neat surface designed for the arm (making it essentially, arm chair console). The keypad I get will be on the left side; on the same type of mouse pad sized cover.

I haven't had any issues binding the 12 keys to wow functions yet, but have read that other have had these type of issues.

It's nice to know Bartender is still around. I haven't used a hotbar mod since very early WoTLK.

How do the keys feel on the Nostromo?

[Deleted]

What keyboard you want is largely subjective, I like the ones with short keystrokes (laptop-like). If you're learning from scratch I would suggest you learn to use ESDF for movement right away instead of the more common WASD, so you don't have to re-learn at a later stage when you notice you need more binds.

[Deleted]

There's really no advantage to a keypad unless you learn to use the thumbpad/stick for movement.

If you do it's amazing, I use the Nostromo like this and I've put Shift/Ctrl/Alt on my mouse thumb buttons so effectively I have over 50 keybinds that don't interfere with movement.

The build quality isn't that great but the Orbweaver wasn't around back when I got my Belkin n52 (precursor to Nostromo) and the Logitech G13 thumbstick feels horrible for this kind of usage. I haven't tried the Orbweaver yet and don't really plan to unless this breaks but I'd imagine it feels nicer (with that price I'd be shocked otherwise).

Also I put out of combat stuff on my standard keyboard, I do have like half my alt-binds empty but I don't really see the point of accidentally opening LFD or my bags.

[Steampunk]

Thank you very much for the opinions, guys.

Is there a difference between the Nostromo and the Tartarus? Also, right now there's only a small difference in price between the Nostromo and the Orbweaver; I take it that's uncommon?

Please keep them coming. My kick ass wife (who plays casually) is the one who brought up using something like the Nostromo to me today, when I mentioned wanting to get into Keybinding beyond my mouse.

[ComputerNerd]

It is my understanding that the Razer Nostromo is effectively a re-branded Belkin n52 TE, but with updated software support.
The Tartarus appears to be an ergonomic/form update.
Though it does lose the scroll wheel in favour of a single button, effectively losing 2 binds.

[idefiler6]

It is my understanding that the Razer Nostromo is effectively a re-branded Belkin n52 TE, but with updated software support.
The Tartarus appears to be an ergonomic/form update.
Though it does lose the scroll wheel in favour of a single button, effectively losing 2 binds.

It also adds a row of buttons, effectively replacing them.

[ComputerNerd]

It also adds a row of buttons, effectively replacing them.

The Orbweaver adds an extra row, but the Nostromo or the Tartarus both have 3 rows in the same form as the N52TE.

[Junkdepot]

The Orbweaver adds an extra row, but the Nostromo or the Tartarus both have 3 rows in the same form as the N52TE.

I have both the Nostromo and the Orbweaver and much prefer the extra buttons and customizable reach on the hand rest and D-pad portions of the Orbweaver. Both of these gamepads have a thumb switch that you can use as an additional modifier button, effectively doubling the number of keys they give you. My biggest issue (and it was just getting muscle memory built up) was in using the D-pad for any type of movement control. I typically control movement with the mouse, but there are times when you just need to get fine control over positioning.

I also have a Naga Epic and a Naga Hex and use the Hex exclusively now. The Epic buttons are too small and their positioning doesn't suit my hand size.

[ComputerNerd]

I also have a Naga Epic and a Naga Hex and use the Hex exclusively now. The Epic buttons are too small and their positioning doesn't suit my hand size.

I can't say from experience since I own no Razer products, only the Belkin N52TE but I do think the Naga layout is more a gimmick than a practicality.
I think others like the Cyborg M.M.O. 7 and the Corsair M90 take better approaches regarding the layouts.

[Junkdepot]

I can't say from experience since I own no Razer products, only the Belkin N52TE but I do think the Naga layout is more a gimmick than a practicality.
I think others like the Cyborg M.M.O. 7 and the Corsair M90 take better approaches regarding the layouts.

The 'regular' Naga uses 12 buttons arranged in a 3x4 grid under the right thumb location while the Hex uses 6 buttons arranged in a hexagon around a central 'dead' space. I would agree (just from visual appearance) that either of those use a better approach than the 'regular' Naga. The buttons on it are just too small and in too compact of an arrangement for me to comfortably use them. My 12 year old son has no issues with them (which is why he uses it now), but his hands are much smaller than mine.

[Steampunk]

I use about 4 of the naga's buttons pretty normally while tanking. I admit that the placement and size isn't perfect; which is why I'm looking to get something else.

I'm still not sure exactly what to get.

[oddmole]

I have smallish hands. I use the naga and nostromo (when it was still under belkin). I dont touch my keyboard except when someone annoys me with whispers. Naga for the standard 12 buttons and autorun on one of the extras, zoom on the wheel. then movement on the num pad on the nostromo though i dont bother with left or right just forward backward and straff, I use mouselook if i have to turn anyway. I find the direction pad to stiff for fine movement so have it bound to bag and inventory functions. I use the push button for vent and thumb for jump. I especially like the wheel for mounts, down for ground, up for flying and center for water mount.

[Steampunk]

I have smallish hands. I use the naga and nostromo (when it was still under belkin). I dont touch my keyboard except when someone annoys me with whispers. Naga for the standard 12 buttons and autorun on one of the extras, zoom on the wheel. then movement on the num pad on the nostromo though i dont bother with left or right just forward backward and straff, I use mouselook if i have to turn anyway. I find the direction pad to stiff for fine movement so have it bound to bag and inventory functions. I use the push button for vent and thumb for jump. I especially like the wheel for mounts, down for ground, up for flying and center for water mount.

How does it stand up to daily use?

I've been told this weekend that the Razer version's an upgrade in durability; but that the Belkin version felt very plastic and wore down swiftly.

Also... if anyone owns an Orbweaver, what made you take that plunge?

I'd love to hear more feedback from someone that *just* uses both a naga epic and an Orbweaver; before writing it off entirely.

[Deleted]

The Orbweaver and Tartarus are the same product with different keyswitches.
The Tartarus has cheap rubber domes (like on regular keyboards) and the Orbweaver uses a mechanical keyswitch

[rijn dael]

I have a g13, but I ended up going back to the keyboard - needing to type mid fight was a pain, and you aren't always on voice comms.
I do find the g600 mouse to be amazing though, three 'primary' mouse buttons - plus the usual naga-esque dozen on the side - is hugely underrated.

[Junkdepot]

The Orbweaver and Tartarus are the same product with different keyswitches.
The Tartarus has cheap rubber domes (like on regular keyboards) and the Orbweaver uses a mechanical keyswitch

Actually, the Orbweaver has 20 buttons and the Tartarus has 15. The Orbweaver comes in two variants, one silent, one not, but both are mechanical actions. The Orbweaver has an adjustable palm rest, hand to key distance, and the D-Pad pod is adjustable as well. Overall, the Orbweaver is just more customizable than the Tartarus or the older Nostromo.

I have both an Orbweaver and a Nostromo. I picked up the Orbweaver because of the additional keys and the ability to adjust the distances.

[Sonasol]

U guys discussion keyboards and mouses when the hard part for a cliker is actualy using the keys lol?
Man use the same keyboard u allways did and the same mouse and bind all all the keys u got near the move character ones.
Change A and D to strafe left and right. Rebind S key to something else(u dont need backpedal now realy) and go do bgs.
U need practice not buy keyboard X or Y