BrewMaster Keybindings

[Deleted]

Hello people,

I have a question that is kind of embarrassing. When I started playing, no one told me that keybindings are the way to play, so I happily became a clicker *sits back and waits for the gasps of horror that seem to always happen when people find out*. I'm actually not that bad at being a clicker, but it's at the cost of a lot of awareness, so I've already done some attempts to change it, but always went back to clicking, and keyboard turning as well, since I need my mouse to click.

My first attempt at switching to using keybinds was aborted even before it started: so many abilities, no clue how to bind them logically
The second attempt went ok for like half a day, then my RL asked me to pls go back to clicking, as I died too often - ok I guess it wasn't that ok

So now I have leveled a second max-level BrM monk to practice on (meaning it won't interfere with raiding, until I've gotten the muscle memory thing right), but I'm still choking a bit over all the abilities that need to get a binding that actually makes sense.

So I have 2 questions:
1. could people maybe be nice enough to share their bindings so I can copy the things that I like, followed by fine-tuning them to my own preferences of course?
2. does anyone have advice as to how I can best successfully change from clicking to keybinding?

Thanks in advance!

[Pr0ev0lution]

obviously you mentioned you made a second monk to get used to it and honestly thats the best way to get used to keybinds imo as you gain new abilities slowly, that and spend time on target dummies.

I also wouldn't recommend just copying someone else' keybinds as everyone is different me for example i use q,e,r,f,t,g along with shift modifiers (so shift + q) for my main attacks and 1-6 for cooldowns through my razor naga (don't hit the keyboard numbers at all) and that works for me. whereas others will use 1-6 for there main attacks.

also don't be afraid to not keybind stuff, just using my priest as an example, i don't need and have never had power word: fortitude bound.

so yeah in summary just start of slow (assuming dps or tanking healing binds are a total different thing imo) start with tiger palm, jab, and blackout kick. get used to them and progressively add binds from most used skills to least used and once you get one character down if you play other classes its alot easier to bind them through using same binds for similar things i.e. interrupts on the same button, cool downs on the same be its shield walls or dps button.

[Densalo]

Everyone has a slightly different preference with this sort of thing. The one thing I will highly recommend if you don't already have one is a gaming mouse with multiple buttons. The Razer Naga is a great mouse and kind of a universal standard these days with 12 buttons (somewhat) easily accessible to your thumb.

From there, just bind whichever abilities you use most to the buttons on the mouse you feel most comfortable clicking. I myself use buttons 1-9 on the mouse, and have a shift modifier set up to use shift +1-9 for other abilities. It's hard to beat 18+ abilities all in one location.

It will take a lot of practice to get the muscle memory down, but your play will improve dramatically when you do.

[Beerblaster]

First thing you want to do is make A and D into strafe left and right.
From there use Q,E,R,T as keybinds, I use 1-5 on my keyboard for main rotation, F1-F4 for skills or CDS I hardly ever use but I also have a razor naga so I have another 11 skills slotted onto that. its all a matter of choosing whats comfortable for you. give it a try and you'll know if it feels right or if you need to swap some skills around.

[Slatch]

About a year ago I got a nice Naga Razer, with the 12 buttons on the side. I got all excited, swapped all sorts of abilities to the new buttons and proceeded to constantly hit the wrong buttons all the time. I learned that trying to change too much too quickly was too much for my brain to handle at once. So I moved most back to their old bindings and started slowly. I think I started with 3, and then added in buttons as I got comfortable. I would highly suggest doing something like this for key bindings. Learn a few at a time and as you get comfortable add more in.

Even with a strategy and determination to change how you play that's not enough to make it work quickly. Accept now that it will take time, and perhaps quite a bit before you get used to it. I estimate that it takes me around a month to learn a completely new spec and master it for instance. If you expect it to take that long to master key bindings and can stick with it then you'll love the improvement you'll see in your game play.

Edit: To give you an idea of the bindings I use:
`, 1, 2, 3, 4, r are some of my easiest to hit on the keyboard.
Mouse wheel up, down and clicked along with the 2 thumb buttons are easy mouse bindings.
I also use macros to write modifiers so when I hit Alt all of these buttons have a secondary ability or function when used. For example my Elusive Brew becomes Guard when I am holding down Alt. Some other people use a Shift or Control modifier.

[Mollify]

The best advice I can give (and already echoed by others):

1. Start gently. You can "bind" all of your keys, but don't have to use all of the bindings from day dot. Use the "really important" stuff first.
2. Bind keys that are comfortable to use.
3. Play your "main". I don't understand why you would need a second Brewmaster to learn - just play your main in a dungeon or PUG raid and improve that way. Click in raids if you're still uncomfortable.
4. Bind your critical stuff to easy-to-access keys - e.g. Key Smash on Q, Elusive Brew on E, Purifying Brew on R, Expel Harm on Caps Lock (pro-tip!), etc. Stuff that you need to activate "in a hurry" should be centered around your movement keys.

[Deleted]

http://i.imgur.com/APQ1TiF.png

These are mine! I binded A and D to strafing so I free up Q and E.

EDIT: Some things to clarify. Xuen is on my bar at all times so it's not just an empty space when I use RJW (which I do in the picture!), the statue spells are supposed to be the shifted, just got the Bartender addon and I messed up. SWU and SWD = Shift-mousewheel up and shift-mousewheel down, SB4 and SB5 = shift-mousebutton 4 and shift-mousebutton 5, B5 = mousebutton 5, Tb = Tab. And yeah, obviously the S infront of all the spells means it's a shift modified keybind.

[Ulfhedinn]

I use 12345 QERF and then Shift, Alt, Ctrl+ versions of those. Also a few mouse button binds but those are things that depend on the mouse you have.

I bind the main rotation buttons to 12345 QERF and Shift+ 123. After that I bind things to what is comfortable for that ability. If I use an ability a lot I bind it to something easy on the hands that I can reach quickly. If its not then it can go to whatever is left over. Very important abilities that could cause a wipe or major issue I do not bind or I bind them in such a way that I could never hit them by mistake. Examples of those would be bubble for paladin tank (droping threat mid fight by mistake would be bad) and Bloodlust.

I also try to keep buttons that same between specs and even classes. F is always my interrupt. Shift + 2 is always taunt. Shift + 4 is always a snare. Alt + 1,2,3 are my movement abilities like charge and Trans... Mouse 4 is always a movement ability that I spam like roll on monk and ghostwolf on shaman. I also use it as my heroic leap bind. Personally I always keybind ground targeted abilities to a mouse button. It is just easier that way imo.

As a tank I also bind raid markers. Ctrl + shift + 12345678. 1 is skull and move from there. That way I can mark quickly and without any addons to deal with.

I left my A and D keys and turning and strafe by using those + mouse button. Sometimes I want to turn a bit without using my mouse so that is what I did.

To start I would sit down and figure out what key combos work for your hands and keyboard. Make sure you don't strain your hands and can move from one key to the next correctly. I have large hands, 5 isn't a stretch for me but I don't like the way it moves my hand so I don't use it with shift/alt/ctrl.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the advice people!

I do realize that everybody has preferences to keybinds, but looking at others and then tweaking them to my personal preferences seemed like a good way to start when I didn't have a clue

[evansenter]

As someone that plays a number of different classes / roles, I can't recommend enough using the same keybinds for the same types of actions. In example, I use 1-4 as rotational abilities. 5 is an interrupt, 6 CC, q is defensive and Q is health pot. I always use e as a movement speed increase, etc. etc. Any of the keys past 6 I have a hard time getting to so I have them double mapped, ie. 7 = $, 8 and upwards are on my mouse. Shift is the easiest modifier to use, I think Ctrl and Alt are awkwardly placed (Ctrl less so because I have Caps Lock double mapped as Ctrl). I use Alt 1-3 as stances, since that's not something I need to really easily hit on the fly.

As people said though, I would start out slow and add things in as you go. If you're interested I can attach a picture of my BrM keybinds and how they compare to WW / MW.

[Brewschii]

Don't forget to think outside the box a bit, like using Caps Lock and ` -- and experiment with what gets you the most real estate. Most people seem to use Shift as their go-to modifier, but I prefer Alt, pressing it with my thumb. For me, Alt enables a larger range of non-awkward key combos: `, 1-4, Q, E, R, T, F, C, V, whereas Shift is only good on E, R, F, C, V.

Speaking of thumbs, if your fingers are up on 1-5 a lot, consider using your thumb for some letter keys, like C and V.

All this said, my Naga should arrive in the mail tomorrow. So maybe soon I'll be asking for tips on that.

[tachycardias]

I see people giving good pointers but I'll give you my bindings a an example of someone who has been iterating for a while. More frequently/urgently used abilities should be on buttons near your wasd.
E jab
R blackout kick
F expel
Q health pot
ShiftE keg smash
Shift R elusive brew
Shift F tier 30
' purify
1 provoke
2 guard
3 tiger strike
4 spear hand
5 dizzying haze
Alt 1 taunt statue macro
Shift 2 leg sweep
Shift 3 fortifying
Shift 4 tier 75
Shift 5 breath of fire
Cntrl 2 Zen med
Cntrl 3 on use trinket
X surging mist
V statue
Cntrl 4: xuen

Naga bindings:
Mouse thumb button 1: roll
Shift button 1: tigers lust
Button 2: transcendence
Shift Button 2. set transcendence spirit
Button 3. agi pot
Shift roll up (middle button): sck
Shift roll down: serenity macro (hold shift, spam roll down and it casts serenity and then spams BOK and purify)

[Daelbeth]

Something I haven't seen mentioned is that as a tank it is quite important to have the abilities you need to use while moving be usable while moving.

Assuming you have WASD bound to your movement, you dont want to have an ability bound to q or e that you need to use while moving, as this means you're probably going to have to let go of one of your movement keys to press it.

Also, just so you have more examples of keybindings, I'll list mine:

1: Tiger strike
2: Jab
3: Keg smash
4: Blackout kick / Chi explosion
shift-1: Dizzying haze
shift-2: Rushing jade wind / Spinning crane kick
shift-3: lvl 30 talent
shift-4: Elusive brew
ctrl-1: health tonic/stone
ctrl-2: armor potion
E: Spear hand strike
X: Expel harm
Q: Serenity/Purify macro
Z: Provoke
Shift-E: Elusive Brew
Shift-V: Dampen harm/Diffuse magic
Shift-X: Purifying brew
Shift-Q: Roll
Shift-Z: Transcendence teleport
Ctrl-F: Tiger's Lust
Ctrl-X: Fortifying brew
Ctrl-R: Chi Brew
Thumb buttons: (keyboard, below spacebar)
1: Leg Sweep/Charging Ox
2: Statue
3: Transcendence Placement

[Fecund]

The only time I touch my keyboard is to actually type. The rest of the time my left hand is sitting on my Razer Nostromo game pad and my right hand is on my Razer Naga Epic mouse. That gives me 23 buttons to program on the Nostro, you can have it changes pages for a total of 66 buttons but I have not found a need for more than the 23 I have there. I then have another 14 over on the mouse that I can use.

Now, on the Nostro I have the 6 key programmed for Tab and that is used to target nearest enemy. I also devote 4 buttons on the mouse to movement. I use the mouse to move and have strafe left/right, back, and jump set to buttons 8, 10-12. I have found this setup to work very well across all my different characters. I do try to keep similar abilities on the same buttons across toons, makes for less muscle memory training.

[Deleted]

I've been playing around with GIMP for a bit. I got a layered version of this image on my pc, so I can still shuffle everything around (and I can add abilities if needed, I have zero modifiers planned on my keyboard atm, as I suspect using a modifier for keyboard binds won't be very nice). The keybinds I already have (and have muscle-memoried) on my mouse are: roll (and all other speed boosts on alts) on the scroll wheel-click, Spear Hand Strike (and all other interrupts on alts) and Dizzying Haze (and all other put-on-ground spells on alts) on mouse button 4 and 5, I'd like to keep those right where they are, and planned the other 'common' utility spells on the mouse too, for easy use across alts.
imgur.com/51u5ozt

Please shoot at stuff that is looking unlikely to work out? I noticed that I left out pots for the moment, but I guess that's not really a disaster as clicking them should be fine? Dang, also left out on use trinkets... I guess that I can click them too for now, or use a modifier, as I really ran out of buttons to use (already used t, g and b which I wasn't planning on using). The alt I'm going to use for practicing has no on use trinkets anyways (main has Pols though).

Also, is there a website that makes this easier then messing about in GIMP?

[Deleted]

I've been playing around with GIMP for a bit. I got a layered version of this image on my pc, so I can still shuffle everything around (and I can add abilities if needed, I have zero modifiers planned on my keyboard atm, as I suspect using a modifier for keyboard binds won't be very nice). The keybinds I already have (and have muscle-memoried) on my mouse are: roll (and all other speed boosts on alts) on the scroll wheel-click, Spear Hand Strike (and all other interrupts on alts) and Dizzying Haze (and all other put-on-ground spells on alts) on mouse button 4 and 5, I'd like to keep those right where they are, and planned the other 'common' utility spells on the mouse too, for easy use across alts.
imgur.com/51u5ozt

Please shoot at stuff that is looking unlikely to work out? I noticed that I left out pots for the moment, but I guess that's not really a disaster as clicking them should be fine? Dang, also left out on use trinkets... I guess that I can click them too for now, or use a modifier, as I really ran out of buttons to use (already used t, g and b which I wasn't planning on using). The alt I'm going to use for practicing has no on use trinkets anyways (main has Pols though).

Also, is there a website that makes this easier then messing about in GIMP?

Your Diffuse Magic isn't exactly top tier. I think you're looking too much into it and searching for a good pattern, instead of that it's better to go 1 spell at a time and learn, and change your binds to what you like instead of what "should be" nice.

[Xequecal]

I hate alt-keybindings, it's awkward to hit that with one hand without getting too far away from WASD keys. Without those I have several things not keybinded because you can't hit shift or ctrl + 6 or greater with one hand and everything else is taken.

1 - Jab
2 - Keg Smash
3 - Blackout Kick/ChiEx
4 - Tiger Palm
5 - Purifying Brew
6 - Elusive brew
7 - Leg Sweep
8 - Paralysis
9 - Zen Meditation
0 - Dampen Harm/Diffuse Magic
- - Nimble Brew
= - Draenic Armor Potion
S1 - Touch of Death
S2 - Surging Mist
S3 - Healing Tonic
S4 - Detox
S5 - Crackling Jade Lightning
C1 - Transcendence
C2 - Transcendence Transfer
C3 - Trinket 1
C4 - Trinket 2
C5 - Legacy of the White Tiger
E - Expel Harm
G - Guard
Z - Chi Burst/Chi Wave
Q - Provoke
F - Roll
V - Serenity
X - Black Ox Statue
B - Hand Strike
T - Dizzying Haze
N - RJW/SCK
U - Dispel statue macro
H - Xuen
Y - Fort Brew

I try to avoid creep over to the right side of the keyboard as it's harder to hit those with the left hand, but N, Y, and U are already over there and there aren't any keys left at this point. I don't have a macro for statue taunt and Breath of Fire isn't bound at all. Also no place for Tiger's Lust or Chi Brew should I ever decide to spec into those.

[Adaren]

Years ago, I rebound WASD to ESDF with S and F as Strafe. All my binds fit comfortably on the surrounding letters and 1-5, along with Shift and a handful of Ctrl modifiers.