What exactly is the point of moving strafe to A and D?
Use A and D as keybinds and call it a day. No need to get used to different strafe buttons.
Thank you so much for this guide! I've been looking for something like this! I am seriously impressed and wish you had been one of the winners. More people should definitely see and read this! I am bookmarking it for later reference.
“You have died of dysentery” – Oregon Trail
Just a little tip: I find binding your movement keys with shift (and/or alt & ctrl if u prefer those) to skills that do not require simultaneous movement to be an easy to gain 4-12 more easily accessible keybinds.
Might have been nice to make it a bit more general, people who keybind ina completely different manner perform as efficiently. For example my setup during WOTLK with a Razer Lachesis:
Scroll Down = Mutilate
Scroll Up = Kick
Back Left key = Envenom
Front Left key = Hunger For Blood
Back right key = Evasion
Back Center key = Rupture
Back Front key = SND
Scroll Click = Vanish
Then I had various extra's along numbers 1-7 and my Tots macro for the tank and 2 other players above my portrait where it takes no time to move to. So people with a mouse that has a high capacity for hotkey'ing, and that's not even with a ctrl modifier, should take this with a grain of salt as you can become drastically more efficient if you're binding everything to your good hand while also being able to move with the mouse, but having the original Blizz hotkey layout in place. I'd suggest asking the local technerd thuogh how to program the lachesis key setup and then in the WoW Interface to allow you to do this.
I hope that this guide helps people and encourages those with very few or no bound keys to go the route of keybinding. It really makes a difference to your gameplay and gives you a lot more mobility.
Mixing macros with keybinds is the best way to enjoy the game. And everyone has their own choice of keybinds and macros, which makes it a very personal thing. For me, I couldn't seem to get used to rebinding C off character and R off reply to whisper - so I leave those as they are and make use of everything else around me with modifiers.
One thing that helps is to use similar skills set to the same keybinds. This means interrupts, main damage nukes etc. It is a good idea to try and stick to as simple a setup as possible so that when you work that muscle memory in and don't play an alt for six months it all comes back easily.
Take my rogue as an example of a full keybinding setup. Of course, every class has dozens of abilities that you want easy access to, but I have been levelling my rogue recently and seem to have run out of keybinds. Things get trickier at max level when you need to have just about everything within easy reach. We seem to have more skills now than ever.
Rogue setup
Movement: WASD
Top bar
Kick = [ Q ]
Mutilate = [ E ]
Slice and Dice = [ Sh+E ]
Blind (macro) = [ Sh+R ]
Evasion = [ Sh+F ]
Cold Blood (macro) = [ Sh+C ]
Cloak of Shadows = [ Sh+T ]
Fan of Knives = [ Sh+G ]
Every Man For Himself = [ Sh+V ]
Lifeblood = [ Sh+B ]
Gouge = [ G ]
Health Potion = [ H ]
Bottom Bar
Recuperate = [ 1 ]
Deadly Throw (macro) = [ 2 ]
Backstab = [ 3 ]
Kidney Shot = [ 4 ]
Envenom = [ 5 ]
Dismantle = [ Sh+1 ]
Shiv = [ Sh+2 ]
Rupture = [ Sh+3 ]
Tricks of the Trade (macro) = [ Sh+4 ]
Combat Readiness = [ Sh+5 ]
Sprint = [ Sh+A ]
Stealth (macro) = [ Sh+D ]
Stealth Bar
Ambush (macro) = [ 1 ]
Sap (macro) = [ 2 ]
Cheap Shot (macro) = [ 3 ]
Distract = [ 4 ]
Garrote (macro) = [ 5 ]
Disarm Trap = [ Sh+3 ]
Macros
Blind - [mouseover, focus]
Vendetta - Cold Blood [castsequence]
Trinkets - Cold Blood /use
Vanish - Stealth [combat]
Throw - Deadly Throw [nocombat]
Tricks of the Trade - [targettarget]
Pickpocket - Ambush, Sap, Cheap Shot and Garrote /cast
Missing abilities
Feint
Expose Armor
http://static.wowhead.com/images/wow...e_redirect.jpg Redirect
http://static.wowhead.com/images/wow...ogue_smoke.jpg Smoke Bomb
Looks like I either need more keybindings or need to think up some more macros.
For the Alliance!
Nice work.
Wish you'd had a section talking about ESDF though. I personally think most people would be better served by those keys.
quoted for truth, 1 to = and every modifier under the sun, i loves it (the ONLY problems are abilities that are spammed (WotLK Heroic Strike....) that are usually placed on the scroll wheel.... those never end well as you can't really scroll and use your thumb to hit buttons at the same time effectively, other than that its ill)
I srs don't understand keybinding i hate it. I click yes i also mouse turn. I top dps (even in icc as surv hunter) and i NEVER die to fire or anything else and move anywhere i need to.
Aye mate
I also think key bindings are important, couldn't play smoothly without them. However, I have very small hands so reaching those yellow keys or pressing ctrl/alt+1, 2, 3, etc. during hectic combat is very difficult for me (using function keys is practically impossible). To solve this issue I have got a mouse with multiple buttons which I've bound via HealBot to my healing spells that work only when I have the mouse cursor on HealBot health bars. When I have the cursor outside HealBot I can use the same key bindings for other stuff. Using mouse buttons also allows me to use ctrl and alt modifiers easily. I hope this helps other people who have problems reaching buttons.
Very good guide. I've gotten used to a few keybinds of my own, but not nearly as many as I have seen some other people use.
There are two in particular that I came up with on my own a while back in BC when playing a rogue that have served me well; Shift + Mouse Wheel Down and Shift + Mouse Wheel Up. I tend to use those for reactionary abilities, since they seem to flow well and are very easily accessable.
Kick was Shift + Mouse Wheel Up (since you're kicking up) and Kidney Shot was Shift + Mouse Wheel Down (since you're locking them down). I've since used them on other classes typically for interrupts and reactionary defensive abilities, like my DK's MindFreeze/Strangulate macro and Anti-Magic Shell.
Other than that, I tend to use 1-5, Shift 1-5, F1,`, R, F, and V. Unfortunately, I just have a hard time with anything else. If I can't bind it to those keys, I will click it. But those tend to be abilities I seldom use anyway.
I find it very effective to have Ctrl + Scroll up and down to have my pet on attack and folow, Also i find it extremely imprortant to have my strangulate and deathgrip focus target on my mouse for the fastest possible reaction .
I am surprised noone is using Caps Lock for abilities,since its one extra Green key, and maybe the easiest accessible of them all! I menan its a huge key right after A :P
I have a completely different way of keybinding that I made up myself.
I don't use the letters at all for movement. I use the numberpad for moving - since it's right next to the mouse, my right hand is for moving - I go between it and the mouse as appropriate.
4/6 for turning, 7/9 for strafing, 2/8 for forward/backwards, 5 for autorun, +/- to tilt up and down while flying, 0 to go down, * for reverse camera, / to autofollow. I use the keypad decimal for vent push-to-talk. No use for 1/3, but I can do all of that with one hand.
As for abilities, I use QWER ASDF ZXCV for easy access to 12 abilities with one hand - the skills I use most. I have 3 skillbars on the screen at once (the lower-right and rightside), and use shift and control of QWERASDFZXCV to access them.
The number buttons are for the 'special' skillbar that appears above your main one - like priest's Shadowform and shaman's totems.
Very nice guide, like you said at the start alot of people are put of with the thought of keybinding me being one of them but im going to give it a shot tonight when i get home, as a pvper being able to mouse move is just win, Thanks again VERY helpful.