Marauder Naga Keybinds Suggestions- PvP

[YanksfanJP]

So I finally decided to take the plunge and bought a Razer Naga mouse for myself. It's definitely taking some getting used to having almost everything bound to my mouse hand and not my keyboard hand.

 

I am leveling a Marauder (lv25) and am looking for suggestions as far as how other Marauders (or Sentinels, if you're lurking) are binding your abilities to your Naga. What keybinds are you going with? I've never used a whole lot of Alt or CTRL modifiers and very few Shift modifiers when I was using the keyboard itself for binds, just a few here and there, so this is also taking getting used to.

 

Also, I noticed something odd. Based on a recommendation I read, I'm binding using the number pad instead of the main keyboard 1-0,-,+. When I assign the keys and Alt-modifiers, it's showing up on the action bars as "Alt+2" or "5" or whatever, which is fine, but when I use the Shift modifier instead of the Alt modifier, it shows up as "Shift+End" for example. It happens whether Num Lock is on of off (tried both). Is there any way to get it to say "Shift+3" in the action bar while using the number pad?

 

One thing I did to help the transition is to change my action bars to be three grids that are 3x4 so that they look just like the Naga pad. That way, I can visually associate which spells are on which buttons more easily. I'll post a screenshot when I get home (at work atm).

Edited May 19, 2012 by YanksfanJP

[Jagil]

First thing you need to do is get rid of all those alt and ctrl combinations.

 

I've bound my key bindings as below so I don't need alts (they cause issues if you hit 2 buttons at a time sometimes). The keys are all ones which aren't bound ingame by default (at least not to anything I use due to G150 keyboard).

 

Main Bar

1234567890-=

 

2nd Bar

ABDEFHJQW insert pgup pgdn

 

3rd Bar

f1 f2 .... f12

 

Then its a matter of binding them in a way that works for you. The Naga is a tricky mouse to use. Buttons 1 to 5 are easy enough to use, so you should keep your frequently used abilities bound to those. 6 to 12 are tricky to get to and I generally don't use them. Also use mouse button 3 (wheel button) for a main attack too.

[YanksfanJP]

Anyone who knows what they're talking about, maybe?

[Animaras]

The Naga is a great piece of equipment for upgrading your gameplay. Especially for MMO's, so good choice on it. Mine has only brought me a better experience ever since it arrived at my door step. Took me around 2-3 weeks of casual play to get it down near perfectly, but it was worth the learning curve.

 

To begin with, I play my Maruader (lvl 46 currently) as carnage spec. So if you're annihilation or rage, keybinds will be different. However I'm going to assume that you will be able to figure out what needs to be replaced/moved to cater your spec/playstyle. I personally use my Naga atypically, so this may be confusing but I hope it sparks some ideas or even helps your experience with this mouse. I hope even further that others reading this may find new ways to use their Naga to improve their gameplay and even share/critique to benefit the community. With that said, this will be a long one, so grab a cold one

 

(Writing this from work with no Naga or SWTOR in front of me So bare with me lol)

 

Overview/First Thoughts

 

Okay, so we know the grid on the Naga looks something like this:

 

| 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 |

| 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 |

| 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 |

 

I'm assuming that the average player uses their Naga to bind to the 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0,-,= keys respectively to the grid, and I'll assume further that they group their skills based on easy to reach keys or in groups of 3's across the four "columns" on the grid. For example, they may have Assault at 1, Battering Assault at 2, and Viscous Slash at 3 (or massacre/whatever). Then they would work on the next column beginning at 4 and so forth with maybe their priority skills and such.

 

Now I don't follow that design personally. While it may work for most, I found that is wasn't as efficient when it came to grouping skills together on the same row/column. The groups of three skills working across four columns left me wanting just one more skill per column, even if it meant sacrificing an entire column. So in lieu of that thought I improvised on how I use the grid.

 

Main Keys

 

-Group 1 = The Spammers

 

The 1 key on the Naga is where my thumb naturally rests and is a great starting point for anyone to work with, so I bound that with my normal attack, aka assault. Instead of working vertically up to the 2 key, I work horizontally back to give me four keys per "column" on the grid. So I bound key 4 with battering assault. Working in the same direction, key 7 is Viscous Throw (used to be Viscous Slash). Lastly, I bound key 10 with the interrupt Disruption. This first column I set up are my most used abilities.

 

-Group 2 = The Rotation

 

Continuing the trend I make the second column which consists of 2, 5, 8, 11 my primary damage rotation. Key 2 is Massacre, key 5 is Gore, key 8 is Ravage, key 11 is Force Scream. This helps me with remembering rotations and keeping everything organized by only having to slide my thumb back one key per move.

 

-Group 3 = The Controllers

 

The last group I have set up are the 3, 6, 9, and 12 keys. I put my slows, roots, cc and such in this group. Key 3 is Crippling Slash, key 6 is Deadly Throw, key 9 is Force Choke, and key 12 (for lack of other CC and such) is my Smash which can come in handy for objective holding (Voidstar anyone?).

 

Modified Keys

 

Twelve keys down, but I'm sure you know it takes more than that to play a Marauder efficiently. So I use the same method for the main keys, but just modify all of them with Shift. This effectively gives me 24 keys to play with and bound to just the grid alone with only one modifier used.

 

-Group 1 = Leap/Fury Spenders

 

I start off with Shift+1 being Force Leap. That's one of those abilities that just seems to require the quickest reaction to and feels natural to be "coupled" with assault as a gap closer for us as a melee. I move onto my Fury spenders after leap, starting with Shift+4 is my Berserk. (Protip - If you use the Berserk+Massacre+Gore spam, you'll notice that Berserk is literally underneath Gore, making for quick activation and simple thumb slide up to massacre for some juicy spammage.) I then make Shift+7 my Predation. I use this more often than berserk honestly, I like team buffs and leaving the opposing team in my dust while carrying the huttball Shift+10 is Bloodthirst, the fury spender I use least (long CD and I favor Predation personally) being in the back of the grid.

 

-Group 2 = Utility/Situational

 

This next group is my situational stuff. Used only in certain occasions, but since it's situational, it requires quicker reaction before that "situation" expires. So it only felt natural to group these skills in the middle of the grid for quick reach and use. Shift+2 is Retaliation, can't say how often that's finished off a second or third opponent with me only having like 3-10% life left. Nice little DPS squeeze given that you have excess rage. Shift+5 is Unleash. Put that bad boy right in the middle, never see me CC'd for longer than .5 secs if this is off CD (unless I get CC chained of course lol). Shift+8 is Obfuscate, totally unappreciated move that shuts down unexpected large hitters (enemy Ravages = nadda with this on them). Shift+11 is Intimidating Roar, which personally sees less use than Obfuscate, but only by a little bit.

 

-Group 3 = Oh Sh*t! CDs

 

Yeah, the stuff that keeps us alive goes next. Formerly known as the defensive CDs. These are sitting on the top of the grid, which seems to help me remember exactly what I'm hitting with my thumb. Shift+3 is Cloak of Pain, my most used CD in the front. Following up at Shift+6 is Saber Ward. I know this has a long CD and usually gets used less, but it has some great synergy with CoP and beefs your damage reduction quite a bit when used in conjunction (duh). Did I mention that I love running the huttball yet? Shift+9 is Force Camo, being my "Get out of here!" skill with a lower CD than Undying Rage which falls last at Shift+12 as my last resort.

 

Action Bars

 

I believe this is purely personal, but I will include this just in case it helps. I do the double bars on the bottom of my UI. So two rows of 12 skills, one stacked on top of the other. The first twelve are the Main Keys while the bottom twelve are the Modified Keys. I organize my skills on them pretty much in the same way I just explained above, but all in a single row. This requires rebinding of the slots, just fyi. The first four slots are dedicated to my 1 key, 4 key, 7 key, and 10 key (Main keys - First Group). All in a row, like a lovely bunch of coconuts. The following four slots are the next group, or the Main Keys - Second Group. Last four slots, following the trend, are the Main Keys - Third Group. The second action bar below works in the exact same manner, but with the Modified Keys. First four go to First Group, next four go to Second Group, and last four go to Third Group. This keeps all of my skills organized, neat, and easy to follow while swinging my death sticks (want to buy some?) at repubs and the like.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Well, being a level 46 I don't have ALL my skills yet (Frenzy). I'm going to have a problem finding a spot for Frenzy... So input on this would be helpful! Also, this doesn't include bindings for relics/stims. I'm still working that one out myself, I will probably throw them on an easy to reach spot on the keyboard considering the extra keys on the mouse itself (up by the left click) are kind of awkward to reach. Again, input on this would be appreciated. I may switch Disruption with Viscous Throw also, making them keys 7 and 10 respectively. Need to play around with it.

 

I PvP a lot and find that this setup helps me to mash my enemies into the ground, while very seldom going "***! I didn't want to hit (insert skill)!" So hopefully you will join the club of destroying nubs in PvP with this setup, or even come up with a inspired different/new setup of your own to share. Ask if you have any questions or message me in game to my Marauder, Braxis, if you wander into Darth Malak.

 

Edit: Here is an image of my action bar. This was taken at lvl 44, so no Viscous Throw yet.

Action Bar

Edited May 20, 2012 by Animaras

[bassfu]

Wall of text.

You've convinced me to shuffle around my abilities.

 

Try using ctrl or alt if those aren't bound to something already. Also you could try rolling/clicking the mouse wheel for stims or relics you'll be using off CD.

 

Main Bar

1234567890-=

 

2nd Bar

ABDEFHJQW insert pgup pgdn

 

3rd Bar

f1 f2 .... f12

You must have extremely long fingers, those are ridiculous bindings.

Edited May 20, 2012 by bassfu
spelling

[Animaras]

Glad to have (hopefully) helped.

 

Great idea. I may just do that actually. It's ridiculous how many viable skills Marauders have (24 bindings and still not enough space lol), but that's what makes them fun in my opinion.

Edited May 20, 2012 by Animaras

[YanksfanJP]

So far i'm finding it difficult to reach the 10-12 keys on the Naga, so I'm using 1-9 and then binding some spelled, mostly things that would be channeled like Ravage and Force choke, to keys on the keyboard around my movement keys, since I can't move while using them anyway. Edited May 20, 2012 by YanksfanJP

[JBlazeATX]

I don't have the Naga Mouse, Instead I use the Razer Nostromo. If that mouse can do priority macro's there are several abilities you can link together for fewer overall buttons. A few examples:

 

Battering Assault > Assault. This macro will always use your best available melee rage generator.

 

Vicious Throw > Deadly throw > Force Scream (optional). Ranged Attack macro

 

Smash > Sweeping slash. "AE" attacks

 

Vicious Throw > Annihilate > Vicious Slash. Uses best available rage dump.

 

You can also modify alot of these macros for more functionality. Here is a moddified version of the above rage dump macro that will first try to use a rage attack then if you are low on rage it will try to generate some for you and then if you are out of melee range it will try a throw.

 

Vicious Throw > Annihilate > Vicious Slash > Battering Assault > Assault > Deadly throw

 

Lazy man button(Anni Spec):

 

Vicious Throw > Annihilate > Deadly Saber > Battering Assault > Rupture > Vicious Slash > Assault > Deadly Throw

 

Not recommended for true optimal dps, but this one button will let you run through most of the Anni rotation just by spamming one button and if you get out of melee range it tries to Deadly throw.

[Swarna]

I recommend using off-gcd abilities like your interrupt, Retaliate, defensives, etc on your keyboard. Feels nice when you can comfortably use those while still using your on-gcd abilities with your mouse.

 

My Naga binds (some substitutions depending on spec):

 

1 - Assault

2 - Rupture

3 - Crippling Slash

4 - Battering Assault

5 - Vicious Slash/Massacre

6 - Annihilate/Force Scream

7 - Sweeping Slash

8 - class buff (buff allies all the time)

9 - might stim

alt+9 - endurance stim (switch up between these 2 a lot in huttball)

10 - warzone medpack

11 - warzone adrenal (I have my biochems bound to the keyboard, will probably switch em around after I save up enough for Rateds)

12 - out-of-combat heal (extremely useful to bind, I use it almost instantly when I get out of combat. Good for 1v1's against vanishes, forces them to interrupt you)

 

The rest is on the keyboard including Vicious Slash, Smash, Scream(when it's not on the mouse). Some stuff like my lightsaber forms and sprint are bound to my mouse with a modifier for the rare occasion I accidentally click them off from my buffs (happens quite a bit because I remove Berserk sometimes when I want to start building fury asap).

Edited May 20, 2012 by Swarna

[Animaras]

So far i'm finding it difficult to reach the 10-12 keys on the Naga, so I'm using 1-9 and then binding some spelled, mostly things that would be channeled like Ravage and Force choke, to keys on the keyboard around my movement keys, since I can't move while using them anyway.

 

Yeah, I ran into the same problem when I first got mine. Those keys were the last ones I fully got down. Hence the 3 or so weeks of practice. It takes time, but if you put something there that is used frequently enough (for me it was Force Scream on 11) you kind of get forced to be better proficient at it. Just like how some people unbind the WASD keys entirely to teach themselves how to use the mouse to run around instead.

 

I also used to run and interrupt my ravages and such sometimes. But again, that dropped entirely with practice. I might do it once every 15 WZs or so now, no one is perfect lol

[Xerain]

IMO figure out your own keybinds dont' use other peoples. Putting every thing in it's place yourself will allow you to know where it is much easier and better.

[Jagil]

Anyone who knows what they're talking about, maybe?

 

Wouldn't work for you with a welfare keyboard, but with the mouse and my keyboard, I have access to 13 rebindable mouse buttons (use 5-6) + 10 rebindable keyboard buttons + 5 unbindable within easy finger reach of my directionals. More than enough to perform all the time critical tasks and all the non-urgent ones go on the f-keys.

 

I have absolutely no problem at all with my fuidity compared to most of the marauder vids I've seen which look painful.

[Sameria]

The Naga is a great piece of equipment for upgrading your gameplay. Especially for MMO's, so good choice on it. Mine has only brought me a better experience ever since it arrived at my door step. Took me around 2-3 weeks of casual play to get it down near perfectly, but it was worth the learning curve.

 

 

Very nice write-up

[Animaras]

IMO figure out your own keybinds dont' use other peoples. Putting every thing in it's place yourself will allow you to know where it is much easier and better.

 

I agree. Though it helps to hear ideas, or suggestions, in order to build your own off of.

 

Very nice write-up

 

Thank you

[_Neb]

I use both of Raser’s Nostomo and Naga. I set my keybinds based on frequency and easy of use: more frequently used = keybind on easier to click locations, both for the left and right hands. I also started to setup consecutive use abilities to flip between left and right hands to reduce response time, but in the end thought this was a bit much, so haven’t pursued this too far.

 

On the Naga my thumb rests over the 5 button when not in use, so this is the starting point and easiest to use. The next easiest to use buttons spiral out from here, these being buttons 2, 4, 6 and 8. Hence I have the following keybinds:

5 – Assault

2 – Furious Assault

4 – Annihilate

6 – Rupture

8 – Deadly Saber

 

Next easiest to use are buttons 1, 3, 7, and 9, which are bound to:

1 – Disruption

3 – Sweeping Slash

7 – Ravage

9 – Vicious Throw

 

The last 3 buttons are a pain to use to start with and took me a while, but after a lot of continuous use are now OK. These I have setup as the 3 fury abilities:

10 – Berserk

11 – Predation

12 – Bloodthirst

 

Now mouse buttons 4 and 5 I found to be the most difficult to get used to. Even harder than buttons 10-12, so I stayed away from keybinding these to start with, but then ran out of keybinds with the huge number of skills for a Marauder, so now these are the oh *****, long CD abilities Saber Ward and Undying Rage.

 

Note that so far no modifiers are used, but I do in combination with the mouse scroll button to allow for all 6 consumables in the same place:

Scroll up – Relic #1

Scroll down – Rakata Adrenal

Press – Rakata Medpac

Shift + scroll up – Relic #2

Shift + scroll down – WZ Adrenal

Shift + press – WZ Medpac

 

This leaves a fair few abilities keybound to the Nostromo, but I have found a place for everything on there without the use of macros or modifiers. Hope this helpful.

[dredgodde]

Keybindings are so personal, but here is a tip you might want to try. I use all 4 bars, so need the naga.

 

Bar 1 is default, ie 1-0 and - and =, it has my short cooldowns and main rotation

Bar 2 is for keys close on my left hand, so shift + q, shift + e, shift + r, q ,e ,\ ,z,x ,v,r,f,c it has my interrupts and CC

Bar 3 is shift + the default it has long cool down abilities

Bar 4 is control + default, it is utility, sprint ,stance etc

As I am using control for my casts, I have remapped the companion bars to ALT + default. I have also mapped button 4 and 5 to companion actions that change per companion and I switch naga profiles named after the companion I am using, so ALT +9, ALT+5 etc.

 

I hold alt down with my thumb if I need to cast a companion AOE or charge that is not already mapped to button 4 and 5. This takes a bit of practice, but by level 25 you'll be doing this easy.

 

This gives me 48 personal keybinds plus 12 companion keybinds. I do the same for all characters, so dont have to spend an hour relearning when I switch alts.

Edited May 21, 2012 by dredgodde

[PenoNation]

As mentioned, what works for some may not work for others. I still use the 1-5 keys for my main attacks (Annihilation spec, by the way), and I combine them with my Naga. Here is how I have mine set up (going on memory). I like having both of my throws above and below each other (3 & 6)

 

1 - Force Leap........ [shift] + 1 - Medpac

2 - Force Choke..... [shift] + 2 - SMASH

3 - Vicious Throw... [shift] + 3 - Force Scream

4 - Ravage.............. [shift] + 4 = Dispatch (stun break)

5 - Force Camo

6 - Deadly Throw

7 - Disruption (interrupt)

8 - Cloak of Pain

9 - Relic (buff)

10 - Disruption (interrupt).. [shift] + 10 - Intimidating Roar

11 - Intimidating Roar

12 - Relic (buff)

 

Click down on Wheel - Berserk

Shift/Click down on Wheel - Mount/Dismount

[YanksfanJP]

Thanks for the suggestions. It's been about 2 days so far of fumbling around a bit, but I can see it starting to get a bit easier. Hopefully a full slate of Memorial Day weekend will help out

 

One thing... I find that I always keep the right mouse button pressed down while I'm in battle, to make it easier to rotate the screen and make turns while strafing (even before I got a Naga). Is it normal for someone to just keep that button pressed the entire time you are in a PvP fight? Does anyone else do that?

[Maestrodomus]

You need a G13 or something similar to go all the way. Can't beat the two in combination; especially if you can get used to the joystick for moving.

[DarthOvertone]

So far i'm finding it difficult to reach the 10-12 keys on the Naga, so I'm using 1-9 and then binding some spelled..

 

The trainers are helpful in this regard. When I first got my Naga, I used the trainers until I wore them out (about 3-4 weeks). The trainers really help you to develop tactile familiarity.

 

I have big fingers so my only issue now is that the buttons are a bit small. For instance, I often hit the 2-3 buttons and 4-5 buttons at the same time. So I have those keybound with skills that can't be fired simultaneously so I don't waste a skill.

 

Keybindings, of course, are a personal choice. I have nothing to add in that regard except recommending that you identify which buttons you use the least on your Naga and put non-twitch skills/abilities on those buttons.

Edited May 23, 2012 by DarthOvertone

[leeroyclarkson]

Wow, there are some crazy suggestions out there. I am sure any of them work as you get the muscle memory going. I generally used wasd to move and then moved my hand up and pressed 1-6 keys to attack things. However I use a trackball and there are very few made with more than 2 buttons and a ball that is rotated with your fingers and not your thumb.

If you have a naga mouse you can do this even easier, download Microsoft intelli-set (just do a google search) and bind whatever keys are comfortable to use to the shift key and the ctrl key (i stay away from the alt key) in the intelli-set program. Then arrange your hotbars to have 2 rows of 6 on top of each other, a little space in the middle, then another 2 rows of 6 on top of each other. This will allow you to bind 18 keys without having to learn nearly anything.

I use 1-6 for short cooldown offensive skills and I press 1-6 on the keyboard.

I use Shift 1-6 underneath for first bar for long offensive cooldowns and hold down that 1st button on the mouse and press 1-6 on my keyboard

I use Crtl 1-6 on the top of the next row for my defensive cooldowns and hold down the 2nd button on the mouse and press 1-6 on my keyboard

Now you have 18 hokeys with 2 buttons and 1-6 keys that you are used too. Map the rest of the naga keys as normal of any other skills you need

 

This actually wasn't enough for me after I got used to it, so i mapped 7 through = as well for other things that I didn't need to use often and now know them by heart, but a naga would definitely make it easier

[Hadlis]

Your going to love your new mouse. I'm sure by all the different ways to keybind your getting in these posts you can see there is no right way to do it.

 

My suggestion is use the 1-6, 7 and 9. Put the little rubber thingys on 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 so you always know where your thumb is at.

 

Now I like having 3 of my tool bars stacked right in front of me and my 4th over to the right. The one on the right is where I stick any keys I have macroed since I'm not looking at them and dont' care about their cool down indicaters. Place all your abilitys that you need to watch for CD's in close proximity to each other so you can see them and be able to alway know which button you can push next.

 

It's going to take about 2 weeks to get the hang of using your thumb.

 

I still use the 1-3 keys on my keyboard as well as qwertfcx.

 

good luck

 

Edit: Macro your Force Charge with Cloak of Pain and Sabwer Ward. What that does is always have CP and SW up each time you leap to someone....2 less buttons to press.

Edited May 24, 2012 by Hadlis

[YanksfanJP]

The trainers are helpful in this regard. When I first got my Naga, I used the trainers until I wore them out (about 3-4 weeks). The trainers really help you to develop tactile familiarity.

 

I have big fingers so my only issue now is that the buttons are a bit small. For instance, I often hit the 2-3 buttons and 4-5 buttons at the same time. So I have those keybound with skills that can't be fired simultaneously so I don't waste a skill.

 

Keybindings, of course, are a personal choice. I have nothing to add in that regard except recommending that you identify which buttons you use the least on your Naga and put non-twitch skills/abilities on those buttons.

 

I put the trainers on 1-3 and 7-9. That seems to be the best setup so far for me to learn the muscle memory needed.

[Mikniff]

current 34 mara anni spec

 

My current settup for my personnal ease, not only for hand movement but how I have my Action bars placed and the skills location on them. in short eye movment ease. haha

 

1-12 naga = Deadly Saber, Battering Assult, Rupture, Ravage, Assult, vicius slash, smash, disruption, deadly throw, force choke, 11 and 12 are still empty

 

1-6 main bar(wear i put most of my stims, heals odds and ends, and the second half of my shift + naga 1-12)

throw ball, crit adrenal, pve med, might stim, war med, war adrenal.

 

11-12 main bar channel hate, pve med with hot

 

q = force charge , e = retaliation, f = relic , x = unleashed, c = cloak of pain, middle mouse = saber ward

 

shift + naga 1-12= Berserk, obfuscate, heroic, crippling slash, disable droid, unnatural might, sweeping slash, force camo, savage kick, pomel strike, 11/12 empty

 

I find is easy and works well in my time in pvp

Edited May 25, 2012 by Mikniff

[Spiderbubble]

All this talk makes me really want to get a gaming mouse. I have so many abilities that I find awkward to use due to their location on the keyboard for me (all the modifiers get silly after a while) and I therefore rarely find myself using relics/adrenal in PvP because I can't reach it on demand.

 

Gaming mice are just so expensive. This game already cost a lot of money to buy and play, ditching out another $80 for a mouse becomes silly, but I really want to get one at some point. I have a 3 button mouse, and the scroll wheel press is my interrupt (or my cover on my sniper).