Keybinding vs Clicking

[DarkLordSato]

So just wondering how many of you click your abilities in combat vs use keybinds.

 

I'm trying to transition from clicking to keybinding and it's fairly slow atm. I can get a decent rotation going after a while of practicing on the dummies on my ship, but my fear in PVP or Flashpoints is being a liability due to poor reaction times and not being used to it yet.

 

I've been a clicker pretty much since launch but I've heard from multiple sources that keybinding is 100% better. Anybody got tips or just stories around this?

[Ylliarus]

Have been a Clicker for 6 years now and honestly it doesn't bother me. I can compete with non-clickers just fine in PvP. I simply can't bring myself to transition to keybinding anymore, I've been clicking for so long that it suits me just fine and transitioning to keybinding is going to be such a hassle, relearning everything... nah, I'll stick with clicking

[AlrikFassbauer]

I'm both. When it's relaxed play, then I'm clicking, when everything must go fast it's key pressing. Edited December 24, 2018 by AlrikFassbauer

[Atma]

Keybinding is about a million times faster. Definitely something you want to learn. Edited December 24, 2018 by Atma

[tummiswtor]

I can't understand clickers

It's just not fun to look all the time on Your abilities, and watch players debuff/buff HP, etc.

I use keybinds and I dont even look on activation time becouse after all this time playing as Sage I automatically know when can use specific ability. Can Focus on everything else.

[AlrikFassbauer]

It's simple : I'm using a non-gaming keyboard with no lamps. I simply do not want to spend that much money on keyboards.

So, clicking is faster for me in the dark.

And because some environments ARE pretty dark, I do play often in the evening or in the night on weekends.

[Ylliarus]

I can't understand clickers

It's just not fun to look all the time on Your abilities, and watch players debuff/buff HP, etc.

I use keybinds and I dont even look on activation time becouse after all this time playing as Sage I automatically know when can use specific ability. Can Focus on everything else.

 

But my friend... I don't look at my abilities either? By now I have memorised where on my ability bar they are to click on without looking it's just like keybinding, if you ask me. Granted I have organised my ability bars in such a way to accomodate by clicking-playstyle, everything being easy to map, reach and memorise.

Edited December 24, 2018 by Ylliarus

[Mortis_Vox]

It's simple : I'm using a non-gaming keyboard with no lamps. I simply do not want to spend that much money on keyboards.

So, clicking is faster for me in the dark.

And because some environments ARE pretty dark, I do play often in the evening or in the night on weekends.

 

You fingers would memorize where you keybinds are after you switch over. No need for a lighted keyboard.

 

I can't stand clicking it's so much harder to menuver and use abilities when you click them.

[tummiswtor]

But my friend... I don't look at my abilities either? By now I have memorised where on my ability bar they are to click on without looking it's just like keybinding, if you ask me. Granted I have organised my ability bars in such a way to accomodate by clicking-playstyle, everything being easy to map, reach and memorise.

 

I respect that I would need to increase all HUD things so much to click ability without looking at them.

[Ylliarus]

I respect that I would need to increase all HUD things so much to click ability without looking at them.

 

Doesn't need to be that big, tbh. Here, let me show you how I have organised my abilities bar on my Jedi Knight for example: https://imgur.com/fKP8neb

 

On the left I have all the important defensive abilities. In the middle the offensive abilities I find using myself most and on the right the more miscellaneous stuff plus a few more important offensive abilities.

[AlrikFassbauer]

You fingers would memorize where you keybinds are after you switch over. No need for a lighted keyboard.

 

I can't stand clicking it's so much harder to menuver and use abilities when you click them.

 

I'm halfway into that. I still need to feel myself to F4 to F5, for example, as achors.

[Batwer]

I'm both. When it's relaxed play, then I'm clicking, when everything must go fast it's key pressing.

Me too. I have all the important abilities on the top bar. Below and beyond the skills I hardly need / are not so important. I'll click on that. Has always worked well.

[Everrgreen]

But my friend... I don't look at my abilities either? By now I have memorised where on my ability bar they are to click on without looking it's just like keybinding, if you ask me. Granted I have organised my ability bars in such a way to accomodate by clicking-playstyle, everything being easy to map, reach and memorise.

 

I did this for years too. But there were some sticking points with mobility, speed of rotation, and pov that were frustrating. So I bought a mechanical keyboard, set up an tentative keybound layout and it didn't take long at all to get used to it. So glad I made the change.

 

edit: That being said, I still click some abilities that are not keybound and are not used as often.

 

A gaming mouse is imperative IMO no matter if you click or key.

Edited December 24, 2018 by Everrgreen
adding info

[Ylliarus]

A gaming mouse is imperative IMO no matter if you click or key.

 

Agreed! I'm really happy with mine

[SiegePro]

What is this clicking of which you speak? I started playing PC games with the original Mechwarrior, then Doom and later the Dark Forces game... I have a hard time even using ASWD to steer (I still use the actual arrow keys that line up properly instead of the misaligned abomination that is ASWD) much less using a mouse.

 

I praised the Lord when they added the ability to center the click-placed AoEs by double-tapping the activation key and would love some sort of way to tab-target or something on the doors and NPCs and glowies so I don’t have to use the mouse at all.

 

As a result of my odd playstyle though I’ve got a ridiculous amount of efficient keybind locations. The Six-key block (and the / and backspace just to it’s left) just above the direction keys is my go to bind location, with the numeric keypad providing 16 more easy to hit with a pinky options. Then I’ve got the entire main keyboard available for binding any number of other abilities.

[Damask_Rose]

I click. I simply don't have the memory or coordination to keybind. My character would look like a spastic chicken if I tried to keybind. I know I'll never have the speed for ranked or NiM, but that's ok by me.

[DzastinBiberi]

Keybinding is better when u get used to it.

 

I got 4 bound abilities on my mouse and the rest are on my keyboard, on some of my abilities I click, but those are rarely used or have a long CD.

 

When I "mastered" my keybindings, I didnt even look at the buttons, I just press them when I want to use certain ability.

 

Muscle memory and all that I guess, it's far better and faster than clicking on your screen.

[LD_Little_Dragon]

It's not an either/or situation. You want to find a setup that works best for YOU.

 

There are a lot of abilites in the classes I run with and keybinding all them would be a right pita for me to get used to. I have 3 quickbars full of abilities, about half of them are often used, and the others are still needed sometimes.

 

I use a combination of keybinding and clicking. I use the wasd (or more accurately esdf) keys for movement - you strafe left/right instead of turning. Keybind the most used or most important abilites (main attacks/heals, stun, interrupt, and low-cooldown dcds) and then use clicking for the seldom-used abilites (like combat abilites on a healer or taunts on a dps).

 

A gaming mouse can be useful for extra quick buttons, but isn't absolutely necessary.

[Rion_Starkiller]

I use a weird combination of clicking, keybinds (1-2-3-4-5, R T F C + shift), and 6 mouse buttons. I can't imagine playing any other way.

 

I really like strafe, especially as melee dps during raids. There's nothing easier than strafing right or left to move out of a circle.

Edited December 24, 2018 by Rion_Starkiller

[IoNonSoEVero]

I just click. It's far more comfortable, physically, for me to use a mouse than to repetitively hit keys.

[PennyAnn]

There are quite a few situations (interrupts especially) that will not activate in time if you do not key bind them. Now, if you are not doing challenging content, this won't ever really matter.

 

But one example is the interrupt on the droids in the final boss battle (Kephess) of EC operation. Even in Story Mode, you cannot interrupt the 3 droids that come down in the very beginning of the fight by clicking. You must key bind your interrupt to actually get the ability interrupted. It is important to interrupt this ability because every time those droids get a successful channel of that ability they become harder to kill. In Story Mode you can still overpower them with full stacks that used to make them virtually un-killable, but in every other mode it's a problem. This is just one example, but this issue is a problem everywhere in the game you see a quick-casting ability that needs to be interrupted to help you succeed in a fight. The quicker the ability bar, the more imperative that you keybind your interrupt if you want it to be successful.

 

In PvP this is also true. The interrupt is particularly susceptible to not working with clicks, and instead will fail to interrupt and just put your interrupt ability on cool down having failed the reason you used it to begin with. The activation delay with clicking can absolutely ruin your ability to interrupt effectively, when keybinding an interrupt does not suffer the same activation delay.

 

The other important factor to key binding vs. clicking is character movement. You cannot turn your character with your mouse and be clicking abilities at the same time. Keyboard turning characters is extremely slow, and people can absolutely run circles around you in PvP if you use the keyboard to turn your character. The difference is night and day.

 

It can be difficult to get used to doing this, but mouse movement for your character and keybinding your abilities will not only help you be a better/more effective player in SWTOR, but just about any other game you want to play. It's a good habit to build. It obviously isn't necessary, especially if you are not doing the hardest content in the game... but it will always make you more efficient no matter what level of play you are engaging in, and I would highly recommend it.

 

.

Edited December 24, 2018 by PennyAnn

[Lunafox]

Keybinding is about a million times faster. Definitely something you want to learn.

 

This ^^

 

I also Keybind. I used to be a clicker years ago, but someone advised me to learn keybinds and after doing so, I've never looked back.

[Rivazar]

I use keys. Pity combinations with Ctrl don’t work so. And I use mouse for mount, teleport, buffs. Edited December 24, 2018 by Rivazar

[LD_Little_Dragon]

The other important factor to key binding vs. clicking is character movement. You cannot turn your character with your mouse and be clicking abilities at the same time. Keyboard turning characters is extremely slow, and people can absolutely run circles around you in PvP if you use the keyboard to turn your character. The difference is night and day.

 

the mouseturning being faster is true, but that's why I said find what works for you. I tried mouseturning while attacking and it made me dizzy, which is part of the reason I'll never do NiM OPs or Ranked PvP.

 

Athough pvp players need to learn when NOT to run circles around their targets. I can always spot the mostly pvp players in flashpoints- they're the ones who make turning the boss away from the group pointless because they'll just run around into the boss' cleaves.

[Morvoldo]

used to be clicker but after playing eso and getting a 24 button mouse (12 buttons on the side) i bind all to those via 1-12 and shift, ctrl, and never looked back as its so much easier, just use arrow keys to move and num 1 to jump and num 0 sit.

 

now i play this and wow like it

Edited December 24, 2018 by Morvoldo