Horns over at
Yet Another Warlock Nerf wrote an extremely handy
guide to key bindings in his
l2pvp series, and it's a pretty good read. Although he writes mostly for a
Warlock audience, pretty much all of his tips hit the nail right on the head, giving a practical, easy to understand guide on how to start key binding. I wanted to cover this at some point in
The Art of War(craft), but with guys like Horn writing guides like these, I probably don't have to! He notes the three principles of successful key binding:
- Start slowly - Horn says to take your time and not rush to key bind everything you've got (that would actually be pretty unwieldy...). Key bind one or two spells first and get used to it, eventually moving on to more key bindings.
- Speed - He also rightly points out that key bindings should consist of key combinations that are accessible with one hand, e.g., it doesn't make sense to bind CTRL+9 unless you're some sort of long-fingered, quintuple-jointed mutant
- Efficiency - Bind the important spells first, and not those on long cooldowns that aren't always clutch, like Innervate. Which means I'll probably need to unbind my Mini Tyrael...
He even has a great illustration of a keyboard lay-out color coded to show which keys are easier to access along with the modifier keys. There are a whole bunch more of excellent tips over at his blog so give it a read if you want to get rid of that clicking habit. What the guide seems to lack, though, is an actual step-by-step guide on how to actually bind what spells to what keys through the
World of Warcraft interface. Personally, I just use
Bindpad since the default Key Bindings interface gets me a little dizzy.
Tags: Bindpad, Horn, Key-Bind, Key-Bindings, l2pvp, Locksucks, Warlock
Filed under: Tips, How-tos, PvP, Guides
Sep 11th 2008 at 9:00AM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Muse Sep 11th 2008 9:12AM
Is there any way to turn capslock into an actually useful key? It's right there, just between two of the most-used keys ever, standing out like an ugly sore thumb.
miked Sep 11th 2008 10:04AM
I turned mine into another CTRL key, thanks to this page: http://johnhaller.com/jh/useful_stuff/disable_caps_lock/
Jane Gray Sep 11th 2008 2:02PM
I changed my arena keybindings once and didn't realize it until we were mid arena and I deployed a mini-pet rather than bubbling. Oops, match lost.
Daku Sep 11th 2008 9:14AM
I've never seen a better key-binding interface than the one that comes with Bartender. Mouse over the skill, and press the key to be bound.
It's so simple.
Nick S Sep 11th 2008 9:36AM
Dominos is similar, and I agree - being able to bind keys that quickly and intuitively has totally changed the way I play.
Right now I'm using 1,2,3,4/Shift-1,2,3,4 and Tilde as my main keybindings, and the only things I have to click are trinket macros and unusual traps (meaning other than Frost and Freezing.)
Tilde is my utility key - for PvP it gets Conc Shot, for quests it gets my "dailies items" macro, for raiding it gets my Misdirect macro.
Oneiroi Sep 11th 2008 10:57AM
Thank you. I should have looked into how to do that with bartender. Since I've avoided the default blizzard key binding options like the plague. Didn't know it was that easy :X
Azza Sep 11th 2008 9:14AM
Nice guide, thanks for bringing this up Zach.
I play a mage and I only use 1,2,3,4 as polymorph, ice lance, frost bolt, frostnova respectively but i'll have to try to shift my playstyle to bindings more.
Wish I had a Mini Tyrael.. lol
placebo Sep 11th 2008 9:36AM
Mage here as well. I think a lot of my keybindings go back to my Q2 days (any fps for that matter) and I'm sure I could be more efficient but I haven't had any problems yet.
1 through = is Icelance, Fireball, Frostbolt (maxrank), Fireblast, Arcane Blast, Frost Nova, Polymorph, Arcane Explosion, Flamestrike, X Grenade, Blink, Wand
Ctrl+1 through Ctrl + = is Cone of Cold, Counterspell, Frostbolk (rank1) (forgot 4) Arcane missiles, Blizzard, Mana Shield, Dampen Magic, Empty, Eat food, Drink Water
Ctrl+R(eload) hehe - Coldsnap
Ctrl+B - Iceblock
Ctrl+F - Ice Barrier
Ctrl+C - Fire Ward
Ctrl+Z - Frost Ward
Ctrl+T - Eat Gem
Ctrl+Y - Evocate
Ctrl+W - WotF
Ctrl+Q -Forgot
Ctrl+E - Cannibalize
Etc, I have some other bindings too but at work and unable to check.
Kaidou Sep 11th 2008 9:26AM
Spellbinder !
Its a pretty nifty addon when it comes to key binding and saving screen space. You can bind everything from items to macros to spells.
PeeWee Sep 11th 2008 9:23AM
Nostromo N-52, all the keybinds you need instantly under your hand.
http://www.n52te.com/
Candina@WH Sep 11th 2008 9:51AM
I use a 9.99 USB numeric keypad. 17 key bindings (0-9, ".", +, -, *, /, Backspace, Enter.
+ a 7 button mouse (LMB, CMB, RMB, L Waist, Right Waist, Mousewheel toggle Left, MouseWheel toggle Right).
I play a resto shaman. I use the mouse to drive. I think it has to do with the fact I am left handed. And have never gotten the hang of the ASWD key based driving.
Zach Sep 11th 2008 10:38AM
hi PeeWee,
I really want to get one but I've read some bad reviews. Would you really recommend it?
nokturnus Sep 12th 2008 5:08AM
@Zach
I am using n52te for more than 8 months, I had Ideazon Merc before it and i just have to say ne52te is far superior to anything else i had my left hand on....well, not all, but almost ;). It takes a day or 2 untill you get rid of old WASD habits and get used to controlling your movement with thumb hat, but then, man, your response time is so much better. Great for any class and twice as good for melee dps,as it lets you move really fast around your target and still leaves 4 fingers for abilities. Just don't let initial confusion from adapting to the new concept put you off - as it is in majority of cases where it gets negative reviews.
Oscar Sep 11th 2008 9:30AM
I have to admit, I am a keyboard-first player. I don't do pvp (probably because of that) and it sucks on encounters like murmur when I'm playing a melee class. On the other hand though, I have access to, and actively use, in excess of 60 keyboard shortcuts. For me, it's a worthwhile tradeoff.
Oneiroi Sep 11th 2008 10:54AM
Wait, everyone always argue that keyboard is the best. Takes less time than the mouse. Why would it hurt you in PvP?
Mike Sep 11th 2008 1:37PM
He's saying keyboard-turnung is hurting him in PvP.
Icckleguy Sep 11th 2008 9:24AM
actually i was doing some looking around ion the tinternet for something along this very same purpose, came across a windows application with the server 2003 software package that included a .exe that allows u to remap ur keyboard, i got it for the purpose of deactivating my windows key ( i play on a laptop so it gets in the way) give us a sec.... *rummage rummage*
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9D467A69-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en
this is the link to the windows 2003 server toolkit. it is an offical windows website i promise no keyloggers. have a look and give it a wirle hope this helps u out
zorn Sep 11th 2008 9:40AM
Im 6ft2 and ctrl9 is easy...id never bind it though.
Vaeper Sep 11th 2008 9:43AM
Something I've found to work really nicely is the Nostromo N52 Gamepad http://reviews.cnet.com/game-controllers/belkin-nostromo-n52-speedpad/4505-3146_7-30596987.html
or it's newer version designed for 64 bit Operating Systems:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8609696&st=Nostromo&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1192233008066
Basically how it works (for those that never seen one) is rather quite simple. There are 14 buttons on the gamepad which can coorespond to 14 different keys on your keyboard. For instance, most people have their spells/abilities on the 1 through = toolbar (that is exactly 12 keys.) When you install the gamepad, you create a profile and "bind" the keys on your keyboard to whatever key you want the gamepad by essentially recording the keystrokes. Depending on what version of the gamepad you have, you would then bind that profile to the WoW launch execute file (the newer one automatically loads up) and for those of you who have several friends/family members who use the same computer to play WoW, each person can create their own profile specific to their playstyle.
It's designed to be used by your left hand, as there's a joystick-ish feature that works like a 360 degree directional pad that you move with your thumb, while the rest of your 4 fingers hit the 14 keys..........allowing you to essentially memorize what key does what spell/ability and lets you pay more attention to the game and all rather than trying to reach for the 9 key on your keyboard at the same time moving your character around and such----which can be rather difficult to do.
The learning curve is a bit high (ie. takes quite a bit of practice to learn) but once you get comfortable with it, you'll find that it makes a world of difference in not only your reaction times for playing but will significantly up your dps and allow for great spell/ability combinations. One thing to take into consideration (I'll use my main character, a mage, as an example) is this: as we all have different specs that give us talented abilities and such, it is highly recommended that standard abilities such as polymorph, counterspell, blink, iceblock and frostnova be bound to the same keys regardless of what spec you are. And obviously when one would switch from (let's say) fire spec to frost spec, your frostbolt would take the place of fireball, ice lance from scorch, CoC from DB.....and you get the idea. This way your playstyle really isn't altered from your "main and secondary nukes" and those "oh crap" buttons are still where you left them before.
I hope you all find this information helpful!
Dranaerys Sep 11th 2008 9:43AM
I prefer to use the Zboard Fang (http://www.ideazon.com/us/products/fanggamepad.asp) adn bind what I need with Bongos.
The downside to geting used to playing with the Fang/Nostromo is youll be forever useless if youre ever force to play with a normal keyboard again. :p