Anyone willing to post n52 configs here for the DK (even general ones)? Seems to remain OT
While I used it a bit for Guild Wars I really didn't find myself using it for WoW, might be time to change that.
The best setup I can come up with would be wasd/esdf on the central movement keys, 1-0 on the other 10, and shift/alt/ctrl for the other modes. I personally use dpad 'up' for a red mode (which is a mode toggle, actually), dpad 'back' for green, and the pita thumb button for blue mode (which has stuff like my mount key). The easy to hit thumb key--where space would be--is tab, I think, dpad forward is autorun, and dpad down is jump.
I don't know any special binds to make, use what works I guess.
I have found that grouping the different runes together is very convenient, with the Runic Power abilities close also. That, and putting them in the order you will use them seems to make the rune recharges more fluid.
For the n52, I use the thumb d-pad for movement (forward/back/strafing) and the buttons for abilities. I tend to put my spammable attacks on the middle row, my low cooldown and situational abilities on the top row, and my longer cooldowns on the bottom row. I also usually put modifiers on abilities to give me some other function or abiltiy; for example, strangulate/mind freeze on one button, or DC on target/DC on ghoul.
Pulling
1 - Death Grip (mouseover macro)
Shift + 1 - Death & Decay
Heals/Oh Shit buttons
E, Shift + E, Control + E - Bone Shield, Icebound Fort and Ctl+E is currently unbound
Misc
T - Rune Tap
Shift + T - Blood Boil
F - Death Coil (mouseover macro for easy pet healing)
Q - Chains of Ice
I'll probably change the Icy Touch/Plague Strike macro when I start raiding but for leveling it is sufficient to ensure a reasonably efficient rotation.
You can choose whatever bar you want to be the "possess bar". This applies to ghouls, mind control quests, and vehicles.
The problem with this, though, is that if I set the possess bar to a new, different bar, my keybinds (e.g. "1", "2", etc.) are still associated with bar #1. I don't think there is currently a way to have an invisible main bar with keybinds 1-9, and then have a separate visible possess bar using those same keybinds 1-9.
What would really work instead, is a "hide when not possessing" option for the main bar. Bartender4 has a "hide when possessing" option, but is missing the inverse. I'll make a suggestion to the author to add it, and just edit the lua to do this manually in the mean time.
I got an N52 on order now, going to be interesting configuring it, I think. will certainly make gaming more comfy, as an ex-console gamer, having a d-pad on the thumb may be intuitive ... has anyone else found that it is usable, freeing the directional keys for *actual* use, or is it more clumsy?
General Keyboard Layout Theory
When setting keybindings I always try to keep in mind that not all your fingers are equally as nimble or have the same reach.
Particularly, the pinky is short, ring finger doesn't have side mobility, thumb is out of reach and too big to have any precision pressing and index finger is the most mobile and quick of the fingers. Try it out, lay your hand on the keyboard at the classical typing position and try to reach keys around with your fingers. Then try to reach keys _while keeping another key pressed_. That should give you a good idea of what keys you can use with what keys.
So I lay out my bindings to maximize on these physiological constraints. The motto is:
* minimize movement
* minimize constraint
* maximize speed
Pinky is used to pretty much double the amount of buttons available by pressing shift. Keep in mind that holding shift down with the pinky restricts your index finger movement though, and to some extent ring finger extension too. Try reaching H with your finger while holding LSHIFT down with your pinky. Now try reaching J. It hurts. So not all possible combinations work. Combinations that work for me: S+1 to 4, S+Q to R, S+A to G, S+Z to C.
Index is the quickest, nimblest and most reaching finger, so it gets all the Interrupts, taunts and important cooldowns that you need NOW. Index finger can reach a surprising amount of keys, but you don't really want to put "every GCD" stuff on it. Save it for the quick reaction and seldomly used, yet powerful stuff. Keys I can reach with my index without stress: 4, 5, E to T, F to H, X to V, S+4, S+E, S+R (but not S+T), S+F, S+G (but not S+G), S+X, S+C (but not S+V).
Ring can pretty much only move upwards and a bit sideways before it hits the middle finger. But, in a WASD setup it has good reach and "weight" to strafing left, and your index is probably hovering clicking on stuff, so this whole setup favors "Left-side Strafers". Ring has good reach to Q and to 1 and ยบ (the key to the left of 1) too by just extending it if you're in a stationary position where you don't have to worry about quick strafing (i.e.: tanking).
Middle finger has good reach to the "front" keys: 2 and 3, and is mostly always locked down pressing forwards (W) anyways. It can double down to Z too, tho some people might have trouble bending the finger so much.
A really important thing to consider is moving your Ventrilo key to your mouse button, since your pinky is busy on Shift, and you don't want to stress that finger or you'll end up with carpal syndrome. You can also use ALT on your thumb, which is normally restricted to jumping anyways. For the same reasons, moving Next Target/Previous Target to your mouse wheel is good for your finger's health.
Specifically for DKs
I pair commonly used abilities with less commonly used abilities _in the same key_ and _by rune_. I also put the most commonly used "mashed" abilities at the buttons which cause the least strain and fall closer to the "natural" extended hand position: 1, 2, 3 and 4. That works for single rune strikes and UF strikes too. Example: 3 = Scourge Strike, S+3 = Death Strike. In other occasions I pair same function abilities with different cooldowns in the same key too. Example: E = Mind Freeze, S+E = Strangulate.
All my tanking cooldowns are on the "far" unshifted index finger keys, where I can reach them very easily and quickly if I need them in a pinch. Example: T = Icebound Fortitude, G = Bone Shield. An exception is "immunity" cooldowns, which are pretty much used only when tanking or when moving forwards (in PVP). I put those in Q, which forfeits my strafing if I'm PVPing tho. Example: Q = Anti-Magic Shield, S+Q = Anti-Magic Zone (again, on pairing similar function abilities, seldomly used one on Shift).
Long time, non-critical cooldowns are on Z and V, the hardest to reach keys in the entire setup.
Ghoul abilities are either macroed (Death Grip + Ghoul Stun) or clicked. You can also map basic pet attack/recall macros to your mouse keys.
Rune Strike is macroed to every strike and finisher. If I want to save the RP for tanking, I replace the macros with the raw abilities and assign Rune Strike to a "tanking quick click" slot.
Other classes
You can apply this design philosophy to every single class in the game. All classes have interrupts, dependencies between abilities, short and long cooldowns, critical cooldowns, "mash" repeatedly pressed abilities and things you barely ever use.
Just don't forget that your finger's health is very important too. Don't strain your fingers unnecessarily.
Last edited by okkita : 11/18/08 at 7:34 AM.
Reason: Fixed typos. Reviewed grammar.
I use WASD to move, ~ = interrupt, Q and E are my "bread and butter" keys, whichever ones I use the most (for my unholy DK they're currently blood strike and scourge strike). The rest of my main keys are scattered from 1-5 and z-v. My secondary bar is alt+bar1, shift+bar1 is used for things that are used out-of-combat and/or long term buffs/abilities (I find that alt is the easiest mod key to hit, shift is second easiest, ctrl is used as my vent button).
Annoyingly, when Shadow of Death procs and I come back as a ghoul, my keys are nothing like what I want. The key I'd normally use for interrupt (`) is now autoattack, I'd like it to be gnaw, as that's the closest I have to a spell interrupt as a ghoul. I'd like to map my ghoul's auto-attack-on button to the same one i use in "regular form".
Does anybody know if it's possible to remap the ghoul mode keys? I'm using Dominos, and I know that when I used it with my warlock I could shuffle the metamorphosis keys around and the demon mode abilities showed up in the spellbook. The Shadow of Death seems to work more like chess / gorefiend where it's a server-side script. At first I thought maybe it was because I needed to be out of combat to move buttons around, but even when I've killed whatever killed me as a ghoul and gotten OOC they buttons are still locked.
Is anybody else dissatisfied with the shadow of death key locations, and has anybody found a way to bind them to something better than the defaults?
I got an N52 on order now, going to be interesting configuring it, I think. will certainly make gaming more comfy, as an ex-console gamer, having a d-pad on the thumb may be intuitive ... has anyone else found that it is usable, freeing the directional keys for *actual* use, or is it more clumsy?
It works extremely well to use the d-pad for maneuvering, but you need to be accustomed to using mouselook already. I almost never use the d-pad for turning, I always mouselook to move around. That basically makes the d-pad work for strafing and forward/backward movement, which is far more useful.
Also, that useless orange button above the d-pad makes a great mount-up hotkey. Since you can't be moving and summon a mount, you may as well use a button for it that's on your thumb. Saves space on the main layout and/or screen of clicking a button.
It works extremely well to use the d-pad for maneuvering, but you need to be accustomed to using mouselook already. I almost never use the d-pad for turning, I always mouselook to move around. That basically makes the d-pad work for strafing and forward/backward movement, which is far more useful.
Also, that useless orange button above the d-pad makes a great mount-up hotkey. Since you can't be moving and summon a mount, you may as well use a button for it that's on your thumb. Saves space on the main layout and/or screen of clicking a button.
Would that not be better suited as a modifier key?
You can free up 2 keys very easily with macro managemnent. The 1st one is a simple rune strike macro; Because Rune Strike is a next melee skill it has no cool down upon activation so you can add it to virtually any ablity you want.
If you macro this to just about everything you will never need to press a button for rune strike and never even have to have it on your bar anywhere.
Another free button macro is a taunt macro. If you combine Death Grip with Dark Command you will free up another button. This macro is as follows
#show Death Grip
/castsequence reset=8 Death Grip, Dark Command
Using this macro is much like the above you will never have to hotkey Dark Command, what will happen is you will use Death Grip as normal but when you need to taunt you will press the same button again. If Grip is up fine it is a taunt and will do the job, if it is not up DC will be cast. Eight seconds later the macro will reset so if Grip is still not up you will get a not ready messsage but DC will still be cast.
None of these macros require double clicking to work and you now have 2 spells that do not have to be keybound or even visible on your bars.
Well, Death Grip isn't a true taunt, I would hesitate to have that be my go to taunt button, and have the first application only give me aggro, not permanent threat.
The only problem with macroing Dune Strike to every button is that there are times when you don't want to use it because you need the power for something else. Like getting off a UB or popping a tank skill such as icebound fort.
I don't understand using WASD for movement. It basically restricts the number of easy-to-access keys available. With ESDF Q, A and Z are all easy to access with the small finger and T, G and V with the index finger. Try reaching G or T while holding down W in a WASD config. Impossible or at least difficult.
Would that not be better suited as a modifier key?
My "useless orange button" is Control.
I use the lower left button under my pinky for a modifier. I get 26 total hotkeys rather than 28, but its worth the trade off. There are times when I need to be moving with the D-pad and have access to my modifier key abilities (arena, for instance, on my old mage).
Beyond that, the button itself is sorta difficult to press on my particular n52, you have to put a fair amount of pressure in it. I usually squeeze my hand against the back of it to press it down with the inside of my thumb, and it's difficult to do that and hit any of my other keys at the same time. Might just be my n52 though, I haven't tried anyone elses.
The only problem with macroing Dune Strike to every button is that there are times when you don't want to use it because you need the power for something else. Like getting off a UB or popping a tank skill such as icebound fort.
It's not often a problem, but the version of those macros I wrote solved that problem with the [modofier] flag. For example, plague strike is:
use EDSF for movement so you move away from tab/caps/shift to get closer to more keys you can bind.
bind the keys around your movement keys as your primary abilities (they're the closest)
use <modifier>+<key> combinations to double or triple the number of easily-reached abilities
so QWRTGBVCXZA are my core abilities, with time-sensitive abilities on RTG and A
A: this is where you put the ability you mash. It's where your pinky sits at rest, and your pinky isn't needed for movement.
RTG: these are extra easy to hit since your index finger is very dextrous.
Note1: I also try and put similar abilities as <key> and <shift> + <key>. For example: Mind Freeze is R, Strangulage is Shift+R.
Note: After doing this I had to rebind things like C (for character pane) and B(for bags). I use ctrl+<previous key binding> for interface options to solve this.
I am using an XBox 360 controller with SwitchBlade. The shoulder buttons on top are all configured as modifiers, such that I have 36 buttons available by applying various modifiers to the four face buttons. Pushing left stick Tab targets, left stick moves, pushing right stick is right mouse button (mouse look, interace), right stick moves cursor, d-pad, Back, and Start are used for non-combat functions.
It has been phenomenal for solo grinding. I can access every single ability in my arsenal instantly. Macros expand my utility, allowing me to easily assist main tank, change gear, mount, etc. Click-targeting suffers greatly, but even tanking I've found click-targeting to be inneficient. Tabbing to the proper target has always allowed me to regain aggro faster than clicking.
I don't think the OP was interested in key bindings.
Pretty sure he's thinking like I am thinking, we need mods that can show or play a sound for us, for example procs like sudden doom, our basic dmg/threat ability cool downs, as well as our 1-3 minute cool downs
ALL WHILE ALSO
Being able to pay attention to our environment, like if we need to move out of the way of some high dmg AOE etc etc all FLAWLESSLY without a lot of shifting of our eyes while also keeping the UI minimalistic so we can actually see our screen.
I don't think the OP was interested in key bindings.
Pretty sure he's thinking like I am thinking, we need mods that can show or play a sound for us, for example procs like sudden doom, our basic dmg/threat ability cool downs, as well as our 1-3 minute cool downs
ALL WHILE ALSO
Being able to pay attention to our environment, like if we need to move out of the way of some high dmg AOE etc etc all FLAWLESSLY without a lot of shifting of our eyes while also keeping the UI minimalistic so we can actually see our screen.
In that case, custom events with Scrolling Combat Text sounds like a good way to go. It already has a Rune Strike event that pops up a message, for example.
For rune cooldowns, the IceHUD rune module is quality. it has the runes anywhere you want on the screen (by default in the middle), shows their cooldowns in the turning-clock-overlay that looks like the GCD, and supports conversion to death runes.
For rune cooldowns, the IceHUD rune module is quality. it has the runes anywhere you want on the screen (by default in the middle), shows their cooldowns in the turning-clock-overlay that looks like the GCD, and supports conversion to death runes.
I want to add that imo death knights are uniquely suited for using HUD mods. The fact that you need so much information on the screen at a time means that using a bar-type mod makes your screen cluttered and confusing. If there was some way of integrating our diseases into the HUD that would make it perfect.
I want to add that imo death knights are uniquely suited for using HUD mods. The fact that you need so much information on the screen at a time means that using a bar-type mod makes your screen cluttered and confusing. If there was some way of integrating our diseases into the HUD that would make it perfect.
IceHUD + NeedToKnow does just that. Just make a 2 (3 for unholy) bar needtoknow group right above your runes and you're golden. I also added a fourth, larger bar for when unholy blight is active, and I would do the same for Death and Decay if it would let me, but since it's not a buff there's no way to access it. I've never used a HUD before, but it's been a worthy experiment with my DK.
11/17/08, 3:26 PM
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