Guild Wars 2

I was wondering how ‘good’ players use their hands when playing.
I googled keyboard gw2 and saw some good hot key setups, but I’m wondering what you do with the mouse and keys.

For example I have been learning bad habits and clicking half of my attacks with the mouse. I want to get better and don’t think this will cut it. I am guessing good players do all attacks with keyboard and somehow steer with the mouse, but I’m not clear on how it is done.

I think this question is clear, but if anyone wants more explanation, no problem.

I look forward to seeing what different players do ….

-innerlight

Personally I use:
1-5 weapon attacks
F1 heal
F2 utility 1
Mouse 5 utility 2
F3 utility 3
Mouse 4 ultimate (w/e it’s called, utility 4)
V profession skill 1
Mouse 2 profession skill 2
Mouse 3 profession skill 3
F4 profession skill 4
F5 profession skill 5
F dodge
Z action button
Push to talk is M1 (middle click)

QEWASD to move, RMB to look around, R to autorun when needed and the rest don’t really matter.

It’s the most comfortable way I’ve found by a mile. I can’t stand the 99% of keybinds people recommend where you move skills to places like QERFVCXZ.

I’ve got a mouse with 4 additional buttons, which helps a great deal. Getting used to pushing buttons instead of clicking is just a matter of doing it for a while. Imo, just make up your own, though. What’s best for someone else won’t necessarily be the best for you.

Peoples fingers are different lengths and varying reflexes. There are some good general keybind layouts but mostly you want to change it up as you go along little by little to fit your spread in a way that keeps you from having to lift your hand much if at all. All of my keybinds are inside a grid of keys [~] [Ctrl][Space] [V] and [T] so at most I have to lean my palm to the side a bit to press Ctrl for my Elite skill. My mouse only has two extra buttons on the side but that’s about all I need.

Fermi mentioned Mouse 1 for push to talk, I’ve tried everything else since the later 90’s and always end up back on that middle mouse button for voice comms.

I’m not a great player, but I am pretty lazy (and that gives me the desire to streamline things), so I bind everything in a grid from F1-F4 and all the keys beneath them. All the mouse does is steer and click stuff in my inventory/journal/auto run. My PTT button is my left control button, which I’ve inverted, so that it fits the curvature of my palm.

WASDQE- Movement
1-5: Weapon Skills 1-5
`: Weapon Swap
F1-F4: Profession Skills
Alt+Q: Utility 1
Alt+W: Utility 2
Alt+E: Utility 3
Alt+A: Profession skill that would normally be F5
Alt+S: Heal
Alt+D: Eliete skill
C: Hero panel
V: Inventory
R: Reply/Tell
Middle Mouse: Auto Run
Ctrl: PTT button
Shift: Dodge

For me, I tried to modify the standard setup so that the most used keys are nearest. In the default, F1..F4 is way too distant, and so is 6..0. The goal is to never click any skills.

As mouse I use a Logitech G700 that has 4 thumb buttons. The ideal tool to put F1..F4 there, especially for my Ele, where permanent attunement switching is vital.
Then I moved WASD to ESDF (one key to the right), because this way the left hand is in the same position as when I type text. The index finger feels and rests on the small knob on the F, so I can position the hand without looking on the keyboard.
Then I positioned the often used utility skills (6,7,8) in a half-circle below the 5 -> T,G,B.
Healing is on 6 and additionally on the R, because R is nearer.
The other functions get one of the remaining buttons.

Here is a complete overview for the important keys:

F1..F4: mouse thumb buttons 1..4
F5: mouse top button 3 (one of 3 additional G700 button on the top of the mouse)
skills1..5: keys 1..5 as usual
skill 6: key R
skill 7-9: keys T,G,B
dodge: key X
skill 10: press mouse wheel
pick up aoe loot: tilt mouse wheel left (“pull it to me”)
switch weapon: tilt mouse wheel right (“push it away”)
Movement via ESDF instead of WASD
Interact: V

The two tilt mouse wheel functions are implemented by assigning keys to the mouse buttons with the Logitech Gaming Software and assigning these keys in GW2 to the corresponding functions. I think I used y for aoe loot and # for weapon switch. The original ^ for weapon switch was much too near to the 1, I pressed it often by accident. So I moved that to some other key. Tilt mouse wheel right (“push it away”) was the right thing for this.

1-5 : weapon spells
Shift + (2-4) : utility spells
F1-F5 : class mechanics
Q : elite spell
E : heal spell
² : weapon switch
V : dodge
R : toggle auto-walk
U : toggle FPS mode

I’m not super good, but here’s how I divide it:

Mouse — naga HEX on which I use buttons 4, 5, 6 for strafe left, back up, strafe right. Hold LMB and RMB down together for forward motion, steer with left and right twitches (mouse sensitivity very high, I don’t have to move the mouse far to get full motion).

Keyboard — pretty much default, though I’ve remapped various menu keys to match what I’m used to from other games. I haven’t found a great place for the dodge key though usually having it on B works for me in all but the most split second needs, the keys closer to the number keys being dedicated to other functions.

This setup makes timed jp’s difficult for me as I do need to adjust my mouse position on the pad from time to time, and mouse moving means my cursor isn’t always over my foe for ground targeting, but with my small hands and slower reflexes I can’t deal with constant combo key use other than CTRL-T for setting a target. I need to just hit one key at a time with my left hand in combat and to be able to find the right key when I need it without looking with more than peripheral vision. WASD won’t work for me, especially not if I also need to hit ability keys.

Oh, for my birthday I got a Chroma mechanical keyboard and have set the colors of the keys when in game to vastly aid in that peripheral vision. Love it!

I think the main issue with the default keybindings is that all the skills are in a line. You can’t reach them all without moving your hand, and if you move it’s hard to keep track of which skills your fingers are on, which makes clicking the simpler option.

But that’s sub-optimal because it limits what you can do with your mouse, which is the only way to control the camera, it means ground-targeting skills take longer (because you have to move the mouse down to the skill, then back up to where you want it) and you keep having to look away from the battle.

So the common theme of most alternative layouts is that it makes it easier to find specific skills without looking.

As for what specific method is best that’s really up to you. Some people really like using Shift+1-5, others (like me) find that confusing. Some people put them in a circle, or a square, or 2 rows. It doesn’t really matter, the important thing is it works for you.

(As for me, I moved them all to the number pad, with F1-4 along the top, weapon swap and take-target on the + and enter buttons and I use the arrow keys to move. But that probably only works if you’re left-handed.)

These are really good setups imo. I would like to try Silmar Alech’s system for a while because I have short fingers and lifting my hand off the keyboard usually results in setting it back down in the wrong spot. I tried putting a sticker on W, but the knob on the F seems better.

If anyone wants to chime in on how you move the character, this is hard to explain for me, I can’t seem to get the hang of walking on beams and narrow paths. Like in jumping puzzles and such. Do players just get really good at using the movement keys? Or are you lining up the walk path with the mouse somehow? Do players use the mouse to steer at all?

I have been using the mouse click wheel to change weapons, LMB for moving the screen, RMB for nothing now that I think of it and wow how dumb.
I have a wireless keyboard that requires CTRL for all the F1-F12 functions but I’m sure I could change that.
My playstyle has been to strafe a lot, dodge all the time because I have a Mesmer and I’m a little hooked on getting a clone every dodge. Then I have about face on X which shortens that process.

I deff appreciate the keyboard layouts. Good stuff, really good.

Does anyone want to get specific about mouse use and how to improve my steering? ***********

It is asking a lot, but very much appreciated, by me a probably by other players that didn’t find much googling it either.

Man what a long post. Well thanks in advance.

-innerlight

Innerlite.7385:

If anyone wants to chime in on how you move the character, this is hard to explain for me, I can’t seem to get the hang of walking on beams and narrow paths. Like in jumping puzzles and such. Do players just get really good at using the movement keys? Or are you lining up the walk path with the mouse somehow? Do players use the mouse to steer at all?

You want to be using the mouse to look around/turn (default RMB) and WASD or some similar cluster of keys for movement. Using keyboard turns is honestly really subpar and, if you’re using it, holds you back quite a bit

Innerlite.7385:

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Does anyone want to get specific about mouse use and how to improve my steering? ***********

Just get used to using the mouse to turn yourself. Hold RMB and move the mouse to turn the camera/your character, and set your mouse sensitivity/the turn sensitivity to a point where it’s comfortable for you to turn and look around

If you’re trying to do jumping puzzles or other things which require precise movements then you definitely want to use the mouse to turn because it’s faster and gives you more precise control.

If you hold down the left mouse button you’ll only move the camera, your character will keep going in the same direction. If you hold down the right mouse button they’ll turn in the direction the camera is pointing. (There’s also Action Camera mode, which is like holding the right mouse button down but you don’t need to actually keep hold of it, which may be more comfortable over long periods of time.)

Unlike turning them using the keyboard this is instant. If they’re standing still and you point the camera behind them and press W (or whatever key you use to move forward) they’ll do an instant about-face on the spot. If they’re already moving it won’t be as precise (because they’ll start turning as soon as you move the camera) but it’ll still be a lot quicker than keyboard turning.

In the screenshot below I’ve used the Dreamer footsteps to illustrate the difference. The top image is the smallest circle I could do by turning on auto-run and holding down Turn Left. The bottom one is the smallest circle I could do by turning on auto-run and using the mouse to turn. (And actually it was hard to keep it a circle and not just keep doubling back on myself.)

You can also hold down both buttons to run in the direction the camera is pointing without needing to hold down a movement key, which is sometimes useful in combat because it frees up your hand for activating skills. But it’s not as precise as the mouse/keyboard combo.

(Depending on what I’m doing I’ll use just the mouse, by holding down both buttons or use the mouse + keyboard, or turn on auto-run and use the mouse to turn. It seems complicated when I explain it, but when I’m playing I don’t even think about it because I’m used to it. Which is kind of surprising because when I started this game I was very out of practice at using the keyboard to move, I’d been mainly playing games with click-to-move so I really struggled at first.)

Also here’s a few related tips:

I strongly recommend you disable Double Tap to Dodge in the options menu, because with it on you run the risk of accidentally dodging off a platform when you meant to just step forward a little bit.

I find it’s also helpful to keybind Walk. I don’t use it often, but sometimes it’s really helpful to have your character moving slowly because it gives you more control.

Finally remember that it’s possible to turn, accelerate and decelerate in the air when jumping. It’s difficult, especially because you usually don’t have much time and you’ll still be dropping down, but it means it is possible to jump around corners, to cut jumps short after you’ve started or to extent them slightly.

Not reading the whole thread so forgive me if I’m repeating anything someone else has posted.

Not going to give a out a specific layout because everyone’s will likely be different, but I will give some basic broad steps to get you started on putting together your own key bind layout. Only you can create the best set of key binds that will work for you.

Step One: Unbind right and left turn from your keyboard. It may take some getting used to, but this will force you to learn to turn with your mouse (RMB). Additionally it frees up two keys. Mouse movement (LMB+RMB) is also something you could work on, but maybe only after your comfortable with turning using the mouse.

Step Two: Figure out what your available keys and mouse buttons are for you binds. This will depend on which buttons your using for Forward, Back, Left Strafe,Right Strafe and what keys you can easily reach from that “base”.

Step Three: Take the keys which you can’t reach from your base and start placing them in more convenient places. Don’t think of only 1-0, F1-F5, but of Jump, Dodge, Stomp/Res, Swap Weapon, Stow Weapon, Toggle Autorun, About Face, Call Target, Assist, Target, etc.

Step Four: If something isn’t working, and not for lack of practice, change it. It’s your layout after all.

In my 10 years of mmo gaming I’ve never felt the need for an " mmo mouse" with 12 thumb buttons. I’ve always used a standard keyboard and a 5-button Logitech gaming mouse.

Wow thank you so much.
This will help my play a lot. I will probably need to practice in lvl 15 areas, but so worth it.

Yes this is what I was looking for.

Just an update on what I finally went with:

Switched the ESDF movement and interact to:
SDF are now my run and strafe keys.
X is about face
C is move backwards
A is nearest enemy
QWERT are attacks that were 1-5
My skills are ZVBNM
Map I moved to L which I associate with “look” as in look at the map. yeah go ahead and smile
Weapon switch is mouse wheel.

Most importantly I had to retrain myself to only use the R mouse for direction. I had to start a new character from lvl 1 to break bad habits. Totally worth it.

Thanks to players that took the time to type out such complete answers. I hope other readers get something out of this post.

Now I want to do some dungeons and fractals.
If anyone wants to do some “tutoring” mail me or whisper in game. I am on Ehmry Bay server if that matters. I would like to do almost any content with a party just to get better.

Thanks again!

WASD for movement
QE for strafing (this is important idk why people unbind these)
1-5 for weapon
Default for weapon swap
Shift 1-3 for utilities (control on Windows)
Shift e/q for heal/elite (control on Windows)
Shift + 4 for raid mechanic
Mouse button 3 for pet skill
Mouse button 4/5 for heel/attack pet skills
Shift + R for astral form
Shift + F for pet swap

With Windows you are able to lay your palm on the control key. If you don’t like that then just roll with shift since your pinky is often free. The ranger specific utilities apply to other classes as well. This game doesn’t require a lot of key binds so I would recommend keeping keyboard turning (a and d) as default since those are nice in casual situations. You really don’t need to go that hardcore.

f2 – stow weapon
f1-burst
wasd movment (where a and d are turning NOT strafing)
qerxc for utility skills/heal/ultimate
mouse wheel click for dodge
1-5 for weapon set attacks
f for interact/use item/heal player/ etc
g for hold to disable auto targetting (I have auto targetting on by default)
tab for targets
control t for choosing target
y for choosing the target’d target
` for swapping weapons

THe only things i have left are ‘z’ ‘shift’ and ‘caps lock’ in terms of free buttons….and z and caps lock aren’t viable for me to be pressing. And shift I am already using when I’m commanding and setting target/icons.

You should probably invest in a gaming pad or something for more serious play. I can’t find enough buttons on my keyboard, that are close enough together to press while in combat, to bind all the stuff I could be using.

It’s really really nice to have qweasd for movement though. if you can handle pressing keys that are farther away…then keep these keys with their default controls. If you are like me and you need alot of keys and u need them closer to your movement keys….then you will likely have to sacrifice a bit. In my case I hardly ever use the strafing keys (q and e by default) and you can strafe on the fly using the turning keys (a and d by default) by just locking/moving the camera (mouse 2 by default). You will have problems targetting the right enemy though while in combat when there is alot of them…since you won’t be able to click on them with the mouse while doing very intense fighting. if you bind the strafing keys to a and d and don’t have turning keys you will have a similar yet different set of problems to contend with. Better to try and keep them all if you can manage it…most can’t tho.

I mean I don’t even have space for the turn 180 degree keybind.

It is really annoying and not fun but u should invest the time upfront to learn what all the control options do and trying them and seeing how many of them you need and can fit onto your keyboard comfortably……and getting you’re controls setup so you are able to press alll the keys and do all the moves you can do in the game. Then slowly learning this setup so one day you can use them all fluently. Most of the keys have a purpose and u hsould have them binded to something.

If you have a mouse with buttons on the sides (1 on both sides is great) make those ur 2 strafing keys.

I changed mine to fit my reach, tiny hands :-)

Auto attack is on my mouse, a side button
Skills 2-5 I changed to QERT
Utilty/elite to 1-5
The F keys I left as is for now, but Im thinking of moving them down to ZXC or something. Maybe.

I like my autoattack or main attack (depending on the game) to be on my mouse. I can’t use the crazy 20 button mice, but my two side buttons are useful for the autoattack and push to talk. It just makes things a bit faster for me. Also having everything else where it is makes it much easier for me to find and not have to stretch or jump all over the keyboard.

Moving, i have those keys as default, and just use my left mouse to steer. I still occassionally use A/D on jumping puzzles to get the angle i want or doing midair direction changes. I have found its easier for me than strictly mouse for that sort of environment.