Guild Wars 2

Here are my customized controls for movement. This is better than the defaults because it allows you to press skills without lifting your fingers off the movement controls. So you can play GW2 combat more smoothly.

- move forward … space
- move backwards … left ALT
- strafe left … shift
- strafe right … mouse back button
- jump … left CTRL

Of course you will have to reconfigure your skill buttons to be reachable [to the 4×4 areas of keys, starting at 1].

Let me know what you think…

ha ha ha, In my opinion WASD movement is superior, you cant even reach the number bar with your setup.

That would ruin my mind trying to get used to that. I think I’ll stick with being unable to strafe left when my character gets bored of attacking.

hmm base don my understanding, are you only using your thumb, pinky and maybe fourth finger for the movement keys, leaving index and middle for your skills? which i assume are up top, etc…

interesting and pretty ballsy. haha would take forever for me to get used to as well. but as long as it works for you! my pinky is weak as ish as well lol :ppp

Sounds complicated.

Hopefully your hand doesn’t cramp up. That configuration isn’t very ergonomic.

For casual PVE that might work, but for sPVP and WvW, where you need to quick reflexesd, that particular keymap will be a hindrance(for most gamers).

I don’t know about the OP, but i can pvp fine with wasd.

Using a G600 mouse… people even USE the keyboard these days?

How quaint.

GuzziHero.2467:

Using a G600 mouse… people even USE the keyboard these days?

How quaint.

hahaha yeah we’re all broke that’s why!

My movement keys are default but I changed my skills to be:

1-2-3-4-Tab-Z-Caps-LShift-MiddleMouseDown-X

Healing is Z, Elite is X

Middle Mouse Down is a bound to targettable utility skills to make them easier to aim

I made the 4th skill bind to both key 4 and key 5, that way in tense situations I can just smash my keyboard in the generaly vicinity of 4 and 5 and not have to worry about it

I’ve got:

WASD – movement (strafes, no turns).

skills 1234 are instead 4123. Mouse macro for 4 (auto-attack).

skill 5 is R. Heal is Q.

My most active utility goes in E. Stun breaker goes in Z. Extra goes in X. Elite is G, while F remains F.

Weapon swap is C, dodge is V, about-face is B and stow weapons is N.

Shift is next target, tab is ‘nearest’ target. F1-F4 are side buttons on my mouse. ~ is autorun. Space is still jump.

Bloodlust.3672:

- strafe right … mouse back button

You what now?

This has to be the most complex and idiotic keybinding I have ever seen.
I doubt anyone use this keybinding, OP must be trolling.

i seen some weird keybinds but that one beats all… personally i use WASD, with wep skill still on 1-5, then utility is on QER, and my heal and elite is 2 buttons on the side of my mouse (logitech g500), and auto-run is on my middle mouse button

Either you are trying to show off or something, or trolling.

One key part of a control configuration is muscle memory.
Using a control setup similar to other games takes advantage of muscle memory, and thus it’ll be superior in most cases.

GuzziHero.2467:

Using a G600 mouse… people even USE the keyboard these days?

How quaint.

Yes, because you can still be much faster and efficient by using your left hand and several fingers, compared to a couple fingers and mostly your thumb. And it should be noted that your thumb is slower then your other fingers.

Because it’s relevant to this topic, here’s an edited version of post I made for my guildies, including an example of my keybind setup

In my opinion Guild Wars 2, like most MMOs has poorly optimised default controls. By taking a long hard look at the way you interact with your character at the most basic level, you can vastly improve your responsiveness and character performance in all aspects of the game.

Situational Awareness
This is a broad term that I use to describe a player’s ability to analyse what’s happening on the battlefield. This is a huge subject which could be written about at length, but for the purposes of this post, I’ll just say that the less time you spend thinking about movement, targeting and activating your skills, the more brainspace you will be able to dedicate to analysing your current combat situation and options.

Targeting
It’s one thing to identify a pack of enemies and mentally decide which one needs to die, but it’s another to actually target them. I think it’s vitally important to become comfortable with targeting a specific enemy in a group quickly, being able to call targets to a group, and being able to follow called targets when needed.

As with keybindings, there are many different opinions and preferences for targeting, personally I have set up my targeting system to resemble other MMOs I’ve played and was comfortable with. As such, I have turned on “Promote skill target” and use a combination of “Target Nearest Enemy” and “Target Next Enemy” keybinds, combined with occasionally clicking the target if they’re within a large group.

Movement
I believe the optimum movement scheme is to steer using mouse-look, while moving forward and strafing with the keyboard. When I started playing SWtoR, I re-evaluated how I used my movement keys, I removed the keybinds for turning and backpedaling, prefering to use a combination of forward movement, strafing and mouse control. This forced me out of some bad habits that I’d built up over years of other games and I noticed a marked improvement in my PvP performance because of it.

Using Mouse buttons for Forward Movement
I think some players overlook the ability to move entirely with the mouse by using L+R buttons to move forward. In combination with mouselook, autorun and keyboard strafing, you have the ability to remain constantly mobile while still activating all your abilities.

Dodging
I highly recommend disabling “double-tap to dodge” and instead bind it to a key that you can reach quickly on reaction (I use one of my side mouse buttons). This will make your dodges faster, more reactive and will also help you avoid accidentally spending endurance because you meant to inch forward, not dodge-roll. It will also make jumping puzzles far less stressful!

Skill Usage
I try to set up my keybinds so that I can activate any of my skills quickly and easily without having to stretch or click skill bars. With practice, muscle-memory builds to the point where targeting, movement and the general mechanics of combat are subconscious. Now, more time can be devoted to surveying the battlefield, looking for incoming AoE, avoiding telegraphed attacks and generally thinking about the fight, rather than your controls.

My Keybinds
See attachement.

Summary
I certainly don’t suggest everyone starts using my keybinds, they’re based on a combination of personal preference and optimisation built up over years of playing MMOs. Everyone has their own playstyle and preferences, however, I think the theory behind the keybinds is something that all players should consider. Trying a new keybind setup is not something to be taken lightly, it can take weeks to become comfortable with a setup, especially if you are used to a previous configuration. However, if you have never seriously considered which keys are easiest to press for you, which skills require the fastest reaction times and how you can combine the two, I highly recommend it. If you have never considered how much time you spend targeting the right mob, how quickly you are able to move your character in a pinch, try thinking about the basic mechanics of your control scheme.

TL:DR / Quick Tips

• Think logically about which keys you find most comfortable pressing quickly
• Re-bind Utility, Profession Elite and Heal skills to those comfortable keys
• Make sure you have “Call Target” and “Take Target” bound to comfortable/accesable keys.
• Experiment with different targeting options and keybinds – practice visually acquiring a target and then selecting it as quickly as possible without clicking it.
• Bind dodge to a Key, turn off double-tap to dodge
• Try steering with the mouse, not the keyboard.

Looks like a pretty good setup… for you Most people don’t realize a customized personal setup is better than whatever people try to sell you is the best for everyone. The world doesn’t work like that. Bridger on Tales of Tyria explained his shooter layout which sounded crazy (ctrl as shoot, shift as jump, left mouse forward, right mouse backwards), but in fact worked pretty well for him. Personally I used Numpad 8456 for a long time (leftie) until I got a right handed naga (GRRRR). Some people prefer ESDFor even RDFG.

Whatever works best for you, you should go with. Don’t let anyone tell you how to bind your keyboard, unless you’re using arrows for moving

marnick.4305:

Some people prefer ESDFor even RDFG.

Whatever works best for you, you should go with. Don’t let anyone tell you how to bind your keyboard, unless you’re using arrows for moving

This.
If you have to use the keyboard then simply moving WASD one key to the left will open up a lot more possibilities, RDFG is just too far away from SHIFT & CTRL.
Of course strafing instead of turning, what was ANet just thinking there?
The skills up to 6 are still in good reach and having the rest on q; w; r; t helps immensely.
I´ve also mapped F skills on the capitals of QWRT for some quick shift-key action while still able to strafe.
I´m actually using the n52te with the above setup programmed in. Works good.

I use “auto-run” during battles, and a free camera so I can look and attack where I want while ALWAYS on the move, my skills are 1,2,3,4,5 and the other five ALT+1,2,3,4,5. middle mouse is dodge. I was amazed how my “skill” drastically improved when I stared doing it this way. You may not believe me, but before I was dying in dungeons about 2-4 times per path, now I ONLY die when the party is wiped ankittenhe last man standing. The ability to be always on the move is beautiful for this game, because your survivability depends on dodging red circles and moving away from auto attacks. Mind you, am scepter, staff wielding necro, not sure how this will work on melee characters, because I don’t use them, I find melee in this game not to be very rewarding.

the problem with all other setups, other than mine, is that you usually have to interupt holding down a movement key to activate skills. the setup i suggested doesn’t have that problem—so you can continuously move in all directions and activate all skills without any compromise. it results in truely fluid action control.

plus holding down the spacebar to move for long durations is a lot more comfortable than holding down a small regular key. it makes auto run nearly obsolete.