Guild Wars 2

I’ve used a trackball for the past ~15 years. Everquest, Starcraft, FPS, RPGs – it has served me well for everything. Having said that, it is becoming an incredible pain in the butt to find trackballs with half-decent ergonomics and was looking to transition to mice (bleh).

Because Engineer can be really complicated and tedious to learn, I was looking for some recommendations from Engineers on what they use to hop around kits more efficiently?

Just make sure you buy a mouse with ALOT of buttons, that way you don’t have to use hard to reach keys on your keyboard or key combinations. (but you probably already knew this). Some brands also have handy software (eg. logitech gaming software) with which you can customize your mouse key bindings, make profiles for the different games and classes you play.

I’ve met several players who use a multi-button mouse. They are said to be created for MMORPGs, usually have the shape of a regular mouse and (depending what hand you use) have a extra button-pad on the side, with up to 6-12 keys you can program. These go from simple key-binds up to complex combos, depending on what you prefer. Examples:
- Razer Naga
- Logitech G600 MMO
- Corsair Vengeance M95 (if you prefer a less linear design)
I’ve talked to engineers who have entire field-combos set on a certain key, others just want to have every skill accessible with the mouse hand.

Personally I like to have control of my character most of the time. The engineer, if used with kits, requires some speed but offers one of the most flexible playstyles I’ve encountered yet. I use a Madcatz R.A.T. 7, which is technically not designed for MMORPGs after all. Compared to the above mentioned models it only has 3 extra keys, which are accessible with the thumb. One with the tip and the other two horizontal towards the hand. I use one of these to deploy my elite-skill, which is the supply-crate obviously. The 2nd key is used for weapon swaping (the ^).

I have to admit that I swap weapons a lot and kinda fast – switchting between my weapons and my two kits. Making the use of a weapon-swap sigil necessary.

The third button is used for the tool-belt-1, the heal utility. Which in my case is a aoe-heal with ground-targeting. As I play tank support, it has to be acessible very quickly. The mouse originally was designed for shooter games, which gives me several options to adjust the shape, surface and even balance (due to some extra weights). For me it feels 100% fluent and I love the futuristic design. That is all I need. I play engineer for like two years now, and I enjoy every moment. Madcatz has also a list of other devices, some are even created for MMORPGs and offer more keys. But those come with a good price.

Razer Naga has served me well the past 6 months.
1-10 bound to skill 1-10
11 weapon swap
12 target
The top 2 buttons I bound to shift and dodge
Shift + 1-4 on the number pad bound to f1-f4

I main engineer and this mouse feels like cheating.

Some of the Newegg reviews on those for build quality really make me leery. And Logitech quality has gone into the gutter completely in recent years, so the Razer is a no-go.

I’ll research some more. I wish trackballs had become a fraction as commonplace as traditional mice have in the past decade.

..oy, Razer is its own brand; I always thought it was some Logitech subsidiary.

I use a logitech 600?, just 3 buttons, one of which I don’t use. I keep my 1 skill on the mouse so just a little sqeeze and grenades fly. The other is one of my toolbelt skills. Then I can manage all the other skills with my left hand easily between keys themselves and Shift + those keys.

More mouse keys can be helpful, just like you I was an old EQ player, I got my setup and I’ve only ever made minor tweaks to it, but pretty much carrying through for 15 years.

For me, it’s X = primary kit, Shift+X is the next and Shift + C is my third. I find it easy enough, though mainly because I’m used to it I guess. I did have a friend sit down to play my char one time and a couple seconds later he looked up and said “what the hell are you doing?” Oldschool!

+1 for the trackball though, I miss my old one, it was just a sloped square with a ball in the middle and a few buttons around the sides, funky but basic and lovely.

Personally, I use a Redragon Perdition.
It’s usually way cheaper than the equivalent Mice from Logitech and Razer. The only real complaint I read while researching before purchase was some people didn’t find it precise enough for FPS type games, but for me it’s been more than good enough for things like Guild Wars 2. At the price point, it’s a pretty good entry-level MMO gaming mouse.

I programmed the mouse so that the Two DPI buttons are instead the shortcut keys for the elite skill and weapon swap (Because I really don’t need to change my DPI mid-game) and I use the Red Button (Which is default a burst rapid click) as a shift key shortcut instead, and then custom set a bunch of Shift+Key shortcuts in game to give myself another whole 12 mouse shortcut functions.

I will say that ANY gaming mouse that has at least 5 programmable buttons for the 5 weapon skills, Plus the instant or fast ground targeting option, makes the Engineer grenade kit 10 times better to use.

Gaming trackballs are rare, and I think the few that exist are intended for RTS type games. You might find one but it won’t be cheap.

I use logitech g700s mouse its nice has 4 side buttons and can use 3 more on top or mouse wheel as button but i only use 1 of those for wep change and the 4 for skills and most of the rest of my main skills are all on keyboard buttons.

I’ve tried a few of the mice mentioned.

I’ll start with saying don’t get a Corsair mouse. I recently got the m95 and sent it back. They don’t update their software – current software version is almost 2 years old now, and doesn’t support a function that i got the mouse for – rapid click, despite it being requested since the mouse was released. The aluminum plate and higher price tag might make you think it is has better quality hardware, but the one I received had a balance issue – putting pressure on the right side of the mouse would make it tilt; it wasn’t sturdy. Also the side buttons required enough force that you’d likely move the mouse trying to use the buttons, and the 2 bottom buttons were loose on the z axis. The sensor is the same as in alot of other mice also.

I had a Logitech g500 before that (replaced a mx518 when one of the feet fell off several years ago). I’ve had the g500 for about 2 years and it is still working fine. The only complaints I have about it are:
1) The left mouse button was far too easy to press. I accidentally clicked on several occasions.
2) I don’t like the position of the laser sensor. They have it placed towards the front of the mouse. There were just certain things I couldn’t do with it up there, such as turning the mouse slightly for slower movement, rather than changing the dpi for just 2 sec. Most people probably won’t be bothered by the sensor position though.

Before getting the g500, I tried a Cooler Master Storm Inferno. It didn’t work well on my desk (neither the black glass, nor the textured glossy black keyboard tray). Whoever came up with the idea that laser sensors work on more surfaces than optical sensors if full of it – I’ve never had a problem with optical sensors, the only thing they don’t work on is clear glass in my experience. It worked pretty well on a piece of paper on my desk, but wasn’t about to keep paper on my tray to use a mouse, so I sent i back.

My current mouse (just got it yesterday) is a Logitech g502. It has the best sensor available (not available in other brands) – 12k native dpi, its optical (IR, so not visible), and its placed properly in the middle of the mouse. The buttons are easy to press, but not so easy that they accidentally get pressed. The scroll wheel is metal and has an unlock button for fast web page scrolling (I’ve only seen this feature on Logitech mice). The wheel also clicks left and right, which you can program to do something else, but I never use this function. It has 1 more button than the g500 did, located behind the scroll wheel lock, which I’ve set up for rapid click (for clearing stacks of luck). The other buttons are – 2 dpi buttons next to the left click button, forward and back button, and a sniper button. All buttons, except the scroll wheel lock, are fully programmable (note: for some actions, such as rapid click, you must put the mouse in software mode in the logitech manager, not hardware memory). This is easy the best mouse I’ve ever used (I might try a Naga/g600 style mouse one day, but the sensor is just the standard laser one).

If you have any questions about the mice I’ve tried, let me know. But, I’ll say that Logitech mice have been very good in my experience.

As for my bindings regarding engineer kits:
skill 7) rebound to z
skill 8) rebound to x
skill 9) set the sniper button to activate this one
elite) shift and sniper button
dodge) back button
skill 5 – for jump shot) forward button
heal) middle mouse button

One last note: it was mentioned that you can program entire skill chains as a macro – This is against the rules, and can get your account banned.

Looking at the Logitech 602 but, like I said previously, worried about Logitech quality; my experience with their trackballs has been less than stellar in terms of durability.

While it shouldn’t be a problem for GW2, keep in mind, for other games, most wireless mice (g602 included) are slower than wired mice. In the case of the g602, the max dpi is 2500, and coupled with a low max acceleration can cause some problems when speed is required. While the report rate is half that of a wired gaming mouse, it is still considerably better than non-gaming mice, and shouldn’t be an issue for any game.

I haven’t looked much into wireless mice, but the g700s caught my attention when I was searching for my next mouse. The forward laser put me off it though. Other than that, it seems to be a good mouse. It can run in wired or wireless mode, has extra buttons (more than the g502, but less than the g602), and a decent speed all around, and runs off a standard AA NiMH battery, so I can use my Eneloops and not have to worry about lower capacity, higher cost, propriety Li-Ion batteries.

If wireless is a feature that you really want, hopefully somebody else here can give you some more pointers, as I tend to avoid wireless stuff (I’d keep the g700s in wired mode most of the time if I got it).

Also, be sure to check some of the more professional reviews of the mice you’re considering, in addition to a few user reviews on Amazon/Newegg. There are also other brands to consider if you don’t like Logitech or Razer (I had a Razer keyboard, it felt cheap, but lasted a couple years before the rubber started to wear off the keys). Amazon has a large selection to look at.

I main engi and use Gigabyte Aivia M8600 which gives me 4 additional buttons which is enough for my needs (dodge, heal, 3rd utility + elite).
Though i do have a weird keyboard setup, I use zxcv for F skills and q and e for utility 1 and 2.

I have a Razer Naga. It does what it is supposed to do but it has issues:

• Double-click issue with my first one … but it was old so blamed myself
• Mouse drift issue with my current one … it is not old and Google shows me this is a common problem

I discussed this with some guildies and some had the exact same experience and have since moved to using the G600 and don’t have these issues.

So, I suggest you skip what I’ve dealt with and just start with the G600. I will be swapping to one soon myself.

Yeah, think I’ve settled on the Logitech 602. Wireless vs Cord doesn’t really concern me; I’ve used a Logitech Wireless Optical Trackman for several years now with no issues. I looked at the 600 as well, but I prefer Optical vs Laser.

Thanks for the feedback. Looking forward to binding 6-9 on 602’s extra buttons.

Funny enough, if I like the new mouse enough, I could sell my current 2-3 year old trackball for $100 to more than make up the purchase price. One of the only times where I’ve found the scarcity of trackballs amusing.

i use a razer naga hex

6 side buttons is enough

had it for… 15 months now, np works great

Here’s what I’ve posted in another thread in the thief forum. I use a Razer Naga, 12 button thumb pad:

Note that what I use may not be comfortable for you, I only use it because it’s comfortable for me. Also, I’ll assume you have the 12 button thumb pad, not one of the 9 or hexagon shaped ones and such.

At any rate, I generally bind all the numeric keys to the same number. That is, I bind keyboard 1 to thumb pad 1, keyboard 2 to thumb pad 2, &c. So I can press 1-5 on my naga for the respective weapon skills, 6 for the heal skill, 7-9 for utilities, and 10 for my elite skill. This also means I don’t have to rebind those keys in the options menu, which I like.

Then I bind 11 on the naga to the – key, and I set the – key in the game options to be used for weapon swapping. So I hit 11 on the thumb pad for weapon swapping.

12 on the naga is set to the = key, and I set the = key in the game options to be used for dodging. Thus I just hit 12 to dodge.

For accessing the F1-F4 skills, I simply make use of the left shift key, which is pressed by my pinky finger on my left hand. In the game options, I change the F1-F4 skills to use Shift+1 – Shift+4, meaning I can hold the shift key and use 1-4 on the naga to access those skills. This prevents me from having to assign new buttons for those.

For other keys, I have z set to look behind, x for about face, and I have shift by itself set to AoE loot (although that’s mostly just for convenience). I also have ctrl set to highlight objects, and I play with player nameplates set to always on.

I have the target nearest function set to the mouse wheel click, and the next target function set to shift+mouse wheel click (I forget if mouse wheel click is called mouse 5 in game or whatever). That’s probably the more awkward thing I do. One could easily set it to the c key or something.

I also set my stow weapon function to shift+z.

All the other keys are pretty much standard.

This setup allows me to maintain my left hand on WASD at all times, manipulating the spacebar with my thumb (obviously) and the shift and ctrl keys with my pinky. The only time I move my fingers off of WASD is to access things like the z, x, f, and r key. I also use q and e for strafing sometimes, though one can easily just use a and d with holding right click.

So that’s basically my setup. If you’re not sure what to do, you could maybe start with that and then tweak it if you feel parts of it are too awkward. In particular, you might find the use of the middle mouse wheel clicking to be annoying, or maybe you prefer the dodge button to not be as far away from your resting position for your thumb. I know some people like to have the dodge button assigned to something like the shift key, although this doesn’t work for my setup since I don’t want to dodge when I go to try and access my F1-F4 skills. Also, since you’re a thief, you’ll only have an F1 (and soon to be F2), so you might find a different method for accessing your steal to be more convenient. I chose the setup I did because I needed to have a way to access F1-F4 since I play all professions, though mainly engineer.

You’ll have to just test it out and find what works for you. I decided on these keybinds from weeks of experimentation and practice. I ultimately settled on the keybindings I described because I felt it allowed me to maintain the full range of my character’s mobility while still having complete access to all my skills, which was the whole point I got a naga in the first place (i.e. I used to move fingers off of WASD to hit skill keys).

Also keep in mind that if this is your first time using one of these mice, you’ll have to go through an adjustment period of probably a few weeks where you get accustomed to using it. When I first started using a naga, it was really awkward and kind of clunky, but it became very natural after a good few weeks of using it consistently. If you feel something isn’t working right, you can always play around with how the keys are bound.

EDITED FOR BAD COPY PASTA