The fastest way to play Arena PvP
by Mike Schramm 
May 1st 2008 at 5:00PM
We've covered the topic of keyboard turners before, but Paul over on LJ has a similar distinction between control schemes -- he set up a spectrum that has clickers (or those who click all their icons with the mouse) on one end, and pressers (what he called "experts," though that's a little too biased for our tastes) on the other -- those who use the mouse to control movement only, and hit keyboard buttons to use abilities.Personally, I do a mixture of both -- some icons, especially on the top rows, are easier to reach with the mouse than on the keyboard, so I click them. But most of the lower icons are easier to just reach up and click the number buttons on the keyboard, so that's what I do with those. Still Paul isn't really interested in the ways people do it -- he's interested in what's best. In Arena, getting abilities cast and out as fast as possible is often more important than anything else, so it definitely seems like relying on the mouse for movement (and maybe even binding oft-used abilities to mouse keys) would be much faster than clicking on icons periodically. Of course, there's always the option to do both at the same time.
It would be interesting for sure to see what kind of schemes and setups winning Arena teams use -- I'd imagine that they'd have to play with default interfaces, so while keybindings and macros would probably work best, they wouldn't be able to go too overboard with customization. At the highest levels, is it faster to click and press or just use the mouse for movement?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, PvP, Arena, Hardware, Tricks
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bluesky_v2.01 May 1st 2008 5:09PM
I press as much as I can: 1 - 5 and Shift1 - Shift5. Click the rest . . . go ahead, call me a noob.
will May 1st 2008 5:15PM
Not that I'm very experienced in arena (at all...), but when i do arena and pvp I do a mixture. My primary nukes (frostbolt, CS, and IL) I use 1,2, and 3 respectively, with stopcasting macros on 2 and 3. The abilities I have to plan to use (i.e. frost nova, cold snap, my ele) I use icons for.
I'm very on the fence as to whether this is entirely effective or not, as I do not seriously pvp very much, but it seems to yield the best results for me.
Rexo May 2nd 2008 1:04AM
One question?
How can you mouse turn and click abilities at the same time? You can't.
I am not saying that you are stupid if you click - it's a game and I believe one should play the way one likes to. That being said, clicking is vastly ineffective compared to using keyboard bindings; it simply takes longer time to move your mouse to a button and click it, than it does to use a predefined keybound button. Not to mention that you will not be able to click if you are turning at the same time. Imagine if you had to click your "shred" when chasing a mage in pvp! You wouldn't get a single shred off unless the mage was a keyboard turner.
I would like to use an example to clarify the logic behind my statement. I am sure most people have tried the keyboard on the iPhone, or any other type of click and write keyboard - very nice and effective on a portable device. But I am confident that writing on a proper keyboard using 10 finger system gets the job done faster. Why? All keys are learned by heart - no looking needed.
Honestly, get n52 or similar and use it. Considering the amount of cash that most people spend on their cpus and monthly fees you should not limit yourself on the controller hardware.
Just my 2c
will May 2nd 2008 9:33AM
I do use my mouse primarily for turning. When I click (and hold) the right button down, my cursor effectively stops moving. I usually position my cursor in the bottom right of the screen, giving me fairly good proximity to the abilities I plan on using (6-0 on the primary action bar, and the bottom right action bar)
Granted I cannot blink and turn 90 degrees at the same time. But when I blink it's an escape mechanism, and I usually just make an about face once I do.
I totally agree with you on the shred comment though. My shred is bound to 2 on my druid alt, and if I did click that I would never hit anything.
Kz May 1st 2008 5:39PM
I use a logitech G15 gaming keyboard. I control movement with the mouse and use the 12 G-Keys on the left side for casting. The G-Keys can be set for any single action button and can also be programmed for multiple actions with a delays between actions if necessary. One must be careful when using delays as the timing has to be precise for maximum benefit. This keyboard is santioned by Blizzard.
Rudolphe May 1st 2008 5:28PM
My mains a ret paladin and every singe ability i use in combat is mapped to a key, strafe is mapped to A and D. Hammer of justice is on C, Blessing of Freedom on F, Redemption on G, Crusader Strike on V, Seal of command on Q, Judgement on E and so on... it's such a huge advantage to be able to get to anything you might need as fast as possible compared to moving with they keys and clicking with the mouse, especially as a melee class your constantly on the move and attacking at the same time and i'd rather not use the keys to turn around it just takes forever. I was a skeptic till i tried it, give it a shot it's almost like playing a whole new game.
Aelfinn May 1st 2008 5:30PM
I bind almost everything to a key. The only things I click are abilities that I only use out of combat like lockpicking. I use the keys 1-7 for shift1 - shift7 and alt1 - alt 7. I also bind some actions to my mouse buttons. I find it much easier to play this way then having to find a button to click on.
Juan May 1st 2008 5:33PM
I am a clicker. I always have been. I use bindings periodically, and not for main abilities. I have my ui set up to minimize mouse travel from one key to another. I do arenas, and I have never experienced any problems with the fact that I click. The "expert" is a person who can utilize the way they play, regardless of if they click or use bindings. I don't arena a ton, but I do it every week. I've reached high arena rankings despite the fact that I'm not what is deemed as "expert".
Roboticus May 1st 2008 5:34PM
The biggest thing i've done key-mapping wise to improve my pvp play was to increase how many keys i binded to abilities. So many people neglect the many easy keys close to the hand.
Everyone has the default 1-9, but what about z-m? (c and v are VERY easy to hit) And r,f,t,g are also very fast to press. Better yet is to shift to a SDFE movement grid from the standard ASDW.
Silverrealm May 2nd 2008 1:15PM
/agree on ESDF for movement... because finding F is easier in the dark (when I usually play).
Also agree on using z,x,c,v,b but n & m are too far away and require me to move my hand off the home keys.
So I use z,x,c,v,b and shift + z,x,c,v,b or ctrl + z,x,c,v,b
West May 1st 2008 5:42PM
I use bongos and have a big huge grid of all my available pally skills.
The most often used skills are placed on the bottom row, with the second most on the 2nd row above that. mounts and lesser often used skills are on the 3rd row and blessings are on the 4th row. try to keep similar things on the same key column. For example, attack is 1, and crusader strike is shift + 1.
I have all of the buttons hot keyed as such:
1st row: keys 1 to =
2nd row: shift + keys
3rd row: crtl + keys
4th row: alt + keys
I don't really mouse for anything except targeting since the keyboard is more precise in the thick of battle. no misclicking, just shift+1 for another crusader strike, etc. (or holy shock if raid spec'd).
Rational May 1st 2008 5:47PM
I use a Nostromo n52 gaming keypad. My movement is controlled by a d-pad operated by my left thumb.
I wish it had MORE keys though, or at least some bindable buttons that I could hit on the side or something.
Rylan May 1st 2008 6:14PM
@ Rational, post 9:
"I use a Nostromo n52 gaming keypad. My movement is controlled by a d-pad operated by my left thumb.
I wish it had MORE keys though, or at least some bindable buttons that I could hit on the side or something."
I use an n52 also, and as a mage I have a lot of abilities bound.
D-pad for movement (with strafing).
top left button = alt
mid left button = shift
bottom left button = control
then the middle 3 rows are 1,2,3; 4,5,6; 7,8,9 from left to right.
the last column is 0 (top), - (bottom)
wheel click is =
I use the wheel up, wheel down, for targetting , the round button is escape, and the thumb button is jump.
then I have no need to strafe in a certain direction just to be able to hit 1 through =, and all my modifier keys are close together so I don't have to stretch for anything.
that's 12 * 3 = 36 buttons to use without any of the n52 switching software. I fill up most of mine, and about the only things I don't have bound are teleports, portals, food, water, and Arcane Brilliance.
How many more do you need?
For the other mages using the n52, I try to bind my abilities so that their position on the grid so that related abilities are in the same spot. Frost Nova =5, water elemental freeze = shift 5; blink = 6, ice block = shift 6; frost bolt = 1, rank 1 frost bolt = shift 1; ice lance = 3, fire blast = shift 3; etc.
Rylan May 1st 2008 6:16PM
I said middle 3 rows, I meant middle 3 *columns*.
Havitech May 1st 2008 5:50PM
I have 1-5, Shift+1-5, v-n and Shift+v-n all hotkeyed. I also have skills hotkeyed to my mouse, (Logitech MX Revolution) which has 3 buttons, a scrollwheel that tilts left and right, a second scroll wheel that just tilts back and forth (it doesn't spin). I have shift modifiers on all of my mouse hotkeys except for wheel up and down, which is how I zoom in and out.
I still click on health potions and mana gems/health stones...
Jon May 1st 2008 5:51PM
I'm not trying to burst your bubble but I believe the pause macro feature of the G15 is against Blizzard's EULA. But the use of the keyboard itself isn't.
" We do not close accounts simply by the use of this style of keyboard.
The use of the automated game play features that the G15 keyboard is capable of would be considered a violation of our Terms of Use and as such should be avoided.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html
Using the keyboard as a keyboard is perfectly fine." - Vrakthris
( http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=1371550895&pageNo=1&sid=1 )
matt May 1st 2008 5:53PM
Rudolphe and Roboticus have it nailed: bind all those letters! If you go ESDF, you get 11 letters within one key of your home keys. Then you've got whatever numbers you can comfortably reach without error (1-6 usually), and F-keys if you use those. Hopefully your keyboard has good placement of shift, ctrl, and alt.
Hey non-clickers: do you still click for enemy targeting? I use Proximo right now, and haven't mapped anything to selecting the 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th target in the list. (I'm also finding it a dangerous game to rely on Prox, since it can't target people who emerged after combat began.)
Kz May 1st 2008 6:13PM
Jon, thanks. I did not know this. I have been using this keyboard for years. I rarely use the delay macro, but I imagine some do. I doubt Blizzard can detect from whence a delay between keystrokes is coming but it is nice to know when one is skating on thin ice.
themadchemist May 1st 2008 6:18PM
when i started playing on my laptop exclusively i had to bind keys more and use macros a lot more because i didn't use a mouse. i have ended up liking it a lot more because the only time my hands leave the key board is for small adjustments via the touch pad.
bustaone May 1st 2008 6:26PM
The simple fact is that bindings are the fastest.
I don't know why I'm responding here because you all seem to be delusional. Can people possibly think that taking your eyes off the screen, stopping manuvering (outside of keyboard turning...), then trying to move your eyes back to your screen.
I can understand that people may be used to clicking buttons, but it's simply inferior.
My main is a mage, I have a level 70 priest and warlock as well. All of my characters, including my twinks, are fully keybound for all useful abilities.
An example: You're a mage and you are in the arena. You are dpsing a warrior and his healer just broke sheep. Warrior is almost dead and you need to cs the heal to win. If you don't use focus targeting (and if you're too lazy to bind, your probably too lazy for focus), you need to change targets then find CS before the first heal gets off (1.5 seconds or less, even less if you count lag). Keybinder has the chance to do this, clicker will miss the counterspell every time. (and probably lose because of it)
Even less used abilities like flame/frost shield probably won't be used effectively if they aren't keybound. And every 30 seconds people want to take the time to go click ice barrier? How fast can you iceblock/trinket/wotf if you have to hunt and click? Do you want your healer sitting in a fear/cyclone while you die because they're trying to click their trinket button?
Last of all, binding is *EASY*. Just download bongos and use the keybinding system there. If you're still too stubborn go watch some high level arena movies over at warcraftmovies.com. Watch how fluid and fast they are.