We need to talk about bar swapping!!

tunepunk

This is purely from a lazy, casual player perspective so keep that in mind.

Bar swapping is the single most annoying combat mechanic in this game, hence all my builds are single bar builds. Don't get me wrong... I've optimised those to do a decent 25-30k dps or sometimes a bit more, and is still usually the top dps on my pug runs, and survive pretty well in pvp the few times i go there (I don't do much trials). I would like to make use of both bars but it's just way too clunky.

Why I don't like bar swapping
For me bar swapping mostly becomes a dps loss, when I constantly end up on the wrong bar, casting the wrong skills, wasting resources and precious time. In pvp bar swapping often becomes my main cause of death for the exact same reason, which is why I focus on doing well rounded single bar builds.

If feels like a chore to constantly swap to keep up buffs, dots etc during longer fights. Yes! I'm a lazy player...

My typical 1 bar build looks like this.
1. DPS skill
2. varies. (heal, extra dot, passive whatnot)
3. area skill (brawler, endless hail, wall of elements)
4. Buff/dot
5. passive (bound armaments, camouflaged hunter etc)
U. Ultimate
P. Potion is usually for longer lasting buff/resource gain. only used in boss fights.

What do I use my second bar for?
* Skills i'm leveling up, switching to this bar when handing in quests etc.
* Utility out of combat skills like rapid manouver for faster travel.
* Unlimited duration elemental susceptibility, pre boss fight so i don't have to switch over again.
* Some support in case of emergency (group heal, etc)

What I wish for, or quality of life improvements regarding bar swapping
Don't know if some of these are doable with addons or if they exist already. But there needs to be some improvements to the bar swapping mechanic and here's some suggestions that would make life a bit easier.

* hitting number 1-5 = automatically switches you to bar 1. and casts that skill. hitting number 6-0 = automagically switches you to bar 2 and casts that skill.
* OR ... Use bar swap key as a press toggle, When you hold down swap key, you're on bar 2. When you release you're back to bar 1.

I don't think these changes would add much of a competitive advantage. They are just suggestions on how to make bar swapping less clunky, so you can actually make use of the second bar without too much fumble, and would make rotations a bit easier for less finger nimble players.

Other suggestions or ideas are welcome!

OrphanHelgen

Still better than the pvp'er I was with in wgt recently, with sloads and crit resistance, pulling idk 10k max
As long as you are honest about your dps and your playmates are fine with it, I don't see a problem with this. Like you say, you do optimize your dmg as much as you can on one bar.

Personally I bought a mouse called roccat tyon, that one helped me a lot with weapon swap and skills in general. I also have target lock on one button, and I can move freely with wasd without losing any time on rotation. Maybe this could be something for you?

code65536

What I do is map my "mousewheel up" to swap to bar 1, and "mousewheel down" to swap to bar 2. I never use the "swap to the other bar" key.

That way I always know what bar I'm swapping to. No more accidental double bar swaps where I go from 1 to 2 and right back to 1 again.

Wgod

Try to improve your game performace, as if you run in 60+ fps constantly your bar swap isnt clunky at all. Or are you a console playa?

tunepunk

code65536 wrote: »

What I do is map my "mousewheel up" to swap to bar 1, and "mousewheel down" to swap to bar 2. I never use the "swap to the other bar" key.

That way I always know what bar I'm swapping to. No more accidental double bar swaps where I go from 1 to 2 and right back to 1 again.

That's pretty good to know! I didn't even know you could do that. That might change things! Maybe I'll finally make use of my second bar mid combat. I'll definitely try it out and see if I can get used to it.

I still think that more ways or options for swapping would be great that might suit other people. Swapping is a big part of the game and the regular "swap to other bar-key" is just bad.

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO

Show me 30k with only one bar

Sparr0w

Worse on console, left d-pad to swap bar, or hold Y. So you either cant move while switching bar or have a 2 second delay

idk

While it may not be possbie to work it this way solo, in groups it is.

A person I played with that didn’t bad swap, I suggested making the effort to get used to it by focusing on the bad swap and don’t stress about the dps. A few weeks later he was bad swapping just fine.

I do not know if OP is on pc or not but we can change key binds in PC permitting us the option to find a key that works better for us. I expect many have changed the key bind and a great management bar swap regularly.

Bergzorn

If you ever wondered why I'm taking the time to wave at you for several seconds during an intense PvP battle, it's because the Dark Deal animation + a little lag is preventing me from bar swapping and streaking away.

Without lag, swap cancelling makes combat feel more fluid for me. It's absolutely worth learning and practicing.

idk

Bergzorn wrote: »

If you ever wondered why I'm taking the time to wave at you for several seconds during an intense PvP battle, it's because the Dark Deal animation + a little lag is preventing me from bar swapping and streaking away.

Without lag, swap cancelling makes combat feel more fluid for me.

Dark deal and it’s sister morph has a long CD which is what prevents the bar swap. That’s by design as of about a year ago.

ZarkingFrued

Sparr0w wrote: »

Worse on console, left d-pad to swap bar, or hold Y. So you either cant move while switching bar or have a 2 second delay

Go into your ps4 settings and swap your left d pad button with R3, bar swap without even letting off your movement sticks.. die less

PouletRico

Bar swap is fine, you just to need to get used to it. I bound the toggle touch to a button on the side on my mouse, easy life. It's all about coordination and training your rotation.

Beardimus

Bar swap sucks..

In particular on console
In particular on sorcs who rely on switching for offence / defence

Pls fix

Emma_Overload

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO wrote: »

Show me 30k with only one bar

I can do around 28K on one bar, and my CP aren't even optimized for PvE right now:

https://youtu.be/SckrIm-0r-w?t=3m15s

If I had switched to back bar for Fury execute spam at 20%, I would have hit around 29K.

Sets worn in the video are Julianos, Mother's Sorrow and Slimecraw. My mundus is Mage, which probably isn't optimal.

I have to do heavy attacks every few seconds to keep sustain up, so I just do them every time I do Elemental Blockade.

WrathOfInnos

A single bar build would certainly get interesting if you decide to fight Relequen.

reprosal

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

A single bar build would certainly get interesting if you decide to fight Relequen.

If a person is too lazy to barswap I am sure they would be too lazy to join a trial group.

boombazookajd

Sparr0w wrote: »

Worse on console, left d-pad to swap bar, or hold Y. So you either cant move while switching bar or have a 2 second delay

Better with an elite controller, I map my weapon swap to the back paddle, as well as my D-pad "up" and my Y and B buttons. That way, I'm not taking my thumbs off the sticks for most of my skills and especially a synergy.

Weapon swapping on an elite is easy peasy.

ZeroXFF

The single biggest problem with bar swap is that it's server side. If they made it client side, all those things proposed by OP would be implemented with addons, and lag would no longer be a factor.

reprosal

ZeroXFF wrote: »

The single biggest problem with bar swap is that it's server side. If they made it client side, all those things proposed by OP would be implemented with addons, and lag would no longer be a factor.

The second they put most things clientside is the second that multi-input commands get abused.

You may not have played the original Star Wars Galaxies where this stuff was rampant. Multisliced weapons that were client side hosted and input commands. Nothing like seeing 1 attack cooldown hosting 10 actual attack commands.

ZeroXFF

reprosal wrote: »

ZeroXFF wrote: »

The single biggest problem with bar swap is that it's server side. If they made it client side, all those things proposed by OP would be implemented with addons, and lag would no longer be a factor.

The second they put most things clientside is the second that multi-input commands get abused.

You may not have played the original Star Wars Galaxies where this stuff was rampant. Multisliced weapons that were client side hosted and input commands. Nothing like seeing 1 attack cooldown hosting 10 actual attack commands.

I'm not talking about making everything client side, just bar swap. We already can use it for animation cancelling, so very little would change in regards to the ability to abuse it, but the game would be much more responsive.

tunepunk

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO wrote: »

Show me 30k with only one bar

On skelly usually around 25k-30k but with some group buffs can get a bit more.

I only use 3 active skills. These are my skills.

1. Puncturing sweeps.
2. Spell symmetry, for sustain. (i find this to be less DPS loss than using heavy attacks which I feel are cluncky)
3. Blockade of storms.
4. Blazing spear.
5. Inner light. just because i'm lasy to have yet another skill to press.
U. Ice comet.

gear:
Torug's pact, mothers sorrow, slimeclaw.

Basically rotation is:
Keep up blazing spear and blockade, mix in some jabs, and hit spell symmetry once in a while if needed. And ulti when up.
Easy peasy.

Here's a screen from just now with a really lousy rotation, I didn't even try to make an effort.

OneForSorrow

I wish that the background to bar 2 was a different color or something to make visual sign that you are on it a bit more clear.

Krayl

When hitting one button becomes 'too hard'. . .

Emma_Overload

I see a lot of people scoffing at the idea of a one bar build...

You guys should read the OP a little closer. Notice that he mentions that he goes on "pug runs" and likes to keep some heals and utility spells on his 2nd bar.

Not everyone has a perfect tank who nails the boss to the floor and never looses taunt and a perfect healer who proactively buffs and heals you to prevent you from taking too much damage. It's absolutely necessary when pugging to be able to take care of yourself and sometimes others. This means having room on your back bar for utility spells is a great advantage.

All these guys bragging on their "50K" skeleton dummy builds should see how well those builds perform when they're in a 4-man vet dungeon with some really bad players. When the tank keeps losing taunt and the bosses are hopping all over the place, continually swapping bars to reapply ground dots is going to slow you down and kill your DPS. Having a one bar "EZ mode" build like mine really helps to prevent any jam ups.

UPDATE: I was indeed able to reach 30K DPS simply by going to Fury on back bar at 20%. I guess this stretches the definition of a "one bar" build, but the only swap you have to do is for execute phase.

Saint314Louis1985

Beardimus wrote: »

Bar swap sucks..

In particular on console
In particular on sorcs who rely on switching for offence / defence

Pls fix

Elite controller on Xbox will change your life

Xerge

1.swap capslock and control
2. bind weapon swap to ctrl
3. barswap with pinky finger
4. profit