Advice on Positioning and Movement

Kng_Ayumayuma

I have a Razer keyboard, I used WASD for movement (which I'm not that crazy about) and 1-5 for abilities and a Razer 12 button mouse.

The problem is I stand around too much. I start a fight then I move my fingers from WASD up to the 1-5 button using my four fingers on those buttons with my left hand. First finger uses button 4 and 5. Ultimate is on mouse. While I apply damage I’m usually also (just) standing there in a damage area.

I can’t figure out how to move out of damage areas and apple damage (1-5) simultaneously. I did try assigning movement keys to mouse side buttons. But continually holding a button down felt unnatural. Pushing the mouse to the right too much. I normally use the left mouse button a lot to apply that damage.

How do you move and use abilities at the same time?

OBJnoob

Continue using wasd for movement but take the abilities off 1-5 and code them to your mouse buttons instead. Seems like what you need.

FrancisCrawford

OBJnoob wrote: »

Continue using wasd for movement but take the abilities off 1-5 and code them to your mouse buttons instead. Seems like what you need.

I have the same problem.

I've never felt comfortable using that many buttons on a mouse and, as a result, I usually can't move and fight effectively at the same time either.

I do at least make effective use of mouse buttons for bar swap, synergies/other "x" stuff, and stealth (when relevant). Sometimes dodge as well, but I can only figure out how to program backward dodge, rather than my usual preference to roll sideways.

Quethrosar

i used to be you. how do i move and fight ?
i could not do maelstrom arena just using keyboard for movement and activities.
i had to go buy a 12 button mouse and get use to it so i could move and fight at same time.
this is a very bad mechanic for a pc as most people aren't going to go buy $100 mice.

Kng_Ayumayuma

OBJnoob wrote: »

Continue using wasd for movement but take the abilities off 1-5 and code them to your mouse buttons instead. Seems like what you need.

I'll give that a wirle. Thanks. Seem obvious after you wrote it.

OrkWizard

Bar swap and roll dodge on mouse side buttons, bash on mouse wheel up is my personal set up. I'd advise just getting used to abilities on 1-5. You really don't want to be moving around all that much as it just interrupts and lowers your dps. Put your spammable on 3 so you can still cast something while moving around for mechanics. Stay still and parse, only move out of mechs that will one shot you or be a detriment to your group. If you miss a few casts during mechanics it's not the end of the world, alive DD does more damage than a dead DD.

Kng_Ayumayuma

Maybe I should mention my main is a CP 115 magick DK following this guide.

Magicka Dragonknight Beginner Build For ESO I like Alcast's guides.

I'm trying to solo a public dungeon. I've switched from a magick DW, Fire Staff build. It was good up to public dungeons.

What has been happening in this dungeon (even this new Alcast build) is I start a fight 5 mobs swarm me. As I stand there pressing 1-5 both bars, I get massacred in no time. I've been in other public dungeons and did better but this one seems harder for some reason.

I've had an idea to use two mouse profiles and switch to a combat profile with 1-5 on it instead of the keyboard as OBJnoob suggested (you don't sound like a noob. Just saying). Here are the profiles (modified the 1st profile I've been using a while), I just made this up. Subject to change and getting used to the new layouts. I have been using this mouse for a while and find those 12 buttons indispensable. You can get used to them.

If you see a better use of buttons let us know... I play solo.

Pelanora

I split my laptop keyboard between my hands like a piano, one hand does 1 to 5 skills, and w for light attack, and a for bar swap, the other hand uses the arrow keys for movement.
In between is the mouse pad and keys for block and bash and to change camera. Either hand can move to that, depending on what is going on.

What I can't do is run around someone in a tight circle attacking them constantly, because id need three hands for that. But I'm a range fighter so I don't really need to do that. So this set up doesn't beat how agile mouse fighters can be, but at range I don't need to fight like that, so so far it's been fine.

Zodiarkslayer

I use the normal Microsoft Keyboard and a 5 button mouse. Cheap as dirt...

But it just works.
I use QWES for movement. So that my fingers barely have to move at all.
All interaction I can do with my thumb.

This way I have my index, middle, ring finger and pinky for all skills and movements.
Now it is just a question of putting the skills on the best buttons.

I can move and spam skills just fine. I just have to watch when I have to strafe right, that I cannot use 4 and 5 very well and 1 and 2 when strafing left.
But if I use the camera in a timely fashion, I never have such problems.

danno8

While you are strafing right with "D" you should still be able to use "1", "2", and "3" (and "4" if you contort a bit) with your ring and middle finger. Only "5" is out of reach.

While strafing left with "A" you should still be able to use "2", "3", "4", and "5" with your middle or pointer finger. Only "1" is out of reach.

I tend to place buffs on my "5" slot on all bars so while strafing right I have access to all skills I need to keep doing damage. I tend to flavor strafing right and not left so much. If I need to straffe left and do damage I still have LMB for LA's and 2, 3, 4 and 5.

p00tx

Lots of us who transferred to PC from console continue to use our controllers pretty successfully. If you're comfortable with gaming controllers, it could be a good option for you, and the game performs pretty well with one, even on PC.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

My thoughts, certainly no one way to do it. I use a Razer Naga trinity, which is almost exclusively in the 12 button, MMO configuration. My left hand uses a Razer Tartarus Pro. I have been using left hand mini Keyboards since the Belkin N52 (about 20 years). They are more about being comfortable than utility as I do not use the left thumbstick for movement, but I do bind each direction to various keys.

The broadstrokes:

-Skills. My Skill buttons, 1-5 are on my right hand, buttons 1-5 on my MMO mouse.
-Light Attack and block, these are LMB and RMB respectively.
-Dodge, bound to key 6 on my MMO mouse. This needs to be easily accessible, and this also allows easy dodge canceling of skills.
-Quickslots, the first 6 are Bound to Keys 7-12 on my MMO mouse. This might be an area to add a few more action keys (Break Free, Ultimate, Tab Target, bar Swap, etc.)
-Tab Target (for the love of god tab target), is forward on my left thumbstick
-Break Free, Backwards on my left thumbstick.
-Movement, WASD on my left hand.
-Ultimate, Bind to Key R, two keys to the right of the W.
-Bar Swap, Left thumb button (there is both a stick, a button (above the stick), and a Space Bar key (below the stick) on the Tartarus that can easily be hit by your left thumb). I like bar swapping with my left thumb, probably because this is where I have always bound weapon swap in shooters. In ESO, I find I swap cancel sklls better with my Skill buttons and Swap button being different fingers (and different Hands). One of the most precise things you need to do from a timing standpoint is swap canceling skills. LA>Skill>Swap>LA>Skill. I want all three on different fingers.
-Jump, Left Hand Spacebar

The Tarturus doesnt actually label the keys with letters, I have large hands, so I actually move all of them up, so instead of the top row being 1-5 by default, its QWERT

Why I do it this way:

First, this is not a shooter, dancing around while DPSing doesnt help, and is generally a bad idea in a PVE raid setting. That said, you do need to be able to move while doing your rotation. I dont want movement skills to overlap with DPS skills.

This setup allows me to perform my entire damage rotation with 4 fingers, my index and thumb on each hand. These are certainly the fingers that I feel like I have the most Dexterity/Control when using.

I weave between my right index finger (LA) and right thumb (skills 1-5). I have found this to be the easiest way to keep a nice rhythm, and these are the two most important and frequently pressed buttons in combat that also require the most precision. You want simple and to be able to use your best 2 fingers (for me, that is right index and thumb). I cast potions with my right thumb, I bar swap with my left thumb, and I fire my ultimate with my left index finger. That is all you need for damage at the most basic level. In other words, I can do a Raid dummy parse with 4 fingers.

In terms of defense (other than movement), I really only add one finger. I block with my right middle finger (RMB), I roll dodge with my right thumb (MMO button 6), I break free and tab target with my left thumb (both on the left hand joystick), and of course, I move with WASD (left ring, middle, index finger).

In my setup, the only real overlap I have between Damage and movement/defense is that my left index finger does both right movement and ultimate. I have had ultimate on one of my right mouse buttons, probably better TBH, but I just got used to my ultimate being there before I got an MMO mouse. If starting from scratch, i might also consider putting Break Free on one of my right thumb buttons. Regardless, be sure you bind keys to both Break Free and Dodge Roll. That double tap nonsense can get you killed, especially when lag hits.

Everything beyond that is convenience, so set the rest how you want.

If you have a 12 button MMO mouse, I highly suggest using those buttons for your skills. Casting your skills with the same fingers you use to move is just gimping yourself.

Necrotech_Master

i guess im just weird lol, i have a razer mouse and keyboard but still have skills on 1-5 and use wasd for movement

i actually have no problem moving while i fight lol

i usually have my main spammable on number 4 or 2 as those are the easier for me to hit, i usually use the middle finger on W/S, pointer finger on D, ring finger on A

• when i spam the number 4/5 skills i use the pointer finger and still use the ring and middle finger for forward/backward and left movement
• when i use the number 1-2 skills i hit those with the ring finger and have foward/backward and right moevement with the other 2 fingers
• when i hit the number 3 i use the middle finger and still have left and right movement

i have no idea how i make it work, but ive been playing the game for 8.5 years so it feels almost natural to me lol

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i guess im just weird lol, i have a razer mouse and keyboard but still have skills on 1-5 and use wasd for movement

i actually have no problem moving while i fight lol

i usually have my main spammable on number 4 or 2 as those are the easier for me to hit, i usually use the middle finger on W/S, pointer finger on D, ring finger on A

• when i spam the number 4/5 skills i use the pointer finger and still use the ring and middle finger for forward/backward and left movement
• when i use the number 1-2 skills i hit those with the ring finger and have forward/backward and right moevement with the other 2 fingers
• when i hit the number 3 i use the middle finger and still have left and right movement

i have no idea how i make it work, but ive been playing the game for 8.5 years so it feels almost natural to me lol

When I moved my skills from 1-5 on the keyboard to the 1-5 buttons on my MMO mouse, my DPS doubled and my overall combat ability tripled in about 72 hours. LOL

Admittedly, I made this change about the time I started really getting into end game stuff, so I was also motivated to really L2P from a combat perspective, but objectively, I think an MMO mouse with skill buttons under your right thumb is far and away the best way to play a game like this from a control/function standpoint.

That said, there are players that can kick my but with a broken controller in one hand with their other tied behind their back. I will say this, especially since Oakensoul, it is really easy to DPS with a beer in my left hand. HAHA

ZOS_Suserial

I'm glad to see that this thread was able to assist you in you gaming endeavors.

Necrotech_Master

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i guess im just weird lol, i have a razer mouse and keyboard but still have skills on 1-5 and use wasd for movement

i actually have no problem moving while i fight lol

i usually have my main spammable on number 4 or 2 as those are the easier for me to hit, i usually use the middle finger on W/S, pointer finger on D, ring finger on A

• when i spam the number 4/5 skills i use the pointer finger and still use the ring and middle finger for forward/backward and left movement
• when i use the number 1-2 skills i hit those with the ring finger and have forward/backward and right moevement with the other 2 fingers
• when i hit the number 3 i use the middle finger and still have left and right movement

i have no idea how i make it work, but ive been playing the game for 8.5 years so it feels almost natural to me lol

When I moved my skills from 1-5 on the keyboard to the 1-5 buttons on my MMO mouse, my DPS doubled and my overall combat ability tripled in about 72 hours. LOL

Admittedly, I made this change about the time I started really getting into end game stuff, so I was also motivated to really L2P from a combat perspective, but objectively, I think an MMO mouse with skill buttons under your right thumb is far and away the best way to play a game like this from a control/function standpoint.

That said, there are players that can kick my but with a broken controller in one hand with their other tied behind their back. I will say this, especially since Oakensoul, it is really easy to DPS with a beer in my left hand. HAHA

yeah i have considered moving the buttons to my mouse, but at the same time i dont want to relearn playing the game either lol

i mean because of the GCD, we only need to hit 1 skill per second, which is not actually that fast if you think about it, i just optimize my skill bar for the way i play lol

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i guess im just weird lol, i have a razer mouse and keyboard but still have skills on 1-5 and use wasd for movement

i actually have no problem moving while i fight lol

i usually have my main spammable on number 4 or 2 as those are the easier for me to hit, i usually use the middle finger on W/S, pointer finger on D, ring finger on A

• when i spam the number 4/5 skills i use the pointer finger and still use the ring and middle finger for forward/backward and left movement
• when i use the number 1-2 skills i hit those with the ring finger and have forward/backward and right moevement with the other 2 fingers
• when i hit the number 3 i use the middle finger and still have left and right movement

i have no idea how i make it work, but ive been playing the game for 8.5 years so it feels almost natural to me lol

When I moved my skills from 1-5 on the keyboard to the 1-5 buttons on my MMO mouse, my DPS doubled and my overall combat ability tripled in about 72 hours. LOL

Admittedly, I made this change about the time I started really getting into end game stuff, so I was also motivated to really L2P from a combat perspective, but objectively, I think an MMO mouse with skill buttons under your right thumb is far and away the best way to play a game like this from a control/function standpoint.

That said, there are players that can kick my but with a broken controller in one hand with their other tied behind their back. I will say this, especially since Oakensoul, it is really easy to DPS with a beer in my left hand. HAHA

yeah i have considered moving the buttons to my mouse, but at the same time i dont want to relearn playing the game either lol

i mean because of the GCD, we only need to hit 1 skill per second, which is not actually that fast if you think about it, i just optimize my skill bar for the way i play lol

Certainly, there is no one size fits all answer in this department. I have played with exceptional players over the years that use unique and frankly ridiculous setups.

I knew a guy that used LMB to walk forward, RMB to walk backwards, and two side mouse buttons for strafing left and right. He then did pretty much everything else with his left hand on a keyboard. I tried it and was like the person who plays Halo the first time and is just stuck in the corner, spinning in circles, and starting up at the sky. Haha

I knew another guy that somehow rigged it to have a console controller in his right hand and a keyboard under his left.

I certainly realize that not everyone is able to use or go out and buy an expensive MMO mouse, but if you have one, give it a whirl and call me in week. I bet 95% of people never look back.

Pelanora

I have to be careful with OOS, a mouse is out for me. I don't use one for work, i have a pen and tablet.

So splitting the functions between hands, fight with one, move with the other, means the brain can more easily step out of thinking, and i can react faster.

fred4

My advice is to keep your hands in a fixed position and reassign keys to suit. Arrange key bindings so your middle finger(s) rest(s) on a single fixed key. Other fingers stretch to where they can reach. For example I use the above keyboard on my lap, watching on my living room TV. I keep my middle fingers on the E key and pointing stick respectively. The other fingers can reach to the following keys:

Left Hand
Little Finger: Q A Tab 1 = Bar Swap / Potion / Synergy / Ability 1
Ring Finger: W S 2 3 = Sprint / Crouch / Ability 2 / Ability 3
Middle Finger: E = Run Forward
Index Finger: D F G R T = Ultimate / Interact / Sheathe / Ability 4 / Dodge Roll
Thumb: Z X C Ctrl Alt Space = Inventory / Skills / Map / Mount / Jump / Ability 5

Right Hand
Little Finger: K = Target Lock
Ring Finger: J N = Run Backwards / Run Right
Middle Finger: Pointing Stick
Index Finger: V = Run Left
Thumb: Mouse Buttons = Light Attack / Bash / Block

EDIT: Obviously just take note of how many keys you can reach while keeping your hand(s) in a fixed position. Don't copy my idiosyncratic key bindings. I'm also not recommending a keyboard with a pointing stick, unless you already like those (like me) or you're looking for a solution to use on your lap (like me). Also note the above is not a laptop keyboard, but a small-production mechanical keyboard, modeled after a laptop one. This is pretty important, at least for competitive play. (Laptop) membrane keyboards don't tend to have n-key rollover. Holding down more than two keys at the same time can fail for some key combinations. I also wore out and ruined two Lenovo Trackpoint keyboards in the early days. When you use them as I described, you tend to hit only the edges of some keys. That breaks those membrane keyboards pretty quickly.

dmnqwk

I am a left-handed right-hand mouse user with a Razer Trinity, but I have the 7 button plate on not the 12.

Because my dominant hand is my left, I have an easier time using keys while moving, but the main thing I do is....
I don't have my keyboard at a tangent, I have it at a slight angle.

When you have your keyboard straight, you'll have the space between the number 2 and 3 key sitting directly north of it.
But with the keyboard slightly angled, the number 2 becomes directly forward from the W.

I use 1-5, ` (tilde, left of the 1) for synergies and R for ultimate.
I have sprint and crouch on top of my mouse, and I have button 4 (which is pushing my middle click to the left on this mouse) as autorun. Of the 7 buttons on my thumb control... only the easiest one for me to touch is used in combat - as a dodge roll. (the rest do other stuff like dps meter info, run/walk toggle, skills page so I can switch abilities where required etc)

When I assign abilities, 1 to 3 hold the important ones because they're easiest to reach when slightly angling the keyboard. 5 is the reacher and holds passives (like camou hunter) or longer buffs (igneous weapons, lotus blossom etc).
I find that should I ever find myself desperately kiting a courtyard werewolf boss in a circle because the rest of the group got one shotted and I need another 100 ult before I can rez them all I can manage to hit buttons 1-3 so easily doing this that I can keep myself alive and live to avoid a wipe.

But angling the keyboard definitely makes things easier for me.

Kng_Ayumayuma

I'm greatful for all the replies. Fantastic information here.

Should I be suprised? No. This is a knowledgeable and helpful comunity.

Thank you all

MudcrabAttack

After going through so many gaming mice, my favorite setup has been assigning mouse wheel up/ down for spammable skills, like whip, concealed weapon, silver shards, whirling blades, force pulse, lethal arrow, since I’ll wind up using those skills a lot.

The side buttons are for occasional damage over time skills, I tend to mash them and cause the mouse to slide sideways a little, which makes the screen jitter. So 15 -20 second duration dots are on the side buttons to minimize the jitters. A heavy mouse helps with this too, and a mouse wheel that doesn’t wear out too soon- I like a good heavy steel series

Kng_Ayumayuma

You all have been so helpful. Can you now tell me how to play one handed?
Five weeks and three days.



no animals were harmed taking this picture

M0ntie

Good question. I switched from console to PC and tried very hard to swap to using kb and mouse. Wasd to move and numbers to fight was just way too much for my non dominant hand. Kept dying standing in stupid.
I went back to using a controller.

Kng_Ayumayuma

A lot of people really like controllers. I've never used one. My last console was an NES.

Kng_Ayumayuma

I don't get how a controller works in a game like this. I mean I have 12 side buttons on my mouse. Bookoo buttons on my keyboard. How do you do all that with a controller?

Amottica

OBJnoob wrote: »

Continue using wasd for movement but take the abilities off 1-5 and code them to your mouse buttons instead. Seems like what you need.

This. When in combat I use my left hand for WASD on the keyboard and everything else is on my 12-button mouse.

Years ago when I first started using a 12-button mouse I started with three keybinds (one row) and over the course of a few weeks added each row of 3 until I used the entire mouse. My most frequently used skills are near the top row. 1-5 are my skills. 6 is weapon swap. 10 is potion wheel and 12 is ultimate.

When I start a new game I play around with things in different places until I find what works well for me.

Good luck finding what works best for you.

Panachudo

For group content I encourage people to move around as little as possible. This helps the tanks and healers to no end. The less players are scattered the easier it is on the team. There are times mechanics require a dodge or a move but regrouping afterward is important. This way your fingers can hover 1-5 and pop down to WASD when required.

For solo content the use of roots and crowd control is important. Rooting the enemies and creating distance wherein attacks can be made allows the switching between 1-5 and WASD. Obviously works well for ranged attacks.

For brawlers it's a different story. I get into the fight and rarely move. Shields are important. The obvious choice for 2H is carve. Buffing this with CP points (bastion I think) is paramount. Slotting a heal is also advised. I usually run a Magicka heal so it doesn't drain stamina. This way my fingers hover over 1-5.

I purchased the Corsair mouse that has 12 side buttons in the hope of assigning skills to them. In theory it works well. In practice it doesn't. This isn't a fault of the hardware but rather a physical one. I have XXXL hands. Trying to press buttons 7-12 on the mouse is equivalent to trying to do the splits. Quite annoyed but with such massive hands I can't expect the world. Using buttons 1-6 is useful for quickslot, synergy, ultimate, and weapon swap though. I really only play a tank so smashing the synergy button is really useful now.

There are gamepads that can make these tasks a lot easier. I've been flirting with the idea of getting the Azeron Cyborg gamepad. I'd have to be able to try it first given the size of my hands. Though at first glance it appears to be well suited to MMO configs. Another one is the Razer pad. Not too familiar with it.

A possible idea is a HOTAS setup (joystick and throttle). Use the joystick for movement and the plethora of buttons for practically anything else. Though it would require a lot of tinkering to get right. 🤣