Guide to setting up combat UIFollow

everyone's playstyle is different. Some are clickers, some are keyboarders, most are hybrid between the two.

I personally use Bongos to setup my Action bars and I will try to describe how I set them up that works very well for me.

 
-------------- X   X   X   X   X 
|            |   y   yy  yy  y     uuuuu      oooooooooo 
-------------- ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  mmmmm      qqqqqqqqqq 

That is what the bottom half of the screen looks like for me.

The big box is the chat window

X = A scaled up button (150%), I use that for what I click, Example: on my rogue I have BG Trinket, Racial, Vanish, Prep, Blind, Evasion on there.

y = normal scale (100%), less used icons. Rogue Example: I have Distract, and Feint on there.

z = normal scale (100%) combat buttons all bound to keyboard. Rogue Example: SS,backstab,evis,etc,etc

u and m= scaled down a bit buttons(70%) used for various potions/bandages etc.

o and q = Things like poisons, cooking,first aid, food, etc.

The logic behind it is that the scaled up buttons (X) are easy to click and monitor cooldowns since they are 150% bigger.

The middle row (Y) is still accesible but are tucked out of the way and usually lined up between the gaps in row X. (for "X" I try to leave 1 blank button between each action to remove the chance of clicking wrong.)

Everything else I need is still in the bottom half of the sceen (I use a widescreen monitor which helps) Leaving the top half of the screen pretty much clutter free.

I use this button layout on ALL my characters and it works wonders for me. I spend less time hunting for the right button to click and more time killing things.

If you need a screenshot to better see what I mean let me know and I will try to post one.

^^damn typos.

Edited, Dec 20th 2006 11:33am by TseTsuo

I also use Bongos and would recommend it. There's some initial setup necessary but it's very customisable and with a bit of experimentation you can get an interface that suits you perfectly. Scaling and placement of individual frames can do wonders for letting you see more of what's going on and giving faster access to the elements you need. When looking at bindings also don't ignore your mouse buttons.

You may want to look at one of the HUD mods that places critical information (mana, health etc) for both you and your target in the centre of the screen. I've found this to be very helpful in complementing the regular frames as it gives you constant awareness of key data without having to glance away from the action.

Personally I also found that using a regular keyboard was not ideal. Roaming across the keyboard was slow and prone to pressing the wrong key. Nowadays I use an n52 Speedpad which lets me keep my left arm in a relaxed position while having access to a huge number of keyboard shortcuts without moving my hand at all.

Not really UI specific, but a tip that came to mind after reading these posts.

I use my mouse scroll wheel in combat, and found that it's very effective. Normally the scroll up and scroll down are used for your camera zoom in/out settings. I don't use that as often so I didn't miss re-assigning that function to a set of keys.

Now for my rogue, scroll up = 1 and scroll down = 2. 1 is backstab when I'm out of stealth, and while in stealth 1 is ambush. 2 is SS while out of stealth and cheapshot while in stealth. You get the idea.

The best part about the scroll wheel is that with one motion of your index finger, you'll activate several instances of the action, saving you from having to spam press keys on the keyboard. I find that in fights where the opponent is running from or around me, that using this method gives me a better chance of landing the move as well.

My mouse has other buttons on it as well, which I use for Eviscerate and Kidney shot. my Left hand is always over the WASD keys, so I assigned SHIFT+keys around there for other functions. This keeps me from having to jump all around the keyboard or from having to click on my screen during fights.


Edited, Dec 20th 2006 2:25pm by DoctorPepper

The key is to:
1. Maximize the number of key bindings (clicking is slow and should be kept to a minimum)
2. Minimize hand movement

Put your left hand on your typical WASD keys (I'm assuming you use this fairly universal standard) with your wrist resting in its typical position. Now move your fingers around, leaving your wrist stationary... note which keys you can reach. These are the keys you should focus on binding abilities to.

This means most likely (unless you have bizarrely large/small hands):
1-6, Tab, Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Caps Lock, QWERTYASDFGZXVB, F1-F4

This means NOT using keys like 7 through = (it is impossible to reach = quickly), etc

Don't be afraid to rebind standard Blizzard functions. Having the "sit" key within easy reach is hardly useful... same with chat reply, etc

Make use of your mouse! Binding your most important reflex reactions to your mouse works well.

Don't forget to make use of "modifier" keys (i.e. Ctrl, Shift, Alt). When you combined all the above listed keys with one of these modifier keys, you have suddenly opened up a huge number of available bindings.

Try to bind everything! It's tempting to leave things to be clicked... but a good rule of thumb is, if you have to use it in combat, don't click it! The only things I have unbound are demon summons (10 sec cast), self buffs (demon armor, etc), and rarely use potions (greater fire prot, restorative, free action, etc). Commonly used consumables are bound just like any other key... bandages, health pots, mana pots, healthstones... there is no GCD on gulping these down so being able to spam bindings for that extra hp is faster than trying to click them.

Try to reduce clutter; visibility is important! Not only does it detract from the aesthetics of the game, but buttons on the screen reduce the area you can click on... it sucks when you need to click on something but have to change your POV because of a button! Binding everything allows you to scale down your UI since you won't be worrying about clicking the wrong one. Ideally you should be able to turn your entire UI off and still be able to play reasonably competently.

DON'T GET FRUSTRATED! Learning new keybindings takes time... take the time to setup a solid, logical system and then STICK TO IT! Certain abilities will seem awkward; if it is excessive, change the binding, but otherwise stick with it. As you slowly adjust to your bindings, you'll find your reduced movement improves your play greatly.

I'll try to throw up a recent SS of my UI when I get home from work to illustrate what I'm talking about. I've spent a lot of time slowly tweaking my UI on my characters and it's pretty embarassing to me now when I look back at some of my earlier bindings (or lack thereof).

All, this is VERY helpful. Thanks a lot!

i use Discord action bars (4 4x3 sets) a G15 keyboard a G5 logitech mouse and an N52 game pad....

my UI looks kinda like this



|------------------|
|------------------|..............................|------------------|
|------------------|1111 2222 3333 4444 |------------------|
|------------------|1111 2222 3333 4444 |------------------|
|------------------|1111 2222 3333 4444 |------------------|


ok, that the basic idea of mine, chat box on left and right (left for chat, rght for exp,loot, honor, skills, stuff like that) * ignore the ....... just used to keep my diagram lined up properly*

as you see i have my 4 4x3 action bars setup. I dont use my key board to play.. ever, i use a combination of my N52 pad (a MUST HAVE IMO) wich has a keypad on it simalar to this...

12W34
5ASD8
90-=


as you can kinda see i have 10 action button and my movement keys all set right there, mt jump button is on the pad where the left hand thumb would rest on it.
and theres another button mapped to ctrl
theres also a D-pad on the right hand side of it wich i have mapped to my map, character screen, quest log, and all bags

** a pic to help you get an idea of what i'm saying for the N52 http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/6184/6184764_sa.jpg **

now to complicate it a little more my mouse has 3 extra button on it, one on the left side (where your thumb normally rests, and 2 right below the mouse wheel.
the left side button is mapped to shift, also very useful for auto looting or auto gather, or anything else used for shift+click
** a pic of the mouse http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/7424/7424557_sa.jpg **

now reffering back to my original diagram, the "1" set is mapped to 1-=, the "2" set is mapped to shift+ 3 is ctrl + and 4 is shift+ctrl+

now if that all made sense to you, you can see i have 40 buttons mapped and very easily pushed at any time with no movement of the hands (besides the fingers obviously) or trying to figure out what button is what.

granted it would take awhile to get accoustomed to where all your skills are, but in the end its very much worth the time and effort put into mapping it right, setting skills/macros right and just playing to get the muscle memory set in your fingers so you no longer think about it, you just do it.

If you have the cash to spare i hihgly reccomedn at least the N52 pad, it has an awosme key binding program and can make having all your skills easily used so much easier, that and a modified action bar setup (discord is my fav) so you can have everything all nice and neat helps out so much, and saves so much space as once you get used to where all your stuff is, you can shrink you buttons down a bit, and make chat boxes smaller or largere to your prefrance (my are long and kinda skinny, but thats the way i like them)

Each person has there own methods, and most will claim theres to be the best way to do it, the best way is to experiment, and find out what works best for you :)

( even though my way IS best :P )


*edit- stupid diagram was all fubar :P

Edited, Dec 21st 2006 6:58pm by CyrusBlaze