Caeln from the Legion Guild contacted me to post his article on the shortcut possibilities in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Note that the guide is written by a right-hander but the information can be transposed for a left-hander. I'll pass you the lexicon (I hope my dear readers are familiar with MMO-specific terms .. at the same time, I never took the care of preparing a lexicon for you ... so it must be the case)
Before starting, a small screenshot which will be used for the explanation. As Caeln points out, the screenshot is not his, so he doesn't endorse any placement of spells or shortcuts installed by that person.
So here is the way Caeln organizes his keys:
1: Corresponds to the A key, it's located right next to the TAB key (which is the targeting key in most MMOs) I call it the "engage" key. Most of the time when you click on it is just after selecting its target, for my part I tend to put a type spell on it: charge (force leap, among the Jedi, in swtor) it allows often to take the initiative. You can also put a marking spell (the wow hunter) or any other type of spells called: combat engagement. (some stealth friends put their first attack spell on it and spam both keys in order to engage the first one, in a fight against another stealth, I prefer BS to spam, but we're not there yet.)
2 : The E key, for me it's a "usual" key of medium importance, I personally place a basic spell there, not essential, but which can be the little extra that changes the situation: during a Burst DPS for example, or a saving revulsion spell to lower the pressure on yourself during a focus. It can also be a "Tick" spell if your class is based on this kind of DPS and you need more hits. (with my weapon warrior, in wow, it was bleeding from slaying.)
3 : The R key which is a bit far away for small hands. it is the DOT key, we activate it most of the time in the beginnings of fights and we leave the effect of the spell "ticker" quietly. We refresh it from time to time it avoids the regular spreading of fingers at the JCVD. (It was the knee breaker with my warrior.)
4 : Key essential in PvP! it is the "cut-cast" key one of the fastest keyboard shortcuts, I reserve it exclusively for interrupting enemy spells, with that you will become the bête noire of casters. (of course volley of hits in wow with my war.)
5 : The key known as: "freedom" is the key that I use to get out of snares, root enemies. (in wow there was the alliance / horde trinket, it seems to me that in the first 10 lvl of swtor we get an equivalent spell for all classes.)
6 : The so-called "reactive" key (in fact the movement key: jump in my configuration, is located on the button of the mouse wheel, it is a completely personal choice of gameplay, which allows me a facilitation and a better fluidity of the game.) Why reactive? quite simply because I place the spells there which are triggered when the enemy: dodge, parry, cons, resist my attacks. Or which requires a certain number of charges in order to be released. The thumb is mostly placed on it, as soon as you see the nice highlight effect: you squeeze the big bar. Simple, fast, efficient, we never miss our fate for lack of time.
7 : The following three keys are "special" and do not exist on all keyboards. I personally attribute the Stuns & Burst to it, said in that sense, I think you will understand why.
8 the same
9 the same
BS1 : One of the two most important keys to me. This is a "Spam" key. It's simple I put my most important spells there. You know, the ones you use most often in combat, in Korean crazy spammer mode addicted to Starcraft. Actually today I don't even look at those keys anymore, I just spam them thoroughly and concentrate on the chaining of control spells on the keyboard.
BS2 : The second most important. That's why I don't look at her anymore.
BS3 : The completion key. I use this button most of the time for execution purposes when my target has fallen below a certain number of HP. It allows me to spam my big damage spells and to be ready at any time to put myself in "executioner" mode (and not hearts =)
? : A catch all to my taste, I would surely play Jedi consular shadow = stealth and I think I will put my spell there to switch to this mode.
Shift + and / or Ctrl + (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-BS1-BS2-BS3-?) : La ligne de + purple corresponds to a mirror touch of the description of the spell written above.
Do you have two roughly identical spells? Very simple you put the first on the normal key above and the second below, and with your little finger you press the shift key + the usual key of the similar spell, your brain will react instinctively, human magic.
X keys (1-2-3-4-5): I know several people who put most of their spells on these keys, for me personally (as DPS) I find them too far and not far enough from each other, I often screw up on it and engage the wrong technique at the wrong time. I therefore assign very small spells, long buffs, "kikou" spells, etc ... The healers on the other hand often assign a member of the group to it (from 1 to 4 for the hot spots and up to 8 or even 16 in shift + for operations) in order to select the mates more quickly and not waste time clicking on the portrait (others use the preset keys F1, F2, ...)
Concerning me, I organized everything completely differently, since I move with the direction keys, I organized my links on the numeric keypad and around the direction keys. I finally only have a few shortcuts (maybe because I play thief in Wow ^^).
1 : the main attack
2 : AOE or secondary attack or execution attack (under x% health of a boss)
4 : the main dowry
5 : second dot or AOE
Delete : the interruption or the spell of engagement
End : often dedicated to a specific macro depending on the bosses encountered
And I continue to throw bursts and "rare" spells with the mouse.
And you ? do you have all your spells linked? Do you still play with the mouse?
