Questions on Controls and Preferred Styles

Hey Great GW Guru members -

I'm new. I've got questions. I know you can help and give me ideas.

I'm used to shooters on my 360, so I'm having trouble getting used to the control schemes used in GW and I want to know what everyone's prefered playing styles are so that I can get some ideas.

I'm having trouble seeing what's going on during combat. I'm cool with 1 enemy, but when a 2nd attacks from where I can't see, I get all discombobulated. I know that I can hit 'c' to target nearest enemy, but that doesn't swing my camera around. I don't like fighting what I can't see. How do you all handle that? Do you use the mouse or keyboard to rotate the camera during combat?

Also, just in general. Do you execute skills with your mouse from your skill bar or memorize the number buttons? Do you move with mouse clicks or use wasd movement keys?

I read that the spacebar is the default action. I'm an E/me. My default action is some weak fire wand. Can I re-map my default action to be the Flare skill?

Any other control tips?

Thanks in advance.

Heyhey,
1) Hold your right mouse button and swing it around.
2) I use the 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 buttons.
3) Yes you can, press F11 and go to controls, from there you can edit Flare to be Spacebar (but why not just press 1?)

You can use x to reverse the camera and as cracko previously stated, you can customize the interface to your liking. You can use the W,A,S,D keys to move your character, but i find the mouse much more responsive. One thing you can do is change your skills shortcut so they are close to W,A,S,D if you want everything to be usable with only one hand.

Ok, thanks for those tips. I'll try to exclusively use 1-8 for skill attacks and the mouse for camera control during combat.

Here's another question...Skill bar organization. How do you do it?

Do you group by:

- attack effect types (single attacks, area attacks)
- attacks vs. heals
- skill attribute types (ex. ele skills, mes skills, etc.)
- adjacent combinations (commonly used combos that are grouped together)
- random
- most often used

I'm probably over thinking this, but some reason that's fun for me.

If you're finding the overthinking fun, then perhaps you should try playing as a mesmer - you sound like you have the right mindset for that profession


Here's the way that I group my skillbar:
1) self heal
2) frequently used skill 1
3) frequently used skill 2
4) frequently used skill 3
5) auxiliary skill 1
6) auxiliary skill 2
7) auxiliary skill 3
8) resurrection skill

To give you an example, here's the build that my smiting monk is using for the time being:

1) Healing Touch
2) Signet of Judgement
3) Spear of Light
4) Banish
5) Kirin's Wrath
6) Smite Hex
7) Mend Ailment
8) Restore Life

I hold the fingers of my left hand over 2, 3 and 4 - as those are the skills that I find myself using most often. My pinkie is over 1, so that I can quickly hit it whenevever I need a health boost. I can then move my index finger to 5, 6, 7 or 8 whenever I need to use those skills.