How to get better with the Keyboard?

try playing an RTS for a few months, it takes about 100 times as much keyboard skill, so you will learn a lot faster.

GW2 is not supposed to be "mouseless" - that's a misinterpretation of what they said. What they said was - GW2 will not use the "click on the ground to move" thing that you can do in GW1. I don't think many people use that anyway. It still should have the same "look around", click on NPCs/targets, steer, etc., functions it has now. It will certainly NOT be mouseless.

Your original post isn't too clear on what your problem is, but, did you know that you can move and steer your character by holding down the left & right mouse buttons? You may find that easier than WASD.

Also, if you go to Menu > Options > controls, you can reconfigure the keys any way you want that you find more comfortable. (I have so many keys reassigned, I don't know what the defaults are any more. )

lol you know how slow pings introduce lag? well my hands introduce lag... I know what to do but not fast enough. I don't really know how to practice. Usually I don't get any progress... One question though: do you W in WASD with your ring finger like normal typing or do you do it like arrows with the middle finger?

well if u've never played pc games before, then it'll take a while to get used to it
all i can say tho, is keep it up
pc games r ftw! ^__^

i'd recommend playin an fps to get better used to "modern keyboard gaming controls"
since well, fps games r really wut started the whole wsad thing

for now jus focus on the basics:

wsad for movement
space for attack
c and tab (shift+tab) for targetting
1-8 for skill activation

after u get the basics down
then u can move on to more advanced keyboarding lol



for reference....fps equivalent controls:
wsad for movement
space for jump
ctrl (and sometimes c) for crouch
1-8 for weapon selection

lol you don't know my computer. I don't think it would handle any FPS out today. I would get a new one but $$$ and too many new technologies too close (Core i7-waits for price drop, USB 3.0, PCI-E, etc... yeah I know they aren't out NOW, but if I wait just a little longer). um... but you never answered my question lol. do people do like WASD as in the arrows keys or like normal typing? and if that's true... what about all the skill and using numbers? maybe I will try the PS2 thing...

but theres tons of fps out there that arent too demanding on graphics that r still pretty good by todays standards
(if u can run gw, then u can run these)

ima mention single-player fps games...since u can go more at ur own pace (and set the difficulty on easy lol)
-half-life 1
-aliens vs predator 1
-no one lives forever 1
-soldier of fortune 1
-thief 1


if ur rdy to tackle some multiplayer fps...i'd recommend:
-counter-strike 1.6
-quake 3 arena
-unreal tournament (the first one)
-starsiege tribes (its free now)

Generally speaking, I don't WASD for movement. I use the left+right mouse buttons normally. I sometimes use W to move forward, depending upon conditions, but when I do, I use my index finger (or whatever finger is handy).
I have my left and right strafe keys assigned to "Z" & "X", so, as I play I move with the mouse while strafing with Z & X and hitting CTRL, ALT, C, Spacebar, etc.. It's probably not the "best" setup, but it works (sort of) for me and was originally a result of transferring my key setup from FPSes (mostly TFC)

Why would you want to play with only the keyboard? Is there something your having difficulty doing with the mouse?

In my experience playing with the mouse and keyboard together is the best control scheme one could ask for. I use ESDF (e = up, WASD moved one slot over for extra key binds near movement keys) and right-click and mouse movements to turn. Middle finger for both E and D, index for F, ring finger for S. Drop your thumb for alt and use your pinky for any additional keybinds you want (keypress left shift for voice). Sliding over one slot also centers you more on your number keys.

If you don't use the mouse you can't circle strafe. Not really a big deal in an MMORPG but your movement is much smoother when carving around the game world, and allows you to walk in one direction and look in another (good for scouting an area without accidentally pulling aggro).

You can't do this with just the keyboard, unless you bind both move and strafe keys, which is far more complicated then using the mouse. Sure it can be done, but I would not recommend it. An example setup would be using ESDF for movement keys, then using A and G for strafe keys.

I play a caster, so melee may be a different story but once you start attacking you shouldn't be moving anyway. Left click to start the attack then start queuing your skills using the number keys until the mob drops. For multi-mob groups, once you drop the first one, tab through until you find the next one you want to attack (generally the one with the least health, assuming you went for the enemy healer first).

When I played WoW, I played an Affliction Warlock (insta-cast mage) and a Deathknight (Frost tank) and still used this setup. It take a bit of finger dexterity and practice but after a while I could still hit every number key and circle strafe at the same time. This works wonders in PvP. Hitting a moving target is way harder then a standing one, in WoW I used to run figure eight's around people piling DOT's on them and laughing as they missed 90% of their attacks just trying to target me.

If you like the game don't quit. You will get used to it. Any game takes time to get good at, especially player movement. Every MMORPG is the same so don't think any other will be any easier, keep at it and before you know it you'll be able to do it in your sleep. And if you play a lot that might actually happen

Nope, I just thought it might be faster. Plus I guess I like the idea of having all my hands close together.

I'm trying ESDF too... but my brain can't remap T/V/C how I did them before lol.

Sounds too hard, I'll just use the compass.

In the other game I played I was used to kiting like crazy since nobody played as a team and lag. Plus the AI goes straight for me on many occasions even if I don't do a thing. And I read several Mesmer guides and they said you should be really good at kiting since you'll be one of the main targets in PvP (which is mostly what I am to do).


I actually don't know any number keys and I have this habit of using different things all the time or rearranging what I have... there's so many skills and I like to experiment. Will the slots ever stick in memory though? I know what I'm doing but only if I like quickly look... that's pretty annoying. However I swear the AI has some lag thrown in to balance that out... I've experimented with "at the end" interrupts and they work.

I'm just kind of depressed because my typing skills are good but none of them can be applied to GW. Plus my hand hurts right now from "practicing", yet I'm not any better than I was when I started. Boo. I don't have that patience is a virtue virtue as you can tell lol.

I lay my skills out in order of damage and by type, number 1 is always my AWWW POOO! key (health drain / anything that will get you out of a tricky situation if the healer decides to take a nap), followed by curses (anything I'm going to apply to the mob the tank is attacking), then secondary curses (anything I'm going to apply to remaining mobs), then AoE or direct damage spells, with energy storage / buffs on the right since you cast them the least mid-combat.

Skills change, sometimes you have more or less of each type, but generally I know where things are, but of course sometimes we all push the wrong key. Having a skill cancel key is handy for that (space), so if you hit the wrong spell while doing your rotation you can quicky pick back up where you left off.

I kind of like your idea of binding skills to keys around movement keys, but I'm not sure I could find 8 easily accessible keys and still maintain the movement I like so much. My setup is probably not what a lot of people use, I'm accustomed to it from mostly playing FPS games. That said it took a good 6 months to really learn how to circle strafe a moving target, but I'm glad I did it since you can use it in about every game out there.

I'm horrible at kiting, and I'm sure I drive a lot of people crazy when I group with them. I play hard and fast, I run straight at groups (no matter how big they are) and start casting up a storm. When I first started playing I died *a lot*, but once you get a hang of micro-managing mobs you can pretty much go full out and won't die as much as you think you would.

My reasoning is this; if I play full out, eventually I'll get good at it. I don't care if I die a million times during the learning process if at the end of the day I'm a better player for doing it. Plus in any kind of team based game people don't usually expect this. Most people play defensively, so they expect you to. When you don't it breaks their concentration, even if its only for a split second, and allows you to gain the upper hand. Call me crazy but I love that style of fighting

With a good group you shouldn't have to kite very much. The tank should be pulling and holding aggro, if mobs break they aren't doing their job properly. You shouldn't feel bad if this happens and you or your team dies, because it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Play your role and don't worry about the rest, that's the best you can ever do.

It sounds like your on the right track, give it more time and I'm sure you'll do just fine. Your setting the bar too high for yourself if you think you can pick up a game and learn all the ins and outs in a month. Have fun with it and you'll figure it out as you go

I do that too, except my priorities are different. The spell I cast the most is the one on the 3/4 number keys, depending on situation, because they're the most convenient. If you start arranging your skills a particular way, you'll find you don't really need to look at your skillbar after a while because you know pretty much where everything is - even after you've had a quick skill shuffle.

clicking to move is quite common among pvpers, since that control scheme has proven to be more precise and generally faster, especially for lateral movements. click to target is also quite popular, because you can skip past the queues from using target next and target previous buttons.

You don't need to use the keyboard to play GW. I know some days I feel like only using the mouse, and for casual PvE, it works just fine.

When I do use the keyboard however, it is mostly just for using skills with the 1-8 keys, using control and alt to highlight enemies and allies, and using c-space for targeting something new when I don't need to target anything specific. My mouse handles the rest; moving, camera, specific targeting, etc. This way, my left hand basically just sits with my fingers on the number keys and my thumb on the space bar. My pinky handles the control key, when needed, my pointer for the c key, and my thumb for alt. Once you get to know the skills on your bar better, this is a good use of the keyboard with the default key bindings.

But really, just find what keys you find most comfortable to use. If you prefer movement with the wasd keys, use that and the mouse for skills. You can play however you want.

This is something I disabled, as it's really crappy for the typical fast-paced FPS shooter PvP. But it really makes sense in this game (poor location sync).

However, Generally you should layout frequently used skills in close proximity (1-4, q/e/r/f/g/c/z/x) to the wasd movement keys, and less used/emergency skills in further away but *REACHABLE* (and reliable) places.

I almost always hold down the right mouse key to allow mouseview movement... Just better from my FPS background...

click to move won't be in GW2 so it might not be a good thing to get dependent on it. anyways, yeah I still suck with the keyboard. I'm starting to think that maybe this isn't my type of game overall.

Anything else I can do? Just practicing is not working... I'm no better than I was when I first started. I'd like to keep playing but with no progress, it's really frustrating and luck based. I would like to get better but really don't know what I'm missing or not doing.

I didn't see in this thread whether or not you tried a different keyboard. Maybe the angled "natural" keyboard would help if they are still available. Are you a closet lefty? Did you try the ps2 option?

Here's my gripe (actually, handicap, I guess LOL).

Sometimes, in the heat of battle, I lose the mouse cursor! It is colored so that it is easy to blend in when many things are going on on the screen, especially if the melee is happening relatively close up.

I would like the ability to change the cursor's color to like white, or something that I will be able to immediately find on the screen during a big ol' Charr-B-Que!

Shane

@nassau
a quick flick of the mouse should draw ur attention to the cursor


@refer
dunno wut to tell ya man
mebe u'd be better off as a mouse player?

its going to take you awile to learn it if this is your first pc game. and if i was you i would practice on a game were you have no choice other then qweasd for movement, like one of the fps games that were listed.