Approach w/ a ranged weapon?

Is there a key to approach to within melee range if you're using a ranged weapon? Touch skills will make you automatically run up to someone in order to use it much like equipping a melee weapon and attacking. I'd like to use my ranged weapon but and a skill with a small area of effect without having to click close, but not on, the target. It's an exercise in tedium right now.

Workaround question: What is the highest damage sword without attribute requirements that any of you have seen. 9-11 is the highest I've seen. Similarly, how does an item's benefit scale down if you don't meet its requirements? Is there a chart on this?

The best thing I can think of for getting close with a ranged weapon is to use the WASD keys to maneuver into position.

So to clarify you can in fact move around your character and what not via the WADS keys? I'm glad to hear that, not something I thought of until now, but I refuse to play with the mouse as my way of movement.

For the most part, I'm a healer so I bind F1-F8 to select players 1-8 which is where I keep my left hand so it wouldn't be comfortable to use WASD. With my setup, I have to use the mouse for skills and movement. Still, when I'm soloing, I need to use Symbol of Wrath and I have to get close to those ranged attackers. Even with WASD, I'd imagine getting your position right is rather hard to do.

I'd be interested to know how other healers set things up.

I have the numeric keypad keys set to select party members 1-8. In combat, you're not spending much time clicking on items to pick them up or anything, I just take my hand off the mouse entirely. It's useless in combat.

For PBAoE's, you can try positioning yourself with a sword in hand, but you can really get much better positioning (catching more monsters in the area of effect) if you position yourself with WASD.

For the most part I trust the auto camera rotation but I like having more control with the mouse. I don't like having to click to move everywhere but it's a small price to pay in order to see what I want. I also don't feel comfortable blindly pressing the number keys for skill usage. You also start to memorize your skill bar and mine is always changing which could result in a lot of skill mis-usage.

I just wish there was a "follow" key to use on enemies without having to use attack + melee weapon. It seems appropriate for a lot of casters.