this post was originally posted as it is by me at manhatten project guild forums. it was posted under my main char's name, etone. so there shouldn't be any problem with copy rights since this post was written - and posted, by me.
this thread will talk about key binds, movement and abilities that can help you use your char to the highest level. i will not go over fights, rotation, postioning yourself and stuff like that, because this is a prefight guide.
i do recommened that if any of the methods, tips or advices that are here is considered to be used by you, do try them out on a dummy [i know, broken for most chars] or in duels with a friend. im not talking output wise, im talking movement wise and making sure you can reach everything in dire states.
1. movement and keybinds
a. key binding your abilities
b. wasd versus esdf
c. mouse turning, the use of q and e[w and r]
d. shift, ctrl and alt
e. back puggling
2. kiting, abilties and improvment of survivability.
3. disclaimer
movement and keybinds
key binding your abilities
starting wow, the skills bar start up with 2-5 abilites, binded to 1-5. it doesn't give any form of problem right at the start, but going into the higher levels, specialy when utalizing as much of the tools your char has - you can get clustered with a lot of keybinds, and using the normal wow given binds, u will be using the numbers from 1-0[and -, =]. getting your hand to some of your abilities might become difficult.
the way to do it, is place your hand on your movement keys and mouse, make sure that from that postion you can reach all of your abilities. the main rotation should be closes to the keys, after that should come the cooldowns, make sure that the more used of a key the easier it is to get to it. if your class can do 2-3 roles, there are usually skills [like cleanse for a retri paladin] which aren't your job but should still be binded to keys that are reachable - remember, the easier you make it on the other raid members, the easier you make it for yourself.
wasd versus esdf
most of the gamers in wow use the normal movement keys, w for forward, d for right and so on. whoever changed it, usually went for esdf instead, i want to talk about the what each of them bring into gameplay.
esdf - this key binds are for players who want the maxismise the keyboard. as you use wasd, you find yourself with 5 keys ourside the numbers you can use to bind your abilities[actually 7, but we will get to that next part], which are zxcfr[qe]. using esdf gives you 2 sides of the movement keys free to bind abilities, you gain on the closer line to the movement keys. using esdf gives you 3 more keys, q a v.[while moving the key u "lose" f and r - to g and t].
wasd gain over the esdf is an easier use of double-key binds. assume you are mostly shilding[as a pally or a priest] the tank, and sometimes other people. binding shild to key, and shift+same-key casts it on focues[or name, or mouse-over]. wasd makes it easier to be casting the same skill[or even other skills] using the same key. it's true that esdf users can do it as well, but wasd gets a much easier use of the double-key binds.
mouse turning, the use of q and e[w and r]
so far i tried to give general tips, this time im not at tips any more - keyboard turning is bad. it takes away much needed time. im not saying you should move only with the mose - and some of the tie, the use of a and d[s and f] is more helpful then mouse movement. but the use of q and e is a waste of time, and sacrfices a lot of your movement ability. the other major thing is, thinking back on the first part, we need the keys! unbinding turning from q and e, and binding abilities there gives you 2 exta slots! and some of the easiest keys to reach while placing your hands over your movement keys. some of you might say that you lose some of your abilties slots while doing so because your mouse hand is placed on the keyboard. this is ture, but the movement lose from turning from the keybored is so great that it's not worth it. it doesn't matter if you can reach all of your abilities as easly as possible if you die in marrowgar's fire. and besides, mouse has keys as well - turning should stay at mouse2, but you have mouse3[pressing the scroller], mouse up and down[scrolling up and down], and in most gamers i have seen, atleast 2 more buttons[even without it, mouse3+up+down are quite enough, not to mention the are a fast keys to press].
shift, ctrl and alt
this subject was touched on the wasd versus esdf part of the thread, but it should be addressed alone. shift, alt and ctrl gives you new sets of keyboards. you can bind to shift+key just like you can bind to the same key without shift, they will be a different key. i will mention 2 advices - don't overuse it. mkae it so that you don't think about if an ability is shift+key or just key; the second advice is to use the same ability with a different kind of cast each time. i will explain wtih a keybind:
/cast [mod:shift] cleanse [@etone]
/cast[mod:alt] cleanse[@mouseover]
/cast cleanse [@target]
/targetlasttarget
write this macro, put it in your bars, and bind a key for it[for me, mouse5] and pressing that key will cast cleanse with a different target each time
(note: this bind was written just now inside the forum, it will probably work but please don't cling to that)
back puddling
back puddling is when a persson holds down the backwards movement key[s or d].
why is it bad: the movement is slow, much slower then turning the toon [with the mouse, of course] and useing the left and right buttons.
why is it still not a reason to /gkick someone: backpuddling is a form a movement that allows you to not turn your char at all. as a melee, it helps you get back to the max melee range[your postion as a raider] if you passed it by a little, or for rdps helps you get back to the minimum range possible. besides, it helps the tank postion the boss when little movement is needed.
what should i do about back puddling - if possible, don't. only use back puddling when it is the best option to maximize your raid role. some people unbind the backpuddle key, or bind an ability to it. i for one, like to keep backpuddling in my keybinds for the times where just a little movement will get me to just the right place, and turning will tkae more time or even move me away from the place i should be standing.
kiting, abilities and improvement of survivability
remember, the easier it is for the healers, the easier it is for the raid. the less damage you can make yourself take - the better. meaning that useing your CD on high damage parts, using the movement abilities when needed to move out of fire/slime/mana trap/shadow trap/death and decay/insert-aoe-damage-skill here. some people seems to be ignoring what ever skills that don't help them maximize the role they are doing. it's usually dps, and it's explainable, the healers job is to keep the raid alive, so every cd is helpful, the tanks job is to make himself+others take as little damage as possible. but even if you are a dps, it is usually adviced to go through the spell book and look for every survival ability, they are there for a reason. don't by the hunter that didn't disengage to get himself out of fires, don't be the mage how didn't blink, and don't be the pally that didn't bubble himself to save himself on BQL flight phase when he saw the healers struggling.
disclaimer
im not the owner of wow, not even molten wow.
i don't consider myself the best player, nor do i think i can teach anyone anything. this is just some tips i found out while playing which i think are helpful, im hoping you will enjoy them and benefit from them.
you are all welcomed to add tips, advices, corrections of info or grammar. i will be doing a version 2 which will add more info and add your tips and advices if i see a lot of comments.
