Hey guys
I was wondering which is best to learn keybindings? Should I assign keys as I level or wait until 80 so I have all my abilities before mapping the keys?

I learn as i level, if i get a new ability i assign a new key for it or swap it with an old one.
Makes things easier for me but it's probably personal preference

Ok thanks guys, I'll give that a try.

Blue says that clickers are bad!
Now we have the proof!
Yes keybind everything.

Just bind all the usefull new stuff you get. You'll prolly have to switch your binds a lot at 80 since a lot of abilities you won't use as much will be at the most convenient keybinds but at least you'll get used to actually moving with mouse/strafing and not clicking stuff.

First you need to understand what is most important for you - which things (skills, abilities, items, macros...) you use all the time, which things you use frequently, and which you use just from time to time.

Then you need to decide which set of keys you will use. You can stay at normal 1234... or you can move your hand to the place that fits you the best - place from which you can reach many keys. Experiment with it.

Finally, you need good, precise multi-button mouse to keybind as well. GL

Edit: yes you will need a lot of lvls to learn all that and find the combination which is most satisfying for you.

I'm really struggling with using modifiers to give me more options, I just can't seem to achieve a comfortable style for me.

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Q u o t e:
Blue says that clickers are bad!
Now we have the proof!

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You're kind of running wild with what he said, also your sig is about "a blue".

His post is moot, because a growing char will keep redoing their binds and it's only the same difficulty each time.

I recommend binding because it's actually lazier/easier than clicking, and I think it's an unhealthy strain on the eyes darting your eyes to every spell.

I would really suggest to start with key bindings which are easy for you. Binding 1,2,3,4 for the main spells and Q,E,R for secondary main spells always really worked for me (Spells with longer then 6 seconds cool downs!) The real long ones you can always just click.


I would really suggest trying out one of the modified User interfaces (UI) It might be a bit weird and allot of work for a starting player, but whenever you get used too it its really really nice. Blizzard made a amazing Interface but its just not so modifiable as I get you want it to be! (Bartender is a real good add on)

If you don't want to try those mods (Which I wouldn't find weird since its allot of work!) I would suggest to keep your key bindings in the range of 1,2,3,4 Q,E,R and any of those in combination with shift or alt. Since those are the most accessible. (For a Right hander that is)

But I would really suggest to try to get used to Key bindings because I've been a clicker for a while and and it was a big struggle to lose that habit.

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Q u o t e:
Hey guys
I was wondering which is best to learn keybindings? Should I assign keys as I level or wait until 80 so I have all my abilities before mapping the keys?

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If you map the keybinds in your head by the time you are 80 you will have learned exactly which skill is in which key so you can use it out of reflex alone. So yes, it does make a world of difference to start using the keybinds as you level.

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Q u o t e:
The real long ones you can always just click.

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Not really. Often the "real long ones" are the "real important ones" which should have a good keybinding. Such as bubble, death coil, vanish, etc. Tough they might not be the ones you're thinking of.

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Q u o t e:

Much of the power in key binding (fast reaction time, etc) comes from being innately aware of which key does what ability. That innate knowledge comes from repeated use of abilities. With this in mind, it's my opinion that binding as you go will give you the better result than trying to (re)learn all your abilities' keybinds upon hitting level 80!

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Another blue to put in my This-is-why-its-useless-to-ever-ask-for-anything-that-actually-matters.txt

I've come to realize something. You're not allowed to reply to threads that could make players understand game changing design decisions, are you? God, imagine having an educated playerbase. Talk about riot!

I came late to the land of keybinding. Already had 2 chars at 70 (pre-wotlk) before messing with that. Now i find keybinding the best way from an early lvl. Now i have many low lvl alts on many servers and i bind all of them. There's still a few spells and things that i click (but not the most used). Starting from a low lvl does help as you will get used to the spell/binds before you get swamped with a million different spells and million more keybinds to remember :)

The bad thing with keybinding as you level is that some of the most powerful abilities is gained at the latest levels, wich means that you need to spare good keybinds for them or else you will have bad keybinds for good abilities, wich isnt really that effective.

But its alot easier learning the binds if you play with them whilst you level.

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Q u o t e:
I'm really struggling with using modifiers to give me more options, I just can't seem to achieve a comfortable style for me.

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Keybindings are a pain, it requires a personal ui that you like and enjoy and are used to. If you are struggling with all the modifiers try having only one to start with so a set of abilities say 1-0 and then shift of those abilities. Put the things you don't use often on a spare action bar with no mods and click these. Once you get used to using one modifier its a lot easier to then introduce more, as they say one step at a time.

One of the things i have found useful when doing keybindings is to have specific keybindings doing specific things. For example my own keybindings are based around the sdfe area and these 4 always represent my key dps abilities as they are the easiest for me to push, after this qwrt then get my secondary stuff that i use frequently but not quite spam in the way i do my primary. Lastly zxcv are the hardest for me to press so they represent things that i use but not often, so my mage has blink on c for example, my druid has demo roar on v that sort of thing. This is then the same when i transfer over to shift, which is my cooldown/control modifier, ie everything on here is a cooldown i would use such as my trinkets or berserk or its a CC ablity such as roots/cyclone/poly. Finally i get on to things like alt+shift which is really the extra stuff i want keybound but don't plan on using a lot, examples being say army of the dead on my DK.

So the things i would say about keybindings.
1) Learning them as you level is good, just don't be afraid to change them so for example when my mage is fire i have fireball on e where as when hes frost frostbolt is on e.
2) Start small. Sure you want everything keybound but if you start off trying to use 40-50 keybindings its going to be a nightmare to learn, start with somewhere between 5 and 10, this is a small enough number to be manageable but large enough to hold your key abilities and give you a practice and experience for when you start adding more.
3) Have some system or way that you keybind that makes sense to you, if you just have spells all over the place its harder to learn than if you always have say your main damage move on d.
4) Do what works for you, the worst thing you can do is try to use another persons keybindings, each person is unique and individual you want something that YOU can use. It doesn't matter what pros use they would not attempt to use your keybindings, don't try using theirs.

Start read up about your class and make a spreadsheet containing all level 80 spells and talents. Don't forget to add racials, bandages, health potions, healthstones etc.

This way you can make a well thought out system from the start instead of adding more and more spells as you level. I have a template containing common stuff so I keep my bindings logical between different classes.

I can upload the spreadsheet when I'm home if anyone is interested.

A few things to help you get started:
- Use §-5, q-t, a-h, z-b and everything again with shift. This is usually in your range without moving your whole hand.
- Add Ctrl as focus cast key.
- Add Alt as self cast key.
- Add important spells (interrupt for example) on mouse buttons (if you have buttons on the side of your mouse).
- All keybinds you use shift with shouldn't be used for focus and self cast spells since its unnecessary complicated.
- Map your bars in order so it looks the same way on every class. Makes it logical and easy to know where the keys are if you play another class. Will give you a few blanks on some classes though.
- Use similar spells on the same buttons for different classes. Example: Keybind V = Mage Ice Block, Rogue Vanish, Warrior Shield Wall & Paladin Divine Shield etc.
- Steer with your mouse, walk/run with both mouse buttons and strafe with A&D, this gives you two extra buttons for spells.

I wouldn't even play this game without mouse steering and all in combat abilities keybinded :)

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Q u o t e:
Hey guys
I was wondering which is best to learn keybindings? Should I assign keys as I level or wait until 80 so I have all my abilities before mapping the keys?

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You will of course mainly learn how to use keybindings in general. As you level up you will end up moving keybindings as you get more abilities. But yes, definitely learn how to use them.

There difference is like between day and night.

I tried re-binding my movement keys to ESDF, instead of WASD, to open up more keybinds, but then got super confused and changed it back :<