Could someone explain the mechanics of the key presses and mouse clicks to stutter step?
I was reading a guide from a pro explaining it and the methods. There is a method that is supposed to alternate right mouse click and the a key, which i think would suit me best because i don’t have good enough precision with the mouse movement to be able to do it all with just right click.
What happens when I’m trying to do this is my character stops, looks like they’re about to use an auto, but then moves instead. I assume this means I’m right clicking too quickly, but right clicking slower feels like I’m not getting any benefit from stutter stepping because it feels like I’m waiting for the whole auto attack animation before i can move. I assume I’m doing something wrong, but i haven’t been able to find any video or explanation that has helped me figure it out.
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There is a decent video on the official heroes of the storm youtube channel:
Which does a good enough job of explaining and showing how stutter stepping works.
The exact timings for stutter stepping is hugely depended on the specific hero
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It depends on the hero but generally when you hear a projectile launch (for example with ming) that is the time to move with right mouse button, knowing when it comes off cooldown again to a-move is a bit trickier, but its the same time as when your just auto attacking at a target.
Yeah, it sounds like you are clicking to move too early.
I’d try using a character with slower autos like Leoric to get it down and then try progressively faster characters.
The faster the aas the harder it is to stutterstep.
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I’ll give that video a watch. It doesn’t look like one I’ve checked out yet.
I think what I don’t understand is the function of the A key. I have the box checked off so it is supposed to target whichever target is closest to my cursor, but I don’t know how the function works. When i press A, it shows a marker indicating where my cursor was. Is my character supposed to move to that marker and then make an auto attack against the target that was close to that marker? Is my character supposed to just stop exactly where they are and then make an auto attack against the target next to that marker?
It seems like pressing A moves my character if no enemies are in range, but when enemies are in range, it feels like it functions completely differently.
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I stutterstep just using right click so I can’t explain using the A key too well.
It’s explained on the site linked below though, look at the sections Attack and Attack Move Target Point.
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By default the “A” hotkey is labeled as “Attack” but it will issue an “attack move” command wherever you click using your cursor’s position.
If you use “A” to move to a location, your hero will attack the first hero or minion encountered along that path and continue attacking until it is destroyed, then resume moving to that location attacking any valid targets along the path (if your hero is still alive that is)
You can test this in try mode, disable the enemy and ally heroes, stand at the friendly gate then when the minions clash, issue an attack move command near the enemy gate and just observe how your hero moves.
If you use “A” in a fight to issue an attack (stutter stepping) and there are multiple valid targets in range your hero will attack the target closest to where you clicked.
Outside of that you can also make use of the “Stop” command (by default bound to “S”) this will stop your hero from moving and if there are any valid targets in range it will attack whichever is closer to your hero independent of your cursor location.
Small addendum, you might have more luck finding videos and guides if you search for starcraft stutter stepping, (just keep in mind a lot of heroes have a short windup animation for their attacks) so it’s not quite the same as stutter stepping in starcraft (but same engine)
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I agree with most people here, it sounds like you’re moving too soon.
Personally my set up is right click for move and left click for attack. So I don’t have to worry about the keyboard for AA and only abilities. Give it a try in the practice area if the A button is tripping you up.
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As Bigcrig linked, there’s an option on one of the attack-move functions that can be enabled so using that may prioritize the target closest to the cursor, or it may just target the closest unit.
When stutter stepping you also have to be in range to initiate the attack, or your character will move to try to get into range to attack.
There are two goals with stutter-stepping:
- skip the backswing animation
- move while the front swing is on cooldown.
The front swing is the animation that has to complete for the character to deal damage, but the backswing is an extra-flair that fills time for the front swing to trigger again.
Mouse-wise, you want your character to be in range before issuing an attack command, then select target/near with an attack command (player preference which they use,) and then either use hold or a move-command to interrupt the extra portions of the attack animation before issuing another attack command (either of them)
Some of the tanks with a slower attack animation can be easier to learn for seeing the front/back swing different (pre/post damage) like johanna, while nova or ming are decent for ranged heroes: nova’s anti-armor talent changes the time between her attacks and has a visual flair on the cooldown so it’s easier to see the difference between front/back, but takes much longer to attack. Ming on the other hand has her blink which can also act as an animation/stutter interrupt so you can use aether-walker and cannoneer to get a feel for move and cast stuttering.
The clicks aren’t necessarily about being the fastest you can, but matching the rhythm of the hero animations and abilities to edge out extra positioning and cut-out standby animations.
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Thank you all for the suggestions and advice. I was trying to learn on Valla, but it sounds like I’ll be better off with a slower attack hero until I get the hang of it. I also appreciate the links. I hadn’t even thought to look up guides for the key functions.
I’m wondering if maybe I want to use the stop command instead of attack move command. All of this information has really given me a lot to work with. Again, thank you all.
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Just use Tracer. She’s the stutter step queen.
On a more serious note, practice in the “Try Hero” mode with the siege camps. If you use the double mouse click method where you click exactly on the unit you want to hit and then move where you want then try it with them first and then practice dodging their rocks. If you use the A button (or attack button) then try to position your character to where they only hit one siege giant… this will help you be able to position better if you need to hit a hero instead of minions. You’ll know you’re getting better when you can stutter step a fast attack hero like Valla, Sylvanas (kinda), ZJ, Greymane or even TB Varian without getting hit by a rock. If you like Hanzo, he’s a good start. His attacks are really slow and then if you take the Redemption talent, they can get faster and it should help you ease into faster heroes.
When taking camps, I just use the A button but when I want to duel a hero and there are others in the way aside from my target… I use the mouse clicks only. Took me a while to learn and I’m not perfect, but I took some time to practice in Try Hero mode until I could take either siege or bruiser camps with as much health left as possible.
Using “Stop” won’t work. Your hero will not attack.
I think the easiest hero to practice with is Raynor.
It will, it is the “hold” command (default keybind “H”) that will stop your hero from attacking.
“Stop” simply stops your character movement.
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Right. I keep thinking it’s the same thing.
If you have trouble stutter stepping with mouse movements only, you can always remap yout “Attack move” key to one of your mouse buttons. That way all you do is alternate clicks.
But it’s not optimal when team fighting with multiple targets around you.
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This is a bit mistakable written. Tracer can attack while moving. You can literally put a stone on your right mouse button and move the mouse around. She will attack the target until it’s dead and switch afterwards to the next target in range and keep on attacking. There is no need for her to stop attacking and reposition.
Don’t mean to sound condescending, your first post is from a year ago, but you’ve logged into the forum at least three years ago so you’ve probably been playing dor even longer. This wasn’t enough time for you to figure out something so integral to an individual player’s performance?
I know that was supposed to be a silly joke.
I often don’t get jokes. Sometimes due to the language barrier and on the other hand, being quite complicated
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It seems like the stop command works really well for me while I’m using melee characters and i was able to practice kiting bruiser camps and taking much less damage with that strategy. Even during matches it felt really good against players, but melee have the advantage of usually only being within range of the target they want to hit.
The stop command works for ranged, but it means I’m not picking my target, just hitting whatever is closest to me. Works well for kiting or if my target is alone. I think the trouble I was having with the attack move command is that i was slightly out of range, so the command was moving into range to attack and throwing off my rhythm. Once i started staying a bit closer to my target, it felt better.
I still don’t feel like i have the physical and mental capacity to alternate moving my cursor between where i want to move and who i want to attack though, so maybe sticking with melee characters and using stop commands might be the way to go for me.
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