Thing that helped me with keybinds was starting a new toon from scratch. Key binding each thing get use to it while lvling.
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depending on how willing you are to learn really. I wont be easy to get rid of bad habits. Try have a few button at a time. I’d suggest start w/ your primary ability and maybe some cooldowns. Look at your keyboard and have a good idea on where you’re fingers naturally rest and work around what you can easy press from that position and have your keybind around it. It’s be hard and annoying at 1st but you need to learn to stop defaulting back to clicking your abilities. And the more you do it the easier it gets. Just need that repetition going so you build up muscle memory
Do away with keybinds and force everyone to click. Game would be more fun.
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It’s been so long now but I assume I probably clicked back in 2005 along with all the other bad habits I had.
Maybe one way to learn might be to level a new character, that way you can add new spells to bind every other level.
I also tend to have similar layouts on all my characters. Eg. Interrupts on 1, single target rotational on 4, aoe rotational on shift+4, big boy cd on Q, secondary big boy cd on shift+Q.
That way it helps to learn a new class because I’m hitting the same keys for the same action.
Also, mmo mouses with lots of buttons can be helpful. It’s almost like clicking but the buttons are always in reach.
This is perhaps the easiest way to learn imo. Less buttons to deal with at first. Only thing I don’t bind are spells like hero.
I use a Trak Ball and 4 keys… Learned to play this way from the start. Since I’m a Solo player I don’t think it makes that difference being awkward ~
I’m full key binds now. I was a clicker in all of vanilla. Eventually started keybinding when I made this Rogue because it was hard to click and move in PvP lol. I started out with like 2 beyond 1-6. Eventually used shift 1-6 then buttons around my left hand like R/Shift R, C/Shift C, same with T and G and a few others. Eventually got a Razer mouse and now I use 12 more on the side of the mouse. Had to slowly get used to those but I can’t live without them now.
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When i heal i use keybinds but if the situation is getting bad i usually do both to spam instant heals as fast as possible lol
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Also try to keep similar abilities on same keys with different toons. Fel rush on Dh same key as chi torpedo on monk, charge, disengage etc.
Have a keybind for every ability.
But there are some things you don’t need a bind for (Hearthstone, Portal, stuff like that that you seldom use, or use out of combat).
Your rotation, utility, CDs, macros, mount, should all be on a keybind.
Click and bind, I can only reach so far with my hands.
I bind what I use most often.
because of a hand issue I have I am kinda both which works for me.
The only thing I click is my hearthstone.
Depends. Most of the main abilities are keybinds or on the main bar. Macros are nice also to be able to handle more than one ability in a pinch.
If it’s not used often, it usually is a clicked button
I’d recommend full immersion. Worked for me when I made the switch during Wrath.
Unbind your S key, L and R turn. Leave only forward and strafe. You can rebind S after you break the habit of using it.
Just do it, and go do world content. You’ll be fine and thank yourself later.
As far as what to bind and what to not bind, certainly bind every combat spell and mount for starters.
Yep. And the older you get the more you appreciate the keybinds. Also learning keybinds is a transferable skill. For example when playing New World I had similar abilities bound to the same keys I’d use in wow.
Honestly if you want to improve your performance, try some arena / skirmishes. Whatever flaws you have are immediately exposed in such a high pressure environment where there’s (almost) no one else to blame. You’ll learn your keybinds faster too.
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I used to be. Now I have a panic attack if something doesn’t have a keybind. I have 3 mounts and some toys on a bar where I just couldnt be bothered to finish binding keys. And I only click them during raid downtime.
Healing I use mostly mouse over macros + some clicking
DPS or Tanking - 100% clicker
I have 50 characters, including all classes, different specs etc. I can’t muscle memory all that.
Ironically I can reach farther with my hands than I could over a decade ago. I look at old screenshots and think about some of my hotkeys “I would totally bind that now.” I have pretty small fingers for a guy too, about a knuckle shorter. I think a lot of it is just muscle memory gets harder the farther you have to reach.
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I was a clicker all the way up through cata. I took a long break and came back during the closing weeks of WoD. When I started back up again I said I was going to break the clicking habit. My best advice: don’t try to learn to keybind with an established character. Start from level 1, that way you’ll learn the necessary muscle memory slowly as your spell book expands. For me the transition was actually rather easy, but I contribute that entirely to starting out with only 2 or 3 keybinds and working my way up from there