playing as a resto shaman one of my biggest issues is i just have so much damn spells that are useful. i literally ran out of keybinds that at least feel comfortable to me to use in every situation be it wpvp, pvp, or just pve content.
i have my spells keybind to mouseovers via vuhdo but i do keep 2 in particular on my bars because its useful especially when im questing instead of attacking then swapping over to my mouse to heal and rinse and repeat. plus i like to keep track of the charges.
the rest of the spells are just utility and shamans have a LOT of it. so basically what i am asking is for tips on how to organize/fix my ui/keybinds so it’s not like this. i have WM active of course which gives active abilities, i am using some active abilities via talents which are basically good for all situations i think or most.
addons i use mostly just vuhdo and TMW for timers ontop of the spell icons on my bars thats about it.
You mentioned using all the keys you have available so i’m assuming that means you’re using modifiers as well like shift or ctrl. But if not those are really helpful.
Another thing that helped a lot on my healers was macroing two abilities onto the same keybind based on target.
So I have it set up to cast the heal if I’m moused over a friendly target, or cast the offensive spell if not.
Can save like 3-6 keybinds depending on the class/spec by just replacing core dps abilities but you can take it even further if you want.
#showtooltip Riptide
/use [@mouseover,nodead,help] Riptide; Flame Shock
i meant keys that are comfortable to my playstyle ( quick response on my end ) this excludes crt/shift as it feels weird for me to use. the way my keybinds are setup i guess are weird given past responses i’ve gotten from others over the years. not too weird but i guess weirder then usual.
i will try using crt/shift and hopefully get used to it i mean im only off by like 3 keybinds give or take i didn’t keybind my potions/flasks and all that yet.
do you have say a video link for that kind of macro’s? i’ve only used addons like vuhdo for mouseovers but i’ve seen people using that type of macro’s but idk much on setting up those types of macro’s only basic stuff like /target X and what not.
I use Elvui which is highly customizable and very detailed. It takes some setting up and playing around with, but I love it. Started using it after icy-veins recommendation in their healer write up.
I also use clique - which is basically a mouse over macro maker. You click on the spell with the button you want to use it with (when it’s hovered over a bar) and it makes the macro for you - right from your spell book. Leaves my whole regular bar free of direct heals, since they are all bound to the mouse over function. You can do the same thing writing macros, but it’s work and I’m lazy. This lets you bind “1” essentially to 2 functions - a dps when your not hovered over a bar and a heal when you are.
i haven’t used elvui much i mean i tried it out once but that was many years ago but yea i am thinking of it i need an overall UI haul to make things easier.
never tried clique before but vuhdo i used for years. does the same thing but idk how people do the DPS macro’s when clicking on mobs or even player characters. i see it alot today in things like M+. not entirely sure what this kind of macroing is called as i can google like “mouse over macro’s” and it will just show me the typical ones you type out/copy past and make idk if there is a more streamlined way via addons that will do this for dps purposes.
i think there is an addon i see a lot of streamers using it but i forget what it was called. will have to look more into it maybe today kind of busy rn trying to hit lvl 60 thus i ask for a vid XD but yea got to start reworking my UI soon
I just bind the dps regular (usually tab target) and then do the direct heals with the mouse over. It takes a bit of getting use to, but not having to have 24 key binds with shift modifiers makes it worth it.
ahh yea i do that rn but i got all the utility and pvp talents keybind as well. i moved maybe like 4 of my spells only the rest are all keybind like say riptide cause i use it during questing as i quest in resto spec rn. i like to keep track of the charges to and not have them so far away since im running an ultra wide monitor. i use it a lot though when questing as well.
it’s not so bad it just feels super cluttered especially when i have to think quick due to tight situations in dungeons trying to remember where X spell is keybind.
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1
2
3
4
5
z
x
c
e
r
f
v
t
g
b
shift+z
shift+x
shift+c
shift+a
shift+s
shift+d
shift+q
shift+w
shift+e
shift+r
shift+f
mouse4
shift+mouse4
mouse5
shift+mouse5
mousewheeldown
shift+mousewheeldown
mousewheelup
shift+mousewheelup
These are my standard keybinds that I find easy to press. I don’t like alt modifiers, so I only use shift.
Wait are your frames not centered? Have mine at bottom center, makes it easier.
Make macros that kiss/curse so for example make a mouse over macro that casts your dispel can’t remember what it’s called but also make it cast purge if your targeting a baddie bind it to one key and boom a 2 for 1. Can do same for riptide/flame shock or healing surge/lava burst
I use really involved macros. Here’s what I built myself (paying special attention to what’s off the global cooldown):
#showtooltip
/use [nomod,nohelp,nodead] Tiger Palm; [dead,help] Resuscitate; [nochanneling:Soothing Mist] Essence Font; Expel Harm
#showtooltip
/use [nomod,nohelp,nodead] Blackout Kick; [dead,help] Reawaken; [nochanneling:Soothing Mist] Renewing Mist; Vivify
#showtooltip Rising Sun Kick
/use [nochanneling] Healing Elixir
/use [nochanneling] Thunder Focus Tea
/use [nomod,nohelp,nodead] Rising Sun Kick; [nochanneling] Soothing Mist; Enveloping Mist
/use [mod,channeling:Soothing Mist,combat] Life Cocoon
#showtooltip
/use [mod,@mouseover,nodead,harm] Paralysis; [mod] Leg Sweep; Spinning Crane Kick
/use [nomod,combat] Fortifying Brew
/use [nomod,combat] 13
/use [nomod,combat] 14
#showtooltip
/use [mod] Summon Jade Serpent Statue; Faeline Stomp
#showtooltip
/use [mod] Revival; Invoke Yu’lon, the Jade Serpent
#showtooltip
/use [nomod,harm,nodead] Crackling Jade Lightning; [noexists,nomod] Fishing; Detox
#showtooltip
/use [mod] Transcendence; [swimming] Anglers Fishing Raft; [flyable,nocombat] Zen Flight; Soulshape
#showtooltip [mod] Transcendence: Transfer; Roll
/use [mod] Transcendence: Transfer; [swimming,nocombat] Vashj’ir Seahorse; [nocombat] Alabaster Stormtalon
/use [nomod,nomounted] Roll
(By the way, I hate that I have to do this. Perhaps I could alleviate some of my “piano keyboard syndrome” by assigning more hotbars and hotkeys, but I hate cluttering my UI too…)
Shamans are a bad class because they have way too many keybinds for someone who is only using the main number bar and not the modifers. You might want to consider druid because while they have a ton of binds too, they can be put into their own dedicated bar that automatically shifts and becomes the active bar when in the appropriate form. With the right affinity talent, you can then be a capable cat or moonkin in resto and have all the necessary binds and just need the 1 button per form.
Shamans need a massive pruning. I’d merge lightning bolt and chain lightning together and just have lightning bolt chain if there are multiple targets…I’d probably straight up remove flame shock, and stupid things like water shield and earth shield would just be passives. Like earth shield can be on any target healed by a single target spell and has 3 charges or so and last 30 seconds and water shield is just passive. Maybe make weapon enhancements last until changed Probably more but I’m not on a shaman right now.
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yea i think shaman is the only one i felt like there is just way too much damn buttons to press and all are good but situational as well and the pvp talents dont help either cause they just add more totems that i got to press that are extremely good to pass up.
it’s cenetered but im running standard UI so i got the 2 other bars on the far right running vertically i mostly use those bars to keep things visible but ones i don’t need to keep track of. like i put my healing surge stuff i can basically spam on that bar and since i am running riptide on my main bars i can keep track if i get locked out of that spell school as well as i think shamans have 3 different spell schools. Nature, Elemental, and idk what the water stuff is considered.
You really need to either use a highly customized UI or get used to the modifers for binds. Part of being good at any class or spec is having everything at a quick eye glance and ideally even not needing to see any of your buttons to press. I guarantee you that you do and that will get you up to a certain point but it’s going to be a major and possibly insurmountable obstacle to reaching the next plateau.
The reason druid works so well for people is precisely because they can repurpose the base UI and bars and keep all the necessary spells on hand and accessible without contorting their fingers like a pianist. Simple buttons for bear, cat, and moonkin and standard buttons for the needed spells for each form…caster form for all the necessary healing spells/utility.
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At least find an addon that will let you move the bars center. Elvui is my recommendation, but maybe “move anything” (or something similar) will let you do it? Give you a bit more flexability anyway.
If you haven’t do some searches for healer ui or see if any of the top shaman streamers/raiders have footage of their ui set up. Maybe something will make sense for your play style.
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Hpally feels easiest pick and learn binds. Cause dps spells fit into the healing style. Then just work on expanding from there.
I use the priority spells unbinded any cd or utility I tie them with keybind modifiers. I use the base ui since I don’t like being dependent on addons when a new patch hits. Modifiers really do help a bunch for using all your spells. Some things I leave on the side to click on use to avoid a misclick like bloodlust or something else that is important, sometimes items too.
So I play with a slightly altered keybind set.
The Red keys are movement, orange is strafing. So just offset by 1 to the right of the usual.
The yellow keys are my abilities. Both CTRL or Shift modify the yellow keys to other binds.
With this and my Razer Naga, I have about 34 things bound and I don’t even have to move my hands so I’m always able to move.
Never needed a healing add-on with this.
One thing I would recommend as a healer is to macro all your heals to mouseovers, and pick the best most important instant cast heals to go on your mouse.
For example, when I heal on pally, WOG is M4, light of the Martyr is M5.
You have to go into your keyboard mouse macro section to change the mouse buttons to be something from your keyboard, blizzard frames don’t allow mouseover clicks just because of the way the game was built, but it is 100% worth.
I can be crusader striking and judging the mobs with my left hand moving the mouse to my friends’ frames and mouseover healing with my right hand, it’s so much more intuitive that way I feel and makes doing DPS as a healer much easier.
If you are a healer that struggles to mix in DPS, do this…
You. Am try using alt instead. I personally find it more comfortable to use my thumb and reach under my hand to alt than I do for control or shift if it is a keyboard bind then I use shift for mouse bind modifications.
That might just be me though since a lot of my friends don’t like it and I have reasonably long fingers so it works for me.
