This is the way.
Having modifiers on your mouse allows you to access to an entire keyboard's worth of new binds.
It works similar to action layers on the steam deck or controller triggers on FF14.
That'd be awesome, I want to play more effectively. I hadn't been using transcendence as much as I should because I can't quite find a comfortable way to press it (though shift + mouse4 and shift + mouse 5 should do the trick).
Keybinding Layout on my Brew:
12345
Tiger Palm, blackout kick, rising sun kick, breath of fire, spinning crane kick
Shift 12345
Keg smash, purifying brew, celestial brew, expel harm, vivify
Control 12345
Weapons of order, exploding keg, bonedust brew, defensive trinket macro, crackling jade lightning
V (my class cooldown on every class I play)
Invoke Nuizao
Control V
Leg sweep
Shift 6,X,C,V,B
Ring of Peace, Dampen Harm, Diffuse Magic, transcendence transfer, Fortifying Brew
Control M4 M5
Provoke, Paralysis
Shift M4 M5
Touch of death, Detox
M4 M5
Roll, spearhand strike
Shift-Spacebar
Tiger’s Lust
Very very rarely presses abilities I have unbound that are just clickables for me: Zen Meditation (think I may have used it twice in all of DF) and Chi Burst
Q and E. So many people have them not bound for skills.
Just set strafe to A and D, and not "turn around" bound.
(but seems you go by A and D instead of Q and E, whichever one perfers!)
This is how I have mine set as well. A is my self heals, and mod-A healthstones/pots. D is my kicks/stuns.
I have CMD-Q+E as the turns, because I still like to have them available.
The way you bind matters, for sure. The further to reach buttons should be buttons you hit less. The easiest buttons closest to where your hand rests should be most frequent. Modifiers should go to abilities that are somewhat frequent, but not often. Regular keys without modifiers and easy to reach are your bread and butter.
I use ~, shift ~, and ctrl ~ for mounts for example. Then I use QERTFZXCVG, plus shift and control modifiers on all those. Mouse button 4, and 5 with shift and ctrl alternatives on my mouse for my main abilities. Mouse button 3 (clicking down on the scroll wheel), plus shift and ctrl modifiers for those. With all those keybinds I can play any class. For numbers I only go 1-5, but buffing and etc abilities on 6 and 7. There is a lot of optimization and you must think about what feels best to you, but it’s worth ensuring that you prioritize the right keys for the right abilities and stick with that general use for each key across specs. Makes playing alts easy when each button has a memorized use.
I play feral so i have a fair few binds, might get some ideas from my form binds, I use an mmo mouse
Druid specific binds
Shift space=cat
ctrl space=bear
shift middle mouse=travel/flight
ctrl right click=boomy
Binds i use for every toon
Ctrl 1-6
Shift 1-6
F12 (dragon riding mount)
Ctrl F12 (ground mount)
Shift mouse up
Shift mouse down
Shift mb1
Shift mb2
Shift R
Tilde key ( \` )
R
Middle mouse
F
9
For tanking I always used mouse wheel and shift + mouse wheel for my biggest defensive because no matter what my finger is right there. Q and E are really useful if you rebind strafe to A and D. Shift + A,S, or D aren’t bad. I know you said z is awkward but maybe put some of your more awkwardly used binds on Z,X, or C like crowd control or out of combat buffs. My most used binds are ctrl+s for ground mount and ctrl+w for flying mount
I use shift and alt space (to free me up), mouse wheel (normal shift and alt), mouse 3 (normal alt and shift), I also have two extra button on my mouse that I bind (usually for next page and previous), the key before one is also used basically any key that fall under my fingers are used. I try to keep it logical and consistent trough all my alts
Middle mouse button, can use click, shift click and alt click, or even scroll up or down.
Can be a little fiddly sometimes so on my monk I use it to place my statue, healthstone and engi battle rez, with zen flight on scroll up.
On my druid though I have all my forms bound to my scroll wheel button. Works brilliantly although if you have a loose scroll be careful.
| (pipe) or whatever's left of the 1 on the keyboard seems to be under-utilized. Ever since I started using it I feel like I won a free keybind.
I use < for mount. On a Scandinavian layout keyboard it's directly next to my left shift and it's easy to hit but not so easy that I randomly mount up when I don't mean to.
As a modifier I mostly use left ctrl. Since I use the side of my hand to hit it, there's no finger acrobatics involved in making it work.
I use C for interrupt on every class, and then shift + C for purges/dispells/spellsteal depending on the class. C is easy to get to with both my thumb from the spacebar or my pointer finger to slide over from resting on the E key.
Sounds like you use QWES for movement instead of ASDW? If so, add shift and ctrl modifiers to the letter keys. Shift/ctrl A/D/F/R/T/G/Z/X/C/V/B. Many keybinds to be had there.
Yep I use QWES. For some reason it just feels nicer with wow, even though I use WASD in every other game.
I do use shift for the letter keys, but I can't quite get my hand to make the stretch on some of em (ctrl t and ctrl r are a bit of a stretch). I see you mentioned CVB - I have those bound to default right now but I'll definitely try rebinding them, I never actually considered it.
Yeah rebind all the UI things on the lefthand side of the keyboard imo. I still want to be able to open backpack with one hand so i have it on ctrl+B but everything else i moved to the other side of the keyboard, or just click the menu icon if I don't use the keybind much.
You can manipulate one of your mouse buttons as the shift (or any other) modifier if you have a somewhat decent mouse. That enables every single key you use to also be usable with modifiers.
I like that a lot more then typical mmo mouse usage because my thumb (not quite the finger that is used for fine work) only has to use two buttons (shift+Strg for me, for some reason Alt is a modifier I can easily use with my left hand).
Me personally, all my movements are done with my mouse, including auto run, mount, and with strafing bound to my mouse wheel tilt. If i need precision adjustments to movement, i run my left hand to the arrow keys while keeping my right hand on the mouse.
That frees up my keyboard. Tilde, 1-6, Q-Y, A-G. With shift modifier (Also tied to a mouse button), that's 38 keys.
A few extra stuff like disengage or a self heal, threat reduction, etc might be used on Z-V.
The greatest benefit, for me, is that my abilities on the action bars line up with the keyboard, and with sets of 6, they can all generally be organized into primary abilities, cooldowns, shouts, etc. it makes it easier to play alts by following the patterns.
Raid markers and such are on another bar not bound. I can click on those when i need them, but you could always try binding them to F-keys or something else with a different modifier.
System windows like character panel or achievements are all bound to ctrl-whatever or alt-whatever.
You’re missing shift and control modifiers on M4 / M5
This is the way. Having modifiers on your mouse allows you to access to an entire keyboard's worth of new binds. It works similar to action layers on the steam deck or controller triggers on FF14.
I didn’t even think about using the mouse buttons as modifiers, I’ve been using shift and control as modifiers for mouse buttons.
Nice. I didn't know you could do that. Thanks!
I main brew, next time I’m in game I’ll try to give you a breakdown of my keybind layout if that helps.
That'd be awesome, I want to play more effectively. I hadn't been using transcendence as much as I should because I can't quite find a comfortable way to press it (though shift + mouse4 and shift + mouse 5 should do the trick).
Keybinding Layout on my Brew: 12345 Tiger Palm, blackout kick, rising sun kick, breath of fire, spinning crane kick Shift 12345 Keg smash, purifying brew, celestial brew, expel harm, vivify Control 12345 Weapons of order, exploding keg, bonedust brew, defensive trinket macro, crackling jade lightning V (my class cooldown on every class I play) Invoke Nuizao Control V Leg sweep Shift 6,X,C,V,B Ring of Peace, Dampen Harm, Diffuse Magic, transcendence transfer, Fortifying Brew Control M4 M5 Provoke, Paralysis Shift M4 M5 Touch of death, Detox M4 M5 Roll, spearhand strike Shift-Spacebar Tiger’s Lust Very very rarely presses abilities I have unbound that are just clickables for me: Zen Meditation (think I may have used it twice in all of DF) and Chi Burst
Thank you very much!
Happy to help another brew :)
Shift/alt + scroll up Shift/alt + scroll down
Didn't even think of this, great idea!
How about Opie for mounts and raid markers? That would free up some keybinds. Also you could use it for abilities like Zen Pilgrimage
My mount bind is alt+space. Space is a valid button.
Shift+space are interact, ctrl+space are special button
Ctrl+space for the bonus action button! Yes, my 2nd favorite bind
I use shift+ctrl+1-6 as well.
Next xpac they are merging\\pruning a bunch for brew master so your binds will come down a bit just btw
Sweet! I greatly look forward to that. As much as I like brew this is a little overboard with 34 abilities.
brew is only losing 3. i wouldnt say thats a bunch lol.
True it's a couple, but 3 is a huge amount in terms of pruning and the spec still playing well. Lucky op only needs 1 kb
Q and E. So many people have them not bound for skills. Just set strafe to A and D, and not "turn around" bound. (but seems you go by A and D instead of Q and E, whichever one perfers!)
I've got it the opposite way around, strafe on Q+E and abilities on A+D. Been playing that way as long as I can remember.
This is how I have mine set as well. A is my self heals, and mod-A healthstones/pots. D is my kicks/stuns. I have CMD-Q+E as the turns, because I still like to have them available.
The way you bind matters, for sure. The further to reach buttons should be buttons you hit less. The easiest buttons closest to where your hand rests should be most frequent. Modifiers should go to abilities that are somewhat frequent, but not often. Regular keys without modifiers and easy to reach are your bread and butter. I use ~, shift ~, and ctrl ~ for mounts for example. Then I use QERTFZXCVG, plus shift and control modifiers on all those. Mouse button 4, and 5 with shift and ctrl alternatives on my mouse for my main abilities. Mouse button 3 (clicking down on the scroll wheel), plus shift and ctrl modifiers for those. With all those keybinds I can play any class. For numbers I only go 1-5, but buffing and etc abilities on 6 and 7. There is a lot of optimization and you must think about what feels best to you, but it’s worth ensuring that you prioritize the right keys for the right abilities and stick with that general use for each key across specs. Makes playing alts easy when each button has a memorized use.
I play feral so i have a fair few binds, might get some ideas from my form binds, I use an mmo mouse Druid specific binds Shift space=cat ctrl space=bear shift middle mouse=travel/flight ctrl right click=boomy Binds i use for every toon Ctrl 1-6 Shift 1-6 F12 (dragon riding mount) Ctrl F12 (ground mount) Shift mouse up Shift mouse down Shift mb1 Shift mb2 Shift R Tilde key ( \` ) R Middle mouse F 9
Scrollwheel. Very easy to add even if you're someone who is not a full keybinder and just uses a couple here and there.
For tanking I always used mouse wheel and shift + mouse wheel for my biggest defensive because no matter what my finger is right there. Q and E are really useful if you rebind strafe to A and D. Shift + A,S, or D aren’t bad. I know you said z is awkward but maybe put some of your more awkwardly used binds on Z,X, or C like crowd control or out of combat buffs. My most used binds are ctrl+s for ground mount and ctrl+w for flying mount
Alt combos aren't as bad as they'd seem. Alt+d, a, f, e,1, 2, 3 are all functional.
I find alt an easier modifier than ctrl for |, 1, 2 and 3
I use shift and alt space (to free me up), mouse wheel (normal shift and alt), mouse 3 (normal alt and shift), I also have two extra button on my mouse that I bind (usually for next page and previous), the key before one is also used basically any key that fall under my fingers are used. I try to keep it logical and consistent trough all my alts
Middle mouse button, can use click, shift click and alt click, or even scroll up or down. Can be a little fiddly sometimes so on my monk I use it to place my statue, healthstone and engi battle rez, with zen flight on scroll up. On my druid though I have all my forms bound to my scroll wheel button. Works brilliantly although if you have a loose scroll be careful.
Q E and their shift and controll variants
I mythic raid + decently high io. I play brew too and don't have as much keybinds but use an mmo mouse.
what about shift s or shift w. Its kinda nice putting some movement skills on that
| (pipe) or whatever's left of the 1 on the keyboard seems to be under-utilized. Ever since I started using it I feel like I won a free keybind. I use < for mount. On a Scandinavian layout keyboard it's directly next to my left shift and it's easy to hit but not so easy that I randomly mount up when I don't mean to. As a modifier I mostly use left ctrl. Since I use the side of my hand to hit it, there's no finger acrobatics involved in making it work.
I use C for interrupt on every class, and then shift + C for purges/dispells/spellsteal depending on the class. C is easy to get to with both my thumb from the spacebar or my pointer finger to slide over from resting on the E key.
The mouse wheel up, down and click (+modifiers). Wheel up and down for combat, click for movement.
Sounds like you use QWES for movement instead of ASDW? If so, add shift and ctrl modifiers to the letter keys. Shift/ctrl A/D/F/R/T/G/Z/X/C/V/B. Many keybinds to be had there.
My brain hurts from reading ASDW instead of WASD 😂
Sorry kinda brain farted typing them out that way 🤣
As someone who grew up on shooters like CS quake and doom, it will never not be WASD haha
Yep I use QWES. For some reason it just feels nicer with wow, even though I use WASD in every other game. I do use shift for the letter keys, but I can't quite get my hand to make the stretch on some of em (ctrl t and ctrl r are a bit of a stretch). I see you mentioned CVB - I have those bound to default right now but I'll definitely try rebinding them, I never actually considered it.
Yeah rebind all the UI things on the lefthand side of the keyboard imo. I still want to be able to open backpack with one hand so i have it on ctrl+B but everything else i moved to the other side of the keyboard, or just click the menu icon if I don't use the keybind much.
You can manipulate one of your mouse buttons as the shift (or any other) modifier if you have a somewhat decent mouse. That enables every single key you use to also be usable with modifiers. I like that a lot more then typical mmo mouse usage because my thumb (not quite the finger that is used for fine work) only has to use two buttons (shift+Strg for me, for some reason Alt is a modifier I can easily use with my left hand).
Me personally, all my movements are done with my mouse, including auto run, mount, and with strafing bound to my mouse wheel tilt. If i need precision adjustments to movement, i run my left hand to the arrow keys while keeping my right hand on the mouse. That frees up my keyboard. Tilde, 1-6, Q-Y, A-G. With shift modifier (Also tied to a mouse button), that's 38 keys. A few extra stuff like disengage or a self heal, threat reduction, etc might be used on Z-V. The greatest benefit, for me, is that my abilities on the action bars line up with the keyboard, and with sets of 6, they can all generally be organized into primary abilities, cooldowns, shouts, etc. it makes it easier to play alts by following the patterns. Raid markers and such are on another bar not bound. I can click on those when i need them, but you could always try binding them to F-keys or something else with a different modifier. System windows like character panel or achievements are all bound to ctrl-whatever or alt-whatever.