WoW KEYBINDING Guide | World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
How To Get Started?
Admittedly, it can be tough to play with new keybinds for players used to the old settings. Thus, you must come up with a plan to help you transition your keybinds. For example, you can change your keybinds slowly over time. Alternatively, you can just alter them all and try to force yourself to get used to them somehow.
For instance, you can avoid clicking abilities until you get accustomed to the new arrangement. The latter method is faster, but it can also be frustrating. Since getting used to new settings takes a lot of time, you need to be patient.
The Keybinding Principle
This section focuses on the keyboard. Setting up keybinds can be a pretty subjective experience, so be prepared to experiment a bit. Overall, your setting needs to follow a particular logic. Here, we will be focusing on a specific logic. If you use a spell more frequently, it should be closer to the movement keys, and vice versa.
Movement
Start by making a basic change, which will aid movement and release two important keybinds. Enter the keybinding menu and in the Movement Keys tab, change the “Strafe Left” key to “A” and the “Strafe Right” key to “D.” If you bind these keys to “Turn Left/Right,” you can hold Mouse Button 2 to strafe, or have additional keybinds setup.
“S” can possibly be used as a keybind for “Move Backward” or “Backpeddle.” Quite a few players suggest doing away with it altogether and using it for any spell instead. That is because you rarely need to move backward in PvP. However, there are many scenarios in PvE where you need to make minute adjustments to your positioning. You can do this with greater ease if you move backward instead of strafing.
Movement Keys
There are basically 4 types of movement keys. We have discussed all of them in detail for a better understanding.
Basic Keybinds
If you use some of these keybinds, you may have to move their older functionality to another key. Try using keys on the right of the keyboard or numbers out of reach while your hand rests on the movement keys. Most keybinds open up different menus, which are generally not used in battle.
Q, E, R, F, 1, 2, 3, 4 are the top keybinds for rotational abilities. You will find yourself pressing multiple times during battles. This includes abilities you must definitely be swift to press, like your Interrupt.
Core Rotational Abilities
T, G, Z, X, C, V, B, 5, Tilda (`) – These keys are largely reachable. However, you could need to move your fingers off the movement keys. Thus, you should put more obscure spells on these keys. Those include covenant abilities, extra action buttons, combat potions, and trinkets.
You can use C, V, or B as a push-to-talk keybind for Discord too. That is because your thumb will be on the Spacebar most of the time and not really pressing any of the function keys.
Abilities with longer cooldowns and Utility spells
TAB – This serves as the “Target Next Enemy” bind by default. It is definitely worth keeping. It can come in handy when you are dealing with two targets. Remember, though, it can be unreliable when facing multiple targets.
CAPSLOCK – Try checking your keyboard software to re-assign another function to this key.
Modifiers
These keys enable you to use a combination of keys as a keybind. Basically, the three modifiers you can use are SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT. First keybind abilities as a “combo” by hitting the modifier. After that, press the key you choose. For example, you can keybind “X” to a certain spell and then keybind “Shift+X” to a totally separate spell.
Spells generally used with modifier keybinds include defensive or offensive abilities with exceptionally long cooldowns, utility potions, or spells.
MMO or Gaming Mouse
There are basically two types of gaming mice. The first one is the classic five or six-button mouse, with two extra buttons on the side and one just behind the scroll wheel. The other type is the MMO mouse with twelve buttons on the side panel and 2 buttons behind the scroll wheel. MMO mice add more than twelve available keybinds, and are thus quite popular.
Whichever kind of mouse you use, some keybinds will be universal while others will be exclusive to MMO mice. Remember that blank keybinds on a mouse or binds connected to the mouse’s have to be remapped in the “Actions” tab of your software. Any of the NumPad keys can be used for this purpose. However, you must ensure that your NumLock is turned on.
The Function keys can be used as well. However, remember that binding anything to F4 and using ALT as a modifier is a bad idea.
- Scroll Wheel Up/Down – Bound to camera zoom in/out by default.
- Middle Mouse Wheel Click – This is a nice bind if you have not bound Scroll Wheel up/down. Otherwise, it is better not to use this keybind.
- Mouse Button 3 and 4 – If you do not have an MMO mouse, use these for rotational abilities.
- Mouse Button 5 and/or 6 – Used almost exclusively for DPI switching.
- Side Mouse Panel 1 to 12 – It is better to go with the default settings here.
Additional Hints
Ensure that your keybinds make proper sense to you. In this way, even if you don’t properly recall the bind for any ability, you have a rough idea of what it must be bound to.
Try to use similar keybinds across various characters. For those of you playing more than one character, have a logic behind the way you configure binds on them. That will enable you to get accustomed to new binds. For more gaming updates, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Also, check out our Gaming Guides, Windows Guides, Social Media Guides, iPhone, and Android Guides to know more.
