PyrielDD wrote:
I had Blizzard I and II on 1, and 2 and Fire I and II on Shift 1 and 2. Underestimated how often I would have to switch between blizzard and fire.
I know situations like this tend to get overlooked by my hardcore gamers wielding their specialized gaming hardware, but ability bloat is something I do worry about in basically any MMO. WASD style gameplay is extremely left hand focused with access to CTRL/ALT/Shift typically limited to your thumb or pinky depending on what else you need to be pressing at the moment. From there, reaching past 5 on the number row frequently can feel awkward and even result in things like settling back at ESDF instead. So, if you're sensibly limiting yourself to 1-5, then the secondary keys become needed to up your basic input to 20 possible commands.
There are some ways around this, like macros stringing abilities together you'd commonly use in some kind of combo. Pros might frown on this for reasons of disconnect, stuns, or whatnot, but they're utility as a comfort tool shouldn't be overlooked. Especially when it's likely that, as the root of the game, you'll be doing the same things over and over and over and over and over again. Ideally, one should be lesser used abilities as far right as possible on the bar, but a situation like needing to hit CTRL-0 just isn't possible with one hand alone, which leads to the dreaded disconnect of the right hand from the mouse. In such haste, you might not hit CTRL-0, instead firing the wrong ability or wondering why nothing happens. People might not admit to ever doing this, but rest assured it happens and far more likely for this new to the genre and familiarizing themselves with the game. Certainly, something like this can be a nod for the controller crowd. I'd love to see keyboard only (like XI) a reality, but I'm unsure if that can be managed with the current UI and key assignments. I'll need to dabble more when I get time. One could also feasibly do something like TERA does where if an ability combos, you can set the primary follow-up and you'd merely have to hit Space to continue the chain instead of 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5. The dreaded "dumbing down" or "spam to win" some might bemoan, but I really am a believer that the control scheme should not be the source of a player's frustration when playing. Let that lie in the actual battles, tactics, and whether or not a given combo is wise for a particular scenario.
I had a metric ******* of macros bound to my keyboard beyond the game's actual limitations thanks to Windower. And the only reason I managed that was because the game mercifully didn't require a mouse. When I look to games like Rift and see I'll have to have 20+ actions handy to be "good" at the game, I kind of groan because it usually means frustrating rotations while trying not to stand in the fire and such.
More to the topic of Yoshi's postings, I just hope he's mindful of the soloist/low-man endgame. He can say he understands that grouping is stressful, but that says nothing about not forcing it to progress your character come endgame. Doubly so if this group content demands large blocks of uninterrupted time. If the game can manage to keep more casual players from feeling like they're spinning their wheels and getting nowhere, then I'd call it a pretty significant step that other games have dropped the ball on for me.
