Tactics Discussion -- Hotbars and Screen Management

Discussion in 'Dirge' started by ARCHIVED-Whysprr_Wyrd, Dec 9, 2005.

  1. ARCHIVED-Whysprr_Wyrd Guest

    On the same theme but at a different level:

    Combat efficiency has as much to do with efficient screen management as with whether you use an ebon
    leafblade or an ebon sai, I'd guess.

    How do you lay out your hotbars so you can find and use what you need but don't get confused?
    Do you use macros -- for what?
    Do you use a different front-end? What one? What does it do for you?
    Any other hints?
    Whysprr

    Whysprr Wyrdwynd (born during a severe vowel shortage)
    Brethren (And what about the sistren, may I just ask?)
    Qeynos (but not ridiculous about it)
    Dirge ('A group without a dirge is like a day without drizzle') and Jeweler (gotta support my imbued
    jewelry habit somehow)
    Some level or other (who knows when you're reading this)
    Neriak server
  2. ARCHIVED-Donte Guest

    I actually have 5 bars now. though the 5th one only has 2 icons and I may do away with it.
    I generally keep all my buffs on one bar.
    My attacks on another. As well as scream
    My stealth attacks, stealth itself, snare, stun, tarvens, evasion, and my HO on another.(keep my ho triggers together)
    misc, macros, fear, ranged on the last.
    I have thor ui to make my bars smaller and I set them up in squares.
  3. ARCHIVED-Beldin_ Guest

    Since i'm too lazy to write it all i simply post a picture :D
    [IMG]
  4. ARCHIVED-TheSummoned Guest

    SOE needs to work on their interpretuers. Was ich meine is the English bit and der Deutch sind too mixed up! ;)
  5. ARCHIVED-Zarzu Guest

    i have 5 hotbars up normally

    - melee attacks with snare, lanets, hp drain and ho trigger
    - ludas, ae attacks, offensiv debuffs (claras and zanders) cob, stealth and both stealth attacks
    - all buffs and fear (bar only visible if mouse over)
    - bow attack, stun, defensive debuffs (daros, oppressiv), ress, selos and pf
    - potions, rings, manastone, macros (only visible if mouse over)


    this all may sound a bit chaotic but the order is mainly for easy access by keyboard, i klick skills like 1% of the time only the rest is a combination of keys so the order could be totally different and it would be still the same ^^

    i personally like it to be able to activate everything by keyboard and dont have to mouse click the icons, cause its too slow

    generally i wouldnt say there is a good order or so, it actually doesnt really matter how you order them, what really matters is if you are comfortable with how you can click em and how you already know the order by heart (so you find everything fast)
  6. ARCHIVED-Priestbane Guest

    Four hotbars, all filled but one for new abilities... which I won't get until the next expansion, but that's how it's laid out.
    Rapid access or frequent usage items are located on the left hand side (1-6, alt 1-6, ctrl 1-6), and near WADS so that I can access those with my left hand easily. Right hand is mouse control for mouselook. One time operation (most stealth attacks except in raids) or long duration items tend to be on the right-hand side.
  7. ARCHIVED-Icarii_Raven`Lyon Guest

    I use a total of 5 hotkey bars.
    The first line is general attacks
    second is debuffs mostly plus, cause im lazy, all of the special attacks, ie master orc strike etc
    third is aoe attacks, ranged attacks, yell, that kinda stuff
    fourth, the one where i cant use a number key and have to use my mouse is buffs, since i tend to not cast those constantly (i hate my mouse like no ones business)
    and 5th is clickies, like ring, de illusion, carpet, etc.

    Id post a screenie, but ill be darned if i can figure out how to actually host somethin cause im just dumb with that kinda stuff.
    [IMG]
    Message Edited by Icarii_Raven`Lyon on 12-23-2005 03:26 PM
  8. ARCHIVED-YourTypicalEQIIPlayer Guest

    Woah- looking at that screenshot:

    "Angriffsgeschwindigkeit"

    ha! Try saying that three times fast.
  9. ARCHIVED-Warondom Guest

    I use 3, 1 for my HO stuff, and most of my attacks, another for some buffs and random things, another has a few macros and some extra attacks and a few more buffs for when I need to change things up a bit ;p
  10. ARCHIVED-Beldin_ Guest

    Yeah .. the language of our client is called "denglisch" by everyone meanwhile, and what yesterday was in german could be again in english tomorrow after the next patch, or it could have names like that :
    [IMG]
    [IMG]
  11. ARCHIVED-Priestbane Guest

    Angriffsgeschwindigkeit!

    Angriffsgeschwindigkeit!

    Angriffsgeschwindigkeit!

    Do I win?
  12. ARCHIVED-Icarii_Raven`Lyon Guest

    Hahah I did it!



    [IMG]
    Message Edited by Icarii_Raven`Lyon on 12-23-2005 03:58 PM
  13. ARCHIVED-Salmastryon Guest

    Well the board ate the post I tried to make on this topic a few days ago. Looking at the stuff people
    posted though I think I'm going to do a little restructuring of my UI. I'll post screenie and explaination
    when I get it reformated to my liking.
  14. ARCHIVED-thecynic315 Guest

    Screen Shot here

    This is my layout, Im more of a "Typer" then a "Clicker" so the 3 hotbars in the lower right are my main bars. Bar 1 contains my main attacks, with HO starter at 0 and my macros for Garsin's and SoD at - and =

    Bar 2 contains Buffs(which I used to use a AoE taunts pre CU) and then my nukes with my CoB macro at Alt+=. All that macro does is tell my grp to just use Auto Attack for 12sec.

    Bar 3 is for Debuffs and Misc, with Evac at Ctrl+= this way I cant hit it by mistake.

    The layout for placement of everything on these 3 hotbars has some logic to it, such as snare at 8 and Luda's at Alt+8, meaning I cna quickly hit my snare then Luda's with out moving my hand too much. Also both AoEs are near each other so Jaro's then WoB can be cast quickly. Not saying any of this is the way to go but have found it to be best for my playstyle.

    The 2 bars flanking the screen are normaly not visable unless they are moused over. The top macro on the left bar is for my master strikes.

    Usualy all my windows are either invis unless active or moused over, or in the case of my 3 main bars they are at like 25% visiable. This way I can see as much of whats around me as possible and still check refresh rates on CAs/Spells.

    Not seen in the pic is my other chat window under my main chat window, thats where I put my other chat chans, a combat tab, and a game text tab.


    Message Edited by thecynic315 on 12-24-2005 10:45 AM
    Message Edited by thecynic315 on 12-25-2005 12:17 PM
  15. ARCHIVED-zboim Guest

    http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/9776/aengdoosuibaby6bj.jpg

    Um...basically everything has been organized to minimize the distance between targets and functions. Me, assist/target and implied target all stack vertically, everyone in grp at the bottom horizontally--right under the hotbars for uberfast use.

    I remove all borders and backgrounds from everything. Pretty.

    I may be one of the only people in the multiverse who uses horizontal effects/maintained bars, the former crammed into the top left because I don't have to interact with it much and the latter on the bottom left because realms of toggling must there be. The chat window has been resized so it doesn't overlap.

    My xp bar has % stuff. Yay!
    The ho starter is in the middle, closer to center are higher frequency of use, farther away = less frequency or at least that was the original intention.

    The top left (buffs) and top right (admin stuff) are used the least frequently. I don't use top row stuff much, maybe once an instance, (sometimes once an encounter depending on the instance) so they get to be farthest away from the group bar. The exceptions are the rezzes, and they're close to centre.

    Middle left is Crowd Control stuff, 2 exceptions are Hyrans which needs to be close to the names since it has to be toggled on fast, and Percussion, which should be top row, but it's so uber i wanted it to be somewhere by itself.

    Middle right single target melee attacks, to the left of percussion is my Whackro (tm), which lets the more challenged members of the group know it's time to hit stuff. You can see busting that gem out IN A TOTALLY NATURAL SETTING THAT WAS NOT STAGED in the enclosed snapshot of my uberness. I also have a snazzy Evacro (tm), but I'll save that for a time when our boards get slower than they are now (is that even possible?). I have singing shot to the left of Jael's cause it has a stifle. Stuff is grouped here in 3 grps: ranged, flanking/rear attacks, and stuff I can stab stuff with from anywhere.

    Bottom left is debuffs, bottom right is nuke-esque single target ( Howl is a special nuke that sometimes.makes you greener) and ae's. Hymn is at the end because even though THE MASTER IS A WORTHLESS UPGRADE at the moment, it's still an ae.

    The day they make it instant recast is going to be SWEET. Could happen...
    Message Edited by zboim on 01-03-2006 10:34 PM
  16. ARCHIVED-Emonga Guest

    I use Fetish UI, and have 4 text windows along the bottom of the screen. Left to right they contain:
    1 Guild/Tells/Group
    2 Spells
    3 Melee damage
    4 Assorted Chat Channels/ooc/shout/auction etc.

    I have the text quite small on 2,3,4, and a size larger on the 1.

    Above the boxes I have two horizontal hotbars one on top the other, one pair on the left and one on the right. I then have Targets and Targets Target in the middle. On the left above the hotbars I have the Fetish bags/inventory box and the HO wheel on the right.

    My active spells are vertical on the left, and my buffs on the right.

    On hotkeys I have my main attacks bound to 1 to = and secondary ones on the second bar. Although in EQ1 I was constantly using keyboard, in EQ2 I tend to click more :)

    The two right hand hotkey bars have utility/little used spells on them.

    Karalin.
  17. ARCHIVED-bnutz Guest

    I have 3 hotbars and to be completely honest, I don't use a good portion of the dirge spells or combat arts. I do have a system that works well and I change it up sometimes depending on wether I'm solo or in a group and what I'm fighting.

    I never use a bow, so I don't use the special bow spell thing (Singing Shot?). If I need to pull a mob, I use my long range scream. I never sneak up on mobs, so I don't use the hidden assault combat arts, either. What I do do, however, is debuff the heck out of the mobs with timebomb and encounter debuffs (if necessary), slow, poison, stun, get behind, backstab, nuke, health leech if necessary (usually only when solo), repeat.. in that order. I have zero problems soloing regular mobs that are 4 levels higher than me and I can solo 1 up heroics that are my level or maybe one level higher with few issues (I may sometimes get close to death). I'm finding the dirge to be an extremely effective and very fun class for both soloing and group purposes. Having a blast.
  18. ARCHIVED-Criesi Guest

    Question for Beldin, where did you get all the additional and different on screen boxes/information from.
  19. ARCHIVED-Beldin_ Guest

    I use the top parts of the Profit-UI (target,exp i.e.) and an inventory-mod that shows also the stats that are normally in the persona window ;)
  20. ARCHIVED-Criesi Guest

    Very nice, I should have added where can I find them.

    Thanks