Hello all!

I have played the game on and off since last January, and coming from a console gaming background, I found myself confused by the amount of abilities I have to use. This lead me to using my mouse to click abilities.

I now want to move away from this, onto the glorious method of Keybinding. My main concern however, it is very alien to me, and I have the habit to click ( I didn't know binding was a thing until a few months after launch, by which time I became used to clicking), so I don't really know how to start on the path of bindings.

Switching I think, will improve my performance in elder game content, especially PvP.

A few questions/concerns I have:

1: Will this impair my moving around? I use WASD to move, which is slower to turn and such, but also means I can back peddle and use abilities etc. which I can't do with a mouse, as I'd have to turn around and run.

2: What are the best keys to use to bind abilities? And how will this affect playing different classes?

3: Will I have to buy a better keyboard and mouse? I don't want to have to spend £200+ for amazing keyboard and mouse, just for them to not help at all.

Is there any tips or pointers anyone can give to starting off with key binds, without a steep learning curve (I do well in PvE ops and such clicking, and I don't want to impact this too much). I'd be very appreciative of constructive help!

I play a shadow tank, so my rotation isn't terribly complex.

I'm by no means an expert in this stuff, and while I don't do much PvP in SWTOR, do I have a MMO gaming background so I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability and personal experience.

Also, this doesn't particularly apply to tanks (or PvE for that matter, you can do fine in those with clicking, imo), since I've never played one. It's more of a list of general concepts.

1: Will this impair my moving around? I use WASD to move, which is slower to turn and such, but also means I can back peddle and use abilities etc. which I can't do with a mouse, as I'd have to turn around and run

First things first, I'd advise you to bind A and D to strafing instead of turning. You'll be using your right mouse button to turn, W to run and S to back peddle (some PvP-people even unbound S, since back peddling is slower than turning around and running, but I never did this and I performed allright, so don't worry about it).

So the main way to move around is M2 + WASD. Just think of your mouse as a tool to purely manipulate the camera. Imagine you don't even have a cursor.

2: What are the best keys to use to bind abilities? And how will this affect playing different classes?

I usually have the following keys bound in MMOs across all of my characters;

1-6

Shift + 1-6

Q,E,R,T,F,G,X,C,V

Shift + Q,E,R,T,F,G,X,C,V

There's some other things you could bind to, too, along with ctrl and alt modifiers, but I find the above are more than enough in SWTOR. Also, while it might seem intimidating at first, I suggest to bind every single ability to a hotkey. This way, you'll maximize the time your mouse is acting as a "camera" instead of a "cursor", making learning faster and improving your game rapidly.

3: Will I have to buy a better keyboard and mouse? I don't want to have to spend £200+ for amazing keyboard and mouse, just for them to not help at all.

As long as you're comfortable using what you've got, you're golden. Buying overpriced "gaming" keyboards and mice won't magically make you any better at the game.

That is how I always play and move around, be it PvE, PvP or solo. Hope I helped, at least a little bit.

While you can certainly do very well with a standard mouse and keyboard, there are some very cool products on the market that can make key binding just as good (if not better) but may have a learning curve that is different for all players. I'd suggest at least taking a look into them and see if they might be an interesting alternative.

For me, especially from playing more console games than computer ones, using a Logitech G13 gamepad was like learning how to walk all over again yet realizing it somehow felt better than before. I bought it just as I got in to SWTOR closed beta and haven't even attempted using the keyboard for anything in game other than signing in and the occasional chat. I use the thumbstick as you would on a controller with WQED bound to it (for strafing, in lieu of WASD). I start my main attacks from the second row of keys and work my way around the keypad for various actions. Next to the thumbstick are 2 keys I can use as spacebar and my shift modifier. I couldn't even think about playing another MMO without this thing and have already bought another as backup for when/if this one fails.

I also use a G700 gaming mouse and found it to be more comfortable and larger than others with more buttons. In particular, the Naga mouse was a bit small for my hands so I returned it. I also have another multi button mouse similar to the Naga but have not had the chance to practice with it. Most likely I will probably buy another G700 as well as it's been starting to act up lately. Suffice to say that I am never at a shortage of buttons to press with my setup and all within reasonable distance without needing to be a contortionist.

The most important thing about any setup you use is that you practice with it.....a lot. I use similar layouts on my gamepad for all 6 of my 50's and currently working on number 7. Stuns are in the same place as well as defensive cooldowns. This allows me to be consistent when switching between characters.

Thanks to both of you, certainly given me some tips and ideas!

Much appreciated, and glad to hear that having expensive stuff wont make a great impact.

I just hope the learning curve isn't too steep for me!

I'd love to quote and reply to each section from both of you, but I fear the post would be too long! Thanks again!

EDIT:

For me, especially from playing more console games than computer ones, using a Logitech G13 gamepad was like learning how to walk all over again yet realizing it somehow felt better than before. I bought it just as I got in to SWTOR closed beta and haven't even attempted using the keyboard for anything in game other than signing in and the occasional chat. I use the thumbstick as you would on a controller with WQED bound to it (for strafing, in lieu of WASD). I start my main attacks from the second row of keys and work my way around the keypad for various actions. Next to the thumbstick are 2 keys I can use as spacebar and my shift modifier. I couldn't even think about playing another MMO without this thing and have already bought another as backup for when/if this one fails.

This looks like something that could come in handy for me, after hearing that you find it usefull coming from a console gaming background also. I find looking at that, looks a lot less daunting than a keyboard, especially with binding in mind

This may help a lot:

http://taugrim.com/2011/04/07/guide-to-strafing-movement-and-keybindings/

I couldn't be bothered to keybind until I invested in a $70 Razer Naga.. It is spectacular and more than sufficient for all keybinding needs. Importanly, it makes the process of setting up and using keybinds extremely simple even for the dexterity challenged people like myself. Also lazy, again like myself.

I use a Razer Naga mouse for MMOs.

I move with both my mouse and my WASD depending on the situation.