Helping a "clicker" adjust...?

[Cynnicade.2638]

**Hiya! **

 

I've been playing GW2 on and off for a while now. My boyfriend and I have both been playing World of Warcraft religiously since 2005/2006. I'm trying to get him into GW2 little by little.

 

Surprisingly, he is giving it a chance, but seems to be getting frustrated with the controls. Long story short, he is a "clicker". Instead of keybinds, he memorizes and adjusts to where the ability button is on his monitor in relation to everything else and clicks it with his mouse. Even in Wow, he doesnt use keybinds. he clicks his abilities (and is always competing for top dps in mythic raids, surprisingly. no offence, clickers)

 

He's telling me that it's difficult for him to get used to because as soon as he moves his mouse over the buttons, the huge text box pops up in the middle of the screen saying what the ability does. It's very distracting for him. Is there a way to make the text box go away or at least be a bit smaller? Thank you :) he enjoys most other aspects of the game and i really hope this little detail doesn't drive him away.

 

[Nuka Cola.8520]

Nope. If he pve, clicking is fine. If he will pvp in the near future, any half decent player will eat him. Of all the mmos, GW2 is probably the least clicker friendly (pvp wise).

[Alchimist.4738]

I'd say start by using weapon and class specific skills with the keyboard, because those skills are closer in theory to your movement/interaction keys it doesn't require a huge dexterity, neither a huge memorizing, and the utility with the mouse, most of them have longer cooldown so it shouldn't impact to much your camera movement.

[Klowdy.3126]

Definitely use the action cam. He can try my setup.

 

Movement- W,A,S,D

Weapon skills- Left click, Q,E,R,F

Utility- 1,2,3,4

Heal- T

F Skills- Z,X,C,B,N

Auto run- middle mouse button

Dodge- mouse button 4

Weapon swap- mouse button 5

Mounts- key pad 1-5

Mount- shift+MB5

Interact- V

 

If you don't have a mouse with extra buttons (which I do suggest trying), you can set those two abilities to other keys. I got this setup from playing skyforge, and have carried it over to every game I play now. This uses very minimal movement across the keyboard, he just needs to work into it slowly. Starting g a new character is the best way, but going to lower zones for a bit is a good alternative to learning this.

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

I was a clicker in City of Heroes, too. I still mouse some of my skills if it will require strange inputs. The move to keybinds is just something you have to resolve to do and practice at.

[zenleto.6179]

I mostly only "click". Depends on the class I'm playing but there really isn't that much to click on. When I played DDO I had eight or nine skill bars and clicked on them as well. GW2 is pretty friendly for it considering other games. It'll come down to practice and preference obviously.

[darksoverign.5360]

a good clicker is nothing to scoff at we tend to have faster reflexes and beter planning than most that's why we go un noticed I've done everything there is to do in wow/gw2 as a clicker purist and I'm always top or neer top dps and I've even almost reached top 500 in pvp… so pvp scrubs might wanna get better ;D.

[AliamRationem.5172]

I don't know if you can get rid of tooltips, but GW2 seems less friendly to clickers than WoW. Or at least, WoW when I played it. The reason being that it tends toward a more mobile and active playstyle, there is no global cooldown, and many skills are instants.

 

Maybe if you are extremely quick and can click without looking you can get away with it in WoW because the playstyle tends more toward longer cast times, 1s GCD, and standing in place more often. GW2 plays faster and you can and will use skills back to back with no time between them. With no time between skill casts you simply can't be as fast with your skills as you would be using keybinds. This will mean proper rotations will be difficult or impossible to pull off and performance will likely suffer significantly more than it would in WoW.

[starlinvf.1358]

I would invest in a good multi button mouse.... except for the Naga.... Razor software issues are not worth putting up with to for it.

 

I recently got the Z mouse.... despite being an underwhelming use of its features, I have now have enough buttons to cover all but one skill. Use 1-5 for skills, all utilities to mapped to push buttons, F skills on the upper and pull buttons, mounts mapped bottom row keys, Griffon on Ctrl+space (for easy access while gliding), and Elite on X for legacy reasons. On an older mouse I couldn't map the F keys, and had to do that by hand..... it "worked", but engineer being the piano that is, made it tricky in really movement heavy fights.

 

Having a enough buttons on the mouse for fast reaction skills is BY FAR the best investment you could ever make for this game. TONS of things start becoming possible by doing this. I can't even do clicking other games because of it..... its just so much more efficient to have everything within easy reach, and split between the hands.

[aikatara.3462]

I had a look at the options and so far it does not seem to be possible to deactivate the text box you mentioned. What you can try however, if you have not done so already, is to reduce the size of the entire interface. You can do that under Options (F11) >> Graphics Options (second tab) >> Interface size. If you change the size to small it will reduce the size of the text box at least a little bit. Of course it reduces the size of any HUD element, mini map included. I play with a small interface myself and prefer it that way.

 

I use custom keybinds though. I know people who click however and they are still quite good at the game (we do not play PVP though, so there is nothing I can say about that game mode).

[Danikat.8537]

> @"darksoverign.5360" said:

> a good clicker is nothing to scoff at we tend to have faster reflexes and beter planning than most that's why we go un noticed I've done everything there is to do in wow/gw2 as a clicker purist and I'm always top or neer top dps and I've even almost reached top 500 in pvp… so pvp scrubs might wanna get better ;D.

 

So how does a good clicker overcome the problem the OP mentioned where the skill info boxes keep popping up and covering large parts of the screen during the fight?

[Astralporing.1957]

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> > @"darksoverign.5360" said:

> > a good clicker is nothing to scoff at we tend to have faster reflexes and beter planning than most that's why we go un noticed I've done everything there is to do in wow/gw2 as a clicker purist and I'm always top or neer top dps and I've even almost reached top 500 in pvp… so pvp scrubs might wanna get better ;D.

>

> So how does a good clicker overcome the problem the OP mentioned where the skill info boxes keep popping up and covering large parts of the screen during the fight?

Probably by not paying attention to them, as there's no way to disable them.

 

By the way, more and more rotations require doing more than one action simultaneously - you'd have to use keybinds (or a gaming mouse numkey buttons) for that, because it's just not possible to do with only clicking on UI.

 

[wrathmagik.3518]

> @"Cynnicade.2638" said:

> **Hiya! **

>

> I've been playing GW2 on and off for a while now. My boyfriend and I have both been playing World of Warcraft religiously since 2005/2006. I'm trying to get him into GW2 little by little.

>

> Surprisingly, he is giving it a chance, but seems to be getting frustrated with the controls. Long story short, he is a "clicker". Instead of keybinds, he memorizes and adjusts to where the ability button is on his monitor in relation to everything else and clicks it with his mouse. Even in Wow, he doesnt use keybinds. he clicks his abilities (and is always competing for top dps in mythic raids, surprisingly. no offence, clickers)

>

> He's telling me that it's difficult for him to get used to because as soon as he moves his mouse over the buttons, the huge text box pops up in the middle of the screen saying what the ability does. It's very distracting for him. Is there a way to make the text box go away or at least be a bit smaller? Thank you :) he enjoys most other aspects of the game and i really hope this little detail doesn't drive him away.

>

 

People have been begging for an option to turn off tooltips since launch, I know becuase i'm one of them :(

[Ok I Did It.2854]

I still don't know why after nearly 6 years of GW2, the devs have not given us the ability to hide the tool tips, it makes no sense.

[Goettel.4389]

Consider switching to a non-clicker B)

[Xenon.4537]

My suggestion: buy him a Razer Orbweaver and a Razer Naga. I used to be a clicker until I got these. Skill 1-5 on my left thumb. Skill 6-0 + F1-F5 on my right thumb. I never have to take my fingers off WASD while casting and aiming my camera at the same time.

[FrizzFreston.5290]

When I still clicked skills, I never got annoyed by popups...

 

Now I just use action cam and really never looked back. xD

[AliamRationem.5172]

> @"Xenon.4537" said:

> My suggestion: buy him a Razer Orbweaver and a Razer Naga. I used to be a clicker until I got these. Skill 1-5 on my left thumb. Skill 6-0 + F1-F5 on my right thumb. I never have to take my fingers off WASD while casting and aiming my camera at the same time.

 

How many thumbs you got, bro?

[Vavume.8065]

The best help to give a clicker is inspire them to keybind, just invest a small amount of time learning to keybind and be forever happy you did.

 

 

> @"Xenon.4537" said:

> My suggestion: buy him a Razer Orbweaver and a Razer Naga.

 

Logitech is the best way to go G13 & G502, Razer product quality is trash.

[Trise.2865]

The trick to being a successful "clicker", is to not hover over your skills all the time. Find a "home" point, usually near your utility bar, where you can return your pointer so it doesn't trigger the tooltips. This not only keeps your screen clear, but also gives you faster access to more skills as opposed to the one you're currently using, very much like keyboarding. The skills you will be using most often are also the buttons closest to the default movement, I highly recommend using them with the same hand. This allows you to dedicate your mouse to camera control and less-frequent Utility and Ultimate skills.

 

Just be aware that this method, while better than no technique, is still suboptimal compared to button-presses. That may bring you into conflict with a "certain breed" of player. I suggest ignoring them.

 

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> > @"darksoverign.5360" said:

> > a good clicker is nothing to scoff at we tend to have faster reflexes and beter planning than most that's why we go un noticed I've done everything there is to do in wow/gw2 as a clicker purist and I'm always top or neer top dps and I've even almost reached top 500 in pvp… so pvp scrubs might wanna get better ;D.

>

> So how does a good clicker overcome the problem the OP mentioned where the skill info boxes keep popping up and covering large parts of the screen during the fight?

 

Memorization. You must be aware of impairments to your vision, and using a method that will inevitably block said vision means you must be doubly aware of enemy movement, your own movements, and incoming threats so that you can predict where everything is going to be during that time. It's harder than one might think.

[Zaklex.6308]

I'm a clicker and I don't get tool tip popups, which maybe due to the fact I don't hover my mouse cursor over any of the "buttons", but I thought there was a way to disable tool tips ...let me check my settings(just checked it out now...and the option isn't there, so it must be the no hovering part). Mouse clicking is not as hard as some make it out to be, and I even did PvP/HoM in the original GW1 mouse clicking, and I played a monk, a decent enough one to keep my team alive. However, I don't PvP in GW2 so I don't need the keyboard skills, and my mouse is just a generic Alienware mouse, has survived a million clicks or so and keeps on clicking. I've had more issues with my USB plug on the computer than the mouse, literally had to change the plug I used for both keyboard and mouse.

[Ashantara.8731]

> @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> I'm a clicker and I don't get tool tip popups, which maybe due to the fact I don't hover my mouse cursor over any of the "buttons", but I thought there was a way to disable tool tips ...let me check my settings.

 

I think one used to be able to do that, but I can no longer find that setting.

[Sinful.2165]

> @"Cynnicade.2638" said:

> **Hiya! **

>

> I've been playing GW2 on and off for a while now. My boyfriend and I have both been playing World of Warcraft religiously since 2005/2006. I'm trying to get him into GW2 little by little.

>

> Surprisingly, he is giving it a chance, but seems to be getting frustrated with the controls. Long story short, he is a "clicker". Instead of keybinds, he memorizes and adjusts to where the ability button is on his monitor in relation to everything else and clicks it with his mouse. Even in Wow, he doesnt use keybinds. he clicks his abilities (and is always competing for top dps in mythic raids, surprisingly. no offence, clickers)

>

> He's telling me that it's difficult for him to get used to because as soon as he moves his mouse over the buttons, the huge text box pops up in the middle of the screen saying what the ability does. It's very distracting for him. Is there a way to make the text box go away or at least be a bit smaller? Thank you :) he enjoys most other aspects of the game and i really hope this little detail doesn't drive him away.

>

 

1000% buy him a MOBA style mouse. They come with 6+ thumb buttons.

 

I use a razer mouse with *12* thumb buttons, which sounds like a lot - and it is - but I could never play another MMO without it.

 

I can use 1-5 weapon skills, weapon swap, stow weapon, special action key and dodge without even touching the keyboard. It’s extremely easy and intuitive. My keyboard hand can stick to WASD with zero strain. I’ve also got shift-thumb buttons for each mount and ctrl-thumb buttons for each F-skill (the unique class abilities above the weapon skills).

 

I really only use keyboard for movement and the three utility skills plus the elite, all comfortably around WASD of course.

 

Mouse clicking your abilities.... *shudders at the thought*

[castlemanic.3198]

I'm a half-clicker myself (and I play on a mac without a mouse, I just use the touchpad, I play pve only for a reason =p), so I get the pain. I've adapted to using the 1-5 keys with my left hand (plus the key next to 1 for weapon swapping) and then using the mouse for the f1-f5 abilities and the 6-0 utility skills too, which means less time with the mouse hovering over the skillbar. It sucks for reactionary things (like spellbreakers Full Counter if I'm trying to counter a specific wind up ability), but overall it's effective. If your boyfriend is used to clicking even the weapon skills, it'll be tough to shift that mindset a bit. ( I also dodge using v with my thumb, but double tapping works too, i just usually find i don't press quick enough for double tapping to be efficient).

 

And unfortunately I don't think you can get rid of the text boxes that explain the abilities. I hope he finds some sort of solution.

[dylyn.9681]

> @"castlemanic.3198" said:

> I'm a half-clicker myself (and I play on a mac without a mouse, I just use the touchpad, I play pve only for a reason =p), so I get the pain. I've adapted to using the 1-5

> keys with my left hand (plus the key next to 1 for weapon swapping) and then using the mouse for the f1-f5 abilities and the 6-0 utility skills too, which means less

> time with the mouse hovering over the skillbar.

 

I've been half-clicking, too. It worked to get two of my chars through Central Tyria, but now that I'm doing HoT, it's not. I find with all the effects on the screen, I sometimes lose track of the mouse pointer. Maybe it's because my main is a squishy thief, but usually just a little pause to find it is enough to get me sm00shed. By the time I'm ready to click 6 to heal, one of those Mordrem sumbitches has already killed me.

 

I'm training myself not to do that now. I've remapped a lot of the hard-to-reach keys, 7 through 0, to others that are easy to reach with my index finger. I can keep my hand in the right spot for movement and for my weapon and healing skills, and still fire off the others without looking at the keyboard. I also mapped a few things to my mouse -- a mouse-wheel click to dodge, and two other extra mouse buttons for F1 & F2. (I've got a Redragon M106 mouse that has 3 extra buttons.)

 

To the OP, even if you can't convince your partner not to go to strictly keyboard, he can experiment with resetting the options (F11) and maybe find something that works best for him. BTW, I never had the problem of the text boxes popping up in combat; maybe there's also a setting there that will let him set how long it takes for them to appear.