Gaming Peripherals

[Jasyn]

Am I just too old to get it?  What is the purpose of the twelve buttons on the side of the mouse?  What benefit do I get from those as opposed to my keyboard?

I'm weird (newsflash!).

Granted I usually only adopt one gaming hobby at a time, but I use the keyboard almost exclusively--only mouse to zoom or where the UI demands it.  I keep my right hand on my cursor keys and never use WASD.  I use my left hand for hotkeys, and sometimes I criss-cross and exchange hands when I'm feeling dexterous.  I don't regularly use voice chat, and no, I don't need to recruit the assistance of my toes for typing in chat*.

I also do it both ways uphill in the snow while chasing the neighbors' kids off of my lawn.

And the only part I fabricated is the bit about snow because down here, no is really sure what snow looks like.  Or for that matter rain.

--<Hey you woodchucks!  Stop chuckin' my wood!>



* (Yes, this sentence is a clever reference to one of Anaris's suitors for any EQ2'ers from AB who remember)

[Mixxi]

Granted I usually only adopt one gaming hobby at a time, but I use the keyboard almost exclusively--only mouse to zoom or where the UI demands it.  I keep my right hand on my cursor keys and never use WASD.  I use my left hand for hotkeys, and sometimes I criss-cross and exchange hands when I'm feeling dexterous.  I don't regularly use voice chat, and no, I don't need to recruit the assistance of my toes for typing in chat

I used to play this way in EQ, mainly because nearly all my targeting was done with function keys (to select party members) and assist macros (much more precise that way for heavily tactical encounters) and abilities were hotkeyed. I now use my mouse to target quite a bit. I am trying to resist the bad habit of tab targeting that I got into in Rift. As Vilidius can attest (he's seen my all-over-the-place targeting style), I haven't quite figured out what  the most efficient way will be to target in SWTOR.

As for the buttons on the side of the Naga, the way I had them set up in Rift was to have all my offensive abilities on hotkeys, and all my heals on the naga side buttons. Infrequently used things like my mount and such I had keyed to the less-accessible naga buttons.

[oakmist]

I am the occasional user of this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Razer-RZ01-00490100-R3M1-Nostromo-Expert-Keypad/dp/B004G8QHFO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1320755279&sr=8-6

Hugely configurable and looks cool in the dark  

[Alirrin]

I got a Logitech G110 gaming keyboard this summer, and I think I programmed maybe two macros, and have barely used them.  I tab-target when soloing or being main DPS, and F-key target when healing. I use a combo of mouse + WASD for movement, because I mouse-look and strafe a lot while roaming the countryside.  My main abilities are on my number key row, in banks so I can shift between them with Shift+#, and secondary ones are on buttons I can mouse clock as needed.  I just haven't found a need for all these extra keys the specialized hardware give you.

Damn kids.   

[Gith]

I also bought a Logitech gaming keyboard and switched back to my stock HP keyboard. I find my Razor Naga to be far more useful than a gaming keyboard. I also have a G13 gaming pad. I might use that more once TOR comes out but really the must useful thing I have is the mouse so I can press my abilities while remaining fully mobile.

[Mixxi]

I remember you used to use a trackball way back in the day, too, Oakmist. The Nostromo keypad looks pretty cool. I had a pad that was a circle (maybe a G-15), but since I don't even use the programmable banks on my gaming keyboard, the additional pad just gathered dust. What do you use the side pad for?

[oakmist]

Yup, still use a trackball too - wow, guess I've been using the same one for a decade now!

[Eshen]

After reading your opinions of the Razer Naga, I decided to opt for the SWtOR mouse instead of the keyboard. It's basically the Naga Epic in a Star Wars skin but it will be glorious!