Thank you so much for posting this information, and your guides on power auras as well!
Alahnna (Mama Druid)´s last blog ..Doing Something Totally Crazy in World of Warcraft

[...] over at Tree Bark Jacket wrote an excellent post that answers the age-old question “How can I stop being a [...]

A suggestion for those just learning to keybind. If you are already using a mod for your action bars, consider making all the ability bars visible while you are learning your keybinds/macros. You can shrink them to save on real estate – keep them just large enough that when you waver for a second – was it F or G? – you can quickly glance & see.

Second – about strafing. That has become my “get out of crap” move of choice now. I use Grid/Clique, so sometimes I need to mouse-cast & key-move, and turning with keys instead of mouse is sooooo slow.

Looking at actual fights, I realized that most of the time I don’t need to move very much – just enough get out of D&D or avoid a missile, or running towards the tank if healer-aggro an add.

Strafing instead of turning & running actually takes less time for me, it keeps me pointed forwards so I can still see my targets, I never turn my back to a mob, AND I only need 2 keys for moving (one for ahead, one with modifier for strafe L/R). I suggest every healer learn to do it.

In fights where you know adds will spawn on you, you can even place your toon sideways to start with, so you’re strafing towards the tank without getting dazed from hits from behind.

Cheers,
Kriyet

So thanks for providing this public service.

When I first started playing, and was learning not to be a zomgbadclicker, I knew the only way I’d remember what keys to press would be if the keybinding made sense to me. Sometimes even now if I find myself hitting the wrong button consistently I’ll switch my keybinds around to follow what I’m doing instinctively.

So since I was playing my druid when I was learning to keybind, I picked “I” for Innervate. That’s since become my instinctive “OMG I NEED MANA” button – on my Resto Shaman, “I” is Mana Tide; on my priest, “I” is Shadowfiend; on my mage, “I” is Evocate. Once I get around to leveling my pally again, I’m sure I’ll use “I” for Divine Plea. The only different character is my warlock, where I bound Lifetap to something I can hit more easily more often since there’s no cooldown.

I also use the same keybinds for my “OH CRAP” button on all my characters – Ice Block, NS/HT on my resto druid, NS/HW on my resto shaman, Desperate Prayer, etc.

As for the keyboard/mouse movement thing, well, I have a lot to say about that. Methinks that’ll turn into a rant. Time to put that on my own site.

I think I trust my healers/tanks too much ><

however all dps stuff is bound to my keys/mouse Dracor´s last blog ..Good news, everyone!

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+1 fan of Bartender.

Also, there is a Windows ‘hack’ that you can find via Google to swap your caps lock key and control key, to make it easier to reach the control if you want to use that as a modifier. Especially useful if you have smaller hands. It requires a registry edit, so use at your own risk.

Also, I use a Nostromo and would highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you are new to keybindings. Because you never have to move your hands to find keys it makes it a lot easier to keep your eyes on the action. The same principles I described above apply to any alternative control devices.

[...] I was originally planning to address, but Keeva over on Tree Bark Jacket recently discussed the importance of keybinding including a section on movement.  She makes the point that mouse turning is superior to keyboard [...]