Curse

Jaelen · Jun 18, 2006, 03:36 PM // 15:36

Hey guys, gimme a little insight here.

I'm trying to become a better healer for HoH/GvG. I understand the game fairly well, but my problem is that I simply can't prevent a spike. By the time I see who's getting nailed, get them selected and get a spell off (and I'm talking any spell - Prot Spirit, Infuse, anything), they are dead.

So, I'm thinking, maybe its physically the method I'm using to play the game that is hurting my reaction time.

I ask anyone who can stop a spike to please explain how they play GW. As in, where are your hands, what keys/mouse clicks do you use, and also what does your in-game interface look like.

For instance, the way I'm doing it now. I have my left hand on the WASD keys which I use for movement, and my right on the mouse. When I need to heal someone, I use the mouse to click their name in the group bar, then if it is a quick reaction situation I hit the 1, 2, 3, or 4 keys (which are easy to get to from WASD on the left hand). If just a "top-off" heal, I click the name then click a heal spell on the spell bar.

Any feedback would be appreciated by this beleaguered infuser!

Here's what my UI looks like (crosses fingers)

Dzan · Jun 18, 2006, 04:37 PM // 16:37

It's not necesarily the monks' fault that they cant catch spikes. Your offense is just as responsible for disupting the spike as the monk is for catching it.

If your mesmer doesn't Cry of Frustration the Lightning Orb, if youe Ele doesn't Blinding Flash the Dual Shot, if your warrior doesnt Shock the Feast of Corruptuon, if your Ranger doesnt interrupt the Obsidian Flame and so forth you can hardly blame the monk.

Some spikes are, literally, perfect and even the fastest Infuser in the world cant catch it. The only way to beat that is to have your offense disrupt them to give your monks a chance to make the play.

TheOneMephisto · Jun 18, 2006, 04:51 PM // 16:51

I would suggest assigning the "target ally 1-8" keys to 1-8 on the numpad. Then when you know that you're facing a spike, keep your right hand close to the numpad (still on the mouse but close, or you could even just use wasdqe to maneuver) and get ready to hit whatever your infuse/prot spirit button is (hopefully 1-4).

Another way you can do it is to always hover your mouse over the party window (I would suggest making it bigger, maybe stick it to one of the sides) and always be ready to hit the infuse button. Maybe even assign whatever key is your infuse to both the number and another key that you always have your finger on, such as shift or something. I'm sure that there are also many more ways.

kazz · Jun 18, 2006, 05:44 PM // 17:44

I use the u,i,o,p for party members 1-4 and j,k,l,; for 5-8. then i keep one hand on infure or prot spirit and the other over my select party member keys. Since your fingers are already hovering over the keys and you don't need to find and click something, sometimes it gives you that extra fraction of a second you need to catch spikes.

MrScaRy · Jun 18, 2006, 05:54 PM // 17:54

i basically just look at when they're gonna spike... with my mouse already at the party window... i target an enemy that's a spiker and then when i see them spiking.. i get ready and then just press the button to infuse or whatever.. it usually works but it definitely does take fast reaction

Sacho · Jun 18, 2006, 07:54 PM // 19:54

Depending on an Infuser is pretty much depending on your opponents being bad at spiking. Infuse, imo, without a godly reaction time, is only good at preventing a high after-spike(ie orb + lightning strike), that could kill a target otherwise.
If you can catch a bad spike mid, that's nice, but your offense should be working hard enough to make perfect spikes few and far inbetween.

Jaelen · Jun 18, 2006, 10:06 PM // 22:06

I appreciate all the replies so far guys - I feel a lot better

Mr. Scary, I like the idea of spying the enemy spikers to know what's coming and when. Helps seperate the pressure damage (which can be taken care of with short heals from the boon/prot) from the incoming spike/pain that it is my duty to catch.

kazz, I think I'm going to give that method a shot. I can see that, having gotten to the point where you can instantly associate the group member's spot with the key, it would be faster than moving the mouse. One thing I can't figure, though, is how I'm going to cast spell number 7 and 8 with my Natural Keyboard heheheh...

The other thing is figuring out how to move around fluidly while doing all of this. I like to watch the big boys duke it out in GvG, and their healers only pause long enough to cast heals. I am simply in awe of their ability to keep people alive so consistently so long. /bow

JR · Jun 18, 2006, 10:25 PM // 22:25

WASD for movement, Infuse/PSpirit bound to E, top up heal bound to Q, Condition removal bound to F.

I mouse select party members, as I basicly always have the mouse in my hand to look around and see what is going on.

stueyman2099 · Jun 19, 2006, 09:32 PM // 21:32

I like the idea of binding key spells around your movement keys, but unfortunatly for me, I'm kind of used to having q, e, and f for their defualt purposes. Can't really assign somthing to my pinky either as that's reserved for push to talk. Any suggestions, maybe bind to v and use my thumb?

TheOneMephisto · Jun 19, 2006, 10:35 PM // 22:35

I would suggest just getting use to it. For instance, when I switched my UI around, at first, I was horrible with it. Now, it makes life so much easier for me.

Jetdoc · Jun 20, 2006, 03:49 PM // 15:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

WASD for movement, Infuse/PSpirit bound to E, top up heal bound to Q, Condition removal bound to F.

I mouse select party members, as I basicly always have the mouse in my hand to look around and see what is going on.

Excellent suggestion. I find myself strafing less and less, so finding a good use for the Q and E keys is nice.

I guess you could use C for the hex removal as well.

JR · Jun 20, 2006, 04:19 PM // 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetdoc

Excellent suggestion. I find myself strafing less and less, so finding a good use for the Q and E keys is nice.

I guess you could use C for the hex removal as well.

I actually tend to keep my tight mouse button held down a lot; so effectively I strafe with A and D.

Neo-LD · Jun 20, 2006, 09:04 PM // 21:04

For me, Q and E are too entrenched in muscle memory to switch now. But I never use A or D so thers no reason to not bind to those keys instead :P

Myself, I dont bind skills based on specific roles. I just figure that 6, 7, and 8 are too far from my left hand to be hit reliably / quickly enough, so those are the skills that get bound to a, d, and f.

Aiiane · Jun 20, 2006, 10:43 PM // 22:43

There are 3 elements to preventing a spike, two of which are part of the infuser's realm.

The first is spike prevention, which any good team facing a spike should utilize. Blinds/Interrupts/KDs/Edenial whatever. But that's not the topic of this post.

The second is spike tip-offs. Someone getting galed when facing FC airspike. An enchantment being drained/shattered while facing rspike. An early Phantom Pain landing on someone against a spike with a pp/sd mes. Watching what direction spikers turn during their cast/bow draws, or who the warriors train. All these tip you off so that you know who you'll be trying to save. Knowing this ahead of time eliminates a portion of the reaction delay. Couple this with watching a spiker to see when their spike skill is going to land, and occasionally you'll be lucky enough to catch those otherwise "uninfusable" spikes.

The third is just pure reaction time. If they don't give you a very good tipoff or you don't notice it, but their spike isn't perfect or they need the afterspike to finish someone off (bloodspike comes to mind), it's a matter of selecting them and hitting infuse quickly enough.

xberne · Jun 20, 2006, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Another Thing that could help you is to organize your team in the party window, like putting the soft targets close together , they are more often target of spikes than hard targets and you can hold your mouse near them so that you have a shorter way to select them during a spike. And you can try out something i got used to: I Bind the infuse at my Space Key. Because you always have one finger over it and you wont miss it in every situation. The only thing that is a bit difficult is not to press space for attacking , but your team should run fine without the dmg of your wand/ staff. And one BIG advice: BE COOL! If you are like" Omg its a spike!! I am the infuser! omg!!", you wont get it. Just calm down and you will see your reaction will be faster .