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Community => City of Heroes => Topic started by: Shenanigunner on June 19, 2019, 03:17:41 AM

Title: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Shenanigunner on June 19, 2019, 03:17:41 AM
I have always preferred keybinds to macros, but in yacking with players and the community I found that there's a faction that sees macros as the way to manage special commands, while leaving the key mapping largely the same.

So today I wrote a cute lil' macro to combine Rest with a team message (so the wankers don't run off to the next battle while their big gun is catching up). Works great.

But then I realized the big difference between the two, and the big, big drawback of macros: you can't save them. You can't easily transfer them to other alts or players. If you accidentally delete one (which, of course, I have never ever done), it's gone forever. Binds have a whole set of management tools built in. (OTOH, macros are a tad easier to edit on the fly.)

Macros have their place, especially in rolling-tray command sets. But they're written on the wind, as it were...
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: MyriVerse on June 19, 2019, 01:09:47 PM
I've lost macros due to latency. Screen freezes. Somehow, I drag and drop it into the ether. Aaand it's gone.

I still don't have many binds because there just isn't that much I ever want to do.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Shenanigunner on June 19, 2019, 04:19:50 PM
The right keybinds  can smooth out the game interface a lot. Combat, healing/buffing, pet control... all much easier with a good bindset.

Macros are a good option to have, but I've come to realize how clunky they are to manage, how fragile, and (in crazy situations) how much more difficult to find and activate with a click. Your keys are always in the same position no matter how many Council come swarming out of that room.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: MyriVerse on June 20, 2019, 12:41:51 PM
Yeah. I just never need more keys than the 1 to 0 and alt-1 to 0 provides for.

I have one bind: the chat bind that auto puts my name, rank and serial number in the text.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Vee on June 20, 2019, 03:00:58 PM
Yeah. I just never need more keys than the 1 to 0 and alt-1 to 0 provides for.

Heh. I run 7 trays on every toon now, just as my standard loaded setup. 3 horizontal for 1-0, alt, ctrl. 3 vertical for all the various teleporters and temp pets and rest and such, on some toons the shields go on one of these. just added a square one next to inspirations for fortune/mutation/insp powers and the clicky incarnate powers, or in the case of my farming brute i keep my 3 most used powers here to monitor cooldowns because i have macro versions that trigger them while also combining inspirations to reds. Now not all 7 trays are full on every toon but they're full enough on most. i'd never be able to deal with just two.

Oh and i have things bound to t, y, m, n, b, v, p, u, i, g, and h too :P
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Shenanigunner on June 20, 2019, 04:11:25 PM
Heh. I run 7 trays on every toon now, just as my standard loaded setup.
So how long does it take you to load those on a new setup? And how do you update them?
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Vee on June 20, 2019, 05:43:32 PM
They pop up standard on a new character if you have your windows saved. just have to change the numbers and throw in the powers. Takes a bit to throw in all the stuff after a p2w visit but other than that i feel it as i level/acquire. Have to redo my gratz macro and rebind my h key to whatever (h is some sort of self heal or mog or whatever emergency defense i have).

Generally on a new character i just go in options and hit all the load saved buttons just to make sure though.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Shenanigunner on June 20, 2019, 06:44:22 PM
They pop up standard on a new character if you have your windows saved.
Ah, nice. Didn't think of that, or that it would work that way with custom windows. Noted.

As for BvM, or MvB if you prefer - I lived with my pretty little Rest macro for two days before realizing it worked better as a bind, with a matching cancel bind. I guess we all have our preferences. :)
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: MyriVerse on June 20, 2019, 09:05:21 PM
Heh. I run 7 trays on every toon now...
I don't have that many powers, like ever. With just 2 trays, I have 2-3 that are always vacant.

Only time I ever used more than 2 trays was for Majadi dancing in PChat.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Vee on June 20, 2019, 10:30:02 PM
I could fill 2 before leveling once. 2 starter powers, brawl, origin ranged, mu/nem/wand/shield pet, ninja, jetpack, gratz macro, self destruct, rez, mish/base/pd tps, crafting table, assemble, team up tp, envenomed dagger. oh and sprint, so more than 2 trays. and of course i'm not going to want all those in my main two.

Are you just clicking your lesser used powers from the powers menu? cuz even with a minimal attack chain i can't imagine anything that would only need two.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Shenanigunner on June 20, 2019, 10:49:37 PM
Yes, I run two trays well before 10 and three trays after that. I like to spread things out a bit by group, so I always have a couple of empty slots in each tray. I tend to put attack powers in the first tray (all activated by number keys); secondary powers in the second tray (autos and bind-fire ones) and low-use specialty powers and the like in the third tray.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: MyriVerse on June 21, 2019, 12:01:48 PM
I could fill 2 before leveling once. 2 starter powers, brawl, origin ranged, mu/nem/wand/shield pet, ninja, jetpack, gratz macro, self destruct, rez, mish/base/pd tps, crafting table, assemble, team up tp, envenomed dagger. oh and sprint, so more than 2 trays. and of course i'm not going to want all those in my main two.

Are you just clicking your lesser used powers from the powers menu? cuz even with a minimal attack chain i can't imagine anything that would only need two.
Lesser used powers get no button.

I rarely get all of my primary or secondary powers, and it's not something I have to worry about for a long time. Back during live, I had two characters that ever got above level 34. ATM, my highest character is 23. All of my characters are sure to get a free Undead Axe and Nemesis Staff. I'm not a big fan of the free ranged powers, but they get used sometimes. My typical attack chain uses no more than 6 buttons. There's zero reason for me to bother with binds.

I don't like the pets. None of them.

I find the jetpacks practically useless... and I'm not a fan of flying. I have a few alts that fly, but it's just to get from A to B. And I extremely rarely fly during combat. I mostly play tankers and scrappers. Several of my sentinel alts will fly sometimes.

Ninja generally replaces run. All the ghetto travel powers get widdled down to one single button. it varies depending on what FX looks good with the character, but I only use one. There's no need for all of these at the same time.

Generally, no TPs. My least favourite travel power, but 1 or 2 alts have it as their main travel.

So, at the most, you're talking about 2 travel buttons. Period.

No rez.
No crafting.
Title: Re: Binds vs. Macros
Post by: Vee on June 21, 2019, 01:29:46 PM
Nice that we can play our two completely different games again :D