Hotkeys

[Sharon]

Thoughts on general and "set" hotkeys?

General hotkeys are capable of storing items, spells, potions, etc.

Set hotkeys would be able to equip and entire pre-defined set of gear.

Set hotkeys do not remove the need to know what you're doing.
You still need to

1. Collect the right gear
2. Organize the gear correctly (mix and match the right stats/types)
3. Know when to swap to it (think hp set with hp timers)

When it comes to other parts of pvp, new hotkeys do not grant knowledge of things unrelated. Another hotkey, or a set hotkey, for example, does not grant the ability to aim a spell or know what to do in a critical situation.

 

Reasoning:

Helbreath is an aging game. The player count is not going to go up without introducing new players to the game. I'm not looking to dumb the game down massively to make it accessible to everyone, but it definitely could use some accessibility concessions. Many if not most of current titles offer not only countless hotkeys, but the ability to remap them to whatever you want and even use them for equipping entire sets of gear. Often in those games you won't be allowed to change items in combat (eg, WoW) but I don't think that is the right direction for HB.

In my opinion Helbreath could use a fresh coat of paint when it comes to utilizing keys for playing the game.

[Master Of Fishing]

I guess it depends on whether the game is to be around clicking dexterity or not.

A big reason it is satisfying to win a fight or play well in the game is that it relies on keeping cool, watching timers/players etc, and also aiming your clicks well. 

Without the clicking and inconvenience/difficulty, I am not sure it would be as fun. But I would be keen to try it.


IMO if you did set equips by hotkey, you would need to have a timer on the action, potentially interruptible by damage and perhaps cool down too.  So that it is not effortless to perfectly get a HP timer for example

Edited December 6, 2022 by Master Of Fishing

[Sharon]

55 minutes ago, Master Of Fishing said:

I guess it depends on whether the game is to be around clicking dexterity or not.

A big reason it is satisfying to win a fight or play well in the game is that it relies on keeping cool, watching timers/players etc, and also aiming your clicks well. 

Without the clicking and inconvenience/difficulty, I am not sure it would be as fun. But I would be keen to try it.


IMO if you did set equips by hotkey, you would need to have a timer on the action, potentially interruptible by damage and perhaps cool down too.  So that it is not effortless to perfectly get a HP timer for example

The great thing is is that it can just be an experiment. During a test run while everything's in dev, it can be added (and would be trivial to do so) and people can play around with it and see how it feels. If people end up liking it, great. If not, great. I'm just looking for ways to improve the game without completely breaking things. Can't know until we try stuff.

With pvp, there are still so many other factors beyond clicking that add complexity: timers, aiming, movement, utilizing your environment (mobs, walls, stairs, etc). I also am toying with ideas of other means to alter pvp a bit. I'm making this server as an attempt to see my desire to make the ultimate server realized. I'll design it how the people want though. A few features I won't concede on, but I don't think they are at all breaking of the HB formula. Everything else we can just try and see how things work out. I'm flexible. If it doesn't work it doesn't work.

Another point to add, how many possible sets can you throw together? What if there are only 2 set hotkeys? What might those sets be? HP and MA? What do you do vs warrs? You'd still have to jump into your bag to equip. HP and PA? What about going up against mages? MA and PA? Your HP ticks are going to be more challenging as you'll have to equip manually for them. Still got sets like DR and all sorts of mixed combinations. Something to think about.

[Xarios Sin]

Im down for whatever if it doesn't work can always change.