The Fanatical Swordsman

Sometimes when a new player logs in to a game, they just stand there in confusion with all of the many buttons!!! You have the general health bar, power bar, skill bar, inventory bags, etc. that are present in every combat/exploring game. Then you have a slough of options to wade through as you make seemingly unimportant decisions about whether you automatically loot all, or have trivial quest icons shown, or have static tooltips, or even have tooltips at all.

Too many buttons

I hope to guide someone with this post, even if they are a seasoned player, to look at some of the options in their…well, Options…and set up their HUD (Heads-Up-Display) in a way that will accent their playstyle.

The Essentials Page (a.k.a. the Combat Options page)

A few months ago, I rolled a hunter on Landroval, that way I could partake in fun events, such as the upcoming Weatherstock! As soon as I had logged in, I stood there like a statue for about five minutes as I fixed all of my settings, my plugins, and my UI (User Interface) exactly how I liked it. The first stop I made was to the Combat Options page, which I like to call “The Essentials Page.”

I will briefly explain each box, and the several especially important boxes that need to be checked will be in Bold.

1. Auto target enemies
   This is when if you have nothing targeted, and a mob attacks you, then it targets that mob. I always have this on.
2. Enable movement assistance in combat
   This option some PvMPer’s like, but I do not. It broke a while back too, but it essentially turns you to face your opponent if you are ranged and makes it easier to follow if melee.
3. Skills can enable default attack
   I always have this on. Pretty self-explanatory what it does.
4. Allow skill buttons to target nearest enemies
   This depends on which class I am playing. If you are a ranged class, then I would advise against this, simply because this is an easy way to pull a group before your fellowship is ready. My melee characters have this on, just simply because it is easier.
5. Enable skill target forwarding
   This is super important. This means for example, if a minstrel has the tank targeted for healing, he can pop a few ballads in to tier up, or do a little dps if the fight is going well. If he didn’t have this on, he would have to click on or tab to the mob and hit the skill, then click on or hotkey to the tank again. This is also useful in the fights that require you to dps carefully, such as when the mob heals itself on damage. That way, everyone can target through one person, who has an eye on the buff for the heal, and can target himself instead of the mob when the buff comes up to break all dps at once.
6. Enable skill miss chance penalties while moving
   This I always have on, as any attacks that land, even if they are far and few between, are better than no attacks at all.
7. Show the vitals of your selection’s target
   This I use as a dps class to monitor my threat. If I can occasionally see the mob’s target flicker to my name instead of the tank’s, then I know to back off and let the tank build more aggro. If I am a tank class, it is for the same purpose, except in the opposite direction. If I see that a mob is targeting someone else, I know I do not have aggro. This setting is also handy for situations that need focus fire.
8. Directional selection indicator
   Oh this is so handy! This makes a little tiny line next to your feet that points to whatever you have selected.
9. Enable combat particle response indicators
   For classes that rely on combat responses, like burglars and guardians, this is incredibly handy. Sure, there is a sound and a buff that shows up underneath your health bar and on plugins, but nothing beats flashing lights all around your head!
10. Display companion orders in chat window
    This is definitely handy for pet classes to keep track of the skills they try to use, as occasionally they do not successfully fire, for one reason or another.
11. Display combat state break notices in chat window
    Champions and hunters, click this button. You need to feel bad for randomly using Rain of Arrows or AoE attacks when a friendly loremaster or burglar has mezzed a mob. Shame on you!
    Loremasters and burglars, click this button. You need to know who to blame when your group wipes because somebody hit a mezzed mob.
12. Show assist window
    Everyone needs this checked. This is a huge tool in group management. Fellowship and Raid leaders can select members of the group to be on this window, and it will show their vitals and their targets’ vitals. That way, healers can know where the tank’s health is quickly, and everyone knows what mob is safest to hit because it is getting all of the tanks skills dumped onto it.
13. Play optional combat animations
    Purely fluff, turn it off if you have performance issues.
14. Allow combat animation blending
    Same as 13.

How to Harness the HUD, Part 2: Quickslots and Social Options >>