Advantages of Using PiP & Focus Switching (Looting/PVP)
I've been doing some testing with some trials to get my setup fine tuned before starting my hunters back up and found some really great advantages to using keyclone's PiP functionality: Looting and PVP. I Have also mentioned the disadvantages in the following post. I'm looking for some creative ideas people have at tackling those disadvantages :)
What does this require?
- All clients on one machine
- keyclone
- Focus targeting/assisting
- Same class makeup (All shamans / All hunters / etc) to give you the flexibility of changing mains easily
The reason I feel this setup is advantageous is due to being able to switch your main almost instantaneously. With one key press, you can switch screens AND change focus at the same time, creating a new main. You don't have to move your eyes to another smaller screen to the right or left of your normal viewing area, which can really make a difference when it comes to efficiency. I will now explain the major benefits with regards to looting and PVP:
Looting:
Collection quests are a pain because you have to actually loot on your alts. I don't know about you, but I feel it to be more work than it is worth the majority of the time. However, with the method of switching the screen and main via PiP and focus, you can seamlessly change to the next character once your main is full up on items and continue looting on your new main. Once the next character is full, you can immediately switch to the next.
PVP:
In arenas, smart teams will inevitably figure out who your main is and focus fire or cc that character first, giving you the disadvantage. However, with this seamless main switching, they will have a much more difficult time figuring out who the main is. Yes they can watch the following...but at least they can't immediately figure it out based on character name.
Most boxers are using focus switching to switch mains if the main dies. Now along with the change of focus, you get the added benefit of still looking on your primary screen.
How did I set it up?
I currently have a 4x Hunter group, so I can use one key with all of the modifiers(none/shift/alt/ctrl) to specify the character.
I set it up by doing the following:
- Create a focus macro similar to the following:
Code:
/focus [target=toon1,nomod]; [target=toon2,mod:shift];[target=toon3,mod:ctrl];[target=toon4,mod:alt]
- Bind a key to that macro (I'm currently using the Home key)
- Bind each region's PiP shortcut in keyclone to those 4 bindings (Home, Shift+Home, Ctrl+Home, Alt+Home)
Now you can enjoy the seamless switching. When I want to change mains, a quick key press will switch screens and focus and I can immediately hit the follow key, giving me a complete change in less than a second. All of my macros are set up to assist the current focus.
Current issues with this method:
- Small bug with keyclone where you can't use the alt key in a PiP hotkey. Rob is working on fixing this.
- Moving formations - Can't think of a way to dynamically change moving formations based on who the main is. I suppose if you flare out in an equal square it would be fine, but more advanced formations will need some work. Any ideas on this?
- PiP switching performance - My machine switches very quickly, but others may find it to be too slow for their pvp needs if they are running a slower machine. I'd imagine a Quad Core + 8800gt or better will be smooth as silk. (note: I'm only running a Quad Core + 7800GTX)
I'm looking for valuable feedback if anyone has any. If you see any other big benefits or have any ideas, please let me know. I'm sure the community would appreciate it!
