Wrath of the Lich King made a number of fundamental changes to the game, many of which went through so many iterations that it can be difficult to get the facts. You can find a summary of these changes as related to the Restoration Druid in this extensive FAQ!
Belkin International, Inc. recently announced plans to release an updated version of the product that mostly put them on the map: the acclaimed Nostromo n52 Speedpad. With more responsive controls, a revised design for the analog gamepad, on-board memory for multiple changeable profiles, and delicious blue backlighting, the new n52te (Tournament Edition) is on the top of my shopping list for November. At $70 and with two gamers, we may be doing an early Christmas!
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*hugs* .-= Softi´s last blog ..Dum di dum di dum =-.
Seventy bucks! Eee gad, that’s a tad pricey. I would love to try it out and see how it performs. The backlit display is very nice for late night gaming. I confess, I have a hard time seeing what I’m pressing when it’s midnight on my keyboard. I’ve also debated getting a backlit keyboard (Maybe a Razer).
I guess I’ll wait for your review.
I broke out my fatty N52 to try to get used to it again. There’s definitely some trickiness in running and casting with how I have my layout setup. So far, I haven’t found “the one true way” after years (off and on) of playing with it and many different suggestions and even sample layouts.
I expect this N52TE will be the same but my weakness for input devices (yes dork) will mean I’ll get this anyway.
That looks really neat except Chris and I can’t figure out how it’d work. And if he doesn’t know then I really won’t know.
@Matticus: Yeah, $70 is a bit steep, but I love my Nostromo. I’ve also replaced it twice so I’m hoping that the new, higher quality design means it will hold up better! If it does, it could end up saving me money. Yeah, Razer keyboards are really gorgeous. I should ask for one of those for Christmas. I have a Z-Board and the nicest thing I can say about it is that it’s easy to clean with the removable keysets.
@Milkfilk: I find that binding autorun to my mouse is a big help when used in conjunction with my Nostromo. Then I just have to steer. =D
@Auryann: Pish tosh! I’ve created a whole guide on how to use a Nostromo! You (and Chris) should give it a read.
@Phaelia
Was curious if you had ever tried the Wolf Claw pads? http://www.everythingusb.com/wolf_claw_devour.html One of my co-worker had sent some info on the Wolf Claw and from the look it’s pretty nice but I have never tried using these pads for MMORPG type games.
Kinzlayer: I have never seen (or used) that type of a pad before. At first glance, though, it seems like it might be awkward to learn where all the curvy buttons are since it’s so disimilar to a standard keyboard. It also doesn’t look especially ergonomic (i.e., there’s no natural curvature or support for your hand). I personally think that looks like a nightmare to learn/use, but I’m a bit biased toward my Nostromo. =)
I’ve been using the N52te for since it dropped. Razor is still trying to sort out some driver issues (some high-level macro scripting and diagonal movement). The thing is a dream. I’ve used the original N52 since before WoW, and have some advice for layouts..
First – DPAD movement FTW! Dpad Fwd as Wow Forward, rather than autorun, and rightmouse for steering (gas and steering wheel). Dpad Left/Right for Strafe Left/Right. Dpad back for.. seeing a pattern? The diagonals can be used for turn left/right, they just don’t pass diagonal movement properly atm. I use the extra buttons on my mouse for autorun and jump (and Push-to-Talk, and Follow, and Run/Walk.. I only have 3 buttons, so see below for how this is accomplished). Using this method, I find my rogue has no problems with maneuverability..
Ah.. but this is a Druid blog.. No problems!
Don’t bother with the N52’s color modes – they’re just distracting, and you can’t bind to them in WoW anyways. Instead, save 3 buttons on the N52 (I use b01, b06, b11) for Shift, Ctrl, and Alt, leaving you with an uncannily convenient 12 buttons (don’t forget b15, below the thumb). You CAN bind to Shift1 thru Shift=, Ctrl1 thru Ctrl=, etc. Yes, this means combo presses, but you were gonna use a mode toggle on the N52 anyways.. think of this as a virtual mode toggle. Congrats, now you can bind to 4 actionbars, for 48 actionbuttons worth of in-combat insta-access goodness.
But what about shifting forms? Well, theres one of those actionbars we just mentioned (I.e. Ctrl1 = bear, Ctrl2 = Seacow (but I need my blubber to keep me warm!), etc). Or.. Grok this.. you can use Shift/Ctrl/Alt with ANY OTHER KEY on the N52.. like say the Scrollwheel, the Dpad, or even your mouse’s extra buttons (remember how I had more actions than buttons on my mouse?). I use Ctrl-Dpad for switching forms in combat. Ctrl-Up = Big Bear Butt (no relation, all druid-bears look alike). Ctrl-Fwd = SlashyCat, Ctrl-Back = RunAwayCat. Ctrl-Down will prob be Celery form if I ever get there.)
So, now you can hit 4 actionbars.. what do you do with ‘em?
Main actionbar – Form specific abilities. This bar will swap based on your form, so rather than using N52 keys for specific actions, put them on this actionbar and let WoW swap out your abilities for you – the N52 keys stay bound to the actionbuttons, not specific abilites.. so now you can control not just 4 actionbars, but all your forms’ abilities as well.. MWAHAHAHA!
Ok, I don’t know the following will work (haven’t gotten Celery mode yet, remember), but if I understand it right, you can cast healing abilities in Tree form.. so if all yer healing abilities were on a secondary bar, bound to say, Shift1 thru Shift=, then they would be available in Caster form, as well as in Tree form, while the abilities only available in Tree form would be on the main actionbar.
Blathered on way too much. Check out the WoW threads on the N52te forums for more “Now what do i do with it?” goodness. http://www.n52te.com/community
I totally love this Resto4Life CommentLuv. I was looking for this N52te for quite a lot of time.
Sadly (thanks to my company) I stuck on tropical island so there is no place to test and (dream about it) buy it. [I have a bear size hands.. I cant buy something before testing].
I was quite curious if there is a chance to make really fast movements with N52 (chasing mobs, running away from AOE) but if rogue recommend it, it must works.
@Grendalsh: Korryna complains of the same issues with the built-in macros, but since it’s not a feature I’ve ever used, I fortunately haven’t been affected. I’ve considered configuring my D-Pad for movement, but I’m just not sure where I would bind my shapeshifts if I did. Perhaps I could use CTRL + L/R/D/U as you describe. I’ll give it a shot; thank you!
@Warscreamer: Thanks to your company you’re “stuck” on a tropical island? I can think of worse places to be stuck. =D Also, if the new one is like the old one (I haven’t tried this myself), it has an adjustable handrest. I think it’s as large as it can be by default, but I’m pretty sure you can lift the palmpad to move it up for people with smaller hands.