Combat Questions - Decks & Combat hotkeys

I have finally tried to dabble in making a combat/buff deck.
I am 100# not a fan of the rolling deck system. It's not for me.

I have made one deck for my Buffs, but when I click "x" nothing happens.
It was my understanding that "x" would somehow show me the alternate deck/s.
I have focus skills all the way to specialization.

Also, "t" key for toggling auto-attack on or off.
My "t" key does nothing. I am always in auto-attack.
I used to get an onscreen message about toggling auto-attack, but not now.

I have checked my options & both keys are assigned.
I even re-set the hotkeys to default (as I had changed a couple along the way)

Am I misunderstanding something?

Would appreciate any advice to help clarify all of this.

 

Did you set a alternate deck? X only works if you do that.

T can be buggy at times. You should get a message saying it's disabled. Also, when using charged attacks and you hover your mouse over something that you can interact with, like a body, it doesn't charge. One of the flaws of charging if you ask me.

 

yes as mentioned you have to have an equipped deck and an alternate deck set to switch between them and then you will see an icon on the left lower part of your screen that you can click on to switch between them also.

 

Auto attack is the only attack option by default. You need to visit a combat/adventure trainer to unlock free attack. Speak to one about advanced techbiques.

 

I did not know that, probably cause i started right at the start. Thanks!

 

Doh!
I didn't even notice the "set alternate" button. *smacks head*
Thank you!

I did learn free-attack at ranger trainer.....

 

It's a recent change. The in-game help button at the top right opens a searchable web page with lots of helpful tips.

 

So, the pop-up may not always appear but it should definitely toggle every time. If not, report it as a bug. It isn't something that I have experienced.

 

Make sure to check your keybindings in the options window. Toggle Attack can be unassigned; I've disabled this because I prefer charged attack and don't want to accidently get into "waste ammo by shooting at rabbits" mode. If there is no key assigned, just assign it to "T" again.

 

Just to add this: you have to be in combat mode to toggle auto-attack.

 

Which just means have your weapon out.

 

Yes, thanks.

 

you do not need to have a 100% rolling deck system, but you can only use one slot to put your attacks, all the other slots stays locked. It is very practical when you are using more than one attack (in death for example you will use 3 attacks (death ray death touch death field) that you can roll in the same slot, you save 2 slots for additional spells that you can charge.
I can send you an example of decks i use with one rotating slot, i discovered it on a post from the forums long time ago and I have based all my PVE decks on that one since then

 

As I mentioned, this was my first "real attempt" to make a deck. (The other times I gave up because I got completely confused <-- never played a game with these sort of combat icons/glyphs)
I am an archer, so I made one slot "roll" with disabling shot, aimed shot & rapid fire stacked on it.
But when I used it, only one of the attacks happened. So again, I have given up & gone back to locked deck.
I would have liked to stack my 3 buffs in one slot, because 10 slots aren't enough room for buffs & attacks.
But it doesn't seem like I can make it work.
I don't think I will ever grasp this system.

 

well, it depends on the level of your attacks as well, which level are they? feel free to contact me in game (Istyrl Miroa in game name)

 

I made some pictures of one of my decks that may make it slightly clearer.

Spoiler

Glyphs 7-0 are locked. I only put skills there that i need to cast only a couple of times during combat (dash) or skills that require timing (dodge).

Glyphs 1 to 6 or unlocked, but i made it so that only specific skills show up in them. Slot 1 and 2 for example contain only aimed shot. The more aimed shots i put into my deck, the more often they will appear. In my case i've put in 6 aimed shots, so they appear regulary. I've one put aimed shot in slot 1 and 2, but you can also put more skills in one slot. Like this:

Spoiler

Notice how i put lightning and another skill (blink) in slot 1 with aimed shot? This means that those skills will appear in that specific slot randomly.

One thing to keep in mind though is that if you only "set" a few glyph slots and leave the others completely open (no set skills) it will turn into a mess since in the open glyhp slots ALL the skills in your decks besides the locked ones can appear.

I'll use the aimed shot example again. Slot 1 and 2 are still set with aimed shot, but this time slot 5 and 6 have no set skills to them. Now when i am in combat aimed shot can appear in slots 1,2,5 and 6. this means that they appear less in slots 1 and 2 which makes you feel as if your skills are never appearing. Hope this isn't too confusing. I'm not the best in explaining things.

 

I feel your pain with decks. On one hand the deck system does create something that is dynamic and unique.

On the other hand...
1. I find it loathsome to need a Buff Deck and have to clumsily try to swap it just before or in combat because those buffs otherwise won't fit on the normal 10 slot bar;
2. getting the deck to do what you want takes quite a bit of wrestling with it and even then you may not get quite the synergy you want;
3. too many glyphs are only reliable if locked, which would be fine except for the 10 slot limitation;
4. niche/situational glyphs become a consideration of 'that's cool but if I can only use it in situation X do I want to burn a precious slot of my limited 10 slots';
5. dragging cards and watching the fluctuating bar is not something that gels well with gauging the battlefield and what enemies/allies are doing. I'm constantly swinging at archers and mages that are no longer in reach. Or trying to drag or key combos while also run evasive patterns and doing neither very well.

 

I usually have around 250K-300K in pooled experience.
All of my ranged skills are locked at 80+. Working on getting other main skills up to a reasonable level.
Hoping to join some groups/high level folks during double xp to stockpile a larger xp pool.

Thank you VERY much for taking the time to post this detailed explanation.
When I am feeling like "I can face" another round of deck building frustration, I will give this a try. (Seriously, for me, Deck building has me sighing a lot & rolling my eyes in futility.)
But I will definitely give your approach a go. Hopefully I can report back doing a *Snoopy dance* singing "Hallelujah!!!"

Your comments totally resonate with me. I am sure it's not just the 2 of us either.....
Speaking for myself only, I feel deck building is for the more "advanced/seasoned player" or someone who needs more of a challenge than straightforward playing for fun.

 

Or try the everything locked charged / heat deck. I've rotated through unlocked, stacking, combos and settled on a locked deck that is versatile as I can charge the glyphs for extra oomph in slug-fests and save stamina, or mash them until I overheat them and/or run out of stam for quick killing and maximum dps.

If you find the unlocked deck, manual stacking and combos to be a pain and a distraction, this may be something you may wish to consider and it feels much more 'conventional' in MMO, RPG terms.

I still have to have a buff deck.

 

@Synergy Blaize here is a link to a basic guide I did for range combat. It shows a little bit of the base deck that I use for a lot of things. The concept I usually use for range is to have slots 1-3 unlocked with my ranged skills in each slot so I can stack them. I usually only run Aim Shot and Rapid Fire but through another skill depending on the situation. I usually put the third skill in slot 3 only. The rest of the deck I devote to buffs/debuffs and heals. I put stat buffs on my non combat deck. A buff deck really isn't needed anymore since they nerfed buff stacking.

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/ranged-combat-guide.120905/