Configuring Your Hotkeys For the Diablo II Expansion Pack
I cannot stress how important it is to configure your hotkeys, especially in Nightmare and Hell difficulties. The way the default hot keys are set up are truly suboptimal. It’s tough to reach the specific F1 or F2 key you need at the moment you need it. Often you must do many different hot key actions in a brief period of time. For example, your sorceress may need to cast static field several times, then cast a couple frozen orbs, then teleport to safety, all within a few seconds. It’s much easier when your hot keys are ASDFQWERZXCV instead of F1 through F12 since with the ASDFQWERZXCV system, all your hotkeys are at your fingertips if you rest your left hand in the normal typing position. For each character build order, I will give some tips on which skills to assign to each hot key.
Once you load up your character, hit Esc then click on “Options” then “Configure Controls.” Left click on the ones you want to change followed by the key you want to replace it with. After you make the changes, don’t forget to click on “Accept” or else your changes will not take effect. The following is the way I set mine up, with the changes in bold and marked with an asterisk:
,: Character Screen *
I: Inventory
P: Party Screen
O: Hireling Screen
M: Message Log
U: Quest Log *
None: Help Screen
N: Skill Tree *
H: Skill Speed Bar *
A: Skill 1 *
S: Skill 2 *
D: Skill 3 *
F: Skill 4 *
Q: Skill 5 *
W: Skill 6 *
E: Skill 7 *
R: Skill 8 *
Z: Skill 9 *
X: Skill 10 *
C: Skill 11 *
V: Skill 12 *
None: Skill 13
None: Skill 14
None: Skill 15
None: Skill 16
None: Select Previous Skill
None: Select Next Skill
~: Show Belt
1: Belt 1
2: Belt 2
3: Belt 3
4: Belt 4
T: Swap Weapons *
Enter: Chat
Control: Run
B: Toggle Run/Walk *
Shift: Stand Still
G: Show Items *
None: Show Portaits
Tab: Automap
Y: Center Automap *
F10: Fade Automap
F11: Party on Automap
F12: Names on Automap
None: Toggle Minimap
Numpad 0: Say ‘Help’
Numpad 1: Say ‘Follow me’
Numpad 2: Say ‘This is for you’
Numpad 3: Say ‘Thanks’
Numpad 4: Say ‘Sorry’
Numpad 5: Say ‘Bye’
Numpad 6: Say ‘Now you die’
Numpad 7: Say ‘Retreat’
Print Screen: Screen Shot
Space: Clear Screen
None: Clear Messages
Note that all my keys are easily accessible from the normal typing position. Believe me, though it is hard to get used to at first, this change will benefit you greatly once you are used to it. Your ability to switch between skills will be much faster and you will succeed in areas where you were stuck before. Give it a try and stick with it, and you will see what I mean. Good luck to you.
-James Redula
Comments? Suggestions? Email them to me at jkredula@yahoo.com