| Black Spectre's Binds "Binds" are a way to activate powers or send prewritten messages (or issue game commands) using a key you choose on your keyboard. Basically, you simply "bind" a command to a key, or designate a certain key to perform a certain task. To do this, all you need to do is type the /bind slash command and what you want the game to do into the chat box, and press enter. From then on, that key will do what you told it to do whenever you press it. To learn how to create binds, click here. Below are examples of the most valuable and useful binds for City of Heroes that I have discovered or created... and I use them all. These binds represent hours upon hours of research and testing in order to perfect each one. I understand that time is limited and often we just want to avoid figuring out how something works and just find a solution fast, maybe even copy someone else's solution. Well, you're in luck! This is exactly the reason I have written these binds down here. Feel free to copy and use them.
CONTENTS:
Fly like Superman with a leap into the air! This was a VERY difficult bind to perfect. Lots of trial and error testing went into this. It's great to get you out in an emergency too, just press and hold down the "G" key and you shoot straight up until you let go. There are some fairly complex bind routines for flight that are available, but they proved buggy and ureliable in real gameplay -- so I created my own. You can create another bind to turn off Fly: /bind SHIFT+G "powexec_name fly".
This is the bind I actually use. It's more complex, but also cooler
I think. You have to do some preparation first by creating 4 text files.
This text bind lets you leap into the air and then fly when hitting the
G key, but it also turns off Sprint if it happens to be on. Pressing
the
G key again, will turn off Fly, but will also turn on Sprint. I luv this
bind! The only drawback to this bind, and toggle binds like it, is that
sometimes (not often) the key sequence gets mixed up. To fix this, just
reload the text bind: /bind_load_file
c:\[directory location]\fly1.txt. fly1.txt fly2.txt fly3.txt fly4.txt
Super Jump Auto Pilot! Tired of holding down the space bar and the "W" key on long treks across zones? Use this bind. It works great! Press the G key and Super Jump is toggled on and an auto-pilot is kicked in. Press the "G" key again, and you turn off the auto-pilot and Super Jump while at the same time activating Combat Jumping. Alternately, you could replace "Combat Jumping" with "Sprint" if it fit your playing style better.
The Famous Teleport Bind This is the famous, tried and true teleport bind. It's been around for ages, and is still great. Hold down the left SHIFT key and then click the left mouse button, and away you go! Definitely use this, or the Travel Teleport bind below... or both as I do.
Travel Teleport Bind! Not quite an auto-pilot for Teleport, but this bind does make it easier
to travel those long distances by using only one button to activate the
power. This method also seems to have less errors during activation than
the common LSHIFT+LBUTTON bind for Teleport. Essentially, this bind elimates
the need to press and hold down the SHIFT key while teleporting. First
you engage Teleportation mode by pressing the F key, then just point and
click the left mouse button and away you go! Turn teleportation mode off
by pressing the F key again. This is a toggle bind, so you have to do
a little preparation... tpon.txt tpoff.txt
The Ultimate Teleport Bind! This is the bind I actually use. It is basically the same bind as above, except I've added quite a few extra features and capabilities to make teleporting a dream to use. First, it operates in the same way as the bind above, using a "teleport mode" switch. However, if you also have the power Hover, you'll definitely want to use this bind instead. What it does it turn Hover on at the same time as teleport mode, and turns Hover off when you turn teleport mode off (by pressing the G key). It ALSO allows you to turn teleport mode off while still leaving Hover on by pressing left SHIFT+G. This is very important if you want to attack or target something while in the air. Press SHIFT+G again to turn Hover off, OR simply press the G key to turn teleport back on to continue teleporting! It's an awesome and very easy bind to use, even if my explanation here was a little convoluded. :-) tpon.txt tpoff.txt
Recall Friend Warning! Want to tell your team mates that you are about to teleport them? This is the bind! I have a 5 button mouse, so I put it on my 4th mouse button (the thumb button). Makes it a joy to use! However, you could easily use "lshift+lbutton" or any other key instead of "BUTTON4".
Silver Surfer Super Speed! Ever wanted to glide as if on a surfboard while using Super Speed? Well, this is the bind! This is a toggle key bind, so you'll have to do some preparation -- AND you'll also need the DVD version of COH installed on your computer or the appropriate Prestige Sprints Veteran Reward in order to have access to the power Prestige Power Slide. First make 3 text files with the following information. You can name them anything you want, but I've chosen silverss#.txt. Once you've created the text files (below), type in the bind above into the chat box and you'll be set. It works by pressing the "G" key twice to turn the powers on, and then once again to turn them off. You can change the local text of course. This text, "MAGNETO-DRIVE... ON!", was made for my tanker Bullet-man -- cutomize it as you like. silverss1.txt silverss3.txt I use this bind on all of my toons. Very easy, just hit the SHIFT key with your pinky as you move forward to turn it on and off. It's also error-free in all circumstances.
Auto-Sprint! This set of binds automatically turns on Sprint whenever you press and hold down one of the movement direction keys, and automatically turns Sprint off to conserve endurance when the key is released. Unfortunately, my 56k dial-up connection gives me a lot of lag, and Auto-Sprint tends to be error-prone for me (turns off when I want it on, turns on or stays on when I want it off, etc.). However, other players swear by the bind. Also, you can make a variation on this bind if you have Super Speed. Merely replace "Sprint" with "Super Speed."
Relentless Targeting! With this bind you will never, ever stop until your target is dead! Very Terminator-like. What it does it target the nearest foe, and then auto-follow him. It is an INDESPESIBLE bind for scrappers and tankers. If a bad guy runs, no problem! You automatically follow him. If you have been speed-boosted or using Super Speed, no more overshooting your targets! Press the F key again, and you can turn auto-follow off (unless it targets a new bad guy, in which case, just press W or S to turn Follow off). It's best to use on the easy-to-reach F key or middle mouse button (mbutton) because you use it in every combat, every time you attack. For other non-melee archetypes such as blasters, etc., I use the F key merely to target the nearest enemy and not follow them (/bind F "target_enemy_near").
Target Specific Foe! With this bind you can target specific foes by name! The bind below is written to target a Sapper, but you can replace the name "sapper" with any other villain/foe name in the game. This is super handy for when you need to watch out for or neutralize specific foes that pose a severe danger to you or the team. Like all "target" commands (not "select" commands), it will only target those foes who are visible on your screen, within your field of vision. Foes that are hidden behind a tree, around the corner, or otherwise out of view will not be targeted. You could easily use one or both of the binds below seperately without using text files, however the command "target_custom_next" may not target the foe nearest to you when you press it. Additionally, the "target_custom_near" command will continue to select the nearest foe even if that foe is dead, and will not select the next foe until the defeated foe can no longer be targeted. To solve both of these problems, I've created the text bind below. TARGETFOE1.TXT
Target Different Foes With One Bind! With this bind you can search for and target different foes with a single bind! Only part of the foe's name needs to be used in the bind, and the text you're searching for can appear anywhere in the enemy's name. For example, if you were searching for a Quantum Headman, you could search for either "quant" or "head" or even "adma" and the game would target the villain. This is an extremely useful feature as many foe names include some of the same characters but often also include different characters in their names, i.e., Quantum Gunner, Quantum Headman, Quantum Soldier, etc. By searching for only "quant" the game will target all of these enemies. This bind is designed to search for and target 8 different kinds of foes with a single key stroke: Voids, Quants, Crystals, Dwarfs, Novas, Sappers, Dark Mistresses, and Master Illusionists. This bind behaves in 3 ways depending on what combination of baddies are around:
I've also settled on using the Shift key and the Space Bar for this function as being the easiest keys to use, but you can use any key you like. It's a text bind, so you'll need to do a little preparation first. TARGET1.TXT
Select Teammate and BAM!!! This bind will select the first team member on the team list AND apply a power to them at the same time. This bind is worthy of mentioning here because there is a quirk in the game that forces players to write their binds in a very specific way or they will not be able to target their teammates and apply a power to them at the same time. The problem is that the game can't select a new target fast enough to let the power activate AFTER the target is selected. So the game kind of gets "stuck" on the previously selected target. To fix this, we simply need to add the "unselect" command to the beginning (the far right) of the bind string, as above. Of course, you could (and should) select any teammate by changing the number of the "team_select" command. For example, "team_select 2" for the second team member, or "team_select 3" for the 3rd team member. Also, any power that you could normally apply to another player can be added to the bind string... the power does not have to be "Heal Other," but can be any power such as "Deflection Shield," "Speed Boost," or any other power that can be applied to other players, just swap out the power's name in the bind above (and, of course, you can change the key the bind is bound to to something other than "SHIFT+1," such as NUMPAD1, etc.).
Healing Aura Auto Fire! This bind will allow you to put Healing Aura on Auto fire and activate it on your command. Pressing CNTRL+0 (the zero on your number pad) again will deactivate Healing Aura and turn off Auto fire. Initially, you might wonder why the elaborate bind for merely turning on auto fire? Well, the problem with a simple auto fire bind is that if a different power is queued up, Healing Aura will not activate until after the other power does. The above bind will activate Healing Aura when you press the key, no matter what other powers you already have queued up. It will queue up Healing Aura first. This is very important if you are trying to heal someone just in the nick of time.
Heal Other/Aid Other Pad! Turn your number pad into a healing device! Ever wonder how some of those healers are able to heal everyone on the team one right after the other without missing a beat? Well, it takes a little setup, but once done you'll be thankful you took the time to prepare. First, you want to make each number on your number pad correspond to the appropriate number team member. You can do this by binding each key, such as /bind numpad1 "team_select 1" and /bind numpad2 "team_select 2", etc. However, an easier way to set this up is to click on Menu, Options, and the Keymapping tab. Then scroll down to the team section, and select each team member and press the appropriate key. An even easier method is simply to do nothing, and hold down the shift key while pressing one of the numbers at the top of the keyboard (the game is already set up to select team members in this manner, but I didn't want to hassle with holding down the SHIFT key, and the number pad is much, much easier, faster, and more reliable to use during gameplay simply because of its layout). Once you've got this done, then you need to bind some keys to your powers. Use this bind for the Zero key: /bind numpad0 "powexec_name heal other" or substitute the name "aid other" for "heal other," whatever is the name of the power. And you're done! Just press the team member's number, and then hit zero, and he'll be healed! If you're a true healer, then you may want to bind some additional powers to the number pad. I put Absorb Pain on the Addition key and Clear Mind on the Numberpad Enter key using these binds: /bind add "powexec_name absorb pain" /bind NumpadEnter "powexec_name clear mind"
Speedy Bubbling! After much experimentation, this bind seems to work the best for Force Field bubblers. First, set up the number pad like described above for the Healing Other/Aid Other Pad so that you can easily select your team members to place force fields on them. This is a simple text bind. You will need to create the 2 text files below, and then type in and load the above bind into the chat box of the game. Essentially, what this bind does is set up the NUMPAD0 key (the zero key on the number pad) to activate Deflection Shield on the first press, and then Insulation Shield on the second key press, and then merely continues to toggle between the two. So you'll have to press the key twice to place both bubbles on your teammates, but the good news is that you can press it very fast. shields1.txt
Darkest Night Advisory! Need to tell your team mates that you slapped Darkest Night on a specific
villain? This is the bind! It's bound to the zero key on your number pad.
You can modify the text to say what you want (the part after the word
"team"), but in my experience it's better if you merely let
your team know that it's in action. A request not to kill a certain bad
guy is usually ignored -- more often than not, it's impossible to tell
one villain from another -- so your team usually will not know what villain
Darkest Night has been anchored to even if you announce it. A piece of
advice that contradicts the game guide... slap this power on the boss
or lieutenant, NOT a minion. Minions die too quickly, and you want the
power to remain active and in force for as long as possible.
The following are essential binds for tankers who herd. Theses are generic binds, feel free to alter the text of the tells to your taste and style. The "Speech" This text bind is important to educate fellow teammates on how herding works, it's dangers and benefits. Essentialy for PUGs (Pick Up Groups) who don't know how to coordinate attacks or work with herding tankers. HERDING1.TXT: Herding Communication Binds The following are 4 binds I recommend for herding. These are very important because a team that does not know what a tank is doing, is a team that messes up. Basically, the 4 binds are: 1) F10 - ATTACK NOW! Here are the 4 actual binds I use for these: /BIND F10 "team <DURATION 10><scale 2.0><color yellow><bgcolor red><border yellow>ATTACK NOW!!!" /BIND F11 "team <DURATION 10><scale 2.0><color green><bgcolor yellow><border green>MOSH PIT!$$team <duration 10><color yellow><bgcolor green><border yellow>EVERYONE RUSH IN TO ATTACK WITH THE TANK!" /BIND F12 "team <duration 10><scale 2.0><color red><bgcolor yellow><border red>HERDING THE BADDIES TO THIS SPOT!$$emote overhere"
Peacebringer/Warshade Form Change! Here is the bind for nova form (for Peacebringers) /bind divide "powexec_toggle_on bright nova$$goto_tray_alt 3" Here is the human form bind /bind subtract "powexec_toggle_off bright nova$$powexec_toggle_off white dwarf$$goto_tray_alt 2" Here is the bind for the dwarf form /bind multiply "powexec_toggle_on white dwarf$$goto_tray_alt 4" **Note: All my powers are set up on the numpad and in the alt tray. You can change out the divide key for any that you choose, plus if you are using the main tray for your powers it would just be goto_tray [num]. You might also notice I choose to use toggle on and toggle off, this is for the purpose of when you drop back to human form because of a hold or loss of end. This way you can hit the human form key and it will only flop out your trays and not cause you to change forms. The binds for a Warshade are basically the same, but you'll need to change the power names... instead of "bright nova" it's "dark nova" -- instead of "white dwarf" it's "black dwarf," etc. And lastly.. for a WarShade, here is a great little teleport bind that will allow you to move around with TP a little easier. /bind lshift+lbutton "powexec_name shadow step" This will allow you to hold down the left shift key and just left click
the mouse in the direction you want to go. (Incidentally, this is THE
teleportation bind with only the power's name changed... if you have teleport,
use it!)
Dismiss Your Pets! Are your pets following you everywhere? Are they accidentally aggroing nasty villains endangering your team? Do you wish they would just go away? Well this is the bind! Hold down the CONTROL key and the G key, and your pets will be dismissed. This bind also has your hero say "Go away Pet " and performs the Goaway emote animation all at the same time.
Re-size Map Bind Ever want to keep the map up on a screen at all times? Or wished you could make the map smaller? Or flip between a super small and large map with ease? Well this is the bind! It's a text bind, so you'll need to do a little preparation. It works by pressing the SHIFT and M key together. Press it once and it becomes super small. Press it again, and the map window is reset to its previous size. You'll need to click the blue dot on the map window to detatch it from the Navigation window first. It's an AWESOME bind! map1.txt map2.txt
Easy Team Building! /bind <key> "search" Tired of typing out tells asking if someone wants to team with you? Tired of always typing the same reply? The binds above make searching for and building teams a breeze!
AFK Bubble Typing Messages! /bind enter "afk Typing...$$show chat$$startchat" Want that grayed out message bubble over your head while you are typing? Use these binds! Change "Typing..." to whatever message you want.
Instant Heal Inspiration This remaps the F1 key to pop a green heal inspiration if you have one available. No more hunting around for the right inspiration in your tray, no more dying because you couldn't pop a heal fast enough. This bind will activate all of the different heal inspirations in the game, starting with the most powerful heal if available. If not, then the 2nd most powerful heal. If that's not available, then the weakest heal inspiration will activate if available. This bind will work for the other kinds of inspirations as well, you'd just need to replace the names of the above inspirations with the names of the ones you want. I recommend binding the F1-F4 keys for inspirations... heals, break frees, endurance, and accuracy (or defense). Fly Poses This bind cycles through all of the different fly pose animations by pressing the tilde key (~) in the upper left hand corner of your keyboard, usually above the Tab key. You'll need to be flying foward to use them. Auto Fly Poses This bind is the one I actually use. It's pretty much exactly as the above bind except it activates "autorun" at the same time. This way you can fly forward, and when you press R, usually you'll switch to a fly pose and continue flying foward on auto-pilot at the same time. I think it's easier and it fits in with my normal method of flying anyway. Press the R key again while flying and you'll change to a different fly pose without stopping foward movmeent. The only drawback with this bind is that it prevents autorun from being turned off by the R key (the R key can only turn it on). You'll have to press the W or S movement keys to turn autorun off, which really is not that big a deal. Some people also have this bind activate the power Fly, but I use autorun for sprinting as well, so didn't want to designate it only as a flying ability. Besides, I use my UP Up And Away! bind to leap in the air and start flying, so I don't need to activate fly with another bind... but still, you might like it. The bind is /bind R "emote flypose4$$emote flypose2$$emote flypose3$$emote flypose4$$autorun 1$$powexec_toggle_on fly "
Slap-Smack! This bind let's you slap and smack really fast... just like the Three Stooges! Luv this bind! If only the game had a poke eye out with 2 fingers bind with the "Woo woo woo, nak nak nak!!" Three Stooges audio clip playing every time it's activated! Oooo, that would rock! Woo, woo, woo! :)
A few resources I found will make you a bind creating expert, and at the very least will show you how to make or modify your own binds. The first link below is really all you need, and it is the best resource on how to create binds I have run across... The Incomplete and Unofficial Guide to /bind - by Curveball Don't forget to go to the next page of the Unofficial Guide to Bind for the list of key names and slash commands. Invaluable. The Advanced Bind Guide by yours truly will save you a lot of time if you want to understand or troubleshoot more complex binds.
The TMI Guide to Chat Bubble Coloring - zdegrees
And for anything else not mentioned (or for alternative guides that you might like better than the ones I chose) try the Guide to Guides by CuppaJoe.
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