City of Heroes Information

 

 

City of Heroes Bind Information

---

Introduction

This is an adaptation of the Beta Bind FAQ, reduced to its essentials.

The bind command is used to associate some action with a button press. For instance, some of the default keybindings you're familiar with are:

w: forward

s: backward

a: strafe left

d: strafe right

Basics

The basic format of the bind command is: /bind [trigger] "[command]" Trigger can be any of the following:

A regular key: 'e', for example

lshift: the left side shift key

rshift: the right side shift key

numpad1: the "1" key on the number pad

lbutton: left mouse button

button1: left mouse button

mbutton: middle mouse button, usually the scroll wheel

button4: the thumb button on some mice

Chording

Most of the special keys can be 'chorded' - used in combination with a regular key. For example, you might want to bind two possible actions to the 'e' key, as it's handy to reach from the normal movement keys. /bind e "[command1]" /bind lshift+e "[command]" will bind the first command to e, and the second command to left shift and e when pressed together

Power Activation

To activate a power, the command is "powexec_name [power name]". For my tank, here are a some of my common bindings:

/bind [ "powexec_name sprint"

/bind ] "powexec_name combat jumping"

/bind lshift+] "powexec_name super jump"

I also have a character with teleport, which is pretty finicky about its execution. The binding I use for that is:

/bind r+button1 "powexec_name teleport"

The targeting reticule for teleport appears when I press r, and the power activates after I hit button1. I hate the fact that 'r' normally sends you running forward - it's all too easy to bump that key and run into a large group of enemies. The restriction on this is that 'r' cannot be used for another binding.

Something to remember - powers that toggle will switch on and off each time you hit the binding. So if you use:

/bind ] "powexec_name hover"

Pressing ']' the first time will turn Hover on, the second time will turn it off.

Multiple Commands

You can execute two commands at the same time by dividing them with '$$'. Typically, this is used to associate an emote or saying with a power activation. Do not put a space on either side of the '$$' or it may cause the binding not to work.

/bind [ "local Arriba! Arriba!$$powexec_name sprint"

It's possible to activate two powers at the same time with a bind.

/bind m "powexec_name taunt$$powexec_name unyielding stance"

Only two powers can be combined in this way, because of the way the game queues up powers. You can activate two powers while tossing off witty repartee, however.

/bind m "local Your mother was a hampster!$$powexec_name taunt$$powexec_name unyielding stance"

Remain Active

It is sometimes useful to keep a command active, such as moving forward. You can do this by putting a '+' or '++' in front of the command. One of my favorite bindings sets the up arrow key to keep me running and let me control the direction with my mouse:

/bind up "++forward$$+mouse_look"

'+' maintains the power as long as the key is pressed. '++' maintains the power until the key is pressed again.

Variables

There are a number of variables that can be used as part of a bind to fill in dynamic information.

$origin: Your origin (Magic, Mutation, etc.)

$archetype: Your archetype (Blaster, Tank, etc.)

$level: Your current security clearance level

$name: Your character's name

$battlecry: Your battlecry.

$target: The name of your current target

To send a 'Looking for Team' introduction to the request channel:

/bind l "request Hi, I'm a $level level $archetype, looking for a team."

To let your teammates know what you're pulling:

/bind p "team Pulling a $target!$$powexec_name psionic lance"

To teleport a friend to you:

/bind t "tell $target, Prepare to be teleported to my location.$$powexec_name Recall Friend"

Save/Load Keybinds

Entering the 'sprint' binding for all your characcters is kind of a pain. To make it easier, save your keybindings once and load them onto your other characters. This command will save the bindings to the file "c:\keybinds.txt". You can manually edit this file to customize it for other characters, or maintain a different copy for each.

/bind_save

To load the default file, c:\keybinds.txt, use:

/bind_load

Files can be anywhere on your computer, however, you just need to use a different command and supply the path. If you want to load a different file, use:

/bind_load_file c:\logebind.txt

Other Useful Binds

Select the nearest foe: /bind space "unselect$$toggle_enemy"

Change your speech bubble colors (The final space seems to be important): /bind enter "beginchat <color red> <bgcolor black> <bordercolor gray> "

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the Beta Board folks who put the original Bind FAQ together