Making The UI and Quickbar Personal in MMORPGs
Published on HivePostify by @asynckronism · Sun Jun 14 2026
How do you know you're committed to a game?
For me it is when I start messing around with the Interface, UI options, and keybindings.
Doing that tells me I care enough about the game to actually want to optimize the interface and controls for my tastes instead of just playing with the default settings.
Some games even take this commitment a step further and actually create a personal file in the computer that has those specific settings to store for yourself or share with others.
Shifting the UI around sometimes is understandable. Game Developers just set a baseline but the players intake information from the game in different ways so sometimes it's just for easier access
The amount of UI tabs available to edit, shift, and alter is great but also overwhelming because I actually have no idea when most of them will pop up or get in the way of another UI element.
But to create and change keybindings? That takes more than just rearranging the UI. Assigning keybinds to abilities/items infers that I am going to remember what that keybinding does, how it will assist me in the situation on hand, and I have to build muscle memory to remember that specific keybinding that I've created for that ability.
Am I looking too closely into this? No! Because keybindings are a very personal thing for players. Messing with somebodies keybindings is akin to a great sin and is greatly frowned upon in the gaming community.
Reading the abilities and trying to coordinate a perfect spot on the keyboard I would remember them during combat is tough and requires constant practice before it becomes second nature
Even my tryhard gaming pals, who often just copy-paste keybindings from competitive/esports teams and players, won't mess with others keybindings. They'll bring it up and spout opinions on why their selected keybinding are 'better' but won't 'force' a change because even they are aware how close and personal a players keybindings are to them.
So, here I am trying to PVP in SWTOR or becoming more vested in LOTRO and I realize, I need to assign keybindings to those additional slots on the hotbar to both have a better time and to be a more effective player by making full use of my abilities.
Am I ready to truly take the time to create and assign these keybindings or do I not have the confidence that I won't play the game any longer and to dedicate that time is a waste of effort.
Well, I've recently gotten over a 'gaming hump' that has bogged me down for over 20+ years and feel liberated to say that yes, I am ready to dedicate the time, energy, and memory to these games and create a specific keybinding and alter the UI because I think I will be playing these games for a longer time instead of hopping between games.
Those are my thoughts about setting up keybinds, messing with the UI, and what that means to a player (Or rather, me).
I would enjoy to hear any feedback, critiques, or analysis on this topic and if the choice to edit the UI or input personal keybindings is as big a decision than I am perhaps making it out to be.
Thank you for reading.
Tags: #asynckronism#myblog#hivegaming#gaming#multiplayer#hive#mmorpg#personal#ui