It looked like it would be just the ticket.  I knew how to program the Ideazon software to each key in no time at all, and it would allow me to move most of my keybinds to the left hand and free up my right hand to mouse.

Now, before we get to why I moved away from the Merc, let me give you a fair review.  If you use the WASD keys to move with your left hand already you will LOVE the Merc.  It is a seriously fantastic keyboard with all the added functionality of the Fang without taking up the extra USB port or desk space.

This thing is solid, has a terrific back-lighting system, two extra USB ports, and you could actually remap every single key on the thing in the Ideazon software.  Frankly I loved it overall.  I just couldn’t use it.

You see, I’m left handicapped and I type like the Tasmanian devil.  So the longer throw distance to the QWERTY board was killing me doing articles and I just couldn’t get used to using the movement keys on my left hand.  Besides that, it also messed up my PvE play to a degree because I just didn’t find the extra button layout to be very “Law Left” friendly.

So It was unplugged and I went on another shopping trip to the world of Amazon.  This time, I scored big.  The Logitech G13 game pad is my new “can’t live without it” gizmo.  There’s a small picture of the thing below.

Click Picture Above to Read More

The software for the G13 is slick, the pad itself is incredibly well built and a 3 year-old could program the keys.  I’ve never used a more intuitive and easy peripheral with this much capacity for serious functionality.

It does so many neat things you’ll just have to see it in action for yourself.  But the thing that really sets the G13 apart is that is has the ability to run pre-programmed macros and scripts that work in the game without having to program them in the game. (Yes that was circuitous and confusing – but we shall press on nonetheless.)

The G13 has an extra 25 keys that even the left handicapped will find more than easy to use.  There are three little buttons just above the keys that can instantly swap between three complete sets of key-binds for the entire pad.  That means that a single profile can execute up to 75 different commands in less than two keystrokes, but it doesn’t stop there.

Each profile has a color coded backlight so that you can tell at a glance which set of keys you are using out of the corner of your eye.  I set one button for PvE healing, one for PvP and one for PvE DPS.  With just a single button press I’m ready to heal raids, or engage in arenas, or do dailies.  Each key set is arranged for maximum efficiency and speed.  I’ve really never seen anything like it.

But the best part is the macro and script function. Here is a little screenshot of the software that let’s you set up macros.

All you have to do to build sophisticated keystroke combinations is press the buttons on the G13 and it records them as a macro.  If you use the option “record Delays” it will do the one thing you simply cannot do in game – and that’s wait for cool-downs before pushing the next button.

The only complaint I have is that you can’t record AND be in game at the same time, so you kind of have to guess at the initial timing.  But once the macro is recorded, you can see the delays recorded in milliseconds.  Then you just turn the thing on in the game and see if the timing is right.  You can reprogram the timing down to the thousandth of a second!

Since I’m not a PvP pro and prefer to mash buttons most of the time I haven’t even come close to thinking about the hundreds of ways this can really be useful.  But I did do a freakishly effective “OH CRAP” one touch bubble, heal, heal button for emergencies on my paladin.  One keystroke casts four spells faster than any human being ever could.

I could write pages about this little wonder.  It is solid and sleek in every possible way.  The construction is top of the line, and the cost is not going to kill you either.  It makes the Ideazon Fang pad look like a cheap little plastic piece of junk.  The whole thing says solid, and the software is worlds better then Ideazon’s Z engine.

I still use the fang on my right hand for PvE.  So in PvE instead of never touching my mouse, I just now never touch my QWERTY except to chat.  Then in Battlegrounds and Arena I can just hit my PvP profile on the G13, drop my hand from the fang to the mouse and go to town.

I have a feeling that if I can get a good handle on the macro creation thing, the G13 will give me a much better shot at a decent arena rating than almost anything else I can do.  I still say that although you CAN learn to do it all with a lot of practice and some natural skill on a QWERTY – you can do it faster and better on a tool built to help you make more keystrokes without having to have the dexterity of a juggler.

And since I was on a shopping spree, I didn’t stop with the G13.  I thought I should be really fair this time to the major players in the game pad market, so I have one more bit of gear more suited to those of you with smaller hands and we’ll cover that next time.  It’s a pretty funny story who is using it as well.

So check out the G13, I love mine and it certainly gives me a way to play faster with my left hand and I’m finding the difference very Dominating.