Even in the first town, I end up with around 20 different skills on a single character. Combine that with weapon swapping, potions, various trinkets I like to swap out for non-combat stuff, etc. and the current 10 slot bar simply doesn't cut it.
Woo so for each combat you use 20 skills and many items and potions, and for each characters?
Really?
Flat out horrible is a funny exaggeration but I agree it could have been better.
Now I don't think you use 20 skills and many items in any single combat, I could be wrong.
In my opinion the first fix to do is related to the arrows, have them bigger and provide custom shortcuts for next bar, prev bar, bar 1, bar 2, bar 3.
Then a custom option to customize its lenght because I bet it's a less difficult change than multiple bars.
Now I suggest look at the current system differently:
- Dedicate one bar to exploration mode, with 10 shortcuts it should be enough for each character.
- Design a half bar with 5 skills you really use in most combats and quite often.
- Design a third bar with skills you use in most combats but rarely.
Then during exploration you use the exploration bar. When a combats starts you design the second bar for the tactics you plan in this combat, there's 5 skills to add just for this combat. And when the rare use cases happen you use the 3rd bar.
It's a good approach because it makes you look at combats with design a analyze. It's not a combat "let see rush and put it in my back quickly" it's cool a combat let enjoy and plan and analyze before to rush in it.
I did used that approach with MMX single small bar and that's quite cool. But the context is different and it fits even better DoS.
