New Tank (60) needs keybinding advice

[Frelling]

I'm a warrior tank and i've just recently gotten to 60. I've been reading as much information as possible to help me with my tanking effectiveness and have been complimeted as being a good tank so far.

I've read numerous places where keybindings are a must and that part of being a good warrior tank is having nearly all of the myriad of abilities ready on demand. However, I'm haivng some difficulty in trying to find a good layout for my keybindings and I don't even have all of my abilities yet. So far everything feels like it's either not including enough abilities or feels difficult to include all of the abilities I might need in an easily accessable area. I feel ashamed when I have to click on abilities during a fight because it's out of my finger range. Mind you I don't exactly have long fingers but I'm sure I can find a system that works for me.

I'm coming to you guys to see what keybindings you guys use to hopefully find something I just haven't considered yet. What keybindings are you using and was there anything that became more apparent after tanking for a while that you added?

EDIT:
My current keybindings are as follows:
Devastate- 1
Shield Slam- 2
Revenge-3
Thunderclap-4
Rend- 5
Cleave - Shift 1
Pummel - Shift 2
Charge - Shift 3
Shield- block Shift 4
Shield Wall- Shift 5

[Michultradk]

You need to start using SHift + QWE, ASD, ZXC, and any other keys from that side you can reach RFV maybe. I also use a Razor Naga and have all trinkets and major CD's bound to numbers.

I use my mouse to straffe, so that opens up Q & E with no mod, then you have ZXC again with no mod. I have food and mounts bound the same way just using control and Alt with the same keys.

[Quinafoi]

There are two key functions to combat in World of Warcraft...

Action Selection
Character and Camera Control

These two functions interact and often conflict with one another for resources (namely your hands/fingers). Simply put if your left pinky is strafing left, it can't also be pressing the shift button or the 1 button. How you actually control your character will actually determine a lot about how you should set up your keybinds such that it minimizes the conflicts. Offloading additional tasks to the other hand is often an effective approach, particularly if the hardware supports it (i.e. a many button mouse like the Naga).

[Tengenstein]

I've offloaded all my movement to my mouse (mousewheel tilt's strafe). I aslo have biggish hands, WASD is little bit too crampt for me, if my pinkies on 1 the index is on 5 and thumb's on B and my main abilities are mapped around there. The F-Keys above 1-5 are easily reachable and most of my CDs do there. The ` key is my interupt, 7 is a spell reflect, Q-R are my utilities, and T pages my bars: i cycle through 3 bars 1 with HS macroed into everything, one with Cleave macroed in and one with nothing macroed in, allowing me to essentially flick those abilities to autocast in the appropriate situations.

Macros can be great way to kut down on the number of binds, One button charge macros simply things no end, and having a target sensitivew vigilance macro can save fingers target a hostile and the buttons heroic throw, a friendly and it's vigialnce.

[Icebreaker]

All my movements are made by mouse too (side buttons for strafes, mousewheel for backpedaling). Left hand basic position is 4 fingers on QWER and thumb is on Alt. F-keys for changing stances. Rows `- 6, Tab - T, Caps Lock - G, Z - B with + Alt cover main abilities. Some further buttons (like Y, H, B etc) and some icons to click are for rare/not in a hurry abilities. Hope it will fit somebody like it fited me when I saw smth of aproximately the same kind put by Satrina.

[Frelling]

Wow, moving with the mouse only sounds so foreign to me. I'll have to expriment with it and see how fast I can pick this up.

[Quinafoi]

The key point I was getting at is you can...

Move or Steer
at the same time as you
Execute Actions

Those two functions are exclusive and can occur at the same time. The GCD doesn't prevent you from moving out of fire, but it does prevent you from executing another action.

Since those two functions can occur at the same time, the general goal would be to minimize any conflicts between them. For example if I use my left ring finger to move foward (W), that same finger can't also press the 2 keybind (it's possible another finger may be able to hit it though).

So how you control your character would impact how you execute your actions if you are doing both at the same time. Stop and think about how you control your character a bit. What hands and fingers are you using while moving around. Once you determine that then try and minimize keybinds which conflict for those same fingers. So you can shoot on the move instead of move and then shoot.

There isn't really any ideal way of doing keybinds that works for everyone. What works for others may not work as well for you that's just the way things are.