#0 - May 2, 2011, 11:32 p.m.
The problem is that casting targeted skills from the hotbar while aiming with the mouse is counter-intuitive. Ever since we've been using computers with a mouse, it's been: point at something, then click on it. Point-and-click. Anytime a person is using a computer and has to aim the cursor, they want to click - that's how we've been using computers for the last twenty years! It feels very awkward when it's suddenly point at a target, then press a key on the keyboard (obviously, skills that do not need to be targeted work just fine on the hotbar). It's unpleasant to use an interface like that.
It's important to keep that third skill accessible with a mouse button. It's not enough to argue that the tab key can still be bound to a skill swap because it still suffers from the problems that caused it to be booted from prime time in the first place (which were not insignificant, having been changed after 4 years of development). Some time back, Snurrfint brought up the issue with the tab key swapping skills and proposed a change (http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27607275487&postId=276047416602&sid=3000#0). Considering that the problem he details was deemed important enough that it has been removed from the game, I feel it bears a second look.
He suggested that the alternate skill that's bound to the right mouse button is only toggled while the tab key is held down. I think that that's a great idea. It allows for a third skill to be used with the mouse buttons, is proven to work intuitively within combat (a la shift key), and leaves no ambiguity as to which skill is active. To expand on the idea, the function could even be coupled with the shift key; holding the key will make the character attack in place with the LMB and switch to the alternate RMB skill. That would free up the tab key, which could be used to toggle the map as in the good 'ole days!
