Concerns About UI Design and Action Bar Mapping in PoE II

Hello Exiles!

From the content revealed so far and the developers' statements, it seems Path of Exile II will offer a significant increase in the number of skills available at the same time. This change comes with the removal of socket restrictions on gear. Jonathan mentioned that players will use some skills situationally—perhaps just once per map—and that many skills will synergize with others.

By the endgame, the maximum number of skills seems to be around 15, or 18 if you're playing as a Gemling Legionnaire Ascendant.

My Concern: Limited Action Bar Flexibility
Looking at the current UI from the released footage, here’s what I’ve observed:

- There are three buttons mapped to LMB, RMB, and MMB.
- Below them, there are five additional buttons that can be individually mapped.
- If PoE II's system mirrors PoE I, there will likely be a modifier key to swap the lower action bar to an alternative set of five buttons.
This brings the total number of action bar buttons to 13:

- 5 buttons can be mapped directly.
- 5 require holding a modifier key (essentially turning them into multi-step commands).
- 3 are fixed to mouse inputs (LMB, RMB, MMB).

For Path of Exile I, this system works fine because you rarely need more than 8 hotkeys for skills. The alternative buttons can handle non-critical actions like toggling auras or situational abilities, making the limited action bar a non-issue.

However, in Path of Exile II, this limitation could pose a problem. If I play as a Gemling Legionnaire, I may not be able to bind 5 of my skills. Even for other classes, at least 2 skills could remain unbound. Additionally, having 5 out of 12 hotkeys requiring a modifier key makes rapid skill usage cumbersome, especially during intense combat where quick reactions are critical.

Suggestions for Improvement
Many modern input devices, such as the Cyborg 2 keyboard alternative or an MMO mouse (which features additional buttons compared to standard mice), allow for numerous keybinds within easy reach. For example, combining a Cyborg 2 with a standard mouse, or an MMO mouse with a regular keyboard, easily enables up to 18 keybinds that can be pressed without moving your hand.

This level of accessibility makes it possible to assign each skill to a single keypress, eliminating the need for modifiers and improving gameplay fluidity. This would be especially valuable in scenarios requiring rapid skill usage, combo execution, or frequent weapon set switching.

Would it be possible to implement a more flexible, alternative action bar system for PoE II (maybe a toggle between a "Standard" and "Advanced" Action Bar in the Options)? Basically, an "Advanced" Action Bar would feature additional Buttons, and fully customizable bindings which would allow players to map all skills available to the character individually rather than relying on modifiers and having to leave skills unbound altogether. This could greatly improve the gameplay experience for players who prefer precise control over their skill usage.

Thank you for considering this feedback!

"

Zoddo#3014 wrote:

Hello Exiles!

From the content revealed so far and the developers' statements, it seems Path of Exile II will offer a significant increase in the number of skills available at the same time. This change comes with the removal of socket restrictions on gear. Jonathan mentioned that players will use some skills situationally—perhaps just once per map—and that many skills will synergize with others.

By the endgame, the maximum number of skills seems to be around 15, or 18 if you're playing as a Gemling Legionnaire Ascendant.

My Concern: Limited Action Bar Flexibility
Looking at the current UI from the released footage, here’s what I’ve observed:

- There are three buttons mapped to LMB, RMB, and MMB.
- Below them, there are five additional buttons that can be individually mapped.
- If PoE II's system mirrors PoE I, there will likely be a modifier key to swap the lower action bar to an alternative set of five buttons.
This brings the total number of action bar buttons to 13:

- 5 buttons can be mapped directly.
- 5 require holding a modifier key (essentially turning them into multi-step commands).
- 3 are fixed to mouse inputs (LMB, RMB, MMB).

For Path of Exile I, this system works fine because you rarely need more than 8 hotkeys for skills. The alternative buttons can handle non-critical actions like toggling auras or situational abilities, making the limited action bar a non-issue.

However, in Path of Exile II, this limitation could pose a problem. If I play as a Gemling Legionnaire, I may not be able to bind 5 of my skills. Even for other classes, at least 2 skills could remain unbound. Additionally, having 5 out of 12 hotkeys requiring a modifier key makes rapid skill usage cumbersome, especially during intense combat where quick reactions are critical.

Suggestions for Improvement

Many modern input devices, such as the Cyborg 2 keyboard alternative or an MMO mouse (which features additional buttons compared to standard mice), allow for numerous keybinds within easy reach. For example, combining a Cyborg 2 with a standard mouse, or an MMO mouse with a regular keyboard, easily enables up to 18 keybinds that can be pressed without moving your hand.

This level of accessibility makes it possible to assign each skill to a single keypress, eliminating the need for modifiers and improving gameplay fluidity. This would be especially valuable in scenarios requiring rapid skill usage, combo execution, or frequent weapon set switching.

Would it be possible to implement a more flexible, alternative action bar system for PoE II? Something with additional buttons or fully customizable bindings would allow players to map skills individually rather than relying on modifiers. This could greatly improve the gameplay experience for players who prefer precise control over their skill usage.

Thank you for considering this feedback!

Big issue I agree, and as a console player myself (or a pc player using controller) even more of a concern.
It’s heading into WoW tier of buttons, but in WoW a lot are situational buttons not constantly used.
Bit off topic but praying for keyboard and mouse support on consoles (both of which natively support them).

"

Timbo Zero#8289 wrote:

Bit off topic but praying for keyboard and mouse support on consoles (both of which natively support them).

That would definitely be great! It should also be relatively easy to implement since the PC version already supports keyboard and mouse functionality.

If an "Advanced" Action Bar were introduced, even console players could fully benefit from additional keybinds. Currently, the controller hardware limits the number of available keybinds to what's supported in this build, but with keyboard and mouse support, that restriction could be bypassed.

Regarding Mouse and Keyboard on Consoles I found the following:

https://youtu.be/pj8FxWMf4V4?si=uymobW725rytxxyA&t=6496

"

Zoddo#3014 wrote:

Regarding Mouse and Keyboard on Consoles I found the following:

https://youtu.be/pj8FxWMf4V4?si=uymobW725rytxxyA&t=6496

Nice to know, thanks.
Having worked on such multi platform projects (long long time ago) I’d expect them to develope on the PC SDK (software developer kit) for windows/steam and port that to the 2 consoles.
In other words it’s actually work to take it out rather than (arguably some but) less work to leave it in.
PC has keyboard and controller options, just port them ;)

Just FYI:

In PoE1 you can map all skills freely to any button. Even for the alternative skill bar you can map those skills to a single button. You need to press the modifier key to see the skill bar (<ctrl> by default) but you can map those skills freely in the controls menu. E.g. I use Q, W, E, R, T, A, S, Space, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+S, RMB, LMB and MB4 for my skills. Granted, that's still just 13 slots for potentially up to 15 skills in PoE2, but you definitely don't need a modifier key to access any skill.

"

twostroketom#5281 wrote:

Just FYI:

In PoE1 you can map all skills freely to any button. Even for the alternative skill bar you can map those skills to a single button. You need to press the modifier key to see the skill bar (<ctrl> by default) but you can map those skills freely in the controls menu. E.g. I use Q, W, E, R, T, A, S, Space, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+S, RMB, LMB and MB4 for my skills. Granted, that's still just 13 slots for potentially up to 15 skills in PoE2, but you definitely don't need a modifier key to access any skill.

But,but, I only have 10 fingers lol
Seriously though it’s a good point

"

Timbo Zero#8289 wrote:

But,but, I only have 10 fingers

Skill issue xD

"

twostroketom#5281 wrote:

Just FYI:

In PoE1 you can map all skills freely to any button. Even for the alternative skill bar you can map those skills to a single button. You need to press the modifier key to see the skill bar (<ctrl> by default) but you can map those skills freely in the controls menu. E.g. I use Q, W, E, R, T, A, S, Space, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+S, RMB, LMB and MB4 for my skills. Granted, that's still just 13 slots for potentially up to 15 skills in PoE2, but you definitely don't need a modifier key to access any skill.

That's great to know—thank you for clarifying that! It definitely lessens the issue.

That said, an "Advanced" Hotbar with more buttons (and the ability to display more buttons at once for better cooldown monitoring, for example) could still be very useful. With PoE2 potentially requiring up to 18 skills, 13 slots might not be enough, especially when factoring in skills from items, like auras, active block, and other abilities that might come from items or Uniques as well.

"

AintCare#6513 wrote:

don't forget that this is 15-18 skills PLUS WASD to move and 2 for flasks. to people here that think it will be easier with keyboard and mouse- think again. Mouse has around 5 buttons, but practically 4 (doubt we will get mouse wheel), the other hand is mostly bound for WASD. now if you have a controller, movement is on the stick, then you have 5-6 buttons on left hand + 6 on the right. if we count modifier buttons, its very easy to see how 24 commands can be executed with a controller. Due to the WASD keyboard will be very gimped in comparison. Other games that rely on WASD to move do not require more than 2-3 situational buttons form that hand and its already straining

That's why I specifically mentioned MMO mice + keyboards and the Cyborg 2 "keyboard replacement" controller + mouse combos. These setups allow for a large number of easily accessible keybinds without having to move your hand.

In my case, I use the Cyborg 2, which includes a thumbstick (covering WASD functionality) and provides 30 extra keys within reach. Paired with a mouse that has 8 additional buttons (aside from LMB, MMB, and RMB), I can efficiently manage a wide range of keybinds.

A standard keyboard typically offers at least 12 easily reachable keys without moving your fingers from the WASD position. When combined with an MMO mouse, which adds around 15 more different buttonpresses, the total number of keybinds becomes more than sufficient for even the most complex skill setups.