Given how often you have to spam the "search" button, I put that on ALT, so I can press it with my thumb easily while still having the normal walk controls.
As for the skills, I posted this in another topic too:
For me I used a key remapping program to simply make:
1 = Mouse wheel up
2 = Mouse wheel up + shift
3 = Mouse wheel down
4 = Mouse wheel down + shift
Etc..
(5 till 8 on other mouse buttons)
The gameplay becomes so much better when you can react fast. Especially with escape/parry moves that require perfect timing.
To be honest I can't even imagine myself playing the game with actually having to press the numerical buttons manually. It makes no sense because you use that hand for walking..
Another thing you can do with macro's/remapping programs is fast-casting:
In DA:I you have to manually click/confirm an AoE spell after you already pressed it. That's silly: I aim before I press the skill.
With a macro I can do something like this:
--------------------
- Press 1 (for Pull of the Abyss for example)
- Delay 40 millisecond
- Unpress 1 (Without a very short delay the game doesn't always register the keypress)
- Press left Mouseclick (to instantly confirm the spell where it's already aiming)
-
- Press 2 (for blizzard)
- Delay..
- Unpress..
- Mouseclick..
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What this will do is when I press a single button: I will cast a pull of the abyss, automatically confirm it where I'm aiming, and instantly cast a blizzard on top of it as well. It's the perfect combo to whipe trash. With a rift mage's talents this gives you back mana and does increased damage vs weakened as well.
1 button and that's it. Without a macro I would have to click 4 times, every time.