Okay, so I’ve been using push-to-talk for gaming and calls forever, right? Always hated the default keys. Felt weird stretching my pinky across the keyboard while trying to shoot stuff. So I decided to find the absolute best key by testing everything within reach.
The Guinea Pig Phase
Started with obvious stuff first. Tried caps lock – total disaster. Accidentally yelled in chat when I forgot to turn it off. Then tested tab key – kept opening maps mid-fight. Side mouse buttons made me twitch when aiming. Even gave spacebar a shot – bro, I kept jumping off cliffs when trying to coordinate attacks.
The Pinky Test
Moved to keys under my left hand:
- Left shift: Felt natural but messed up my sprinting
- Left ctrl: Too damn low, strained my wrist
- Alt key: Awkward thumb stretch
Broke my WASD flow every single time. Got team-killed twice during testing because I couldn’t strafe properly.
Middle Finger Madness
Got desperate and tried non-traditional spots:
- Mouse scroll click: Hurt after 10 minutes
- Tilde key: Constantly fat-fingered 1 key
- F keys: Are you kidding me?
Ended up binding my middle mouse button as temporary fix. Worked okay for Discord but felt like trying to pat my head while rubbing my belly during firefights.
My Eureka Moment
Remembered my mouse has extra thumb buttons! Tested the front thumb button – bingo. My thumb naturally rests there anyway. Zero movement interference, no misclicks. Talked smoothly while running, jumping, reloading – felt like magic. Now I sound like a damn pro gamer instead of someone wrestling their keyboard.
Crazy Backstory
Why am I so obsessed? Last year during a raid boss fight, I had push-to-talk on F key. Needed to warn teammates about boss mechanics while dodging fireballs. Took fingers off movement keys to press F, walked straight into death pit. Team wiped at 1% health. Wife came downstairs thinking I was having a heart attack. Next day bought this mouse specifically to solve this nonsense. Moral of the story? Don’t be like past me. Save your raid team and marriage – optimize your damn push-to-talk key.