PMU, not being turn-based, requires a certain level of reaction time. Move hotkeys make this fairly intuitive. However, items, especially those that need to be used mid-combat, take way too long due to having to dig through the menu to find them. Items like Blast Seeds are near worthless because by the time you reach them, the enemy would’ve hit you three or four times. Most real-time games I’ve seen had shortcut keys for combat items, whether pre-assigned or manually assignable. Using Give just isn’t worth it, especially for single use items like Blast Seeds.
I agree! The process of having to switch your hands from the keyboard to the mouse/touchpad in any situation that requires you to pull something out of your inventory is far too awkward for it to be pulled off successfully in a tight situation. I’ve been told to give team members consumable items (Orans or Orbs, for example), but the trade-off is that this team member cannot reap the benefits of any passive held item.
I think this could be addressed by implementing an inventory hotkey, along with a sorting feature which could allow you to put useful items first.