Among their many uses, macros can be used to establish cast sequences, "I win" buttons and evasive action commands.
Macros are something many players have heard of, but shy away from because they require some basic scripting knowledge. For the uninitiated, macros are commands built by users to execute customized actions or action sequences. A macro, known in the Computer Science world as a macro instruction, are defined as a rule that specifies how a certain input sequence should be mapped to an output sequence. Sounds horrible, I know, so let's make it easier.
Macros in World of Warcraft, are really just new and simplified ways to do the same old things. For a Mage, this can be a Presence of Mind / Pyroblast button, the "I win!" macro for Fire / Arcane mages. From simple commands to eat and drink at the same time, to determining a target's status (friendly or hostile) and casting an appropriate spell, macros can be used to streamline game play and clean up your User Interface. Macros take advantage what is known as a scripting language to accomplish some unique custom commands. Basically, the slash commands (/wave or /cast Blink) are the same you have grown accustomed to using for chat and emotes. This scripting language can be called programming lite, sounding more like the spoken word than programming syntax. It could be compared to telling someone to go get a cup of coffee, rather than telling them to stand up, turn left, take 3 steps forward, turn right, step over the cat, and so on.
Before one begins writing macros, it is important to understand what a macro can and cannot do. Here are some tidbits that you should know:
Macros Can:
- Execute multiple commands at once, granted they do not trigger the Global cooldown (GCD)
- Step through a sequence of spells, abilities and other commands
- Make 'smart' decisions about a target's status and act appropriately
- Equip items
- Use items
- Cast spells
- Trigger abilities
- Store targets as your focus
- Facilitate an entire spell sequence with one click (as opposed to clicking one button more than once)
- Wait for the GCD to expire and move forward independently
- Play your character for you
For the sake of clarity, I will review the spell sequence functionality. Your macro could step you through a sequence of spells like Pyroblast, Fireball, Scorch and Fire Blast, requiring that you click the macro's button each time the Global cooldown resets. However, the same macro could not cast Pyroblast, wait for the GCD to expire, cast Fireball, wait for GCD, cast Scorch and so on.
Now that you know some fundamentals about macros, stay tuned for the next installment where I'll go into some basic commands and simple macros to get you started.
For those of you who simply cannot wait, Blizzard's official Macro Guide is a great place to start learning more about the power of macros. Also, thanks to Arturis, who pointed out some older macro-related stories here at WoW Insider. David's piece on using macros to manage your focus target, Amanda's piece on Mage macros and Krystalle's piece on Rogue macros are great resources we already have. Note that with recent patches, the /stopcasting slash command is no longer necessary.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-23-2008 @ 11:21AM
alrdye said...
I'm really looking forward to this series. This is one aspect of the game that I am very much in need of putting to use.
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2-23-2008 @ 11:42AM
Madargon said...
"However, the same macro could not cast Pyroblast, wait for the GCD to expire, cast Fireball, wait for GCD, cast Scorch and so on"
With the logitech keyboard G15 there is a software program that lets u record a certain sequence. I recorded my totem sequence now, i press a button on my keyboard and my character pops down al the totems :) really imba!
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2-23-2008 @ 12:06PM
C.A. said...
Just don't tell anyone, cause you know, it's against the rules....
Seriously though, if it is somehow found out you are doing this you can get in trouble for "botting".
2-23-2008 @ 12:45PM
Eternalpayn said...
Yeah lol. My suggestion on this is to keep it quiet. Blizz has said that the keyboard itself is allowed, but programming it like that is a bannable offense... :/
I think one legal way to take advantage of your purchase is to map those keys to switch your action bar, cast something, then switch it back, so that you can cast different moves like that with less interface clutter, and it will allow you to use Shift + key hotkeys.
2-23-2008 @ 12:35PM
Arturis said...
Just a suggestion, Sean - Back link to some of the older WoW Insider articles when appropriate. Amanda wrote up a great article on macros in one of her Arcane Brilliance posts http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/09/01/arcane-brilliance-macrolicious/ and David posted a helpful Focus overview back in http://www.wowinsider.com/2007/05/18/focus-man-focus/ - WoW Insider has a wealth of established resources on Macros to draw from already, you just need to show the readers where they are at.
Good luck with the new column! ^_^
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2-23-2008 @ 12:56PM
Ralm said...
A great point, Arturis! I've added those links, they are certainly appropriate. Thanks for the great feedback, I appreciate the leg-up!
2-23-2008 @ 1:55PM
Thander said...
"Make 'smart' decisions about a target's status and act appropriately"
I don't really consider it smart. There's a lot of stuff you can't do like act based on rage/mana/energy values. You made the decisions ahead of time and put them in the macro. You initiate the action by clicking the button. It's just repeating what you told it to do.
The only real purpose of macros is to shrink the number of buttons you need on screen. Even then, a lot of spells will have situations where you need to use them individually(esp. PvP).
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2-23-2008 @ 5:38PM
njt07 said...
BTW it is not agaisnt the TOU or whatever you want to call it to have a macro that sets down all the totems for him including waiting for the GC using a keyboard or game pad. There have been many different articles, and forum posts, but the meat of it was that if the macro allows a player to be absent from the keyboard, yet still play, then that is against blizzs rules and is bannable, but if it scripts out a list of commands that still requires a player's interaction, then it is ok. simply said, a script or macro allowing a player to emulate a bot is not ok, a script requiring a player to push buttons on his keyborad to play is ok.
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2-23-2008 @ 9:08PM
Trippy said...
The Fire/Arcane build you pointed to cannot accomodate POM Pyro. You have to have at least 21 points in Arcane and 11 in Fire for POM Pyro.
;-)
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2-24-2008 @ 2:14PM
damoronsonline said...
I've always disliked that macros can't do global cooldown. As a warlock I would love to not have to cast each of my dot's independently.
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2-25-2008 @ 6:40AM
Richie said...
Pfft, its all about combining emotes and Spells:
/fart
/cast Consecration
/yell %T arise, my champion
/Cast Redemption
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2-25-2008 @ 1:31PM
LostOne said...
I love macros...they make my life so much easier. My rogue is macroed so I can just press 2 to stealth, wield dagger, pick pocket, ambush, wield mace, sinister strike and riposte until the fight is over. Only time I hit something else is for a finishing move or potion. EZ mode.
I also have other less combat related macros such as switching from my dual-wielded maces on my rogue to the fishing pole (checks to make sure I'm not in combat), and back. Very nice when I get attacked while fishing in Skettis.
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