New Player Tips: Dial M for Macro
New Player Tips is a recurring feature in which we ask World of Warcraft veterans to share their thoughts and advice for new adventurers on a variety of in-game topics.
This week's topic is: macros.
Macros allow you to trigger a combination of in-game actions -- including abilities, item uses, and targeting functions, all with a single button press -- so you can play more efficiently (similar to the benefits of key bindings). Macros require a fair amount of game knowledge, though, so figuring out how to properly create or use them isn't always intuitive, especially for players who are still learning the ropes.
That's where you come in.
What sage advice would you, the masters of the mighty macro, give to World of Warcraft beginners interested in getting the most out of these powerful tools? Do you have any favorites that you can't live without? Are there certain fan sites or online resources that you commonly refer to? Help a playa' out.
If you've never created a World of Warcraft macro before, here's a quick rundown of the basics:
- Open up the Game Options menu by pressing the "Escape" key or by clicking on the little computer-shaped icon in the navigation bar on the bottom right of your screen.
- Click on the "Macros" button to bring up the macro creation window. (Alternatively, you can type "/macro" or "/m" into the chat box.)
- Select the "General Macros" tab if your new macro can be used by more than one character on your account. If the macro is character specific, select the "<Character Name> Macros" tab instead.
- Click the "New" button at the bottom of macro window, just below the text box. This will bring up another small window with a list of icons and a place where can you enter a name for the macro (e.g. "Flash Heal Trinket").
- Choose your macro's name and icon, and then click "Okay." Your new macro will now appear in the main window under its designated icon. (Note: If you select the standard red question mark icon, the game will automatically select an icon for you based on the spells and/or abilities used in the macro once you've finished.)
- Click the macro's icon from the main window and then the text box to begin typing. (This is where you'll enter all the necessary commands to make your macro work.)
- After you've entered the macro text, simply drag the icon into one of your action bar slots. Clicking the icon -- or, if the action slot is bound to a key, pressing the corresponding key on your keyboard -- will now perform the actions you assigned to the macro.
For more information about how to create and use macros, be sure to check out Wowpedia's beginner's guide, or head on over to our UI and Macros and New Player Help forums.
See what players had to say last week about their preferred gaming peripherals.
Comments (173)
Muradin
#showtooltip Mount Name
/cast Horn of Winter
/cast Mount Name
Since horn of winter can be cast without activating the GlobalCoolDown for mounts, you can cast auto-cast HoW everytime you mount, (except mounting dismounting and mounting again while HoW is on cooldown gives you spell isn't ready yet. but you can still mount.)
Aerie Peak
Akama
* Decide whether to cast a spell based on mana, health, energy etc.
* execute multiple GCD-limited spells.. macros cannot TIME any ability use for you, all actions are executed simultaneously.
* move your character
* choose which spell to cast for you based on cooldowns
Galakrond
Lightbringer
/cast Heroic Strike
/cast Bloodthirst
This one will cause you to cast heroic strike and bloodthirst simultaneously so that you can maximize your dps output. Because of the fact that Heroic strike is first in the line it will be the only attack cast if you do not have enough rage for the 2 of them, so it can be used as your way of using heroic strike when bloodthirst is on CD.
and
/cast Cleave
/cast Whirlwind
This macro works along the same lines as the previous one but it is designed more for getting 2 stacks of the Meat Cleaver proc instantly.
Warsong
Eredar
Wildhammer
Dreadmaul
/use ignisia of the horde
/cast sinister strike
Madoran
Whisperwind
Korgath
Black Dragonflight
Agamaggan
Moon Guard
how do you macro the raid icons?
Korialstrasz
but for sake of relevance, im pretty sure im gonna do exactly that on my priest
Dunemaul
#showtooltip <spell>
/cast [@focus, exists] <spell>; <spell>
just replace <spell> with the name of the spell you want to use. It saves a ton of space on your spellbar as well.
Alexstrasza
Kul Tiras
First of all is the /startattack that i include with main damaging out of stealth abilities like BS an hemo, which gets you to start damaging without waiting for your energy to get up and waisting a valuable hotkey which is better served as a spot for an ability. Also what i find extremely use full is a mouseover target focus macro, as well as a swap target/focus macro. After that the next most use full abilities are my target focus modify macros (i.e. "/cast [mod:shift,@focus] gouge; gouge", this macro will hit my focused target with gouge when i hold shift down and my target when i don't). I have the same working macros for abilities like disarm, kick, and blind. Use of these macros allows me to CC more than one target without waisting my time clicking while maximizing my damage without breaking my melee damage or applying poisons which would break some CCs.
Tanaris
#showicon Disengage
/cast Disengage
/use 15
It would cast my parachute and then cast disengage immediately after, however with the recent change to parachutes only being allowed to cast when off the ground I have to press it twice in rapid succession. Still fun :)
/cast Feed Pet
/use [nocombat] 0 4
This just feeds my pet whatever is in position 4 of my backpack, however you can type out a food name as well.
About once per month I will go buy some rumsey rum black label to stock up on my bank alt and sell throughout the month. I hated buying them 1 at a time so I made a macro to buy 10 (what they stack in) at a time.
/run BuyMerchantItem(5,10)
It buys 10 of the 5th item in the merchant's window.
And finally this macro prints out my current avoidance (block+parry+dodge) in the main chat window for me.
#showtooltip Righteous Defense
/script DEFAULT_CHAT_FRAME:AddMessage("Need 102.4 combat table coverage. Currently at: "..string.format("%.2f", GetDodgeChance()+GetBlockChance()+GetParryChance()+5))
Gundrak
Spirestone
Ravenholdt
Note conditionals are checked left to right, first one that is true is executed. so:
/cast [harm][@targettarget, harm] myCoolSpell
First checks if target can be harmed. If yes, cast spell, else next.
Second it aims at the target of your target and checks if it can be harmed. If yes, BOOM, if no, nothing.
Ravenholdt
This was intended @Dwarfshammy who asked for a breakdown of that macro.
Dentarg
Can someone help me, trying to do macros for the first time. I want my mage to cast some instant defense type spells. I typed.
/cast molten armor
/cast man shield
/cast mirror image
/cast icey veins
/cast ice barrier
What actually happens is the molten armor and icey veins are cast while everything else is not ready. What am I doing wrong? Better yet how can I fix this.
Doomhammer
Maybe try them in a /castsequence ? Some spells cant be put into a macro like that due to GCD, that could also be the problem. Something like no more then one GCD per macro. Been awhile but that should be close.
Dentarg
Feathermoon
Twisting Nether
Run around bgs spamming this macro and carry your team to glory.
Twisting Nether
Earthen Ring
basically i want it to say
if flame shock is active on target cast lava burst, if not cast flame shock then cast lava burst
Hydraxis
Detheroc
Uldum
Feathermoon
Skywall
/cast Soulburn
/castsequence reset 5 Corruption, Bane of Doom, Soul Fire, Immolate, Incinerate, Drain Soul, Death Coil
Death Coil last, cause if they aren't dead by then, I want them running away.
Then I have my quick attack
/cast Soulburn
/Cast Soul Fire
Nice instant damage there
For healing
/Cast Lifeblood
/Cast Shadow Ward
/Use Healthstone
Instant Felguard
/Cast Soulburn
/Cast Summon Felguard
Hyjal
Lightninghoof
Bladefist
Farstriders
/cast, /use, /equip are all easy
modifiers go in []s such as /cast [mod:alt] are quick
and conditionals have pretty extensive coverage on fansites.
The /script and /run actions just let you run lua scripts (same as writing an addon) which is documented with any lua page or addon site.
So, the basic set up is:
1) choose type of action (/cast, /use, /equip, /run, /target)...etc
2) choose modifiers if any ([mod:alt], [mod:shift], [mod:ctrl], [nomod])...etc
3) declare intention of macro (corruption, moonfire, charge, shoot, jub jub, beefythespammer)...etc
4) declare intention if failed (optional in case of spell/action failures) (;bane of agony, ;swipe, ;deathcoil)...etc
Other tricks can be found lots of places, but searching google for warcraft macros will be a good place to start.
ALSO, stick "#showtooltip" into the first of last line of your macro to see spell/ability info when you mouse over it and don't forget to use the red question mark icon if you want the macro icon to change when the modifiers are used.