Common WAR macros

[Murphie]

Re: Common WAR macros

I don't macro much of anything as a melee or tank, I have to admit (save gear swaps). Most anything I need to do can be done via the menus.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Common WAR macros

Since I (almost) always use Bersker and Aggressor together, I have one macro to handle both. It's really a convenience thing. I have a Warcry macro. But the more gear swap macros I need, the more I'm inclined to chuck it, along with my Defender macro.

[Manji]

Re: Common WAR macros

Thanks for your replies and discussion on this topic.

Macroing does seem to be quite a personal thing. I know one player who is very experienced and who I would definitely trust to watch my back, that never uses macros and does everything through the menus (using a control pad).

Conversely, with my RDM I actually laid out certain spells in a particular order along the F keys and got into a habit of moving through the different F+ALT/F+CTRL combinations almost like playing a piano or something; without any real conscious thought (of course, differing on each enemy type).

With my WAR, the other day, I was asked to pull for the first time (she was only level 12 or 13) and while I knew the ins and outs of the practical side of it, since I didn't display any warnings or anything, I felt sort of like I was mugging my own party with a lizard or goblin... That was the impetus to ask these questions really, as well as the fact that, as I said, I feel kind of macro-naked after playing as RDM for some time.

Anyway, I'll have fun trying out all your suggestions next time I play.

[Aaramis]

Re: Common WAR macros

For most jobs I make a macro I generally entitle "Wait", with various /recast macros in it.

So for WAR, I'd probably have :
/recast "Provoke"
/recast "Berserk"
and so on. Feel free to toss in subjob stuff that might be of interest too, such as :
/recast "Utsusemi: Ichi"

You"ll be able to spam this as often as you want, without annoying fellow teammates since it'll display all JA recast timers as /echoes.

I prefer this macro since, as mentioned above, if you use a /wait macro such as :
/ja "Provoke" <stnpc>
/p Provoke --> <lastst>
/wait 15
/echo Provoke in 15 seconds
/wait 15
/echo Provoke Ready!
you have to keep in mind that the wait and echo stuff will be interrupted if you use another macro in between (for example, you Provoke, and then immediately use your Utsusemi: Ichi macro, and you won't get any messages telling you when your Provoke is ready, since that macro will effectively be cancelled by the Utsu one).

Hope that helps?

As for others - yeah, a ranged attack macro just to notify the group you're targeting something is nice, and a TP macro to inform other melee of your TP status is pretty much all you need IMO.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Common WAR macros

I tried going with a Recast macro, with about 5 job abilities / spells in it. I ended up ditching it simply because it filled up my chat log with mostly recast times I don't need.

One /recast trick I did learn from someone else was to put it as the first line in your Utsusemi macro:
/recast "Utsusemi: Ichi"
/ma "Utsusemi: Ichi" <me>

That way, if you hit the macro before the spell is ready, you'll at least see how long you have to wait before you can use it.

A word or warning though: /recast can be flaky sometimes. It's not always accurate about how much longer you need to wait. So if you need to know exactly when something becomes available, you might want to leave your cursor hovering over the particular ability or spell in menu.

[Celeal]

Re: Common WAR macros

/recast macro could be slower, due to lag. Usually I use the JA or Spell when the /recast macro display 0:02.

[Armando]

Re: Common WAR macros

My own observations:

/echo <tp> after WS generally requires a /wait 2 for it to report the TP I have after using the WS. /wait 1 works but lag can sometimes cause it to report what you had before the WS was used. WS have charging times of less than 1 second, and can be safely assumed to be 0.5 second, but the point is that they have charging times; I don't think you can get it to work without at least a /wait 1 even without lag involved.

I used to have a macro that had one /recast command for most of my JAs or spells, but I find that having /recast followed by the /ja or /ma itself to be much more beneficial. I use <stpc>/<stnpc> for most stuff, but it varies a lot according to the nature of the ability/spell and how you usually use it; some people may prefer <me> and <t>.

I always recommend having at least one macro along the lines of
/equip (insert slot with a visible piece of gear here)
/ja "Provoke" <t>
/equip (same slot) "(Piece of gear you took off)"
You may or may not have to throw in a /wait 1 in there somewhere to get it to work right, depending on lag. When it works, you'll use Provoke but skip the animation altogether due to blinking out for the gear swap. You'll be glad to have it if you ever have to Provoke something that'll definetely rip you to shreds off of someone and head for the zone. This macro allows you to Provoke (actually, any JA that isn't Jump or WS) while running without stopping even for a single instant, thus allowing you to keep all of your original distance from the mob. Unless you do unnecessary stops or turns (or the mob has enhanced speed) it shouldn't catch up to you.

I believe /recast is the same as the menu clocks, which can be 1 or 2 seconds behind the real timer due to lag. This is more evident the longer the recast on the ability is. So, yeah, I usually do it anyways if it says :01 or :02 left.

[Murphie]

Re: Common WAR macros

Thanks for that macro again, Armando. I remember you posting it some time ago, but I couldn't find the post any more. Very handy to have on-hand.

Or maybe Icemage posted it. Regardless, I couldn't find it.

[Lmnop]

Re: Common WAR macros

yeah, that trick allowed me to pre-charge SATA with a monster trying to chomp me while heading back to camp.

for Recast: I pretty consistently hit 0 when /recast says 2. If your macros are simple enough, you don't need /recast for JAs (since it'll automatically display in purple{default} the time remaining if it's not ready yet.) Of course there are some JAs that you want to know are ready before you use them. A perfect example is Meditate. When I leveled SAM, and when I play with war/sam, I have something that looks like:

/recast Meditate
/ja Meditate <me><st>

The dual sub target tags do work, making you the default target of the macro (via <me>) but requiring a confirmation. This macro layout simply allows you to see the /recast remaining first. Really and truely, any time you use a <st> -typed macro, a /recast is wonderful before the command itself. IF you do use provoke <stnpc> like I previously discouraged, this helps a lot as you can sit on the same macro, waiting for confirmation for the 6 seconds you're waiting for 'voke to be up (if you're good at counting in your head).

I've done so many rediculous macros in my day that I feel simple is wonderful. If you do use a macro with multiple /recasts on it, I'd suggest keeping it small (yellow, different). Like 2-3 key abilities (for me, it's provoke and whatever relevant ability I have -- typically Boost or Utsusemi and now I'll start adding Third Eye).

EDIT: Code tags don't work anymore.

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Re: Common WAR macros

/recast Meditate
/ja Meditate <me><st>

The dual sub target tags do work, making you the default target of the macro (via <me>) but requiring a confirmation.

oooh, nice to know. Thanks!

[SharMarali]

Re: Common WAR macros

I don't personally like using /p chat in macros. Once upon a time, it was normal for everybody to announce everything they were doing in /p all the time. Now it's just irritating.

Yes, if you're doing a skillchain, you need a macro that tells your partner how much TP you have, and it's a good idea to have one that actually tells them when you're using your WS too, with a quiet, unintrusive <call> from the higher numbers where it's kind of a low buzzing sound. That way, in case they took their eyes off the screen for a second, they'll still realize it's their turn.

In certain endgame battle situations where key people are using job abilities according to a specific plan, it's important to let everyone know you're doing it. Examples would be shadowbind or chainspell stun.

Outside of these reasons though, I don't see any particular need to spam PT chat with a lot of nonsense about what I'm doing all the time.

There was a time when the game was still relatively new to most players and it was really almost necessary to have /p chat in most of your macros to cover your OWN tail if somebody died. During the months immediately following the NA release of FFXI, I found myself in many PTs where someone would die and then start blaming the tank, the healer, the 2nd provoker, or anyone else they could think of to blame for their death. The tank could quickly point to the log and show that their "Next Provoke - 15 Seconds" text had flashed up AFTER the idiot was already being beaten within an inch of his life. The healer could point to the fact that he had been TRYING to cast a cure when the monster did the final damaging TP move that killed the player. Then the person who died because they didn't understand how "hate" worked would get upset, throw a temper tantrum, and quit the PT like the little baby they were. Nowadays, this doesn't happen nearly as much anymore because people have a greater understanding of the game mechanics, not to mention a greater understanding of how easy it is to get back exp after you die. I don't find it necessary to have it emblazoned in the log in /p showing that I was doing my job. I know I was doing my job, and if some other player doesn't know it and can't figure it out, maybe they should turn some filters back off until they learn a little more about the game.