my macros

[mastercave]

as of this moment, i'm a lvl 16 whm so i somewhat feel i got the job down. i usually get praise from my team about how i'm doing a good job...unless they're just being nice. but i wanted to share my macro setup and see how other peoples differ or to give some ideas to others.

now keep in mind that i only use set #1 because i find it too much to have to switch to another set.

CTRL+1 - Cure <t>
CTRL+2 - Dia <t>
CTRL+3 - Cure 2 <t>
CTRL+4 - Banish <t>
CTRL+5 - Slow <t>
CTRL+6 - Paralyze <t>
CTRL+7 - Silence <t>
CTRL+8 - Protect <t>
CTRL+9 - Poisona <t>
CTRL+0 - Benediction <me> after a warning signal

ALT+1 - Cure <me>
ALT+2 - Cure <p2>
ALT+3 - Cure <p3>
ALT+4 - Cure <p4>
ALT+5 - Cure <p5>
ALT+6 - Cure <p6>
ALT+7 - Cure 2 <me>
ALT+8 - Protect <me>
ALT+9 - my mp: <mp> <mpp> <call1>
ALT+0 - /check <t>

i appreciate any input or if theres anything i should replace.

[Schmeg007]

You've got all the important spells lined up in the right priority. THe exact ordering of your spells is a little strange ( Cure, Dia, Cure 2 ), but I bet that is just the order that you made the macros and you are probably used to them.

On a side note, I'd say you should replace your <call1> with a sound that isn't so freaking annoying, unless you only use it like once a day. Experiment with the other calls and find one that will get your attention but not make you want to turn off your speakers .

[Pilsbane]

You might put divine seal into a macro. Maybe with curaga. Something like:

/ja "Divine Seal"
/wait 7
/ma "Curaga"

A whitemage friend of mine has it set that way. Sort of a benediction while you still have MP kind of macro.

Also, as a whitemage why do you cast protect? Protectra is the same MP and hits the entire group. It would free up a macro in your set-up.

Oh and for a less annoying call, call 10 and 11 are soft on the ear.

[mastercave]

my macros are cure, dia, cure2 because i started out like that and i cant change it. i did for maybe 10 minutes and i kept trying to dia group members and cure2 on monsters. luckily both doesnt work.

i like call 1 because of the loud whistle. it makes everyone listen. it also reminds me of a high school gym coach with a whistle. like the coach, no one moves until the WHM says its ok to

Pilsbane - good point on the protect/protectra macro. thanks

[PetriW]

You lack a god targeting macro, this one will lead to you almost never manually looking for a target with tab (or gamepad):

/target <bt>

I also recommend changing it to:

/target <bt>
/check <bt>

(<bt> = battle target I'd guess)
This is a general check macro that works for inspecting when not fighting and that will always inform you of the difficulty of the mob when you target it for debuffing, very useful when you don't need to do all debuffs on some mobs. I have that macro on Alt+1.

My current macros:

Ctrl+1: /ma "Cure" <t>
Ctrl+2: /ma "Cure II" <t>
Ctrl+3: /ma "Cure III" <t> (when I get)
Ctrl+4: /ma "Poisona" <t>
Ctrl+5: /ma "Curaga" <t>
Ctrl+6: /ma "Protectra" <t>
Ctrl+7: /ma "Silence" <t>
Ctrl+8: /ma "Dia" <t>
Ctrl+9: /ma "Slow" <t>
Ctrl+0: /ma "Paralyze" <t>

Alt+1: /target <bt> /check <bt>
Alt+2: /ma "Bind" <t>
Alt+3: Current MP: <mp> (<mpp>) <call14>
...
Alt+5: /ja "Benediction" <me>
Alt+6: /ja "Divine Seal" <me>
...
Alt+0: /sea all <t>

I must say I'm deeply worried about your Alt+1 to Alt+6 macros, those are unneeded and will get you into trouble if you are uncomfortable with targeting group members. I often switch to a new target while actually casting a spell, giving me plenty of time to see I have the right person targeted. If nothing else it's a waste of macro slots. :sweat:

[kumaeru]

I agree with everything petriW said..

I have my target macro on alt+0 because I only have to think about it once at the start of the fight, and isn't truly very important to me hence is farthest away.

My MP status is most important to me and telling the rest of the pt what my MP status is like before they go pull something else, so its Ctrl+1... easy to reach and easy to spam

Other than that mine is generally the same as Petri's, Except I have a Protectra/Shellra under the same macro.

Currently My ALT's are my Status buffs/enfeebles, and CTRL's are cures/regens/status heals.


Always a good idea to macro Divine seal and Benediction too.. Benediction is a last choice thing, so you dont want to be late and fumble through menus.

I spent a long time redoing my macros using translation method too... just so JP pt members know what I'm doing as well.

[mastercave]

Originally posted by PetriW

I must say I'm deeply worried about your Alt+1 to Alt+6 macros, those are unneeded and will get you into trouble if you are uncomfortable with targeting group members. I often switch to a new target while actually casting a spell, giving me plenty of time to see I have the right person targeted. If nothing else it's a waste of macro slots. :sweat:

not too sure about what you mean. wouldnt having these save time instead of pressing TAB a couple times, go too fast and pass the person, and press tab another few more times? i only do the TAB thing when i need to use cure2 on someone.

[PetriW]

not too sure about what you mean. wouldnt having these save time instead of pressing TAB a couple times, go too fast and pass the person, and press tab another few more times? i only do the TAB thing when i need to use cure2 on someone.

Exactly and that's why they're wrong, they force you to use TAB when you need speed the most. Either change them into /target <p1> etc to just get a person on target then run macro Ctrl1 or Ctrl3 or use the F1 to F6 keys thus saving 6 macro slots that you'll need later (one for Divine Seal pretty soon).

The TAB key shouldn't really be used by a WHM, we rely on speed, wit and some more speed. The TAB key should at most be used to target unengaged mobs or a mob when fighting more than one mob at once.

[Telona]

My setup is similar to some shown here.

CTRL+1 - Blink <me>
CTRL+2 - Paralyze <t>
CTRL+3 - Dia <t>
CTRL+4 - Slow <t>
CTRL+5 - Blind <t>
CTRL+6 - Protectra <t>
CTRL+7 - Shellra <t>
CTRL+8 - can't remember
CTRL+9 - Divine Seal <me>
CTRL+0 - Benediction <me>

ALT+1 - Cure <stpc>
ALT+2 - Cure II <stpc>
ALT+3 - Cure III <stpc>
ALT+4 - Regen <stpc>
ALT+5 - Bind <stpc>
ALT+6 - Poisona <stpc>
ALT+7 - I probably put something here a while ago but it's basically unused now
ALT+8 - Curaga <stpc>
ALT+9 - Healer Mana <mpp>
ALT+0 - not sure I have anything here


I need to spend some time to rework a few things now. I want to put bind up in the ctrl keys, will probably combine Shellra and Protectra and will need to find something to put in CTRL8 (probably Warp later on when I get it). Though that might be a good place to put a rotating resist buff, which could be changed depending on the situation, or Silence, which I haven't used much yet but will have more need for soon I'm sure.

For Alt I need to revisit 5, 7 and 0, not sure what I'll put there, maybe a target/check macro as suggested above.

The one big difference I notice however is I'm using stpc (select target, pc only) where noone else does. The way it works is you hit your macro key (if you have a mob targetted at that point the game autotargets you) then you press F2 - F6 to get the party member you want to heal (or tab through targets if you want to heal someone outside the party) and then press enter. The spell starts casting and then immediately switches back to the target you had before hitting the macro key. Granted it's 1 more keystroke but I find being able to keep the mob targetted while healing is worth it, not to mention that if for some reason I want to melee I can do that and still heal people.

I often start off with a debuff, then need to do a patch heal or regen, then want to complete my debuffs. This allows me to do that seamlessly, though admittedly a target key as mentioned before could perform the same funtion.

I think I'll experiment with changing my debuff macro targetting to <stnpc>, except for pvp which isn't in yet there's no reason to ever cast a debuff or nuke or what have you on a pc. The good thing about the pc and npc versions of st is when you use tab it only scrolls through pcs or npcs as appropriate, meaning less time to find your target.

[sofakng]

Is everybody here playing on a keyboard?

I've been using my PS2 controller for soloing and it works GREAT... but for grouping I just can't select people and heal fast enough at all.

...and if everybody is using a keyboard, are you using compact style?

[Icemage]

I use a PS2 Dual Shock 2 controller with a PSX->USB adaptor and it works great. It does take some getting used to, but anyone who has seen me play can tell you I am as fast, if not faster than any keyboard-based player, particularly when you have to cast something that isn't macro'd. If you know how to navigate the magic menu correctly and are good about anticipating, it's not terribly difficult to use the controller to select players using the UP/DOWN buttons on the d-pad.


Icemage

[sofakng]

Can you give me some suggestions on macros you use when using the PS2 controller?

How do you heal people? (macro or menu?)

etc...

[Icemage]

For me, when I'm healing people, I have my spell list set up something like this:

Cure
Cure II
Regen
Regen II
Curaga
Cure III
Cure IV
Curaga II
...
followed by status-removers like Blindna, Paralyna, Silena, etc.

At the bottom of my spell list, I put area effect enhancers like Protectra(I/II/III), Shellra(I/II/III), Bar<element>ra. I always put my most powerful Protectra on the bottom of my list, and my most powerful Shellra right above it, with Stoneskin and Blink right behind.

Offensively, I use one entire macro panel (L2) for offensive enfeebles: Dia, Paralyze, Slow, Blind, Silence, Bio, Dia II, Gravity, with a HP and MP report to fill out the row.

This lets me quickly find any important spell on the list, select it, then quickly use the up/down buttons on the d-pad to find the correct player to target. After that, a simple "X" to confirm, and off I go - at which point I immediately reopen the Magic menu and start deciding what my next spell will be.

While it is more difficult to do it this way than to hit Alt-whatever to target a player, it gives you much greater flexibility, particularly at higher levels, when you don't just have one or two spells that you "could" cast - you have over a dozen commonly used spells.


Icemage

[Coinspinner]

I play witha PS2 controller ~&gt; USB adapter.

My most used bar is on R1, row 10 I think.

/ma Cure <me>
/p Cure ~> <me>

~~~

/ma Cure <stpc>
/p Cure ~> <lastst>

~~~

/ma Cure <lastst>
/p Cure ~> <lastst>

~~~

(repeat for Cure II, etc.)

I simply push up and down on the D-Pad to selct the PT member I need to Cure., and since you usually need to Cure the same person several times, the third macro saves a tiny bit of time.

On L1, same row as my Cure spells, I have my Enfeeble spells, and Elemental Seal for the time I spend as a BLM. For Crowd Control type spells (Sleep, Silence, Bind, etc) I use <stnpc>, to quickly target adds or mobs chasing panicing WHMs.

/ma Sleep <stnpc>
/p Putting <lastst> to bed, do not engage.

For the rest, I just use <t>, and slip "/target <bt>" above the debuff I wish to use first in PT.

Above those two rows I have my BLM and RDM nukes (hah hah, RDM nukes...) , Chainspell, and Manafont. Plenty of room, as nukes become outdated quickly, at least at low levels.

Aside from those I have my Buff and communication macros (R1). I've only been able to particitpate in one skillchain, ever, with a WS rather than a MB, and have long since gotten used to fishing for the two WS I actually have out of the menu.

[sofakng]

Originally posted by Icemage
For me, when I'm healing people, I have my spell list set up something like this:

Cure
Cure II
Regen
Regen II
Curaga
Cure III
Cure IV
Curaga II
...
followed by status-removers like Blindna, Paralyna, Silena, etc.

At the bottom of my spell list, I put area effect enhancers like Protectra(I/II/III), Shellra(I/II/III), Bar<element>ra. I always put my most powerful Protectra on the bottom of my list, and my most powerful Shellra right above it, with Stoneskin and Blink right behind.

Offensively, I use one entire macro panel (L2) for offensive enfeebles: Dia, Paralyze, Slow, Blind, Silence, Bio, Dia II, Gravity, with a HP and MP report to fill out the row.

This lets me quickly find any important spell on the list, select it, then quickly use the up/down buttons on the d-pad to find the correct player to target. After that, a simple "X" to confirm, and off I go - at which point I immediately reopen the Magic menu and start deciding what my next spell will be.

While it is more difficult to do it this way than to hit Alt-whatever to target a player, it gives you much greater flexibility, particularly at higher levels, when you don't just have one or two spells that you "could" cast - you have over a dozen commonly used spells.


Icemage

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you have your spell list setup like you mentioned above. Do you mean you have macros for all those spells? or can you customize the "magic menu" ?

Also, how do you open the magic menu quickly?