vanguard macro (hotkey) guide to get most out of your class

macro's are NOT needed to play vanguard. they are just a way to make skill casting easier. they are however used a lot in raid situations and by players that want to get the most out of their class and role.

- start creating a macro by right clicking on any hotkey in any bar. after making a macro, you can drag it around like another hotkey. i suggest labelling all your macro's as text-macro. the result is that the title you put in the title window will show on the hotkey icon itself, which makes it lot easier to sort multiple macro's next to one another.
- ONE macro command per line (aka one / + command per line in hotkey. press enter at end of a command. you cannot put two commands in one line.) and max 256 characters per macro. and i think the max commands per macro is 11. its main hotkey window +1 lines, thats what i know for sure. any lines under that won't get "used" and can screw macro up if those lines contain your "fire anytime" skill.)
- the "" are mandatory. its /cast "bursting cyst I" not /cast bursting cyst I
-the roman cyphers as well, to incline what version of the skill you want to use. if it has no roman number it means there is only one version of the skill from lvl 0 to 55, then you can keep the skillname as it is. (for example /cast "taunt V" versus /cast "withdraw". so /cast "taunt" won't work but /cast "taunt I" will, because it all depends on a skill getting upgrades at your trainer when you reach higher character levels.
if i put /cast "skillname X" in the list below, the X means the roman number. it can very from I to X or more (don't know) according to lvl of skill. note that 1 in roman is capital i, not a capital l. if you do NOT use the right roman number you may get macro errors. if you get macro errors, check if the "" are there and if you spelled everything right. if you get error, its usually a typo in macro. and they can be hard to spot sometimes.
- IMPORTANT: ADAPT your macro's each 2 levels with the new skills and new skill versions you get. if not you don't use your skill to their full potentials. take into consideration that the numbers on /reactionchain and /reactioncounter sometimes need to be changed cause a newly learned finisher suddenly gets first position on the finisher/counter bar. example: when a warrior learns how to use the cleave finisher at lvl 40, the cleave finisher becomes first on the bar. then you got to adapt all macro's from /reactionchain 1 to /reactionchain 2 if you want to use the finisher that was originally at spot 1. building up macro's at each 2 levels is NOT easy. i worked months to finetune alll my macro's for raiding.


p.s.: turn interface sounds off in settings or you'll get error bleeps.
use the macro commands IN THE ORDER I GIVE BELOW
(not needed to use all.. just make sure you put them according to the order below, while not exceeding the max lines number.)
example:

/wear "name dps focus" primaryhand
/wear "name dps focus" secondaryhand
/itemuse "flawless scholar's stave" (with chaos barb X for most dam)
/combatformset "focus of gelenia"
/cast "severing ritual IV"
/reactionchain 2
/reactionchain 3
/reactionchain 1
/reactioncounter 1
/cast "union of blood VII"
/cast "exploding cyst IV


/wear "item name"(to equip other items. handy to equip different weapons as a caster depending on stance.. bloodmage for example wants 2 +healing focus weapons equipped in heal stance, 2 dps focii in offensive stance. the commands for weapons are /wear "itemname" primaryhand for the first slot and /wear "itemname" secondaryhand for the second or shield slot. afaik the other slots don't need this.. but not sure for rings/amulets. and oh yeah, this won't work with two exact same items. the names gotta differ.)
/itemuse "item name"


1.in the launch days a spell on a crafted item (like chaos barb X on a crafted 2h caster staff) could be "fired" from a staff IN YOUR INVENTORY. it was not needed to equip the crafted staff to be able to do this. afaik this still works. this is great way to improve caster dps. you need to be able to equip the item ( lvl AND class) for this to work.
2. you can use any consumable item with this. you can for instance macro the use of a druids berries into a macro, so you maximize hp/energy gain.
3. in a "jolt" macro (raiders will know what i mean) you can macro the use of an item with a "cast on use" effect, like minus hatred. there is a ring that has -hate generation to all cast spells for x seconds. the use of the ring in the macro will generate a ton of hate LESS, improving survivability. )
/combatformset "stance name"
handy to make keys that switch back and forth between stances. example: a dps stance macro with dps spells from a bloodmage vs a defensive stance for emergency healing. if you include stance name switch command, both keys will make it so that the char uses the correct stance for the correct skill, without need of switching stances manually. great to combine with /wear command (see above)
/assistoffensive or /assist "name tank" this selects the player the mob has as targget as defensive target. can be handy for healing./cast "skill name X" i almost forgot about this. you can insert proc skills here, or skills that use class charges (for instance blood union for bloodmages example: the skill scarlet ritual or severing ritual). If you place them lower in macro, they somehow don't get cast. never figured out why. and it seem bard procs, that can be fired only after using a certain finishing skill, must be placed here to fire always when they can.
/reactionchain 1-5 (the numbers are weird: 1 is the one most left on your special skill window. 2 the one to the right of that and so on. watch out: counterskills and rescues are in SAME window as the critical hit finishers. i don't know the name of the specific panel in the UI, but it should be obvious.)
the one with longest reset timer first, then the one with less reset timer, then the one with even less reset time, then the one with no reset time. important rule that .
you will never have to worry again about casting the common finishers. manually click the ones with 5 min group buffs each 5 min, or make seperate macro's for those.
/reactioncounter 1-5 (same rule as above)
/cast "skill name X" that is direct cast AND that has reset time(for instance 1 min cd buff)
/cast "skill name X" that is direct cast and has less or NO reset time(for instance spell taunt skills for tanks)note: if you put direct cast skills before normal cast special attack skills, the direct cast skills get cast automatically ALONG with the use of a normal special attack thats lower in macro. this is VERY handy, especially for a warrior. you can combine all your shout commands in one macro if you wish, and cast them all at once, along with an attack skill.) with requirements on mob to cast (for example skill that can only be used if mob has -20% health, the "slay" skills)
/cast "skill name X" with very long reset timer (for example 400% dam melee skills that have 1 min reset timer)
/cast "skill name X" with LESS reset timer then above skill
/cast "skill name X" with lowest reset timer/cast "skill name X" with NO reset timer. you can only put in one, choose wisely.

example of one of my two main macro's:

my dps macro:
/wear "name dps focus" primaryhand
/wear "name dps focus" secondaryhand
/itemuse "flawless scholar's stave" (with chaos barb X for most dam)
/combatformset "focus of gelenia"
/cast "severing ritual IV"
/reactionchain 2
/reactionchain 3
/reactionchain 1
/reactioncounter 1
/cast "union of blood VII"
/cast "exploding cyst IV

a force target macro for warrior:
/assistoffensive
/cast "withdraw" (will lower hate from player to mob)
/cast "skillname" (the shout force target skillname)
/cast "skillname" (the real rescue skills, this one with highest cd)
/cast 'skillname" (the one with no or a little cd)

some useful other commands to use and or make macro for (thx other sites)

Targetting commands to use in a macro:

/targetauto "name"Sets either your offensive or defensive target to the name provided, depending on whether it's a PC or NPC
/targetdefensive "name"Sets your defensive target to the name provided
/targetoffensive "name"
Sets your offensive target to the name provided
/targetgroupmember
Tries to set a group member as your defensive target. Note: you are group member 1, group member 2 is the first member, etc
/targetselfSets yourself as your defensive target
/targetnearestnpcSets the nearest NPC as your offensive target
/targetnearestpcSets the nearest PC as your defensive target
/targetmynearestcorpse
Sets your nearest tombstone as your offensive target
/targetnearestpccorpse
Sets the nearest PC tombstone as your offensive target
/targetnextcorpse
Cycles your offensive target to the next nearest corpse
/targetnextnode
Cycles your offensive target to the next nearest harvesting node
/targetnextnpc
Cycles your offensive target to the next nearest NPC
/targetnextpcdefensive
Cycles your defensive target to the next nearest PC

another good use of targeting commands is in a loot hotkey.
/lootall
/loot
/targetnextcorpse
Another hotkey that is very useful is one that drags your own corpse, or another player's corpse. You can make a hotkey that drags your corpse if there is one nearby, or drags the nearest player's corpse otherwise.

/targetnearestpccorpse
/targetmycorpse
/corpsedrag

i strongly advise to make ONE dps key, ONE debuff/hex/buff with reset timer" key for using along with force crits, cleave or enfeeble casts, ONE pull key, ONE assist/targetting key with the rules above.


hope this helps people that get frustrated using mouse and keys that are all over keyboard or your interface.

p.s: since i use this macro style i can just spam one key usually and LOOK at interface, debuff or raid window permanently without ever having to think about pressing this or that key. its quite handy for raid assistants that have to annouce stance, enchantment or certain debuffs landing on a mob. its also very handy for tanks, to keep overview of the fight without having to click 10+ keys

sorry for reposting this.. But i couldn't edit the original post in other thread.

grrr now i can't edit the posts yet again. This problem really needs to be looked into. Can you only edit a post within 15 minutes of creating it or so? Makes no sense...

I might be wrong, but from my experience I believe you can only have 10 lines per macro. I've tested this a bit, but perhaps it depends on what commands are in the macro (for example, my current macros don't use any /wear commands), so you might want to retest your DPS macro.

hmm you might be right. think i don't use the finisher anymore that causes a dot on target for a minute. Its not worth using for normal grouping.
The macro for dps in raids has no automatic counter and i added that dot finisher to the raid macro. Reason i don't do counter lines in raid macro's is cause in some encounters sorcerers need to counter, not blood mages.

question re: timing (came up in in-game chat a couple of days ago). Situation:

• I set up a dps macro for my bmg similar to the example above- equip/ wear/ etc
• I set up a second healing macro similar to above
• pug/dungeon run as dps/ combat!
• Oh No! main healer down! Switching to heals!

If I hit my healing macro during the combat, will I really change my gear/ held items/ etc or is there some sort of out-of-combat requirement or timer? While I don't like wiping, the concept of a participant in a melee saying "time out! gotta change!" doesn't make sense-
Thx
T

Good guide. Hopefully it doesn't make my MMO-7 mouse obsolete. Need to get some use from it. Maybe it can do 90 macros instead of just 90 "functions."

yes, the wear comand works in-game. you can make macro's that let you switch to dps focii and dps combat stance if you hit vein/dps macro, and macro's that fire your direct heals, equip your heal focii and let your char use heal combat stance.

the only limit is that you cannot switch stances each second. there is small timer. But if you got the /combatformset in all your macros it will change back and forth once it CAN.

Glad you agree that macro's are useful

i meant it works in combat sorry. You can switch combat stance and ALL items while in combat.

I never really tried it for armor pieces. But i know alimora made some plug in that allows you to "save" armor sets for each occasion. A combat cleric for example could confgure melee orientated solo gear and +heal focus and wis group gear.

Thats probably more worth it then making complete gear changing macro's yourself.

So I just came up with a question. In end-game raids and stuff, no one physically works out their own rotations? It's all just preset macros that they switch between? Like I notice the macros do all your chain skills etc. I was kind of looking forward to managing 6+ hotbars full of abilities with a game pad + 90 function mouse.

Assist macros are 100% key tho.

Actually the real question is how many of the raid bosses are tank and spank?

some classes can be fully macro's yes. Dot classes like druid and nercomancer almost not. I doubt there is even one player that raids without using macro's. For instance, casting direct cast skills along with a normal skill s impossible without macro's. Same for using items alongside with a skill.

Like i said, macro's get the most out of your class, especially for raiding. The macro i gave is 1 button of the 4 or 5 i use regularly in raids. Of course i use lot more minor macros.

In answer to your question.. Some raid bosses are tank and spank, some require complicated raid strategies.

There is definatly tier 1 raid bosses, tier 2 and tier 3.

For some specific raid bosses you need specific macro's.... People in a raid guild will expect you to play your class to the best possible, so macros WILL be needed f you want to raid.

Ah, that helps, thanks.

To answer a few of the questions:

You cannot switch all gear while in combat. This only works for your 3 weapon slots. So you can switch both hands and your ranged slot in combat. Most casters won't be using actual ranged weapons but you can still switch that slot out (from a dps to a heal focus, for instance).

Some classes are much more open to macroing than others, and further still, some people prefer to macro heavily and others don't. I personally do not macro the majority of my skills. I prefer to use the mouse/keyboard and click almost all of my abilities. As a warrior, I use 2 macros. One is a quick aggro macro that taunts and applies Murderous Cleave and Savagery and opens a crit chain. The other is a dps macro that fires off all my non-global cooldown combat buff shouts together and opens a crit chain. I use the dps macro roughly every 45s or so, depending on when all my shouts refresh. Other than those 2, which are more about saving time than making it easier to play, I do everything by clicking. It's just the way I like to play, and it's why I have so much fun playing my warrior, a class that uses lot of different abilities in lots of differing situations.

Granted, I use lots of other little macros for corpse dragging or triggering some specific item clickies or for turning my chat logs on and off, etc. But they aren't really combat macros. I think my most important non-combat macros are the ones for canceling Gnome Illusion, Kobold form, and Gift of Peace, as well as my "F Lev" macro that cancels like 8 of the most common forms of lev.

So basically, play the way you want to. If you are good at playing your class, you will do fine. It's tough to be competitive without using ANY macros, but you don't have to macro to the point of "click these 3 buttons over and over." Some classes can't even if they wanted to.

As for raid boss fights, some are tank and spank and some aren't. There are plenty of both. There are a few fights where the whole point is to exceed a certain dps threshold, and there are other fights where control is paramount and dps means next to nothing.

Alright sounds good. I'm playing a warrior this time through the game (opposed to a healer my last time in 2007) so I can understand some of it (only lvl 27 right now ). I totally agree on firing off all the shouts with 1 button, right now I have them on a gamepad and I just swipe my finger down the row of buttons but putting them in one is much better (obviously). Thanks for the help!

kkty- this clears things up a great deal- I use macros for out of combat stuff but hadn't really looked into combat macros (prefer to be engaged); however, I am more inclined to look at some combat macros- thank you both for clarifying
T

Awesome guide. About a macro line limit, there is not a line limit but a character limit to the size of a macro. So depending on how many characters each line is in your macro you might be able to squeeze in more lines than another. I'm not sure on the exact character limit.

Sorry baldur, but you are wrong. There IS a line limit. You can use all lines in the original hotkey macro +one. Don't know if that would be 10 or 11. I tested that multiple times. If i put the aforementioned skill you can always fire (that has to be last in macro order) on the second line after the initial window, then it simply will not fire.

and for vedrix i'll give you my main tanking warrior macro's for alting.

aggro building aoe:

/cast "taunt X" (roman numbers blah blah adapt blah blah same as in guide)
/cast "myrmidon's gift" (gives you free crit, very handy to open fight on a mob with crit line of your choice.. very handy combined with the +aggro crit line)
/cast "press the attack"
/cast "barrage"
/reactionchain 1
/reactioncounter 1 (or 2 or 3, whatever the one is with no reset timer)
/cast "kick X" (kich has the best chance of doing a crit hit, and you can get crit hit with kick and use finisher right after, in same combat round, provided you got the endurance. A warrior can kick and use weapons in ONE combat round!)
/cast "slay X" (the skill you can use at -20% health.. not sure if it is called slay)
/cast "sunder x" (with this skill you can aggro three mobs at once if you position yourself opposite of group, with rest of group members behind mob. Then you get the flanking bonus and you can hit three at once. Works wonders for aoe tanking. Make seperate macro for when a CC stuns mobs so mezz does not break when using sunder.)

Force target (rescue)

turn off target target on in settings/interface for easy force targetting. You must use the encounter window to see when a mob (an add for example) attacks someone else in the group all of sudden. Or when a dps attacks wrong mob so he steals aggro from you.

/assistoffensive (if you select the mob that attacks someone else, this command will make your defensive target the player the mob attacks. then you can force target with one simple key push, after you select the mob in encounter window. Tricky to learn at first, but sooooo easy once you learned it. Too few tanks know how to force target properly...)
/cast "withdraw X"
/cast "force target skillname X" forgot the names.. something like coercion?

Debuff key to use on EVERY mob that is pull key at same time.

/cast "ranged attack" fires your bow or xbow at mob to pull it. Get a longbow at lvl 35 ish, they have best range. Crossbow looks best on a warrior though. Make sure you got bolts/arrows equipped. Buy flight arrows from general goods NPC, they got +5 range. You can use enfuriourating shot skill here too, but it uses lot ofe energy for very few aggro gain. I advise against it.
/cast "rend armor X" i can't stress enough how important this is. Debuffing a mob's mitigation means more damage output for the whole group. If al group memeber assist you, its a great group damage boost. And its partially combinable with bard or paladin armor debuff...

AOE aggro building macro

/cast "shout of xxxx x" (the one that gives lot of aggro on all mobs in aoe.. But beware.. mobs in range of shout that haven't aggro'd yet will add if you use this! so careful!!)
/reactionchain x (the one that aoe's up to 7 mobs)
/cast "whirlwind X" (the normal aoe skill)

every time the crit aoe is up, hit this macro if you fight lot of mobs. If it is not up, just hit it when whirlwind skill is available for aoe aggro build. You can easily hold aggro on 5-7 mobs if you use this macro lot....

There may be a line limit as well as a character limit, but there is definitely also a character limit. Open up a macro window and just keep typing, eventually it stops you, limiting the number of characters in a macro. Your macros may never hit the character limit, but I have macros to switch between my dps and healing gear and they easily hit the character limit before the line limit because of the long item names.

You are correct Baldur. There is a 255 (or 256?) character limit as well as the line limit.

That's why it's good practice to use the short form of commands like /cas, /reactionch, /reactionco etc..

The only reason I use macros is for boxing. You are most likely not playing your class to it's fullest if you're solely relying on a couple of macros.

Quick question. Now that my chain attacks are getting lengthy (3 steps for some) I want to clear some clutter on my bars. If I make a macro with the line:

/reactionchain 1

Will it act as follows. I force a crit using Myrmidons Gift which procs my chain abilities. Can I use the above macro to fire off the slot one chain attack? If so, and the attack lands, it will proc the second step of slot one (next ability). Can I use the above macro a second time to fire off step 2 or phase two of chain slot 1? Then if this successfully lands, the 3rd ability procs, again can I use the above macro to fire that. So one button, all 3 abilities in one?