GUIDE to making ingame macro's in vanguard

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 bet reading this gives people headaches already. but my style of macroing makes dps keys that can't be beaten, simple as that. everything gets cast automatically with one key.

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
i bet this guide will help out a ton of players. i take no credit for the whole guide.
So feel free to use this guide in your guild forum, give links to its topic, or do whatever you wish with it. if you have usefull additions to the original post, i will add them.
enjoy!

Thanks for the post. Slowly been trying to put some macros together for my group. I am not a very experienced Vanguard player and am slowly learning the various nuances of the classes (e.g., rescues).

One thing I am not clear on is /reactionautochain and /reactionautocounter. What's the advantage of using /reactionchain or /reactioncounter if any??

DoomingDarkness wrote:

/reactionchain = damage/debuff/dot ability chain activated after a crit
/reactioncounter = counterspell ability activated once a spell that can be countered is recognised by the caster (spell ID)
Anyone can have /reactionchain
Only casters that have the ability to counter spells have /reactioncounter

There's an extensive article on macros here
http://vanguard.wikia.com/wiki/Macros

Thanks for the info. However, what I was wondering about is if there is any advantage of using the AUTO (/reactionautochain) versus using the specific command like /reactionchain 1.

to ixstandalone: melee classes can use /reactioncounter too. like a tank counter melee skill.

to doomingdarkness: i think reactionautochain casts just the first in your crit finish bar. i might be wrong. i DO know i didn't like it, and with /reactionchain 1 or 2 etc you can put the one with longest reset first. or just the one you like. or 3 in a row, specifying what to cast after what, if the first line in macro 's spell is on CD.

DoomingDarkness wrote:

for some classes that have more than 1 reaction chain, you would probably want to pick which chain you want to use at a given moment.

this is all too much for my brain. Nothing like this with EQ, EQ II, LoTRO...

Great guide, thanks for the refresher. I had all of my macros set up from 2 years ago when I last played, but I basically rebuilt my bars and macros as a way to refresh my recollection. Needless to say, this guide is bookmarked.
Quick question though: as a Bard, I have some abilities that only become availble after popping off certain finishers (e.g. I believe Lightning Strikes the Ground is only useable immediately after popping off one of my finishers abilities). If my maths are correct, it's invariably preferred that I fire off Lightning Strikes the Ground rather than continue to fire off other finishers in the chain (presuming I keep crit-ting, use my other CD's to guaruntee crits, etc.). So should my macro looking like this:
......../reactionchain 1
/cast "ability that only becomes available after reactionchain 1"
/reactionchain 2
/cast "ability that only becomes available after reactionchain 2".....

OR should I just keep all the reactionchain # command lines stacked up and put casts below? I understand the hierarchy and CD's for the most part, but when comes to these special "chaser" abilities that only become available after certain finishers, my combat log indicated I was missing procs...

yeh, you assume right. i never did bard, never heard of skills that can be fired only after certain crits. i think you cannot continue the crit finisher line when you use another skill between it.
macro should look like this. it will try to fire off the crit you need for lightning strikes the ground FIRST before all else, and after firing it it will try to cast the skill that can be cast following it. however, you need to put /cast "lighting strikes the ground" BEFORE /reactionchain 1 then.. if not, you will keep casting the crit finisher line and only cast the lightning in the case your crit finisher misses. remember, what is on top of macro gets cast first, or gets continued to cast. for a crit finisher line: it will get cast and then its follow ups even with just one line like /reactionchain 1.
so
/cast "lightning hits the ground" (can put /cast "direct cast skillname" even before it)
/reactionchain 1
/cast "ability that only becomes available after crit 2"
/cast "reactionchain 2"
as top of macro. this will ONLY work if you CANNOT cast lightning hits ground WITHOUT using the finisher first. if thats the case, then this macro will deliver what you want.

Brilliant, thanx! I'll have to re-read tool tips, but I'm pretty sure that's how some of my abilities work. And what you says makes a lot of sense (I could even just throw all those conditional abilities at the very top for the most part).
Only other problem I'm running into though is that some of my macros are so long I run out of room. Not sure if there's a maximum # of characters or abilities that can be used, but I seem to run out of room in some macros. With instruments swaps, song swaps, gear swaps, conditional abilities, guarunteed crit CD's, chains, counters, etc., I can't imagine playing Bard without macros.

fggg wrote:

Don't worry about it, it's only if you get crazy about VG. You don't need this to succeed in leveling.

You may want to add this about crafting.
My craftiung is setup of 10 macros 1 to add items to workbench 8 to craft 1 to loot
my additems workbench
/refineadditem Water
/refineadditem Solvent
/refineadditem Cleaner
Just make sure you put the most important up front. If I need to make changes for a one off I will do so by mouse click. Also note that this list will change as you get more experienced in crafting.
Now for the crafting I label mine 1 through 8
This on is name 1
/craftingselectstep 8
/craftingselectstep 7
/craftingselectstep 6
/craftingselectstep 5
/craftingselectstep 4
/craftingselectstep 3
/craftingselectstep 2
/craftingselectstep 1
/craftingselectaction 1
macro 1 selects the next available step and choose the 1 action under that step
this one is named 2
/craftingselectstep 8
/craftingselectstep 7
/craftingselectstep 6
/craftingselectstep 5
/craftingselectstep 4
/craftingselectstep 3
/craftingselectstep 2
/craftingselectstep 1
/craftingselectaction 2
macro 2 selects the next available step and choose the 2 action under that step
I continue making these until I have 8. why 8? cuase that is what I made.
The last one is loot
/lootall
I still handle all complication and dust adding by mouse click.
So when I am grinding Work Order I change my hotbar to my crafting bar and press 9 to add my items. then press any combination of 1 through 8 until I have crafted my items, Always A grade (LOL yaeh right). Handeling all complication with my mouse. then after my crafting is done I press 0 to loot all.
This setup does assume you are familar with your step to know what action you want to take. It is not hard to remeber since you will be grinding WO for a bit.
Have a great day
Note:Typos and such left to presever the writting orignal typing skills

^--- words of a wise wise man. However, my keybind for ./lootall is "A" and my "add crafting supplies" macro is keybound to "S" I have /refineselectaction 1-6 bound to 1-6, but not a 7 or 8. When I craft, the left hand does not move from much from home row (though, it sometimes floats above the number keys), and my right hand doesn't leave the mouse. I try to avoid keybinds from number keys 7+ because my natural inclination would be to use my right hand, and I shouldn't be letting go of the mouse. Some people have keys "A" and "S" bound to movement keys, if so, there are a variety of keys to us that are within reach of the left hand. "T" "R" - as examples.

Jharl@Telon wrote:

Yeah I cheat I have a G13 gamepad form logictech so I can bind akk 12 keys and never move my hand. Great points though about the 7+ key binds and how you use your macros . As for the 7-8 macro I just made them as a just in case although I have never used them.

verkoop wrote:

for hagun.. i stated this in OP. there ARE however shorter commands to be able to get most in one macro.. i'll look it up and add it to OP. thx for reminding me

i get a lot of questions concerning things that were already in guide.. i highlighted some stuff that is really important, and edited font size accordingly.

I have linked this thread in the VG section of our forum. Thank you.

If you create a macro and use it on a quickbar slot, is it possible to
a) show an ability tooltip during mouseover (normally it will only show the macro text here)
b) show an ability cooldown in this quickbar slot ?
?

to selissa :
to question a: label your macro's as text macro with the option below the text field of the hotkey macro. that way the title you give the macro will show on the hotbar. maybe that helps.
to question b: you mean like the way in rift right? you can place a horizontal bar with the gcd skills you want right above the main hotkey bar. you can also drag an extra horizontal hotkey bar "over" the main hotkey bar (so it looks as you got gcd on your macro showing). then just copy all the single skills you got in tht hotkey bar to the second so everything showe as if its was the underluing bar. but that isn't easy to set up.
but overall.. the last option comes closest to what you mean.