Outdated Content as of Patch 5.0.4
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Macros for
all your Paladin Needs, or at least a good start!
Macros are
the little secret that used to be the territory of command line
champions.
Those scared of typing in code shied away from macros needlessly.
Blizzard has
created a simple interface for us to automate some of the routine
(some may
say monotonous) button clicking. This week we’re going to
look into macros and
how they can eliminate some of the button mashing we go through every
fight. I
should rephrase, sometimes macros are used because they not only remove
some of
the monotony, but a macro can sequence a series of button presses
faster than a
finger taps on a keyboard or set of mouse clicks.
The first
issue to tackle is the creation of a macro. If you are unfamiliar with
macros,
then read the beginner’s guide that can be found on href="http://www.wowwiki.com/UI_Beginners_Guide#Macros">WoWWiki.
Once you are familiar with the concept of macros and are
ready to make some macros specific for you Paladin, and then continue
reading!
Instead of
breaking up the guide between the three different playstyles (healing,
tanking,
DPS), I’m going to group the macros
by type. Macros come in
many flavors, but
this week we’re going to look at sequence macros, mouse-over
macros and non-combat
macros.
Sequence
Macros – faster than a
speeding clicker
Let’s
face
it, we are not as fast as machines. When we need to really put the
hammer down
on a series of clicks, programmed clicks will activate faster than we
are able
to press the buttons. Since this is the case, many macros use the
machine speed
to help out in combat. One of the first macros that I used was a
trinket
activation macro.
Trinket
Macro:
The
following macro will automatically trigger both trinket
slots (if your trinkets have a ”Use” function) and
then cast Crusader Strike:
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68432">
A cut and paste version follows:
/#show tooltip
/console
Sound_EnableSFX 0
/use
13
/use
14
/script
UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
/console
Sound_EnableSFX 1
/cast
Crusader Strike
/startattack
This
macro does a number of things:
-
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="">
style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">It
triggers both trinkets (in this
case a Retribution Spec Paladin may have two attack power trinkets) -
style="font-size: 10pt;">It
will also eliminate the error
sound so you won’t be bugged if you hit the macro while the
trinkets are on
cooldown. -
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="">
style="font-size: 10pt;">Upon
the additional buffs from the
trinkets, it casts a spell that can take advantage of the buffs, in
this case
Crusader Strike. -
style="font-size: 10pt;">At
the end it makes sure that you
won’t miss any swings by starting autoattacks.
This
type of macro is a bread and butter staple for most
builds. A protection version for block trinkets or dodge trinkets might
be
tooltip
/console
Sound_EnableSFX 0
/use
13
/use
14
/script
UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
/console
Sound_EnableSFX 1
/cast
Hammer of the Righteous
/start
autoattack
As you can
see, replacing the type of attack or spell after
“cast” can modify the macro to
be useful for all builds of Paladin.
The big
heal
macro is widely posted on various forums, as this macro will fire off
trinkets
and healing boosters prior to landing a big heal:
13
/use 14
/cast Divine Favor
/cast Divine Illumination
/cast Avenging Wrath
/script UIErrorsFrame:Clear()
/cast [target=mouseover,help] Holy
Light;
Remember
that the mouse over works
both in the party windows as well as the character avatars. With my
moderate
healing gear, the above macro has me landing tens of thousands of
healing
points in very short order. While the buffs are still rolling, drop in
a Holy Shock
and your jaw will drop.
Other
sequence macros include a handy mana regen macro for those of us smart
enough
to play Blood Elf Paladins:
Divine Plea
/cast
Divine Plea
/cast
Arcane Torrent
This will
activate both Divine Plea and Arcane Torrent if available.
Using the
series of casts and clicks,
you can mix and match to make macros specifically suited for the
sequence you
need.
Mouse-Over
Macros:
The second
type of macro that is quite helpful is the mouse-over macro. During
combat, the
action can be fast and furious. Looking down at action bars to find the
right
spell and then trying to click on a player’s name while
running can be tricky
at best. Using a mouse-over macro, players can cast a spell as the
cursor is
pointing at the person in need. This is helpful in many ways. First,
when you
see an action on your screen it is easier to react to that action with
your
mouse pointing on the player in question, rather than figure out which
player
that is, then begin clicking on the spell and then finding the
player’s name in
the party window.
We’ll
start with a basic mouse-over
for Cleansing:
#showtooltip Cleanse
/stopcasting
/cast [target=mouseover] Cleanse
While it
doesn’t look like much it
allows the Paladin to keep his/her eyes on the playing field. If the
macro icon
is in slot #1 of the action bar, the Paladin can be pressing #1 while
mousing
over the player needing cleansing. Simple as that.
Mouse-over
macros are useful for all
Paladin play styles. Other healing spells can be placed in the macro to
cast
Holy Shock, Holy Light or Flash of Light on a mouse-over target. style=""> The
Holy Shock macro can be used against
hostile or friendly targets as needed.
Tanking
Paladins will typically have
taunting mouse-over macros to save those squishy casters who pull agro.
A
Righteous Defense/Hand of Reckoning macro looks like the following:
style="font-size: 10pt;">/cast
[target=mouseover,exists,help,nodead] [help,nodead,exists] Righteous
Defense;
Hand of Reckoning style="font-size: 10pt;">
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68431">
The above
macro will cast Righteous
Defense on the mouse-over friendly target and if that is on cooldown
the macro
will cast Hand of Reckoning on the friendly target’s attacker.
Some of
these macros take time for you
to work them into your rotation, but you will be much better off in the
long
run as your character’s reactions will be much faster.
Non-combat
Macros
Last but
not least, some macros are
best used out of combat. These are aids for determining values or
setting up
prior to combat. The first is raid targeting macro. Raid targeting
usually
falls on the tank as a responsibility so Protection Paladins will want
to take
note of this:
SetRaidTargetIcon("mouseover",
INSERT NUMBER HERE)
style="font-size: 10pt;">Each
Raid icon
has a corresponding number:
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">0
= no icon
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">1
= Yellow
4-point Star
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">2
= Orange
Circle
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">3
= Purple
Diamond
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">4
= Green
Triangle
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">5
= White
Crescent Moon
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">6
= Blue Square
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">7
= Red
"X" Cross
style="font-size: 10pt;">
style="font-size: 10pt;">8
= White Skull
style="font-size: 10pt;">
So
the macro to set the a White
Skull on a mouse-over target would be:
SetRaidTargetIcon("mouseover",8 )
If
you prefer to target the enemy
manually, just take out “mouseover” and replace it
with “target.” Most raids
use only 3 or 4 icons, so you probably won’t need 8 buttons
mapped for the
macros, but remember that you can also use the shift, alt and control
keys in
the key mapping options.
Another
non-combat macro that is
very useful for tanking Paladins is the Tankadin macro (thanks to
Maintankadin):
style="font-size: 10pt;">/run local
b,d,p,r,a=GetBlockChance(),GetDodgeChance(),GetParryChance(),
GetCombatRating(CR_DEFENSE_SKILL)
a=1/(.0625+.956/(r/122.9625)) ChatFrame1:AddMessage(format("Unhittable:
%.2f%% Avoidance: %.2f%% Defense %+.0f
rating",b+d+p+5+a,d+p+5+a,r-689))
style="font-size: 10pt;">
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68430">
The
above essential macro will show
the key stats for Paladin tanks and whether or not your current gear
passes
muster. More specifically it shows your ratings for being
“unhittable” your
avoidance and defense. Very essential for knowing your stats, like this
(can you guess when Holy Shield is active?):
style="font-size: 10pt;">
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/68428">
One
last macro for some very special
situations allows a player to set the maximum viewing distance much
farther
back than the default view. This macro is essential for fights like
Malygos and
many other 25-man raid situations where seeing more of the playing
field is vital:
SetCVar("cameraDistanceMax",50) style="font-size: 10pt;">
Depending
on your monitor, the above
macro can set you so far back your character will look smaller than the
characters in Diablo. You may not always want it set there, but you can
adjust
the distance based on the last number in the sequence.
For
those of you who are gluttons
for gathering, the following macro will switch your tracking in the
minimap
between herbs and mining nodes:
[nocombat] find herbs, find minerals style="font-size: 10pt;">
This
will eliminate one additional
button off your hotbar.
Hopefully
these macros will help you
in your everyday enjoyment of World of Warcraft. The chosen macros are
provided
to show the versatility available within the framework of the game
itself.
These are not hacks or cheats, they are ways to personalize the game
interaction the way you want to have it. Many players don’t
ever open the macro
window, but armed with the basics above, you should be able to wade
into combat
with macros blaring.
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