How To Create Macros In World Of Warcraft
macros can make your life so much easier, and in world Of Warcraft, Combining different aspects of combat into one button can be just what you need to land in the top ranks PVP, raids, and Mythical+ dungeon.
They have endless uses, like stacking trinkets, buffs, and different cooldowns in one button. Knowing how to create macros can be tricky, some skills will not work together in a macro. Whether you’re new to creating macros or want to deepen your knowledge, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s jump in.
What is a macro?
Put simply, a macro is a combination of skills or even text for use in chat, all wrapped up in a custom button. They can get pretty complicated, but for starters, macros can be formatted To say, gesture, Pour, Canceland Use and can be specified and even linked to goals Addons. Make sure the skills entered in a macro are spelled correctly. It’s so important to make sure you write everything correctly, otherwise it won’t work. Using combat skills may require some testing on dummies or private duels before completing them in the heat of battle. With a variety of slash commands, the possibilities of what each macro can do are pretty much limitless, but there are some limitations.
One of the limitations comes with Global cooldowns. If a global cooldown is cast, the rest of the macro will be canceled. An example of this is Arcane Shot and Aimed Shot, these cannot be macroed together in this way. Another limitation is using tools that are not in your normal rotation. Macros can’t make decisions for you either. For example, it is not possible to create a macro to target the enemy with the lowest health.
Examples of macros:
/say Please help me!
/cast Sniper Shot
/use Eternal Gladiator’s Ferocity Swimsuit
/Cancel healing
/emote dance
/stop casting Chaos Blitz
/targetlasttarget
You can also add aim modifiers to your macros. This makes it easier, whether in Arena, Raids or Dungeons, to target your preferred enemy or ally faster. These are usually inserted after the first slash command in the macro. For example, if you want to throw Fireball at the focused target, the macro would look like this:/to water [@focus] fireball‘. You should parenthesize all target modifier commands for this to work.
Examples of target modifiers:
@Player
@Target
@targettarget – (this targets the target’s target)
@arena1 – (this will target the enemy player in arenas which is the first enemy unit frame of the arena, this can also be modified as @arena2 or @arena3 to target the second or third enemy in arenas)
@mouseover – (the spell will be cast on the one the mouse is currently over)
@cursor – (places the spell where the cursor currently is, ideal for AoE spells that have a ground spell ring before the ability is cast)
@Focus
@ Boss1
@pet – (this targets the player’s pet)
You can also create conditions for macros. Using conditional commands on macros is a great way to specify what the macro will do. This is where creating macros can get a bit tricky, but with a little trial and error practice you can get it done in no time. You should place any conditions in the commands after a target specificity command with commas.
Some examples of macro creation conditions:
Damage – (for casting on an enemy)
Pet – (for classes with pets)
exists – (if the target is still alive)
dead – (if the target is dead)
Channeling – (if the spell cast is a channeled ability)
fight – (in fight)
Help – (if you can help the target with a spell)
Creating a macro
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After pressing Escape, you will see a macros option. Click on that and you will be taken to a new window to create your macro. Choose an icon to represent your macro and enter your desired name. From there, you can use the Enter Macro Commands window to customize your macro to suit your needs. Given the limitations, you’re pretty much free to create any macro you want. Combining trinkets with non-global cooldown abilities and finishing with global cooldown abilities is a great way to make the most of your rotation.
Some examples of long macros:
If you wanted to say “nom nom nom” while eating, your macro would look like this:
/say Nom Nom Nom
/use Honey Plum Cake
If you wanted to cast healing on yourself, it would look like this:
/cast @player heal
A more complicated macro for marksmanship hunters to make the most of their burst cooldowns would look like this:
/use Eternal Gladiator’s Ferocity Swimsuit
/double tap
/cast Bullseye
A complicated macro that uses conditions in the macro commands for marksmanship hunters
/to water [@area1,exists,harm][]Aimed shot
You can get very creative when creating macros. Exploring, discovering, learning, and creating macros is fun and has a lot of helpful potential, but it can definitely be a trial and error endeavor. Make sure to try out any new macros on Target Dummies, Private Duels, or Unranked Arenas or Battlegrounds before bringing them into a Raid, Mythic+, or Ranked PVP match. Getting your hands on a great macro can be a game changer, and the more you explore this world, the more opportunities will come and potentially make your skills that much better.
Now that you know the basics of creating macros, give them a try and see how much a well-made macro can help you in your next fight!