macros: bad for DPS?

Typically I believe that macros which use the wait command are bad for your dps but there are also macros that can improve your dps. For example, on bard macroing together misery's end and bloodletter with heavy shot can ensure that you only use those 2 abilities while you're on global cooldown.

The wait command forces you to rely on a specific rotation of abilities and on blm in particular it may skip spells in the rotation if you're moving and try to cast one out of order. Macros without the wait command are meant for you to spam a single button in order to use multiple skills while others are on cooldown or in between global cooldowns.

Its situational.

On BRD I use the always useful Misery > Blood > HS with no waits.. SMN/SCH I like to macro swift + pet summons (and rez).. some like to macro their buffs for different classes as well, personally however I like to have a bit more control of my buffs.

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Originally Posted by Odett

It sounds like a good idea in concept...

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That does make sense, I have seen similar berserk macro when I run as a sch in DR a couple times before, which I find quite alright. I'll try to leech him off if I can, but I won't stress myself over it. Maybe some people will feel a need to with the presence of that macro? I guess I should re-consider if I should remove it then...

Just a macro question:
Is there a time loss if i pin a OGCD on top of a GCD just so i can see the CD but never use the /wait command?

Obviously i main a DRG and with PS4 i don't like changing hot bars. Is that going to create a lag?

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Originally Posted by Serwrathim

Just a macro question:
Is there a time loss if i pin a OGCD on top of a GCD just so i can see the CD but never use the /wait command?

Obviously i main a DRG and with PS4 i don't like changing hot bars. Is that going to create a lag?

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I'm pretty sure there is a time loss. You can test it for yourself on a dummy or something. Use another gcd and then press the macro when the gcd is 1/4 away from being usable again. Just tap it once. If it doesn't execute then the queue system isn't being used.

I have 300 ping and I've been trying to understand how the gcd queues works as a dps a couple weeks ago on a dummy and I find that..ngcd also queues up when not macro'd. I hit a gcd with a long animation and mash a ngcd to see the fastest time the gcd's animation will be cancelled into the ngcd. Then I try using them again the same way but not mashing: hitting the gcd and then hitting ngcd immediately after, way before the gcd animation can be skipped and the ngcd is used right at the same time as when I wasn't mashing it out. I might also be seeing things but I think I saw leg sweep being 'queue-able' before the cooldown up is up and the icon flashed (I hit the sweep with just a sliver on the clock and it came out anyway). Could be my imagination.

So, like, I'm not entirely sure on the math and stuff but with my latency,using macros even on ngcds for weaving them in might be risky enough to slow me down over time.

When I learned about macros I used them but they are obviously slower....but I assumed that if I was only using one ogcd on top of one gcd I would be avoiding dps loss...

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Originally Posted by Gardes

...ngcd also queues up when not macro'd. I hit a gcd with a long animation and mash a ngcd to see the fastest time the gcd's animation will be cancelled into the ngcd. Then I try using them again the same way but not mashing: hitting the gcd and then hitting ngcd immediately after, way before the gcd animation can be skipped and the ngcd is used right at the same time as when I wasn't mashing it out. I might also be seeing things but I think I saw leg sweep being 'queue-able'

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I have also noticed that if you don't wait for the majority of animation to finish that an early ogcd can interrupt a gcd and it's effects won't be applied; like if I press sweep too early it will disregard disembowel or ps will do the same to chaos thrust.

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Originally Posted by Serwrathim

I have also noticed that if you don't wait for the majority of animation to finish that an early ogcd can interrupt a gcd and it's effects won't be applied; like if I press sweep too early it will disregard disembowel or ps will do the same to chaos thrust.

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Oh my god, why did I forget to mention this?! YES! This is definitely true. If I'm in the 'zone' and mashed out everything fast, out of a full rotation I can see my legsweep getting cancelled or cancelling out my combo altogether (true OK > vorpal glows> mash out leg sweep, vorpal stops glowing). Or the sweep and jump animation playing twice, locking me in animation and slowing me down on gcd because I couldn't use it but the cooldown is already up. The worst: jump animation plays twice and I 'land' twice on the enemy before touching ground AND it didn't count. Either my jump didnt get used while I still get 'punished' with animation lock or the damage simply did not appear. This also happens to me on BLM. Cast flare and mash out swiftcast or convert and the flare animation will play but I will mash 'cancel' into swift and flare so fast that the damage did not apply and my MP is gone.

I asked my FC if this ever happened to them but none of them has any of these happen to them so I'm inclined to believe it's me and my latency that's making it possible.

For DRG, I have my jumps in a macro, as well as my stuns (which includes another jump move) in a 2nd and my dps CDs in a 3rd, and they are all instant cast when I need them. Every other move in my rotation takes a spot on my action bar, and don't see how it would be efficient otherwise. There's a time and place for macros, but the ID>Disembowel>CT and the TT>VT>FT chains aren't one of them, in my opinion.

In the case of off-gcd macros, the only problem I've see that actually matters is when it sorta glitches out. I've run into several instances where it either cancels itself because of animation clipping (where the off-gcd ability does half of the animation then cancels itself, forcing you wait on the gcd to recycle, making you lose 0.5-1sec of dps) or it goes on cooldown despite not actually being used (or at least not being document on the log).