Hotbar Macros and Keybinds

Hello! Just wanted to share some cool stuff I found out today, and hopefully some others will find it useful.

If you feel like you just don't have enough space on your hotbars and don't know what to do, this is for you.

Copying Hotbars

Cool Thing #1: Every job and class in the game can save hotbar setups which can then be loaded onto other classes or jobs.

The best part about this is if for example you have obtained the SMN/SCH jobs chances are you won't be using ACN at all - but you can still use ACN hotbars for storage. Same goes for WHM/CNJ and all the rest. So much hotbar storage!

Once you have stored hotbars you can easily switch between them with a macro, making for not only extra hotbar space but also extra buttons on those few precious easy-to-hit keys.

First thing you'll want to do is figure out which hotbar(s) you want to toggle and how you want them set up. Then:

Saving Hotbars

Use a macro like this to save a hotbar setup:

Code:

/hotbar copy SMN 1 ACN 1 /hotbar copy SMN 2 ACN 2

What this macro does is copy your current SMN hotbars 1 and 2 to your ACN (for storage).

Now for your secondary set of bars, slap your abilities on 'em however you like and make another macro like so to save them:

Code:

/hotbar copy SMN 1 ACN 3 /hotbar copy SMN 2 ACN 4

Keep these macros in case you ever change your bars - make sure to save them whenever you update them. (If you plan to never update your bars again, you have no further use of these macros.)

The number of sets you can save is limited only by your hotbar storage space and how many hotbars you wish to change. You could have a single bar change between, say, 6 different setups, or swap 6 hotbars between 3 different setups - whatever floats your boat.

Loading Hotbars

Once your bars are saved you'll need more macros to access them. Using the example from above this macro will load your first set of bars:

Code:

/hotbar copy ACN 1 SMN 1 /hotbar copy ACN 2 SMN 2

And this macro will load your second set:

Code:

/hotbar copy ACN 3 SMN 1 /hotbar copy ACN 4 SMN 2

Move these macros onto your bars wherever you like. You can put them on a separate unsaved hotbar and toggle between the two sets with different keys, or you can stick 'em in your saved hotbars and use the same key to toggle between your sets.

Pets!

They're a pain in the arse sometimes, aren't they?

Cool Thing #2: You can assign each of your pet abilities to any key you want without using the Pet Hotbar at all.

Placing Abilities

Let's say you want Garuda's Contagion ability in the 10th slot of your 1st hotbar. This is the macro you make:

Code:

/hotbar pet "Contagion" garuda-egi 1 10

Now you can attach this to a summon macro so the ability is automatically placed on your bar when you summon Garuda. And you can attach its other abilities as well:

Code:

/ac "Summon" /micon "Summon" /hotbar pet "Shockwave" garuda-egi 1 8 /hotbar pet "Aerial Slash" garuda-egi 1 9 /hotbar pet "Contagion" garuda-egi 1 10

For those not macro-savvy let's go through this line-by-line.

/ac "Summon" is the command to use your Summon ability, which summons Garuda.

/micon "Summon" changes the macro's icon to that of the Summon ability. It's just nice to have.

/hotbar pet "Shockwave" garuda-egi 1 8 places your Garuda's Shockwave ability into the 8th slot of your 1st hotbar.

If you've noticed, the aoe abilities for the three SMN pets are not in the same position of the Pet's Hotbar. In fact not a single one of them is the same. This way you can make sure they're all on the same button by making a macro such as the one shown above for each of your pets.

Saving Pet Abilities and Swapping Hotbars

Cool Thing #3: If it just so happens that you want your pet abilities in the same spot, but it just so happens that spot is on a bar that you want to toggle, you can do that too!

In my particular case I have two hotbars I want to toggle between two setups, and all of my pet abilities are on one of them in slots 8-10. If I want to change pets I need to re-save the bar setup with the new pet abilities. Thankfully this can all be done in a single macro:

Code:

/ac "Summon III" /micon "Summon III" /hotbar copy ACN 3 SMN 1 /hotbar pet "Crimson Cyclone" ifrit-egi 1 8 /hotbar pet "Flaming Crush" ifrit-egi 1 9 /hotbar pet "Radiant Shield" ifrit-egi 1 10 /hotbar copy SMN 1 ACN 3 /hotbar copy ACN 1 SMN 1 /hotbar pet "Crimson Cyclone" ifrit-egi 1 8 /hotbar pet "Flaming Crush" ifrit-egi 1 9 /hotbar pet "Radiant Shield" ifrit-egi 1 10 /hotbar copy SMN 1 ACN 1

If you have more than two setups you want to toggle between or if your pet abilities are on different bars you may need multiple macros (or sacrifice the macro icon line) since you can only have 15 lines in a macro.

Now again let's go through this line-by-line:

/ac "Summon III" Summons Ifrit.
/micon "Summon III" Makes the macro icon that of the Summon III ability.
/hotbar copy ACN 3 SMN 1 Loads the 2nd set of my 1st hotbar.
/hotbar pet "Crimson Cyclone" ifrit-egi 1 8 Places Crimson Cyclone in the 8th slot of my 1st hotbar for the 2nd set.
/hotbar copy SMN 1 ACN 3 Saves my 1st hotbar with the new pet abilities to my 2nd set.
/hotbar copy ACN 1 SMN 1 Loads the 1st set of my 1st hotbar.
/hotbar pet "Crimson Cyclone" ifrit-egi 1 8 Places Crimson Cyclone in the 8th slot of my 1st hotbar for the 1st set.
/hotbar copy SMN 1 ACN 1 Saves my 1st hotbar with the new pet abilities to my 1st set.

All said and done my hotbars are updated with the new pet abilities and are loaded to the 1st set, and I can switch between them without worry because the pet abilities are saved onto each set. With a similar macro for each pet my bars will be updated every time I summon a pet.

A word of caution: It helps if you have a place you really like for your pet abilities. If you want to change where they go you'll need to edit all of your pet macros which can be a wee bit irritating the 3rd or 4th time around. (Speaking from experience. ;) )

Bonus!

How many times have you mounted up with your pet out only to have it aggro something and despawn as you run out of range and are unable to command the pet while mounted? Well I've done it a lot. Don't judge me.

The pet's Steady ability prevents them from aggroing all the things but it sure is arduous toggling that every time you mount up, so here's a little macro to make it easier:

Code:

/micon "Company Chocobo" mount /petaction Steady /mount "Company Chocobo"

Never have your pets aggro things while mounted again.

Keybinding Tips

If you're really lost about where to put abilities at all and are really struggling to figure out what to do with them all, this section is for you.

I don't want to go too in depth here about the art of keybinding but here's a short version:

Keybinding 101

The two basic setups for movement are WASD and ESDF. Choosing your movement keys is important. WASD gives you easier access to the CTRL and ALT modifiers which grants a larger total number of binds while ESDF has more keys to hit without using modifier keys while only having easy access to a single modifier key (Shift).

Once you pick your movement keys, place your hand on them as follows (using WASD as an example): Your ring finger should be on WS, your pinky on A, and your middle finger on D.

From this position see which keys are easiest to hit - bind your frequently used or super important abilities here. Since your index finger is not used for movement it is wise to place instant abilities where your index finger will hit them so you can easily use them on the move.

The farther away the keys are and the harder they are to hit = the less important the abilities should be. In addition the more modifiers you attach to a key = the less important the abilities should be.

Prioritize Your Abilities

FFXIV has a lot of abilities. It may be difficult to place all those you deem important in easy-to-reach places. Unless ofc you have freakishly long and dexterous fingers. In my case I have two hotbars worth of relatively easy-to-hit keys without modifiers (25 thanks to a couple extra mouse buttons) and 33 total abilities that I want quick access to.

Now take a good look at all of your abilities. Write down the ones you use and when you use them, making special note of those you want easy or quick access to. Some abilities will be used all the time, some for single target only, some for aoe, etc.

As a Summoner I have 7 aoe abilities: Shadow Flare, Bane, Painflare, Blizzard II (from BLM), Tri-Bind, Miasma II, and my pet's aoe. That's a lot of hotbar space for situational abilities.

What I did: Make one hotbar setup for single target and another for aoe, using my two primary hotbars (no modifiers). The two setups share a lot of abilities (like my dots which I use for both single target and aoe) but by swapping out abilities I only use in certain situations I avoid awkward scenarios where I need to use an ability but have to hit something like Shift+U to do it because I had no space elsewhere.

In addition to these two sets of two hotbars each I have a few other abilities I don't use often that I bound to modified keys. My CDs for example are currently bound to Shift+4 through Shift+7 - sure they're important but I only hit them once per minute or three and it's not as important to hit them asap as it would be to use an interrupt or healing potion for example.

If you're playing a healer you could make setups to switch between healing and dpsing - you could even macro Cleric's Stance into the hotbar toggle.

And those are the only examples I have because I'm still new to this game but you get the idea. Regardless these macros grant a neat way to make your life in Eorzea a little easier. ^^

Um I don't get it, why do we need this? Not trying to be mean but why?

One additional note: The /hotbar command works on the straight hotbars mainly used by keyboard/mouse players. There's a corresponding /crosshotbar or /chotbar command for the cross hotbars that controller players use. Copy works just the same. Set is functionally the same, but instead of a number for the bar and a number for the slot on that bar, you have a number for the bar followed by a name for the slot.

For instance, the crossbar slot on the left side activated by L2 + the down directional button can be called LDD (for left trigger - direction buttons - down) or LD4, whereas the slot on the right side activated by R2 and the triangle button is called RAU (right trigger - action buttons - up) or RA2.

>>Slot Names:
　L2＋← LDL (LD1)
　R2＋← RDL (RD1)
　L2＋↑ LDU (LD2)
　R2＋↑ RDU (RD2)
　L2＋→ LDR (LD3)
　R2＋→ RDR (RD3)
　L2＋↓ LDD (LD4)
　R2＋↓ RDD (RD4)
　L2＋□ LAL (LA1)
　R2＋□ RAL (RA1)
　L2＋△ LAU (LA2)
　R2＋△ RAU (RA2)
　L2＋X LAR (LA3)
　R2＋X RAR (RA3)
　L2＋〇 LAD (LA4)
　R2＋〇 RAD (RA4)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powe

Um I don't get it, why do we need this? Not trying to be mean but why?

It's for when you have more skills than you can fit on your most conveniently available hotbars.

He gave a couple of examples. You might want one hotbar layout when facing lots of enemies, one that places your AoE skills most prominently, and another for when you're facing one or two enemies in which your single-target skills are more prominent. Or as healer might want one while in Cleric Stance and another while in regular healing stance.

He showed at the start how to copy your bars to somewhere to store them, but putting those back works just the same. With your AoE layout for instance stored on ACN bars 1 and 2 and your single-target ones stored on ACN 3 and 4, you'd then have a "load single target layout" macro that copies ACN 3 and 4 back onto your main SMN 1 and 2 bars, and a "load AoE layout" macro that copies ACN 1 and 2 onto your main SMN 1 and 2 bars. During battle as Summoner, you could swap your hotbars around as needed by using one or another of those layout loading macros. You'd be able to stay on the Summoner 1 and 2 bars throughout the duty while having different sets of abilities available there.

If you just have a couple different layouts like in this example, its easy to set up a toggle between them. That "load single target layout" macro should then be included on one of the slots in the AoE bars, while that same slot in the single-target bars has your "load AoE layout" macro. That key could then always toggle your layout back and forth when you need it.

Personally, I prefer chotbar change over copy. Your framerate can stutter sometimes. I'm a firm lover of these kinds of macros.

But um I can see this use for Crafters but for any other jobs its um unnecessary. The most you'll need is like 3 bars

Quote:

Originally Posted by Powe

But um I can see this use for Crafters but for any other jobs its um unnecessary. The most you'll need is like 3 bars

That might be the most you will need but doesn't necessarily be the same for others. And it debends of the rest of the setup too. Hotbar change can be viable if the other hotbars are not used other were in the ui setup. Being able to make different "templates" for different uses also is more usable on some classes than others.