BRD macro

[Thailer]

"Manual play nets you:
HS -> ME -> HS -> BL -> HS = 5 Actions possible, 5 actions used."

This becomes the exact same thing as the macro when ME is not up, which is the majorty of the time.....

[lumpenhund]

With the macro you will always have phases when ME is up and BL is up too, and if that is the case you are giving away a HS.

[Thailer]

We want ME and BL casted anytime they are up. All of our skills are instant so how is that giving it away free?

[WiseWolfHolo]

my skill level of bard dps > community bard macros

just saying

[Thailer]

Well I'm sure anyone here can make that claim w/o anything backing it up

[lumpenhund]

there is 2 kind of skills for every class:
GCD skills that trigger your Global Cool Down and oGCD (off Global Cool Down) skills that have longer reuse times and can be used inbetween GCD skills without pushing back the next use of a GCD skill.
The latter, oGCD skills, are finite in that matter, that you wont have one available for every time you could use one inbetween GCD skills.

oGCD skills for bards are e.g. Misery's End, Bloodletter, Repelling Shot, Blunt Arrow
GCD skills for bards include Straight Shot, Heavy Shot, both DoTs

So if your GCD skill is ready but you are using Bloodletter instead of a GCD skill, you wont be able to use Bloodletter inbetween two GCD skills, if you have no other oGCD skill available at the time, you just sit there and wait out the GCD, thus wasting the opportunity to have 1 GCD skill extra.

My previous post gave compared two skillchains of 3 GCD and 2 oGCD abilities used if you weave the ME and BL between HS.
You only achieve 2 GCD and 2 oGCD abilities in the same amount of time with your macro.

[NeonC]

That looks nice, always having something to shoot and covering your GCD with something but it is not optimal. You want to let off BL and ME as soon as they are available since they are the most potent attacks, AND there is the chance that waiting on them will not allow you to get another one.

[lumpenhund]

Bloodletter has the same potency as Heavy Shot, but does not have a chance to make your next Straight Shot a critical hit, thus it is inferior to Heavy Shot if TPs are not an issue.
If you do not use ME inbetween GCDs you are giving away a whole HS which is 150 potency.
That is 150 potency you are not going to get back.
Getting ME off cooldown like 2 seconds earlier because of that is hardly worth 150 potency.

The only thing that makes Bloodletter that much more useful than Heavy Shot is the oGCD mechanic that ALLOWS the use of Bloodletter without wasting any damage time BETWEEN GCD abilities.
This is the only reason Bloodletter has even a right to be used. (unless TP are an issue ofc.)
So if you do not use Bloodletter inbetween oGCD you are doing it wrong.

[Thailer]

Think he is referring to more of the BL proccing

[NeonC]

You are assuming the animation lock for one ogcd skills is = to a full gcd, it is not. I imagine with all the back and forth this subject has the dps is comparable in any situation so it really comes down to preference. I prefer to unload everything ogcd as soon as I get it to allow more chances for them to refresh. Some people prefer to have a more active system by covering their gcd, it is not that big of a deal. To me I like to empty out and have more time to be aware of what is going on.