Please can we be allowed have more macros

[Altena]

Right, but that's just putting in more input delay because you're either mashing your macro, since it doesn't queue, or making sure you don't hit it during animation lock.

Errr no? Normal non-macro skills also have an input delay - this is why the queue system was put in place for GCD based skills to begin with. People were unable to truly chain GCD skills because of that delay before the queue system existed. Hitting an off GCD skill is the same, whether you use a macro or not, simply because it does not delay your GCD.

It doesn't matter if you spam 10 times a second or press it once. The macro will go off on the first available slot after the mini animation lock, exactly the same as if you were to hit the skill normally. You don't magically generate input delay just by spamming a macro of an off-GCD skill compared with the normal action from the menu.

The whole reason it's a DPS loss to use macros on GCD based skills is purely because there is no queue system for them. The "first available" time to use a GCD skill is when the GCD comes off cooldown, which would therefore delay the start of the GCD by your ping and server response time etc etc - however this doesn't apply to off-GCD skills as they can be used during the GCD, with the only limiting factor is the mini-animation lock in which case is exactly the same as hitting the skill normally without the macro..

In addition to this, a lot of skills that I mentioned previously (for example, Shadewalker, Smokescreen, Goad), it is actually arguably a net gain, as in order to use these skills without a mouseover macro you would have to switch OFF your main target (the boss) in order to use it. This not only has the potential to force you to miss an auto-attack, but is rather clunky and you will likely not get it off in time before your GCD ends.

Finally, the difference between 500ms for 1 skill every minute or longer (for practically all of the skills I mentioned) is a damage loss of the tiniest proportion. Over a 10 minute fight, that's only 2-3 GCD's.. If you were to macro a full combo? That will absolutely be a DPS loss. Macroing Zerk with a /p notification? Or Tank stances with hotbar action allocations? Yeah nah.. That kind of stuff doesn't effect your DPS at all.

Though all of that being said, the only skills I use macros for are-

Defiance, Deliverance, Shadewalker, Smokescreen, Goad, Cover, Warden's Paean, Flaming Arrow/Salted Earth (sometimes)
When I cared to heal, I used to use mouseover for single target heals as I felt that the convenience of not having to specifically target anyone, outweighed the delay you would get.. Though I would likely change that opinion a bit if I ever went back to healing any serious content.

[JunseiKei]

~snip~

Ugh. Okay, this is where I will say we will agree to disagree, simply because personal experience [and raid members who have complained about this issue] tell me otherwise.

I literally just made an oGCD macro, Berserk actually, to test it. Using the macro and having /ac "Berserk" spammed a minimum of 8 lines, the macro didn't apply the skill, but the text appeared, roughly 1 out of 11 times. Roughly. Some were more. Some were less. I can't even tell you if I was just slow on some of them because I was getting bored testing this out, so I [subconsciously] allowed more leeway than I normally would. Human error is a thing to consider, both having the macro work and not. Either way, once out of so many times is more than I like, considering the issue is just completely nonexistent when not using macros.

I also know for a fact that when macroing skills like Shadowflare and Flaming Arrow, you're clipping your total range short. I had made a macro for both of those skills; I didn't notice the cut range until I was doing Sephirot EX. I wasn't able to stand as far back as I'd have liked with either skill macro and confirmed this keeping to the same spot and switching out to my non macro skill. My skill was no longer invalid and let me place it down. It was a little disappointing, as I am a little slower using ground targets like that, but having to move to be in range to use that macro means I am missing a cast elsewhere. Ergo, a DPS loss in a fight where positions are fairly important. No thank you; I just learned to hover my mouse where I wanted it faster.

This isn't even getting into where a boss needs to be moved, placing those AoEs down squarely in the boss's hitbox may not be the best of ideas (A10S pops into mind). The skill only needs to overlap a part of the hitbox.

For me, any damage loss that I can otherwise prevent is simply unwelcome.