Really liking Sage but...

[Hanayumi]

Play controller as well, found macro'ing <t> and <tt> to skills super helpful, I personally have them on my dps skills so I can just target the tank or someone in party while being able to hit boss or w/e they are bashing. But you can also pop those macros on heals so you can keep target of enemies and heal whoever they are attacking.

[HyoMinPark]

Play controller as well, found macro'ing <t> and <tt> to skills super helpful, I personally have them on my dps skills so I can just target the tank or someone in party while being able to hit boss or w/e they are bashing. But you can also pop those macros on heals so you can keep target of enemies and heal whoever they are attacking.

I would really recommend not using any macros at all—but especially not to macro your heals. Macros do not queue like normal skills in this game, and there are inherent delays with them because they cannot queue with normal abilities. A delay in a heal caused by the way the macro system works is far more detrimental.

The only macros that are really recommended are mouse over macros for things like AST cards or SCH’s Fae Union, and a raise macro. Otherwise, they aren’t that recommended, and are likely to be more of a hindrance than a help.

[Sylve]

I would really recommend not using any macros at all—but especially not to macro your heals. Macros do not queue like normal skills in this game, and there are inherent delays with them because they cannot queue with normal abilities. A delay in a heal caused by the way the macro system works is far more detrimental.

The only macros that are really recommended are mouse over macros for things like AST cards or SCH’s Fae Union, and a raise macro. Otherwise, they aren’t that recommended, and are likely to be more of a hindrance than a help.

I actually tested having DPS buttons on the <tt> macro recently.

Over a 60 second period:
Macro: 25 Dosis casts.
No Macro: 26 Dosis casts.

Losing one Dosis GCD per minute is IMO an acceptable loss compared against the smoother gameplay offered by having the DPS buttons use the <tt> macro.

You could argue the macroless DPS rotation is objectively better because you get that extra GCD.
But I argue that I lose less DPS to use the macro because no matter what I'm targeting I'm always aiming a Dosis at the boss.

It's a personal thing. Some people will feel more comfortable with the incessant target switching.
So I'll keep suggesting that people should give the macro a shot (only on the dps, never on a heal) and see how it feels for them.
But I'll always maintain that it should be a natural function of healer dps spells.

[HyoMinPark]

I actually tested having DPS buttons on the <tt> macro recently.

Over a 60 second period:
Macro: 25 Dosis casts.
No Macro: 26 Dosis casts.

Losing one Dosis GCD per minute is IMO an acceptable loss compared against the smoother gameplay offered by having the DPS buttons use the <tt> macro.

You could argue the macroless DPS rotation is objectively better because you get that extra GCD.
But I argue that I lose less DPS to use the macro because no matter what I'm targeting I'm always aiming a Dosis at the boss.

It's a personal thing. Some people will feel more comfortable with the incessant target switching.
So I'll keep suggesting that people should give the macro a shot (only on the dps, never on a heal) and see how it feels for them.
But I'll always maintain that it should be a natural function of healer dps spells.

And I will argue that not using macro is the better way to play regardless of your “testing”. “1 GCD a minute” adds up over the course of a fight—and you aren’t accounting for other losses that are likely to occur due to movement. Or even due to uncontrollable things like lag and packet loss, which just exacerbate the issues surrounding macros and queuing.

I’m not one to advocate for purposely gimping oneself in any level of content. I don’t care if you’re a bean sprout or a veteran. I won’t recommend combat macros regardless because it’s an objectively subpar way to play. It’s a needless crutch that won’t help a person grow as a player. Even if they aren’t aspiring to be a raider.

[Sylve]

And I will argue that not using macro is the better way to play regardless of your “testing”. “1 GCD a minute” adds up over the course of a fight—and you aren’t accounting for other losses that are likely to occur due to movement. Or even due to uncontrollable things like lag and packet loss, which just exacerbate the issues surrounding macros and queuing.

I’m not one to advocate for purposely gimping oneself in any level of content. I don’t care if you’re a bean sprout or a veteran. I won’t recommend combat macros regardless because it’s an objectively subpar way to play. It’s a needless crutch that won’t help a person grow as a player. Even if they aren’t aspiring to be a raider.

If you enjoy the gameplay of "Cast-retarget-Cast-retarget-Cast-retarget-Cast-retarget" for 10+ minutes straight, Go for it.
Speaking purely from a subjective standpoint, Being able to simeltaneously cast DPS at the boss and oGCD heals at my party members without needing to retarget every 2 seconds is simply better gameplay.

I have tried for years to "train" myself to not use the macro. And every single time i try it, i perform worse. On healing AND dps. I'm probably not alone in that.
No part of this game requires absolute perfection to clear. Not even Savage. Proof of that is in the Logs.
A loss rate of 1 GCD per minute over the course of a full 10 minute fight will only hold up a fight by a handful of seconds at most.

I fully understand the reasons why SQenix have a punishment on macros for combat usage. They do not want us to be able to automate rotations and achieve maximum performance.
Healers though, we're the only role in the game that requires switching targets constantly even when only 1 enemy is present.
As such, the macro command should be the default nature of the spells.
The game subjectively feels considerably better to play as a Healer using this macro.
Objectively, targetdummy DPS is higher when not using the macro.
Personally, Using the macro enables a better performance than not using the macro.

This is why i suggest to anyone who has any kind of issue with doing DPS while healing to try the macro. If they're struggling with the default systems, Mayhaps using it will help them too.
Not everyone is a pitch perfect player who can absolutely nail their GCD timings with total precision.
I know I'll never reach the lofty heights of a 99th percentile DPS healer, for a great many reasons. The macro isnt one of them.
I'll not sacrifice my sanity and smooth gameplay on the altar of gaining 3% more DPS.