
Originally Posted by
NoctisUmbra
You will in any case, at best, perform as well as a player using MNK optimally without macros. Macros will never give you an advantage. they may make something easier for you - thus them being called a crutch.
Yes, it is entirely possible in specific instances to perform equally well. Theoretically, priority macros are cool because like you say they appear to be equivalent to simply pressing the buttons yourself.
However, there are things such as server lag, latency, etc to consider. When you hit your macro button it goes through line by line. Sometimes latency leads to one or more of the lines being skipped. This can even be the last line, which may be the one you're trying to hit. So what do you do? You spam the button. Each time you hit the button though, the macro is attempting to go through multiple lines.
In a real raid environment, even if in isolated cases, such macros can regularly lead to slight delays in when your command goes through and activates your GCD skill. This means skills coming out slower. This means lower DPS.
Like I said, priority macros or macros that bunch together off-GCD skills do not make or break one's DPS. On the average scale, it won't appear to be much if even noticeable. However, due to the existence of these very real risks and situational errors, simply having a direct command entry for each skill will always be the safest, and thus anybody able to perform optimally without the use of macros will always be a step ahead.