Need Help with SCH DPS Macro

[Beyondgrave]

I'm trying to make a macro so that I can dps while targeting the tank still but I'm having some trouble. Atm my macro look like this :
/ac "Cleric Stance"
/wait
/ac "Bio ii" <t>
/wait 3.0
/ac "Miasma" <t>
/wait
/ac "Bio" <t>
/wait
/ac "Cleric Stance"

But it some time would cast miasma and sometime it wouldn't. I could not get it to cast Bio 1 at all for some reason. Also, after cleric stance, there is a sec wait before using Bio 2. I try taking out the /wait command between cleric stance and bio 2 and that did not help. Also, i could not get it to cast Cleric stance once everything is done. Right now, I'm using <t> to test it out in the open world before I start using it in group contents.

So I changed it to :
/ac "Cleric Stance" <me>
/wait 1
/ac "Bio II" <t>
/wait 3
/ac "Miasma" <t>
/wait 2.5
/ac "Bio" <t>
/wait 1
/ac "Cleric Stance" <me>

and got it to work. but the problem now is that it work the first time casting, but when I cast it again, it would skill bio 2 and go straight to miasma and then bio and the cleric stance. Any idea how to fix this? any help is much appreciated.

[Cynfael]

Though this isn't what you're asking, I don't think I'd bother with a DPS macro at all. It's very slow and clunky compared to how quickly you can manually queue up your attacks.

If you're concerned about keeping the tank topped off while you take a few seconds to apply DoTs, you can use any number of tricks to force the fairy to spam Embrace on him/her while you do other things.

[Tranquil]

I don't understand the point of making a macro for this because you're basically just queuing up actions every 2 seconds or so - not really the most dexterous of feats. If you want to DPS and do it efficiently, you should be focused on having your fairy do all the healing it can do, ie. microing your fairy while DPSing, which in turns gives you an easier time in staying in Cleric Stance due to the vastly improved HPS-rates (not to mention micromanaging is just one of the job's key-features if you want to minmax, DPSing or not).

If your gameplay is at a point where instead of focusing on the micromanagement minmaxing you are worried about the convenience of applying the DoTs themselves without any extra, you should practice a bit more. It is definitely not worth the clunkiness and the potential macro-fails that can come from server lag, executing another macro while the previous one is still going out etc etc.

Make a target's target Embrace-macro and keybind it to something you can spam easily. Keep spamming that religiously on cooldown while spending your GCDs on damage dealing spells simultaneously. That is the way to maximize DPS & fairy-HPS at the same time.

[Beyondgrave]

I didn't think of macroing my fairy heal with my dots. good advice. i already micro my fairy since i dont want them to blow all their cd mindlessly and i have heal priorities that i want to keep alive and fairy dont really distinguish between which class is more important to heal than other i.e tanks>dps

[Tranquil]

i already micro my fairy since i dont want them to blow all their cd mindlessly

That's a good start, but ideally you'd have your fairies spam Embraces on cooldown all the time, whether you're targeting your tank or a mob you're DPSing. That is mainly what I meant.

The main idea in here is that if you're interested in maximizing your DPS, you directly benefit from having a higher fairy-HPS because as a result of that - manual healing is needed less. (And in 8-mans this translates to the WHM having an easier time during cruise-control phases).

I am not trying to be condenscending, but if you want to put out DPS of significance you should aim for the most efficient and reliable way to go for it, even if it meant more arduous multitasking and micromanaging. If you get too deep into the macro-jungles, it is going to be extremely clunky and unreliable at the end of the day.

Perhaps someone can give you an answer to your macro-worries.

[Bixby]

OK, so...

Macros are not parsed as a unit. The client reads each line in turn and tries to do what that line tells it to do. If it comes across an /ac line, it sends that to the server and lets the server determine if it succeeds or not. If it comes across a /wait line, it waits that many whole seconds (/wait rounds up, <wait> truncates; /wait 2.5 is /wait 3, <wait.2.5> is <wait.2>) before it reads the next line.

This also means that if you encounter any lag at all, you tend to get screwed. For example, if the client sends an /ac command, but there's lag that makes it take a while to get to the server, the client doesn't check that. It moves on to the next line. If that's a /wait, it just waits that many seconds, then sends the next command. If the first command lags, and the second doesn't, they're going to hit the server too close together, and one or both are going to fail.

Macros also don't queue early like regular commands. You can hit a command pulled from the spellbook about half a second early, and the game will register that and cast that ability when it's ready. You can not do this with macros; the client will just start trying them immediately when you press the button, and if you're still in an animation or GCD or cast, the first like will just fail and it'll move on and try the next line, and so on.

Aaaaalso, you can only have one macro running at a time. If you use any other macro while this one is running, it will interrupt and stop this one, and any lines that haven't already been executed will be ignored.

So in your first attempt here:

/ac "Cleric Stance"
/wait
/ac "Bio ii" <t>
/wait 3.0
/ac "Miasma" <t>
/wait
/ac "Bio" <t>
/wait
/ac "Cleric Stance"

You send the server a command to use CS. Then you tell the client to wait 1 second (which is the default if no number is specified). Then try to cast Bio II on your target. Then wait 3 seconds. Then try to cast Miasma on your target. Then wait 1 second. Then try to cast Bio on your target, which fails, because you only waited 1 second and you're still in your GCD. Then wait 1 second. Then try to cast Cleric Stance. Not entirely sure why CS would fail there. It's more than 5 seconds total (the CS CD), and the fact that you're still in your GCD after Miasma shouldn't matter (I don't think).

So I changed it to :
/ac "Cleric Stance" <me>
/wait 1
/ac "Bio II" <t>
/wait 3
/ac "Miasma" <t>
/wait 2.5
/ac "Bio" <t>
/wait 1
/ac "Cleric Stance" <me>

You've got the wait times closer to correct here, but that 2.5 is really a 3, so you might as well just make it 3 so you're not deluding yourself. This looks like it should work otherwise, as long as you're not spamming it too early. Even though CS is off-GCD, if you're in the midst of casting something else, or still going through the animation of an instant-cast, you won't be able to use it. If you're going to use this, you'll either have to wait until you are absolutely done with everything else to push the button, or spam the button like crazy (so that the macro constantly interrupts itself) until you see CS activate, and then stop and take your fingers off the keyboard/controller.

You also won't be able to switch targets in the middle of this macro if you're going to use it. Because of that line-at-a-time parsing, if you switch targets after Bio II, for example, it'll try Miasma on your new target.

[DreamWeaver]

I'm trying to make a macro so that I can dps while targeting the tank

If this is your main reason for wanting to use macros, I suggest focus targeting the opponent/boss (hell, even if you're not dpsing, I'll STILL suggest using focus target, just to be aware of what spell is the boss casting etc).

the macro itself:
/ac "attack spell" <t>
/ac "attack spell" <f>

if you're main targeting your tank, and your focus target is a monster, once you press this macro, the 1st line /ac "attack spell" <t> will fail, since your <t> is a friendly unit, it will then attempt to execute 2nd line, and since your focus target is a monster (AKA valid target for attack spells), the attack will be executed.

The 1st line /ac "attack spell" <t> is more for general content like FATES etc, without it, you'll need to focus target every time a mob dies.

[giantslayer]

I'm trying to make a macro so that I can dps while targeting the tank

If this is your main reason for wanting to use macros, I suggest focus targeting the opponent/boss (hell, even if you're not dpsing, I'll STILL suggest using focus target, just to be aware of what spell is the boss casting etc).

the macro itself:
/ac "attack spell" <t>
/ac "attack spell" <f>

I agree the best for the OP is to take a different approach, rather than trying to fix his original macro.

I like the way you think. I do the same thing, but with one more line added in for <tt>, so that I can also just attack whoever the tank is attacking without having to designate a focus or switch targets.

Example:
/micon bio
/ac bio <t>
/ac bio <f>
/ac bio <tt>

[Anova]

Ideally, you should be avoiding macros to maximize dps on an arcanist. The cooldowns and timers for the DoT effects don't settle in to an easy rotation, especially when you consider that your pet crits increase your spellspeed and thus, innately oppose macros as a way to maximize dps.

Anyway, if you want to be able to use a Macro to DPS while still targeting your tank, we can certainly help with that.

I'm going to modify your latest iteration and do a run-down.

/ac "Cleric Stance" <me>

Be aware that Cleric Stance has a fairly long CD (5 seconds). During this time, you cannot switch out of cleric stance. Similarly, some animations will not allow you to immediately transition to cleric stance and will queue it. Since your cleric stance is in the macro, any new macro line will overwrite it. This is just like a player casting BIO2, immediately pressing BIO in the middle of the casting, but then pressing Adloquium before the cast completes. Probably the best way is to make sure you do not have lag issues and are not in the middle of a cast when you use your macro.

/wait 1
/ac "Bio II" <t>
/wait 3
/ac "Miasma" <t>
/wait 2.5
/ac "Bio" <t>
/wait 1
/ac "Cleric Stance" <me>

You fixed most of the problems here already. Be aware that the game doesn't handle fractions of seconds so wait 2.5 is the same as wait 3. This may change in future patches, but I can't say when. Just be aware of when the cast times start so you don't move while casting.

Also, consider using <tt> instead of <t>. This lets you attack your target's target (presumably the enemy your tank is fighting) without forcing you to switch targets.

Alternatively, you may focus target the enemy you want to focus on and use <ft>. This would work better in boss fights like Ampador Town where you don't want to dps the tank's target.
As another alternative, you may focus target the tank and macro your heals to heal the <ft>. This gives you more versatility to maximize your dps and potentially see the boss skill charges (like Twintania's Twister and Dive Bomb).

[Beyondgrave]

Thanks for all the help, I decided to just macro each of my dps skill to embrace so i can still heal my target while i dps my target's target. I find that works out pretty well. Now i need help with another macro XD
/macroicon "Summon II"
/hotbar copy SCH 9 SCH 1
/hotbar copy SCH 7 SCH 4
/action "Summon II" <me>
I was able to get the first line and the 3rd line to work. but for some reason, i cant get the /hotbar copy SCH 7 SCH 4 to work. i tried putting in the wait command and putting it after the summon command but it would not work. anyone have any idea?