Let's Talk About Macros!

[Jpec07]

So right now, if you start a thread asking about macros, you'll probably be told a dozen times that macros are broken and not worth using outside of maybe announcing a res, a virus, or a 'voke to your party or alliance.

While I've seen several reasons as to why, I thought it would be good to compile a pair of lists for macros: a list of problems we see with how macros function, and things we'd like to see improved. This way, when the developers get a chance to look at macros again, they'll have a good resource of things that would be helpful in allowing us to make better use of the system.

So then:

• What are the problems with macros as they work in FFXIV?
• What features would you like to see added to macros in FFXIV?

[erroch]

The two things I'd love to see:
- The ability to assign a macro (by slot#?) to a hotbar slot
- The ability to specify a decimal instead of a whole number in <wait.#>
- A macro command to toggle HUD layouts.

A few extra lines in the macros would help as well, but that is understood I suppose.

[GraumSenpai]

What I would like is a command that removes that annoying red text when your using a skill on a target that it can't be used on... on my healer classes I have the following basic macro (slightly expanded on ingame) for all my DPS skills

/ac [NAME] <t>
/ac [NAME] <tt>

This first checks to attack my target, and if it cant do that it moves to the next line and then attacks my targets target (I like to stay ontop of my tank). I can't attack a party member, so a red messege onscreen (it also does it in the chat log but that has a command to remove it (/merror off)) telling me it is an invalid target... and because I spam the skill to make sure its queue'd up, that red text is on my screen 100% of the fight... while DPSing at least. Wish /merror off removed the onscreen warnings too.

Other than that I got nothing... macros are for displaying skill cooldowns, repeating quotes, removing your AST buffs midcast without right clicking them, and silly stuff as far as I am concerned.

[Niwashi]

- The ability to specify a decimal instead of a whole number in <wait.#>

Unlikely, considering that this is how the wait command used to work and they decided to change it in order to force extra time on macros. (SE doesn't want macros to be as efficient as selecting the actions directly. The extra time necessary in wait commands is there to keep people from just macroing their main combat rotations.)

- A macro command to toggle HUD layouts.

http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...43b40551d1e3e8:

/hudlayout "1 – 4"
The existing HUD layout can be switched to another designated by numbers 1 – 4.

Wish /merror off removed the onscreen warnings too.

Agreed. It's been asked for often enough, and they already have that command for it. Just make it work on both copies of the error message. It seems a bit odd that that isn't how "/merror off" worked in the first place.

[Dzian]

The two things I'd love to see:
- The ability to assign a macro (by slot#?) to a hotbar slot

This would be usefull. If they added this it would make stances slightly better. as I could then macro kiss of the wasp to replace itself with kiss of the viper when I used it and vice versa.
would save slots on hotbars.

[GraumSenpai]

This would be usefull. If they added this it would make stances slightly better. as I could then macro kiss of the wasp to replace itself with kiss of the viper when I used it and vice versa.
would save slots on hotbars.

That could also end up being used to auto rotate your rotations so you never stop pressing 123 over and over for the basic 2 rotations that DRG and MNK have at least... you could set it so when you pressed 3, it switched to your secondary rotation with a new macro on 3 that switches it back to the first rotation... I dont think that will happen, as you then remove something from the player and put it to the system...

[dragonseth07]

Just look at what WoW can do, honestly. I adore what all you can do over there. Cast sequence with a specifiable reset timer is my favorite thing ever.

[Canadane]

I wouldn't even advise macros that announce things either
They still mess with oGCD timing. Can't tell you how much I spammed chats slaying is provoke, only to have it never happen.

[Rawrz]

This would be usefull. If they added this it would make stances slightly better. as I could then macro kiss of the wasp to replace itself with kiss of the viper when I used it and vice versa.
would save slots on hotbars.

You can already do this using /hotbar copy. You just "bank" the hotbars into your base class or a crafter or something. I wouldn't recommend it though. /hotbar change works better, with no frame drop.

[Rongway]

What I would like is a command that removes that annoying red text when your using a skill on a target that it can't be used on...

It's been asked for often enough, and they already have that command for it. Just make it work on both copies of the error message. It seems a bit odd that that isn't how "/merror off" worked in the first place.

/merror does exactly what the help text says it does. "Display or hide text command errors"

/merror hides messages for things like

/ac asldkf <mo>
→ "asldkf" is not a valid action name.

//ac Synastry <mo>
→ The command //ac Synastry <mo> does not exist.

Firing an <mo> macro when your mouse isn't over something (processes the command with a literal "<mo>")
→ "<mo>" is not a valid target name.


These are different from the errors that appear in the center of the screen over everything.

The lines that trigger errors on screen even when /merror off are all valid text commands. That the target is out of range, or of the wrong alignment, or not in line of sight, is not a problem with the text command or the macro, but an incident of the user attempting to use a valid command during an invalid state of the world.

This is a noteworthy distinction because these midscreen errors are the same errors that appear when you attempt an action without a macro, so of course it makes sense that /merror should have no effect on them. The /merror command therefore should not be adjusted to suppress these messages, but a general interface setting should allow their suppression independent of the method of their generation.