Reason for repeat lines in User Macros?

[Prythwin]

I was trying to make a macro that shirks my off tank, but keeps my target.

I did this successfully, however sometimes it does not fire right (probably the time between macro function calls)

However a friend said to repeat the action line multiple times.

for example, they had:

/ac Shukuchi <t>
/ac Shukuchi <t>
/ac Shukuchi <t>
/ac Shukuchi <t>
/ac Shukuchi <t>
/ac Shukuchi <t>

for all 14 lines that are allowed in a macro. They said that this will spam it to ensure that it gets cast when you press it once and that it doesnt cause an issue because once it is cast it is on cooldown and wont be cast again. so for abilities not on the GDC this works

so they said I can do the same

/ac shirk <2>
/ac shirk <2>
/ac shirk <2>
/ac shirk <2>
ect.


is this true? what are the nuances of doing this? How does the server react to this? will this effect my my GDC uptime?

[MicahZerrshia]

As long as you are not rapid firing your buttons things should go off just fine. If you are the type that click click click click clicks tho, then you may cancel the macro before it goes off, which can happen by even pressing a different skill. The only other reason that things get skipped in macros usually is by having multiple skills with no wait times in between.

[Prythwin]

I appreciate the info! Though that doesnt answer the question I was asking.

while raiding I am clicking a lot of things very quickly. Of course animation lock is a thing. when I use my shirk macro I have to use it directly after an animation of one of my GDCs which locks me from casting. If I cast the macro while the animation is still going it cancels my macro so I end up having to time it perfectly and cannot queue it.

I was asking if my above examples would help queue the action and help to ensure that it casts.

[Canadane]

I was asking if my above examples would help queue the action and help to ensure that it casts.

No, macros cannot use the native skill queuing at all.
They will always be worse than manually executing a move. This was by design.

[MicahZerrshia]

I appreciate the info! Though that doesnt answer the question I was asking...

It does tho, like I said, whether you are rapid firing the macro or other skills, if you hit anything else before that macro executes you are cancelling the macro. So whether you have 1 line or 14, you need to hit and and then hit nothing else until that ability is used. This is why macros are so horribly bad to use in combat. It has no queue, its a use it or lose it thing. The only time macros have ever been useful in combat is to let other players know when you are doing something, but honestly with the changes to combat over the years there is really nothing going on anymore that you need to inform your other players you are doing.

Even raise macros are normally worthless since by the time your macro informs me of who you are raising, much less executes, most likely I will have already hit swiftcast and raise anyway. Like Canadane said, they made macros work this way by design. We are not meant to use them in combat.

[Liam_Harper]

is this true? what are the nuances of doing this? How does the server react to this? will this effect my my GDC uptime?

Yes, this is true.

The server attempts it up to 14 times in very quick succession (not simultaneously). If it succeeds on the first line, it fires off normally, but in those occasions you press the macro a split second too early, the macro might still register when it reaches line 12+ (for example). It won't slow your GCD uptime any more than a regular macro and will slightly increase its responsiveness.

It is actually recommended that you always macro Sprint in this way. Sprint cannot queue anyway and a 14 line Sprint macro is more responsive than the regular version.

[Rongway]

As long as you are not rapid firing your buttons things should go off just fine. If you are the type that click click click click clicks tho, then you may cancel the macro before it goes off, which can happen by even pressing a different skill. The only other reason that things get skipped in macros usually is by having multiple skills with no wait times in between.

Pressing the button a second time while it is already running will restart it from the top, yes. This can be disabled by using an /mlock at the beginning of the macro.

/mlock
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/ac (Some Action) <sometarget>
/micon (Some Action)

Non-macroed actions do not interrupt the currently running macro regardless of lock status, and can be used freely without disrupting, i.e., a long macro wait.