Is it a DPS loss to use macros?

[TheMax1087]

GCD weaponskills and spells are always a dps loss due to ability queuing. Off-gcd abilities technically can be used in macros since they can be used even without queuing without eating into the gcd, but the practical uses for that are pretty specific(I mostly use them for skill replacement macros).

[Alahra]

GCD weaponskills and spells are always a dps loss due to ability queuing. Off-gcd abilities technically can be used in macros since they can be even without queuing without eating into the gcd, but the practical uses for that are pretty specific(I mostly use them for skill replacement macros).

Even those can be tricky, in my experience, because of latency. oGCDs occasionally won't fire when used in macros, which can occasionally result in lost DPS as well.

[Caduceus]

Information about 2.5 rounding up is incorrect. If you switch to a sch and manually cast embrace (which has a 3 Second cooldown) at the same time that you cast the macro to place all your dots with a /wait 2.5 between them your dots will cast .5 Sec BEFORE embrace is ready to be cast again.

[Clarkamite]

Why would you still have a macro to cast all your dots on a SMN when SE literally just handed you a skill that is one button press and it puts all three on?

[Caduceus]

Because of the cooldown on tridisaster. even with contaigon you still have to redot before tri is off cd

[Mikoko_Miko]

As a SCH I tried the following macro. Its pseudo-queueing window is about 0.5sec on my PS3(30fps). I believe it does not cause a DPS loss because it saves ground targeting time.
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/micon "Shadow Flare"

I wonder whether similar macros for non-ground-targeted spells cause a DPS loss. I read that it is a DPS loss to use macros because macros don't queue. But there are situations that I can't cast spells in spite of GCD. For example when I move, MP is insufficient, I get debuff, target is out of range, target is out of sight and so on. Under these circumstances raw actions don't queue, while macros pseudo-queue. Paradoxically is it a DPS gain to use macros?

[CGMidlander]

Even those can be tricky, in my experience, because of latency. oGCDs occasionally won't fire when used in macros, which can occasionally result in lost DPS as well.

I concur. My provoke macro has failed to provoke more than a handful of times. >_<

[Ossom]

You can actually Queue oGCDs, if you press an oGCD more than half way through your casts, it will go off immediately after the casts finishes. The reason classes can still macro oGCDs is because even then if you're say a brd, mch, or a healer, then you can only get one skill off before your gcd is back up anyways unless you have a proc/swiftcasts. So its fine if the oGCD doesn't go off immediately as long as it doesn't clip the next GCD, which most 1 skill oGCD macros won't do.

[AniCelestine]

You can actually Queue oGCDs, if you press an oGCD more than half way through your casts, it will go off immediately after the casts finishes.

This. The amount of times I've started spamming my aetherflow on sch the moment I started casting my heal, halfway through cast I realise I still have 1 stack left. Proceed to spam ED. I get a full stack of aetherflow and no ED went off, cause my ED used to be macroed.

Also like said on page 2, use macros outside of ffxiv to activate 2 buttons with 1 press if you don't want to keep track of BL/ME works alot better. Though I'm not sure what's SE's stand on this. I've heard some games don't look nicely at you if you do it. So I'd research on this before doing it (personally never needed to use, but I've heard it works like a charm and it makes sense really, since game thinks youre pressing the buttons and not activating the skill via chat log.)

[ruskie]

Information about 2.5 rounding up is incorrect. If you switch to a sch and manually cast embrace (which has a 3 Second cooldown) at the same time that you cast the macro to place all your dots with a /wait 2.5 between them your dots will cast .5 Sec BEFORE embrace is ready to be cast again.

Considering it takes a while for embrace to actually register - as do other pet skills... it's register - start cast - end cast so you would likely not notice all the delay.