Alright, I am well aware that the more hard-core gamers out there probably already know that macros are Awesome!. Which is great, but that means that this guide is not for you. This guide is intended for the gamer that has never used/set-up a macro and quiet possibly never heard of them. So lets get too it!
Wait! But first some things to note
This is going to be a very basic, short, and concise (hopefully) guide. I am more or less a "Filthy Casual" so I am just learning about these as well.
This also going to feel some what like a "How to Condense Your Hot Bar Guide" (but that is kinda what macros are for right?). I am not the most skilled when it comes to gaming with a keyboard. So stroking shift+3~0 looking for that specific buff or potion is not a viable option for me during a serious boss fight. I tend to fumble enough at typing so yes, shift+3~0 poses a problem for me.
Speaking of keyboard, this guide is intended for PC users, I do not play this title on PS3 so I don't know if it is even possible or necessary to set up macros. Sorry, but when it comes to FF14, I am on PC.
The examples featured will be written from a Dragoon's point-of-view. That's my job of choice so that is what I can provide pictures of.
Spelling & Grammar are NOT my strong suite, so please ignore any spelling errors that I (and spell check) might of missed. Also if that grammatical or spelling error is bothering you that bad, please pm me a let me know where I made a mistake and I shall fix it.
Part one might quiet possibly be the only part. We shall see… If a more in-depth guide is needed I shall try to write one
Due to suddenly having on over sensitive back button on my mouse–-I can never get to it when I actually need it!–-this is my 3 time typing this. So please excuse if it feels a bit rushed.
Lastly to quote a person whose name currently eludes me: "There are no wrong questions…". So please, feel free to ask. The whole point of this guide and FC is to help each other out. Lets just hope I can provide the right answers, but do take into account that I am just learning about these as well. So we might be learning some things together…fun!
Phew! Now that is out of the way lets get down to it!….For real this time!
What are Macros?
Well to see a computer science definition check out This Wiki Page! In other words ( for those of you who viewed the link) a macro that is setup properly should let you condense the task of preforming skill combos by stroking each respective key; to a single key stroke or mouse click. If you are still fuzzy on the detail, don't worry there will be an example in a second.
The Example!
See! I told you it would only be a second. So let us start with my current hot bar set up.
Alright, to me this looks a little crowded, I have some important skills spilling over into the 2nd bar and this poses another problem for me; where am I going to put my new attack skills!? Because, personally, I like having skills I use often (especially attacking ones) in the main bar. So lets start off by using my skill combo as an example. For the non-dragoons out there the skills at 1 (True Thrust), 3(Vorpal Thrust), and 0(Full Thrust) form a combo each gaining a bit more potency by using it after the skill before it. So as you can imagine I use these three skills in-unison a lot! So instead of hitting 1, then waiting and following up with 3 and etc. Why not just assign all three to one key!? Here is a look at how to do that.
First we have to get to the User macros menu. To do this simply press Esc, which will bring up the system functions UI. Clicking where indicated will bring up the next window.
You get 6 pre-made macros that range from saying hello and using the wave emote, to targeting a mob and attacking it. Clicking any of the numbers opens up a fresh, new and empty macro. Here you can pick which skill icon to use, name your macro and set up the skills and actions to use. Conveniently the combo we are looking to make is already selected but I will provide a picture with a bit larger text so we can break it down with minimal squinting .
Okay, so that big blue arrow and text that says something about an "Icon Window". Well, that is how you choose what skill icon to use for you macro. So for say I don't know, buffs that increase your defense you can choose an icon with a shield and so on. Simply clicking on it gives you the window below.
So what does all this mean? Well that calls for another list!
/action (/ac) “action name” “PC name” Uses an action on specified target. Uses current target when not specified. This cannot be used with actions you have not yet learned, or when restricted by other factors. Skills are case sensitive so, "/ac Cure" will work, but "/ac cure" will NOT. Also skill with more than word in their name HAVE to have quotes. I.E.: /ac "True Thrust" works but /ac True Thrust will not.
<t> Is basically telling /ac to cast on your current target. To be more in-dept <t> is a "place holder". So this means that if you were to target say an Aethernet Crystal and typed <t> in your chat window "Aethernet Crystal" would be what every one saw once you hit enter. So in this case it is specifying the place that the skill/action should be cast.
/wait Kinda self-explanatory. It specifies the amount of time you want the macro to wait until it uses the next command. Time is in seconds and max wait time is 60. But you can stack /wait commands so if you need a skill to recast after 120 seconds you could say: "/wait 60 /wait 60"…….. Pretty cool right?
/echo Displays text that only you will see. So "/echo Recast Ready!" pops up only in my chat window and lets me know the skill chain is done and I can re-use the macro.
So that is it for now. You should hopefully be able to use this example to set up your own macro that cast your own respective skills on an enemy that you are currently targeting. I will be adding more to this later but it's late, I have to work all day tomorrow and FF is currently going through maintenance…. So I'll post some more examples later on. And possibly get a little more in-depth as well as trying to compile a complete list of commands and place holders.
Oten Company General replied
625 weeks ago