Most of the players know about alias macros but for those who don't use them they can eliminate a lot of headache. If you create a new macro, lets call it "Target" under it's name. The add a command line "/alias tag:Target %t" without the " " and then save it you have created the most basic targeting alias. Anything in the game that you want to become your target is now marked with the alias "/tag" This includes the main tank, a specific mob or whatever you want to be the focus of your attention. Below that macro create a second macro Called "Tag", add the command line "/tag" and save this one also. This is the one you will have on your hotbar. Lets say a quest directs you to kill 20 of a certain mob. When you find that mob you will use your alias macro in your macros to designate it as "/tag" For the other 19 of those mobs all you need to do is spam the macro on your hotbar until you get a target. I'm somewhat lazy so I have both the set alias and the tag on my hotbars although the set alias is to the side with my buffs. Also handy for swapping who you want to target through if you have a reason to. These aliases do not require you to use my "tag" as the alias, you could make it "/alias ilikepie:Target %t and then make a "/ilikepie" as your targeting macro. Aliases can also be used for spells or buffs. they can be a little tricky but I recommend using the spellid because the spell name doesn't always work. An example of this is the alias I use for the Etherealist's Recapture: "/alias RC:Useabilityonplayer %t 3663910166" and then adding a "/RC" macro to my spellbar. If you're setting an alias to use a spell, add a second line to the macro with the spell/ability so you can see when it is not applied to the alias. In the confusion of sharing buffs it's a lot easier to just target your buffee and set an alias to them for a quick rebuff without having to target them or adding their name to a spell macro. The possibilities are almost endless. As a Troub main the ones I use most are: "/alias ut:Useabilityonplayer %t Upbeat Tempo" + "/ut" Upbeat Tempo "/alias Verse:Useabilityonplayer %t Abhorrent Verse" + "/verse" Abhorrent Verse "/alias JC1:Useabilityonplayer %t Jester's Cap" + "/JC1" Jester's Cap "/alias EC:Useabilityonplayer %t 985086984" + "/EC" Elemental Conduit Always remember to save some headache and add the spell/ability to the casting macro as a second line. If you're having an issue with a certain spell just reply and i'm sure one of us can set you in the right direction. Happy travels Norrath!
This is very cool, thanks for sharing. Will definitely put that to use. Could use this to make much more convenient tank targetting macros
Thanks for sharing this, very interesting! Another command that I think isn't used very widely is /assist. I put this macro on my hotbar a long time ago, and often use this to switch quickly between a player and that player's target, or from a mob to the player (usually the tank) who has its attention.
I use /assist in some situations especially those where hitting the wrong mob in a group can have detrimental effect.
Aliases can also be added to your eq2.ini file; I have one set up for each of my characters like this: alias Aska:camp Aska so all I have to do is type /aska to switch to that toon. This will switch between servers, as long as they are in the same region, but will not switch between accounts.
Great information! I have been experimenting with macros. I tried to make a macro to cast 4 cleric spells, but no matter what order I put them in it seems it will only cast 2. In EQ1 I often needed to use a /pause command to ensure a spell has finished casting before the next one begins. When I raided in EQ1 I would set up two or even three 'assist' macros with the name of each tank that was assigned for that particular raid, such as "/assist Johnny". If Johnny dropped you hit the second macro to assist the next tank without having to worry about trying to select that player in the middle of a huge fight. Also had a general 'MA' (Main assist) macro for the situations that Seefar described. In the examples sometimes I see what appears to be the spell / song name ('Upbeat Tempo') and also a number as in "/alias EC:Useabilityonplayer %t 985086984" + "/EC" Elemental Conduit I take it the '985086984' is the spellid? Thanks again! I greatly appreciate the time and effort.
As for multiple spells in a macro, you can stack up to 20+ things in a macro. For each time you click the macro it will cast 1 ability and then queue a second unless one is already queued. Also note: if you have more than 2 spells in a macro, it will cast the last one in the list first, then work from top to bottom but you will have to click it multiple times. For 4 spells you will have to click a minimum of 3 times and that's only if the recast timer hasn't reset on a higher listed spell. In example, if you had 20 things in your macro then the 19th item will only cast if all of the other spells/items are on cooldown. DISCLAIMER: Living in the buggy world of EQ2 the actual cast order of the spells will vary from macro to macro. It's best to open the macro while on a dummy and watch to make sure the order is to your liking. Now you have to break down the science of recast time vs. value and arrange your order in the macro. This will result in many hours with ACT and training dummies and might affect your marriage. It's a running joke on how to play a Shadowknight: Make a macro with every spell in it, target the mob and click as fast as you can!
That's why my macros have names like D O Ts x3 for the number of times I need to hit it... It's been my experience that the first spell/CA in the macro fires, then the last. The next time you use the macro, the next available spell fires, then the last if it is up again, and so on. I learned early on to arrange my macros in order from the longest cast time to the shortest, unless there's a specific reason to do otherwise. When using a spell that requires stealth, for example, I will only put two items into the macro, with the first one being stealth, sneak, or whatever.
Sorry missed this one, yes that's the spellid. If you need to know a spellid/itemid hit shift+click on the item/spell and it will pop up in your chat bar, then ctrl+C to copy it and paste it into notepad.
I will experiment with that. I don't know why EQ2 doesn't use a '/pause' command like the macros I use in EQ1. In EQ1 it can take a bit of testing to get the /pause time (ex: /pause 50) correct for each spell, but once you did you only need to hit the macro on your hotbar once. Still, even if you have to hit a macro x3 to get all the spells to fire off, its still easier to hit one button 3 times then multiple spell buttons once (especially if you're old like me and can't use the mouse with quite the dexterity I once did).
Snip Thanks Avithax a great explanation. As a troub I want to be able to cycle through group/raid members with JC and also be able to quickly apply AV on the appropriate tank. So, because I have never understood how to use Aliases I have a gazillion macros set up. Using your examples above can I set up JC1, JC2, Verse1, Verse2 etc with different targets for the same spell? (thereby getting rid of the gazillion macros and being able to change who I cast JC and AV on really quickly ) I'll have a little play around with it to see if I can add /raidsay as the raid leaders like to know if I have used AV... Aeriel
Yes, as a matter of fact I have JC1 and JC2, Verse1 and Verse2(on the most annoying Dpsnob). One of the drawbacks is that it's a little more complicated to add a raidsay so I don't do it. Besides if I advertise buffs I notice people get a little whiney when they don't get them and sometimes i'm just too busy parsing!
Thanks! I only /raidsay AV, not JC - as you say advertising buffs doesn't always go well lol. Still, always open to bribes
I am unable to get Avithax's alias macro to work on a new character I recently created. Going to try it on some other characters and if Avi and I are able to figure out what is going on I will let you all know in case other people are having problems. A question. Here is a part of Avithax's bard macro: /alias Verse:Useabilityonplayer %t Abhorrent Verse" + "/verse" Abhorrent Verse What happens when this line is executed? I understand the %t represents who or what is targeted. Thanks!
Abhorrent verse transfers a huge amount of the groups hate to the target. Generally if you have a lot of DPS in the group and you want to help the tank keep agro you hit Verse on the pull or when the tank says he's getting low on the hate list. It's also handy to drop on the occasional loudmouth to enhance the QQ factor.
Problem solved. Macro works as Avithax described. I'm just dense. I didn't understand exactly how the 'alias' macro works. I expected there to be a 'label' over the selected mob after using the 'alias' macro. Sorry for confusion.
https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq2/index.php?threads/eq2-macros-and-act-from-the-soe-live-panel.550671/ This is the thread for macro's/act. No other thread will ever compare.
Hey, I would like to ask related question (maybe) Is there some way how to make salvaging easier with the aliases/macros? Some way how to rid off that: - click on salvaging/extract weapon essence - click confirm - click ok I know that that ending OK can be done later on, when everything is salvaged, but the process is painful thanks in advance
