02.13
Happy Friday my friends. And what a great Friday it is, Love is in the Air and [insert a joke about a stone that may or may not be made of ice or and ice-like substance and the fact that while left unattended it may have melted here], oh wait, I got one: Some melting occurred, the ice stone was involved, that’s about all we know (source).
I received an email the other day with a question about macros that made me realize that I should take an opportunity to step back for a minute and explain some of the basics about what macros can and can’t do.
Is it not possible to macro 3 sinister strikes afetr an ambush to build the 5CP’s to use a finishing move. something like
/cast ambush
/cast sinister strike, sinister strike, sinister strike
/cast eviscerate
Short answer: no. Long answer: no, not in a single button push. The reason for this is the Global Cooldown (GCD). Most actions in game trigger the GDC which means you have to wait 1.5 seconds (baring haste) 1 second for rogues and cat druids to use another ability. That said, you could get the functionality you are seeking in a single button, you would just have to press the button 5 times, that macro would look like this:
While that would work, I don’t really recommend it as it has other problems, namely that after the eviscerate you’re back at Ambush which you will be unable to use in the middle of a battle without Vanishing.
secondly, why will backstab or dismantle not work in the following?
/cast pick pocket
/cast ambush
/cast backstab
/cast dismantle
This is the same reason as before, with the GCD. The reason pick pocket works is because it does not trigger the GDC. Since it is not a damaging ability (and has no use in PvP) Blizzard probably feels like there is nothing wrong with macroing it to our openers.
I hope that clears some things up. Have a great weekend.
Zaltu,
If you have a keyboard like the Logitech G15, that first macro is so do able. As you can have use the keyboard program to build macro’s and give it the exact time delay you want each thing to execute in… 1 button push gaming could be done
Dosequis’s last blog post..Guilds first 25man naxx run…
Yes, it can be done with a G15 (I have one and love it) but it should never never never be done because using the macros from the keyboard like that is considered botting, is against the terms of services and can get your account banned.
Not to mention, you might be in trouble when you realize that, say, your tank did something stupid and your second sinister strike pulled aggro, so now you want to vanish, but you can’t, because you’ve already decided you wanted to sinister strike 2 more times and then eviscerate…for those who don’t care about the ToS, I feel like that can be a far more compelling argument for not trying to just macro your whole play experience away.
@Thimble
Excellent point.
Its not a violation of the TOS, the only person that has been banned for using a G15, was HALF AFK at the keyboard, had he been there to SPEAK with the GM that was trying to talk to him, rather than zoning off watching a movie, and just pressing a button without even looking at the screen. Thats why he was banned, because its againt the TOS, to not respond to a GM when your logged in and doing something, and “not playing his charcter” a gm made mutiple attempts to contact him, and he ignored them because he didnt see them because he wasnt paying attention (which I might ad, is against the terms of service)
Dosequis’s last blog post..Guilds first 25man naxx run…
Thimble, excellent point? Hardly.. the G15 also has the ability to bind a “kill macro button” so you could simple stop the macro from executing, and do w/e. I am not saying this is how I play, I have seen a few users play this way.
Dosequis’s last blog post..Guilds first 25man naxx run…
@Dosequis
Read the terms of service again. It is against the TOS to use a macro system like the G15 has whether you are at the keyboard and paying attention or not. Will you get banned? Probably not, but it is against the TOS nonetheless and I don’t recommend it.
I’ve read it a few times, and actually seen people ask about the G15 keyboard, and get blue responses back saying its OKAY to use… The TOS, says you simply can’t have something AUTOMATICLY playing the game for you.
The G15 doesnt automaticly play the game for you, sure it might attack for you, but its definately, not going to move your charcter around, out of AOE, not going to position. Blizzard even LICENSED a WoW mouse, thats has 15 buttons, and the SAME TYPE of macro capability bulit into.
Dosequis’s last blog post..Something Firece…
BTW Zaltu, you think you could help me finish setting up comment luv on my blog? Im a newb to wordpress.
Dosequis’s last blog post..Something Firece…
Yes, blue responses say it is ok to use the G15 keyboard, however, it is not ok to us it’s macro abilities to chain commands.
I know about the official WoW mouse (a lot of people seem to think it sucks apparently) and yes it does have macro abilities, however, Blizzard has said that these macro abilities are against the TOS. Epic Fail on their part.
Source: (http://www.wowinsider.com/2009/01/24/steelseries-wow-mouse-dangerous-in-no-uncertain-terms-of-use/)
Wow Blizzard is a bunch of idiots, have you seen the power you give them on your computer by the TOS? I almost didnt start playing WoW because of it… Give them the right to search your computer, browser history, etc…
Dosequis’s last blog post..More Rogue NERFS coming…