Shifting forms with one button in 2.3
by Eliah Hecht 
Sep 25th 2007 at 8:40PM
/cancelform
/cast Dire Bear Form (or whatever your target form is)
Fun, eh? This works because /cancelform is going to be recognized instantly in 2.3, like /dismount is now. The macro should function no matter what form you're currently in.
This also allows things like shifting from bear to caster, drinking a pot and/or using a healthstone, and shifting back into bear, all without interruptions and with only one keypress:
/cancelform
/use Super Healing Potion
/use Master Healthstone
/cast Dire Bear Form
The 2.2 patch notes included an item that seems related to this ("Cast sequence macros no longer get stuck at feral druid abilities"), but I think that's just a bug fix; the above macros don't work in 2.2 as far as I know. Here's my question, though: if you can make a macro to shift forms directly, why not just make the default form buttons have that same behavior? Maybe they will, but I haven't heard anything about it yet.
[macros by Nandini of Darrowmere]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mirrabbo Sep 25th 2007 8:52PM
You already shift into forms with only one key-press while mounted without the need of macros.
If being in a form will be treated exactly as being mounted for the purposes at hand, it follows that no macro will be needed to shapeshift from form to form with only one key-press.
Yayness ensues.
tool03 Sep 25th 2007 8:57PM
How about shammys ghost wolf? I'd be far more inclined to pvp in ghost wolf if it behaved like de-mounting dose. Although then wouldn't I have to make a macro for any spell I wanted to cast?
(right clicking the buff seems to have a slower reaction time)
Ryan Sep 25th 2007 8:59PM
Doesn't work for me.
emsy Sep 25th 2007 9:38PM
macro
/cancelaura Dire Bear Form;
/cancelaura Aquatic Form;
/cancelaura Cat Form;
/cancelaura Travel Form;
/cancelaura Swift Flight Form;
/cancelaura Flight Form;
/cancelaura Bear Form;
/cancelaura Great Brown Kodo;
/cancelaura Swift Green Windrider;
serves the same purpose...
iapetes Sep 25th 2007 10:13PM
the biggest reason to not make the form shifting buttons direct is you would need a new button for your default caster form.
Ryan Sep 25th 2007 10:51PM
@4 why in god's holy name would anyone use that instead of /cancelform?
Brasson Sep 26th 2007 12:32AM
(Statement of disbelief)
(Stunned silence)
(Jubilation!)
(Statement of continued disbelief until I hold the finished product)
jumb Sep 26th 2007 1:45AM
That 2nd macro wouldnt work because of lag. When you press it, it will go so fast that it will try to take the pot while you're still in form instead of waiting.
Mats Sep 26th 2007 3:36AM
If it will work just like dismounting, then it will proc a global cooldown, so you won't be able to drink a pot, use a healthstone and re-form.
That total actions you suggest will proc 3 or 4 global cooldowns, and will take you at least 4.5 sec to do.
Merel Sep 26th 2007 4:36AM
That second macro still isn't going to work unless they remove the global cooldown from using potions...
Are they really removing the global cooldown from /cancelform ? I doubt this will make it into the final build. This would mean druids can instantly remove snares - something Blizzard has not wanted them to do in the past.
Morrigän Sep 26th 2007 6:35AM
@10: that'd be the most mana-expensive way ever to remove a snare, it's not so bad. I mean, two "direct shapeshifts" and a feral druid's mana is gone.
Adese Sep 26th 2007 7:58AM
@5
Couldn't you just press/use the button of the form that you are currently in to cancel it and revert back to caster form?
Ryan Sep 26th 2007 8:14AM
You can do this, but it will require more than one key press. Pots don't trigger global cooldowns, I'm not sure where people got that impression; they may reset your swing timer, but that's hardly the same thing.
Bearback Sep 26th 2007 9:44AM
We can already do this. Number 4 is right.
/cancelform
/cast [nostance, swimming] Aquatic Form; [nostance, outdoors] Travel Form
shifts out of anyform and then jumps into either travel or seal depending on whether your swimming or not. [2 button press]
/cancelform [nostance:1]
/cast [nostance] Dire Bear Form
instant shift to bear from anyform. the "[nostance:1]" means it wont shift you out of bear if you press the button to much. You can remove it like i do for travel form so you can spam out of snares.
This kind of shifting is instant. Instant out of form [NO GCD] and instant into form. You get a GCD shifting into form. So if the last time you shifted into a form was within the GCD that it all you have to wait. Also if you have a weapon swapper mod. Swapping weapons in combat causes a GCD.
Also blizz has a secure ability toggle option which by default is checked. This will prevent you from using key bindings to instant shift.
Currently with these macros you can go from cat to bear. From bear to travel, etc. But hitting the button 2 times or spamming it. Technically you do hit caster form but since both shifts are instant its only limited by server lag.
@11 Travel form requires 210 mana. I have over 5450 unbuffed in pvp gear. I can spam all day.
kishrieves Sep 26th 2007 10:09AM
Hm, the macro in this post didn't work for me. I just tried the macro to shift directly from one form to another, and what happened is that I shifted into caster form and got a message "You are in shapeshift form." Any suggestions?
Eliah Hecht Sep 26th 2007 10:12AM
These shouldn't work yet. Theoretically, they will work when patch 2.3 comes around.
Genoce Sep 26th 2007 10:19AM
@6:
#showtooltip Dire Bear Form
/cancelaura [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Swift Flight Form
/dismount
/cast [nostance] Dire Bear Form
Here's my Bear Form macro for example (macroed other forms same way)... Note that it doesn't dispel BEAR FORM itself. This allows me to bash the bearform button as long as i want to, it will dispel any other form but if im already in bearform, it doesn't do anything.
Bearback Sep 26th 2007 11:40AM
/cancelform [nostance:1]
does the same as
/cancelaura [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Swift Flight Form
but with a hell of alot less typing.
Joe Sep 26th 2007 12:51PM
I think that everyone replying to this post is missing the entire point of this change. The difference between the current live servers (2.2) and the upcoming change in 2.3 is that the command /cancelform will no longer wait for a server response to recognize the change.
Here's the idea:
In 2.2 --
step 1: /cancelform (one click, command is sent to the server)
step 2: (server sends a response back saying "ok, you are now in caster form")
step 3: /cast Dire Bear Form (second click, command is sent to the server)
step 4: (server sends a response back saying "ok, you are now in Dire Bear Form")
In 2.3 --
step 1: /cancelform (one click, you are now in caster form without waiting for a server response)
step 2: /cast Dire Bear Form (because there was zero wait, the command is immediately recognized as valid and sent to the server)
step 3: (the server responds validating your shift into Dire Bear Form)
Notice the difference is that because the /cancelform command in 2.3 does not require a server response, there is no need for a wait (or a second click) to send the command to shift into Dire Bear Form.
The other point of confusion seems to be how the global cooldown affects these events. Here's how it works currently and will also work in 2.3:
-Canceling a form _does not_ invoke the global cooldown
-Using a health potion _does not_ invoke the global cooldown, but does invoke the 2 minute potion cooldown
-Using a healthstone _does not_ invoke the global cooldown, but does invoke the 2 minute separate healthstone cooldown
-Casting a form _does_ invoke the global cooldown
It is currently possible to create a macro that will, with 2 clicks, shift out of Dire Bear Form, use a health potion, use a healthstone, and then cast Dire Bear Form. This works because, as shown above, the global cooldown is never invoked until the very end of this sequence of events. However, because of the delay waiting for the server response to leave Dire Bear Form, the macro requires two clicks and also leaves the Druid vulnerable during the latency.
I know that this is somewhat complicated but I hope that I've explained it sufficiently. For more information, see the links below.
(Blue Post on upcoming 2.3 changes): http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=879058320&sid=1
(Discussion in Druid Forums about the change): http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=1272000256&sid=1
Nandini Sep 26th 2007 7:01PM
I'm flattered that someone actually took time to read about these proposed changes for patch 2.3. No one really knows yet exactly how the /cancelform changes will be implemented, so I hope lots of my fellow druids will look forward to testing on the PTR when it becomes available.