Behold, the power of macros
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 30th 2009 at 11:00AM
I don't PvP that often (especially not with my Hunter), but I still found this list of Hunter macros over at Huntman's Lodge really awesome. Whether you just want to make some common tasks easier (the one-button target/Hunter's Mark/pet attack/start attack is a macro every single Hunter should have), or you want to cut out some keystrokes (the /use [target=player] Heavy Frostweave Bandage is a macro that's great for every class out there), macros can provide a lot of solid support to your game in any situation. For some reason, we all use addons, but macros are generally overlooked, despite the fact that the system Blizzard has built in for macros can be pretty powerful all by itself.Garwulf has even more macros for Hunters on a special page, and of course there are lots and lots of suggested macros and macro guides available online. Especially since macros started being saved to the server instead of your individual machine at home, if you're still using regular abilities on your bars, looking over the available macros for your class should help you out a lot.
Filed under: Hunter, Analysis / Opinion, Tips, Tricks, Fan stuff, PvP, Leveling
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Matt Sagen Jul 30th 2009 11:20AM
Why don't you guys post where you can find class specific macros or right a section on it. :)
BobTGnome Jul 30th 2009 11:23AM
There's a link to wowmacros.com in the post, they have what you are looking for.
Eudeyrn Jul 30th 2009 1:41PM
wowmacros.com is junk. It's nothing but ads disguised as blog posts, and the macros that are listed are weak at best. Some of them are outdated, and no longer work with the newest patch. None of them have any explanation of how they work, aside from a brief title, which is often of little help ("NS + ZHC + blood fury + Chain lightning").
http://www.wowwiki.com/Useful_macros is not necessarily well organized, but there is plenty of information there. On the right side, there is a list of specific macros per class.
Urza Jul 30th 2009 2:03PM
Just be careful with the wowwiki macros, a lot of them are out of date and don't work anymore.
I hate looking at pally macros because sooo much of them are pre-3.x
Darias.Perenolde Jul 30th 2009 4:46PM
Here are my pally macros....and updated to 3.0 as well. :)
http://www.sleepercartel.com/index.php?Article=73
I do need to add my tanking macros to it, and I've changed some of my seal/judge and DPS macros.
I need to add a couple more ret macros as well since I'm no longer a shocky.
Maiku Jul 30th 2009 11:23AM
/cast Wing Clip
/cast Disengage
I just recently started a hunter, and came up with that one on my own (of course, I saw it on every hunter guide ever when I started doing more research), and I have to say it has made my life significantly easier. I'm a big fan of chaining together abilities that are off the GCD with others like this for quicker responses.
souvlaki Jul 30th 2009 12:16PM
With engeenering twinks, add a /use Parachute Cloak, for über disengaging-godness
Worcester Jul 30th 2009 3:45PM
Engineers should definitely take note of this. Many of the items and tinkers we have do not fire off the GDC, so you can simply tie them to common abilities.
My favorite is...
/cast Slice and Dice
/use Hyperspeed Accelerator
Now in truth, the last line is more like /use xx, which is the number for my gloves, but you get the idea. So every time I go to cast SnD, if the gloves are ready, they fire off too. Basically you tie a not-so-commonly used ability to a common one... or even several. There's no reason why 2 or 3 of your common attacks couldn't try to activate the HSA.
Rogues should also keep this in mind. Why just Ambush someone when you can Pick Pocket them first? I tie lots of abilities to stealth openers, depending on which spec I'm using.
Life101 Jul 30th 2009 11:25AM
I don't understand! I've played a hunter since the first, and there are times every raid when I want to send my pet against a target and not mark it (or waste a GCD). And there are times when I want to mark someone and not send my pet at it.
Which means you end up with three buttons covering two skills. WTF?!
nbcaffeine Jul 30th 2009 11:32AM
Put a shift or ctrl modifier in there, just one button!
bigjonno Jul 30th 2009 11:35AM
I hate that kind of situational macro for the same reason. If it means I can completely replace an ability or ability combo, then I'm all for macro use, otherwise I'll stick with pressing two or three buttons.
Jennifer Jul 30th 2009 11:31AM
Okay, I'll admit it - I'm a macro noob. What I really want to see is a site on exactly how different macros are coded. What are the different /(actions) that we can use? I know /equip and /cast, etc. but is there a... a glossary... of sorts, that gives you all of the different possible macro commands?
outdps Jul 30th 2009 11:44AM
Wowwiki has a huge section on these- start here and work through some of the associated links if you want a really low level introduction: http://www.wowwiki.com/UI_FAQ/Macros_and_scripts
Firestride Jul 30th 2009 11:44AM
You can get what you need at wowwiki, but I won't claim it's ideally organized for a new macro user.
Eternauta Jul 30th 2009 12:07PM
This ^
outdps Jul 30th 2009 11:43AM
For arena players, I just posted a macro guide: http://outdps.com/2009/07/29/outdps-arena-introducing-jurgwena/
This was written by a hunter who is (at the time of writing) in the #1 5v5 team in his battlegroup. He'll be writing more of these arena and PvP guides on OutDPS- links to them will always be found on the right hand navigation bar.
SuckItTrebek Jul 30th 2009 2:43PM
I love you.
Yes, the troll just posted a nontrolling, appreciative comment.
YOU! I love you for this.
Firestride Jul 30th 2009 11:46AM
My hunter is, like, level 25, but I've found a simple macro for switching between Hawk and Viper to be invaluable. I even bound it to my primary non-number key, R. So when I'm done killing something, I press R, and get mana back for the 2-10s until I'm killing something else, then press R again.
DaemonRai Jul 30th 2009 11:48AM
My favorite macro for my hunter is the one that casts Hunter's Mark and automatically turns on or off growl and cower based on what pet I have out and whether or not I'm in group. So if I'm solo, I press my Hunter's Mark keybinding and it turns on auto growl and off cower. If I'm in a group with my tanking pet (since I run friends through low level instances) auto growl goes on and cower off, but as soon as it's time to do real groups and my dps pet comes out, growl goes off. Never any worries about stealing aggro from tanks.
crschmidt Jul 30th 2009 11:59AM
I'd be very interested in seeing this macro -- or even some suggestions on where to find things like it. I've read a bit of all the various different macro things out there, and haven't yet seen something that does stuff this complex -- checking whether you're in a group or not. I don't tend to change pets often -- I tend to spend most of my time in groups -- but having something that automatically turns off growl when I'm in a group would be super nice...