Posts with tag wow-macros

While many tout using the mouse for speedy gameplay, you can't overlook the power of the keyboard. While moving and turning is most quickly done with a mouse, it's a slow way to activate spells or open menus, so if you want to speed up your game, it's a good idea to learn WoW's default keyboard shortcuts as well as how to make your own key bindings and macros. We'll cover the basics and help you get started.

WoW's keyboard shortcuts
You may be surprised to see how much you can control with your keyboard. The first step to keyboard mastery is by opening up WoW's key binding interface. Just hit your escape key to open up the game menu and then select Key Bindings. Now, we aren't going to mention every key binding in WoW here, because as you scroll through this menu you'll see there are a lot of them.

It's time again for Arcane Brilliance, the weekly mage column that comes to you this week from the desk in my upstairs bedroom, where I sit, pantsless (as is my custom), listening to chiptunes (Anamanaguchi!) and eating a giant bowl of Corn Pops. The wife and kids are out shopping, so it's just you and me, mages. Let's do this.

I've been writing this column once a week for over two years now, and each week, I follow the same general process. First, I figure out what I'm going to write about. Then I research my chosen topic (some topics require more research for me than others) until I feel comfortable enough to speak authoritatively on the subject. Finally, I sit down and write the thing. Then I edit the crap I just wrote until it resembles cogent thought, at which point I submit it to my editors. They notify me of any still-glaring issues with the column, and after a bit more polishing, the finished product magically appears on your computer screen, usually sometime Saturday night.

The hardest part of this process, for me anyway, is usually that first part. Sure, some weeks it's easy. Maybe we just had a major content patch and there's a fresh load of class changes to discuss. Maybe I'm writing the second part of a multi-part post, so I already know going into the week what I'm sitting down to write about on Friday. But most weeks, immediately upon finishing that week's column, I begin worrying about what I'm going to write about next week. It begins as a mild itch in the very back of my mind, a little tickle reminding me that in seven days I have a column due and I have no idea what that column's going to be about. Then, as the Friday due date approaches, that itch becomes a constant gnawing dread.

Here at WoW.com we're on a Daily Quest (which we try to do every day, honest) to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we should be following? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow!

Today we're talking about your user interface with helpful addons and macros from across the web:

• The Hunter's Mark offers 6 addons to make your hunter's life easier.
• Blade Barrier presents some essential death knight macros.
• World of Matticus explains macros to make your healing life easier.
• Flow has addon suggestions for restoration shamans.
• No Stock UI has an addon recommendation for the Blood Queen Lana'thel fight.
• Cranky Healer offers a lesson on advanced Clique use.

Hungry for more addon info? You might take a look at AddOn Spotlight or Reader UI of the Week.

Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly peek into the world of the death knight. Your host, Daniel Whitcomb, is enjoying the most wonderful time of the year, when a death knight can hang around in his natural habitat all day long without seeming creepy. Or no creepier than usual, at least.

As you approach the end game of WoW, one thing you may find out quickly is that the proper use of macros is a great way to take your game to the next level. Sometimes they streamline moves, other times they allow you to perform actions that would be otherwise impossible. Death knights are definitely no exception, and though we'd be here all week if I went through all the ins and out of macro theory, or even death knight macro theory, I figure right now is still a good time to get you started.

Let's look at a few basic essential macros for the various roles and trees of the class.

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.

Macros are awesome. I may not use them all that extensively, but the ones I have, I love. And I'm always on the lookout for more good macros to simplify my action bars. WoW Macros, a site that's been around quite a long time and has the laudable mission of listing handy macros for all classes, has just undergone a complete redesign, and they're having a contest to celebrate, with some pretty sweet Wrath-related prizes. Up for grabs are:

• One Wrath of the Lich King collector's edition
• Two regular copies of WotLK
• Three 60-day time cards

As well as ten copies of Derek's WotLK Guide, a normally-paid Wrath leveling guide. If you want my opinion, though, just go for Jame's guides; they're free and very high-quality. Jame's guides will be released in the week ahead on WoW Pro.

At any rate, there are some very cool prizes here. And what do you have to do to participate? Just head on over to the WoW Macros site and submit a new macro, or suggest an improvement to one that's already on the site (be sure to use a valid email). Every valid submission gives you a "ticket" to the contest, and shortly after midnight on November 12, the day before Wrath, sixteen winners will be drawn randomly and emailed. You can't win more than one prize, but submitting more macros does give you a greater chance to win something. Now get coding -- that collector's edition isn't going to win itself.