Useful Combat Macros

Macros have uses during combat but they should be used cautiously or it will be detrimental to your output. Any actions on the global cooldown (GCD), i.e. weaponskills and spells, should not be assigned to a macro, because it will cause a delay when executing the macro and ultimately result in lost casts over the course of an encounter. However, it may be recommended to macro some off-global cooldown actions, particularly those that require you to target another party member, to avoid the hassle of having to manually switch targets.

Targeting other players

Party list numbering (yellow numbers)

The general structure for a macro that targets another player with an ability is:

/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/ac "action_name" <#>
/micon "action_name"

Where action_name is the name of the action and # is the target. # can be set to a number (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) to always target a person based on your party list, or mo to target a player you hover your cursor over, either their actual character or their spot on the party list.

While the number targeting can be more consistent depending on your preference, a downside is that a separate macro needs to be made for each action for each party list number (2-8) which will take up a lot of limited macro storage space.

The /ac line is repeated multiple times to ensure the action is "queued" correctly.

Ground targeting

Some actions require ground targeting, which can also be finicky. These actions include   Asylum (WHM),   Liturgy of the Bell (WHM),   Sacred Soil (SCH),   Earthly Star (AST), and magical ranged DPS   Limit Breaks.

Instant action

/micon action_name
/ac action_name gtoff

By taking advantage of gtoff, we can target instantly at the cursor location without having to go through ground targeting.

Targeted action

/micon action_name
/ac action_name <t>

Since in many encounters, fighting occurs around a specific target, like the main boss or the tank pulling a pack, a targeted action can also be used to automatically place it at your current target.

This is most useful for controller players, as it may not be as precise to use the gtoff macro above with the controller targeting mode.

Tanks

Shirk

During 8-man content requiring a tank swap, macroing   Shirk will circumvent having to target your co-tank. The following macro assumes that your co-tank is number 2 in the party list. If not, replace it with the appropriate number (3-8).

/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/ac "Shirk" <2>
/micon "Shirk"

Holmgang (Warrior)

  Holmgang requires a selected target to cast, unlike other Tank invulnerability cooldowns. If the target enemy dies, the player will lose the effect. Also, if the target is out of range, the player cannot use this ability. To circumvent these quirks, it is recommended to use a self-target macro, e.g.

/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/ac "Holmgang" <me>
/micon "Holmgang"

Targeted actions

Targeted mitigation and healing abilities, such as   Cover (PLD),   Intervention (PLD),   Nascent Flash (WAR),   The Blackest Night (DRK),   Oblation (DRK),   Aurora (GNB),   Heart of Stone (GNB), and   Heart of Corundum (GNB) can be assigned via the general "Targeting other players" macro format above.