Vinniej posted:

HEY LAWBRINGER,

Sorry for caps, just trying to get your attention. I’m looking for some macro help and am not finding what in need by googling. I’m trying to figure out a way to combine 2 macros into one, the problem is they involve a global cooldown inbetwen to the 2 spells i’d like to cast. For example, i would like to target a main tank (changing name when needed), cast a sacred shield on them, then target the off tank (again, manually altering name as needed) and cast a Beacon of light on him. The problem is the global cooldown stops me from doing both functions. Is there anyway to get around that? Please help

JV

One of the real lacking areas in WoW coverage is in the realm of scripts and macros vinnie.  And we wish we could be more help.  But the fact is that Macros, and especially their more advanced cousin, scripts are so situational and personal that there may not be a way to even develop a consistent clearinghouse for that sort of thing.

As a result, most players do without them completely and they remain the realm of guys with programming skills and knowledge of .lua stuff.  In fact, until you have a certain level of expertise in the game they might be more confusing than helpful anyway.  Since most of WoW is made up of casual players, they remain on the sidelines.

To answer your specific question – no you can’t do that.  You simply cannot build a macro that will get around global cooldowns.  This isn’t entirely true, but you certainly can’t do it through the in-game macro screen.  Certain products such as the G13 and N52te can do so, but you put yourself at the mercy of the ToS by using them.

Blizzard doesn’t want some genius coming up with ways to script the automation of playing the game.  This is highlighted by the fact that they recently won a 6 million dollar plus lawsuit with the fellow who made Glider.  It may seem like you just want to do something simple.  But if you give people an inch, they end up taking the whole thing and you always end up with glider.

People could take your macro and add another step to it, then another, then another – then make it dungeon specific or any number of things and then next time you turn around you’re in an arena match with a bot wiping the floor with everyone.  The global cooldown is there to force you to hit buttons.   It is the great equalizer between man and machine.  It’s very hard to program something to think like a human being, and that’s just the way Blizz wants it.

Overall I think this is a good thing.  It forces us to play the game straight up without being able to automate a ton of stuff.  However, there are ways to do what you’re talking about.  You probably wouldn’t get in trouble for using this one, but you need to know it is against the rules and could get your account banned.

Blizz views anything that automates player functions as a bot.  Anything that can perform multiple keystrokes around the global cooldown is considered botting.  That is why even though my G13 can do what you’re describing, I avoid doing so.

Would it make my life easier?  Most certainly it would.  Would it give me an unfair advantage over the guy without a G13 having to mash all the right buttons where I just push one?  Blizzard thinks so.

As a result, macros have been limited to use with the odd little things outside of combat for the most part.  There are dozens of good macros for goofy things like /love on critters for achievements, but because of the global cooldown, their use in combat for complex things is very limited.

Arena players and certain PvE situations find a few uses for macros to combine skills like Nature’s Swiftness (makes your next spell with a cast time an instant spell) with a long cast time big heal like Nourish.  Or little scripts that switch you from one form to another and back if you get cc’d, but that’s about as far as you can take them within the rules.

So while I hear you that your idea would help you a lot, it’s just not possible without going into the danger zone of the user agreement.  If you’re doing this at level 80 with a well geared toon you probably don’t want to risk losing all that time and work you’ve put in.

We all want the game to play easier and better.  But part of the reason that WoW stays so popular is that Blizz has a ton of checks and balances in the game to prevent goobers from hacking and botting.  It keeps the game in in purest and simplest state.  If you ever played D2 you know what I mean.  That whole experience was ruined by bots and hacks and cheats.

So, while the strict rules aren’t really popular, they are at the same time.  I would rather have people griping about the fact that they can’t make macros than the fact that they can’t even play the game any more because of gold selling farm bots and uber leet arena hackers.  It would kill the whole thing in less than two months, and so sometimes ‘no’ is an ok thing.