I wanted to help out newer players with macros since the macro guides on this site are really just examples. I spent a bit of time on this and this is my first time trying to make a guide so please don't be too disappointed.
Making Macros
There are 10 palettes that you can use to make macros. Each palette can contain 20 macros, CTRL1-10 and ALT1-10. The first palette is already filled with default macros that you start out with.
There are many different types of macros. I will cover emote, ability, and battle macros.
Some basics before we start:
The /wait command
This is very useful in macros because it allows for several things to be put in a macro at once. This is because you can't do two things at once so you have to space them out. /wait 1 gives a 1 second interval, /wait 2 gives 2 seconds, etc. Currently /wait can go up to 60 seconds.
The targets
<t> - the most basic one. It simply uses the current action on the targeted PC or NPC.
<bt> - uses the current action on the battle target (the monster with the name in red). This doesn't work that well when you are fighting more than one monster.
<ht> - uses the action on a monster that has been called for help upon.
<st> - a purple arrow pops up that allows you to select a PC or NPC other that the currently selected target for the current action.
<stpc> - a purple arrow pops up that you can use to select a PC to target for the current action. You cannot select NPCs with this.
<stnpc> - a purple arrow pops up that you can use to select an NPC to target for the current action. You cannot select PCs with this.
<lastst> - use current action on the target that you last used <stpc> or <stnpc> on.
<me> - target yourself with the current action.
<p0> to <p5> - <p0> is yourself, <p1> is the party member 2nd on the member list, <p2> is the one that's 3rd, etc.
<a10> to <a15> - the members of the top alliance.
<a20> to <a25> - the members of the bottom alliance.
<pet> - targets your pet.
<scan> - targets the monster you are currently tracking on widescan.
Emote Macros:
You can put in whatever you would regularly type on the first line. Example:
/cheer
Just push the macro and your character would cheer. It'll also have "(Your name) cheers!" show up in the chat log. To avoid the text, add "motion" so that only the animation shows up.
You can make this more complicated by adding more emotes to your macro. Example:
/panic motion
/wait 2
/joy motion
/wait 2
/panic motion
This will make your character panic, wait 2 seconds, show your joy motion, wait 2 seconds, and panic again.
You can also do something like this:
/em pokes <t> in the ribs.
/wait 1
/poke motion
This will make "(Yourname) pokes (target's name) in the ribs." show up in your chat log and you will see your character do the /poke motion.
Ability Macros:
These macros are for your job abilities, songs, magic, etc.
Example:
/ja "Provoke" <t>
The first part is where you specify whether you are using a job ability, magic, etc. The second is the name of the ability, and the third is the target. If the ability is more than one word, you must have quotation marks around them. You do not need them if the ability is only one word, but it is still good practice to put them in. You must spell the ability exactly as it appears in your ability, magic, etc. list.
/ja - job ability
/ma - magic spell or ninjutsu
/nin - ninjutsu
/so - song
/ws - weapon skill
/pet - pet commands
Examples:
/ma Cure <p3> <--- this works
/ma Cure II <p3> <--- this doesn't work
/ja "Mijin Gakure" <stnpc> <--- this works
Battle Macros:
Battle macros are really just a lot of ability macros thrown together, occasionally with chat thrown in.
Some useful things not mentioned before are:
/say - talk in say mode
/sh - talk in shout mode
/p - talk to your party
<call1> to <call 20> - these make distinct (annoying) noises when used in party chat. Not recommended for frequent use.
/l - talk to your linkshell
/t - talk in /tell with a target
/assist - attack the monster that's attacking the targeted PC
/ra - ranged attack
/ta - target
/lockon - lock
/echo - message that only shows up on your chat log
/recast - see how long before you can use an ability, spell, song, etc.
/equip "Slot" "Item" - equips item onto the slot, "Item" and "Slot" can be put in any order.
/item "Item" <target> - uses the said item from inventory on the target.
All the following tags are to be used when in chat mode. These are important so that your pt can be as informed as possible. Also, all tags for targets can be used in chat mode as well (e.g. "I'm fighting <t>" gives "I'm fighting the Goblin Weaver").
<tp> - gives your tp
<mp> - gives (current mp)/(total mp)
<mpp> - gives percentage of mp left
<hp> - same as <mp> but for hp
<hpp> - same as <mpp> but for hp
<pos> - gives your position
<pettp> - gives your pet's tp
<pethpp> - gives your pet's current hp percentage
<petmpp> - gives your pet's current mp percentage
Examples:
/ta <bt>
/echo ***Targeting <bt>***
/ja Provoke <t>
/p Provoking <t>. TP: <tp>
/wait 15
/p Provoke ready in 15 seconds. TP: <tp>
/wait 15
/echo ***Provoke Ready***
NOTE: You need wait timers between chat, emote, and ability commands because you can't say, emote, or do two things at once.
Examples:
/em points at Leaping Lizzy.
/wait 1
/point motion
/say Look, it's Leaping Lizzy!
/say Just kidding!
The fifth line, "Just kidding!" will not show up. You need a /wait after the fourth line. Note that you can put one of the aforementioned 3 command types after another (in this case emote and chat) without using /wait.
/ja "Provoke" <t>
/ma "Flash" <t>
You will only provoke and not cast Flash.
/recast "Provoke"
/recast "Flash"
/recast "Shield Bash"
/recast "Sentinel"
/recast "Holy Circle"
/recast "Invincible"
This works because recast does not require wait times. Neither does /echo or /equip.
/ma "Paralyze" <t>
/wait 1
/ma "Slow" <t>
This doesn't work because you're still casting Paralyze. When using abilities that do not activate instantly, always make sure that you allow enough time to finish the first task.
Some Tips:
The use of <bt> might be convenient, but it is usually better to use <t>. This is because if there are links, you would not be using your spell/ability on the wrong mob.
It is suggested that use of <bt> be restricted to only
/ta <bt>
and the other macros that you would have used with <bt> be switched to <t>.
When you have a lot of emotes in a macro, try to use motion when possible to avoid spam. If the panic/joy/panic macro at the top did not have motion after the emotes, it would result in a lot of spam.
Edited, Fri Oct 8 16:08:32 2004 by RagnaClay