How to Create Macros | WoW Macro Beginners Guide

[@paulramasco6769]

I've been playing for the last 17 years and this is the most complete macro tutorial I've found, thank you.

[@op_kifla]

Is this wow classic or retail

[@ashintheblunt3292]

@@op_kiflaretail. Can have it on classic as well.

[@shasys]

retail probly @@op_kifla

[@dimitrisgramer7418]

its wow sod dude@@op_kifla

[@Viorinx]

@@op_kifla retail

[@WhyisitBEARS]

After just getting back in yesterday after not playing for 12 years, this was a brilliantly done guide and extremely helpful. Much appreciated man 🙌🏻🙏🏼🔥

[@aoxc61]

I've been playing WoW for years and never fully understood macros and this video has now made me understand them much better. Thanks 😁!

[@dizzletron9000]

You don’t ever need to use /cast - you can just do /use for all spells, items, whatever. Not a huge difference but if you’re making a really complex macro every shortening trick can help. Btw awesome vid, I feel like this channel is really going places!

[@thewill9847]

For those who are curious and want a technical explanation as to why you 'need' "exists" in the smite example (see 11:16 for context). The reason why you need to add "exists" in the smite example is because the first [condition/modifing_behavior] is technically satisfied (true) with just the "mouseover" so your character will attempt to cast the ability at no target. Meaning the macro technically "works"/is a valid macro, but tells wow to do something invalid. So an ability that requires a target needs the "exists" condition in this case, but an ability which doesn't require a target (like an AOE ability for example) would cast. If there is any interest I'll give a more detailed/better explanation and explain very specifically where different marco "break" and why they do. Basic technical explanation of how macros work: Ultimately the graphical interface that you play the game (think clicking on a character to select them, hitting "w" to move forward, or using an ability by pressing it's key binding) is all translated to text that is fed into the wow game engine, one command/action at a time. Think of a macro as directly typing commands to the game rather than you clicking around/interacting with the graphical interface and having that get translated into text commands. You as a player can give the game invalid commands. For example trying to cast a harmful spell on a friendly. If you do this you still give the game a command but it doesn't do anything with it and will give you an error telling you can't do that.

[@FlameKeeperKaelus]

This is a very solid Macros 101 video. Loving your channel / content so far! In case anyone doesn’t already know, you can also simplify use of Trinkets with: /use 13 /use 14 Uses whatever trinket is equipped in either slot without having to type the name (or change it when you swap trinkets).

[@DungeonCoachGaming]

GAH I should have said that! I do like mine to be specific to the item, probably for OCD reasons lol! Thanks for the love Kaelus!

[@mikeb.1705]

Yep, those are two that are always on my action bars! Of course you can use the same principle if you have another gear item that has a "use" feature. Used to have one for the head when I was using a Helm of Fire, LOL! Ah, the good old days :-)

[@racer1056]

So I’m just trying to use heroic leap and then at the the same time I use a toy called wining hand it were I dance but I’m not sure how to put it through the macro

[@mikewolosz9456]

​@@DungeonCoachGamingI have a priest and just starting him, so I want to cast smite, then word of pain. Can I write that as all one macro?

[@bladewalters9967]

This is the forth video on macros I have watched and this is the only one that helped me understand how/why you would use macros. I love that your content goes over the basic details that everyone else assumes you already understand

[@m.dicatarina9539]

As a brand new player that also wants to get into pvp more than pve ( i know im crazy, but i love challenges) this helped me a huge lot. its not only how easy the examples u make are, its the way you take a pause form the keyboard and use your hands to explain into further detail. It really makes a difference and i thank you a lot for that!

[@suweninja9614]

I just started playing wow in Dragonflight and heared in streams beforehand a lot about the importance of macros and addons but couldn't find really good explanaition videos for both so thank you very much!

[@pjtyra2106]

Hey man! I’m just getting back into wow after a year break, playing a new class and trying to remap my brain within this topic right here! I’m happy to have found your channel and appreciate your content. Thanks Coach!

[@DaaMenace]

This is by far the BEST macro video I have ever seen. I have always had a basic understanding of them, but this not only explains them, but it also cleans everything up from some complicated macros!

[@COREcasual]

Omg finally. What a great video! Thank you so much. I'm a healer and I just want to be able to cast offensive spells on enemies without losing my current ally target...It took so long for this stuff to make sense and that's all you. Thank you

[@DungeonCoachGaming]

Just made my day with that comment! You are why I do this!! 👍🏼

[@collinraney740]

Just wanted to say thank you for making this video. My guild recently lost our Ele shaman and asked me to fill the roll. I chose to play demo warlock and regrated it because how complex the class is. This video has helped me a lot! Switched from a 4 button rotation ret pally to the most complex class in the game haha. Keep up the good work!!!

[@PandmaeCraft]

I have been playing since Vanilla, and stumbled on your video channel. Having watched your videos I decided to wipe the accumulated clutter of my UI, addons, macros and key binding that had grown into a total mess since 2004. A total wipe of everything, cleaned the WTF files and reset everything back to factory. I have now followed all your guides, key bindings. macro, addon etc. Hard on the muscle memory and retraining the old stretching finger key bindings, also invested in the MMO mouse you showed in your UI set up video. All in all, a lot of work to do, but well worth it, results amazing and play style for me big improvement. Thank you so much for all your work with this channel, and big thumbs up to your delivery style, don't know if your an educator, but you should be. Keep up the great work 5/5. Can I join your guild please 🙂

[@HeyItsWatson]

As others have mentioned add a /startattack command at the beginning of your openers such as festering strike so you will auto target and attack closest enemy without mouse click. From there you can select a target if needed. Also a /petattack macro for dks hunters and warlocks is added to your key abilities to pet swap.

[@2tall54]

Would love to see an even more depth macro video that is as good as this one to include cast sequence and any other advanced macros. Great job here!!!

[@suzyheale7126]

Like so many people, I've been playing for years and had minimal understanding of Macros. Every video I've watched just made it harder to understand. This video is by far and away the best video explaining it from the start to finish, not just the middle bit or the ending, assuming we have underpinning knowledge. AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing. Just spent ;2 hours making macros for my holy priest. off to heal a raid now, fingers crossed.

[@iruga7379]

This is an awesome tutorial not only for macros but for anyone that want to dwelve into programing as well. Great job man.

[@johnmccracken5465]

I played briefly in wotlk in my free time. I was a clicker. I started playing sod this year. Learned how to keybind. Now with seal twisting learning macros. Good video for showing noobs how to get better.

[@RickheadWashington]

I was looking for something specific but continued watching after finding that, which is unusual. Very good video.

[@sfurgas]

I've played since the beginning and never understood macros, great video, very helpful. Thanks.

[@joneemusz5747]

Broo! That's amazing! I played WoW I think 7-8 years ago but even back then I didn't understand how macro works. Now, coming back to these expansions I'm so glad I found your channel. Can't wait to try them out. Thank you so much! Your sense of humor makes it so easy to get and the way you break it down with gestures? Top!

[@3431angelbaby]

Have been playing wow since BC and the most I knew about macros was /emote /target This is THE best guild I have found to better understanding. Thank you so much!

[@DungeonCoachGaming]

Makes my heart warm to hear that bro! Thank you! I made this video, because I struggled with that exact same issue, and it was always confusing!

[@3431angelbaby]

@@DungeonCoachGaming you said at the start, everyone knows #showtooltip...yeah, I didn't even know that much, I would make a /e or a basic /cast macro and scroll endlessly through the pages of thumbnails trying to find the right one. Yesterday, after watching this, I logged in, made my first real working macro!!! I'm so proud of myself, thanks again for this video, my Demon Hunter is now loaded with macros 😂

[@mikeb.1705]

Great macro video! Back in the day I was the king of macros for rogues! Used to be you could put in all sorts of modifiers ~ you could insert a line where it would pop a heal potion if your health was low, or cast execute automagically if your target's health was low. You could even specify rogue abilities to use at certain energy or combo points. A lot has changed over the years, but you can still make macros that take your Stance into consideration (stealth / nostealth, and probably various druid forms as well). This is a great introduction for folks like me who are coming back to the game and want to be able to combine multiple abilities into a single button (or mouseover!). Thanks!

[@saikirugard5100]

i've only been plyaing for 2 month and this is what i need,now i understand a litle about macro's,thank you i appreciated much man.

[@PNMarkW2]

Thank you for this. I've used macros for years, but I truly understand them better now. Something you might check out since I know you're an AddOn kind of guy is Macro Toolkit. It updates the Macro UI and gives some features to make it a little easier when working on a new macro. Just the syntax highlighting and syntax checking are worth it.

[@TheVerlash]

I actually have 3 seperate macros kinda complicated for dealing with the Ox statue on Brewmaster monk. 1st macro is an @cursor macro to place the statue. 2nd macro targets the statue, makes it my focus, and then targets the last target. And because if you cast Provoke on the statue, you will actually AoE taunt the mobs around the statue, I have a 3rd macro that casts Provoke at my focus.

[@TheVerlash]

The macros are as follows: 1st Macro: #showtooltip /cast [@cursor] Summon Black Ox Statue 2nd Macro: /target Black Ox Statue /focus /targetlasttarget 3rd Macro: #showtooltip /cast [@focus] Provoke

[@mds000123]

Great video. I would love a castsequence video.

[@DungeonCoachGaming]

You got it!

[@FLSheepdog]

Same!

[@k4f]

@@DungeonCoachGaming You rock!!

[@A7XSniper21]

@@DungeonCoachGaming When you think this will come out? I've been waiting on it. Great vids brother.

[@craigb8379]

Your content is fantastic. Most content being posted now is just about mythic+, so its nice to see creators still thinking about players who are just trying to learn and/or improve their basic game play. I knew most of the macro syntax that you outlined, but two absolute gems for me in particular: 1) the smart icon assignment {i spend minutes often searching for the right icon manually} and the shift-click on the spellbook as ive thought this was a no brainer shortcut but didnt know it existed. Another thing you mentioned about the reset timer sounds interesting and ill need to investigate that further. A cast sequence video would be an excellent next step.

[@unfknblvable5292]

Love this video. One suggestion. If you could put chapters in your videos for ease of navigation. That would be swell.

[@ElCapitanGames]

Something I’ve found is I can often use a spell and an item at the same time. If you use /use. Ex. Warrior battle shout and /use mount name works but battle shout plus /cast mount name doesnt. Even though /cast mount name typically works without the spell. So there’s that. Also mouse over macros can be done without macros now in game. You can either set a mouse over key or use no key.

[@kitty5104]

This was perfect, like you say keep it simple, too many macros I've seen are a mess because it's just multiple line when you can squish alot into one line with proper ordering. This was amazing thank you so much!!!

[@l.a.b7436]

holy shit. thanks so much. been playing warlock casual for years because i couldn't understand macros. very clear explanation

[@jeremysmith6026]

I have been playing for 15 years and have avoided macros till this. Thank for making it sound easier and explaining all. Now you just need to roll a Hunter 😂

[@tomvanlieshout2422]

dude just have to say thank you! this was super helpfull, i was floudering to understand the basics.

[@bealsprings]

Great instructional video! You did a good of providing the foundational skills so the user can develop more complex macros as he learns. Thank you.

[@MrShocknezz]

OMG THANK YOU!!!!! this has got to be the BEST I have ever seen and understood the material!

[@SunnyD-cl4dh]

THANK YOU SO STINKING MUCH MAN! You're my go to for all WoW things. Just started playing and you have made it so much more fun and easy to learn.

[@RenagadePrime]

For those having problems with the macros, make sure that you are NOT holding shift when pressing the bracket key. I did that, and macros don't like the { and } in place of [ and ].

[@FrostMochii]

This is by far the best macro video, this has helped me understand everything so much better!

[@MrPatrolol]

You the mvp for the amount of effort you put into these. You make it super simple.

[@GrandOldDwarf]

You can replace "exists" with "harm" at @12:02 and it works, but also skips your mouseover conditional when over an ally.

[@danharlan1314]

Years ago I was asked what mods I used to raid heal. I told them “Grid” and they couldn’t understand. Then I shared the world of mouseover macros and other utility macros I would use. Blew their mind. I just assumed everyone was using them.

[@navarmaxted9976]

This is the video I've been looking for, thank you! Please do a cast sequence video!

[@Nokkoz4]

I love how detailoriented you are about the explanation, keep it up :D

[@hhectell]

How this doesn’t have 100k views is crazy, best macro video I’ve ever seen lol

[@yukee1127]

Thanks! New to this game and friends been telling me to use macros but didn't know how to. Now i do!

[@ricardoi.3275]

Man, thank you ❤️ I have some issues with my macro for my mage and with your help I can find the problem: Priority 😅 I like to use the two buttons of the mouse and I had issues casting Mana Shield with the second button. The interesting part is, the macro can cast Gift of Naaru, but not Mana Shield.

[@Axel.97]

Might be a dumb question but i've been trying to create a /cast [@target] macro but has never worked. So my question is, Is it possible to make a @target macro or is it not? Great video btw!

[@SuperGotgames]

Yes nice video. Cast sequence would be something to check out but that gets stopped on abilities not able to cast. Then check out GSE Gnome sequencer add on which unlocks further potential to continue macros without getting hung up =)

[@BudzzBunnyy]

new to this game, love this guide. this kind of guide is what i've been looking for. Thank you!

[@knutter]

Doing gods work bro. Bless you

[@RainingMetal]

Learning about the @targettarget made me create a macro for when I'm out healing as a Holy Paladin, I can use Crusader Strike on my tank's target to build up Holy Power without removing my focus on my tank for future healing. Also, for those who forget to apply Auras like I do, the condition [nostance:#] checks if the stance/aura that correlates with the number (going from left to right, I think) is active. So I've made a macro that will put up an aura if it isn't active and then cast an attack if it is.

[@Turdfergesun]

This is awesome! I will have to try this for HPal, that is gamer brain for sure. Please share more HPal hacks!

[@Mr.Wizard101]

Thank you I Tried to learn macro's before but nothing clicked in my membrane, but now I'm going to have me some macro's! whooooo! :D

[@critzandgiggles]

That was the best Macro tutorial I’ve found yet! Thank you good Sir

[@justusmatteson9855]

Been trying to figure out how to mouse over target with my rogues kicks so i dont lose all my combo points. Very very helpful thanks

[@billm5555]

The macro that I always use is: #show tooltip /target nearest enemy /startattack /cast (name of spell) It will always show the icon of the spell you type in.

[@mikeb.1705]

yes, /startattack is a must for whatever spell you are spamming like mad just in case you spot a stealther sneaking around. It will light them up with a quickness as soon as they are spotted.

[@mikeb.1705]

I wonder, can you make a macro (or segment of a macro) to target your focus' target? I'll have to fiddle with it... /targetfocus /targettarget /startattack ~ or /cast spell... Y'know, just to keep you on the proper target for a dungeon, maybe?

[@billm5555]

@@mikeb.1705 its the same as the other one but: /target focustarget I think

[@jpvautier]

Such an amazing video. Thank you so much @Dungeon Coach Gaming!

[@KillerGnom]

this is exactly what i've been looking for for a while!

[@Oodles-gaming]

so like your an amazing teacher anything i need to lear more in depth i pray you made a video and it covers what im trying to understand

[@myfarminglife5475]

This is the best macro tutorial I have ever watched. I am trying to put two [@cursor] macros into a cast sequence, but can't work it out. I can get them both to work in individual macros, but not one after the other in a single macro.

[@Doxolity6969]

Try / castsequence

[@iraedis1998]

You are amazing at teaching and explaining things. You're the goat!

[@gloryd8385]

Thank you! I’m new playing WoW and this was amazing, I will watch again and start using macros

[@notchonachos]

Best Macro video explanation out there. Nicely done

[@mrdeadlybootz5414]

Just started WoW this weekend. You're amazing. Thanks a million Also yes, please do a cast /castsequence macros video.

[@boberry1000]

I FINALLY understand macros now! Love your channel/videos!! Keep up the good work!!

[@jazziai]

A castsequence guide would be amazing

[@michaelacosta1441]

Great job at breaking this macro stuff down 👍🏼👍🏼

[@jinejujutsu3714]

This video earns a comment for the algorithm gods

[@josevelasquez493]

Nice video I just started playing wow at the start of dragon flight this video was extremely helpful it would also be nice if you did a spell casting sequence video I would like to learn how to do a spell sequence for my dk

[@SuperGlueFingers]

I've been playing WoW since High School in 2006, but macros were the one thing that has always eluded me. I've use them for chat functions, like shouting pre-written messages, but never understood them for combat. If you could do a cast sequence video, I would LOVE that (unless you already did, but I couldn't find it in your list).

[@janmajer4662]

Same here

[@jimmysanchez2368]

I'm so mad yet grateful that in the first 3min of this video you've helped me with a huge headache I was having and had spent an entire night trying to figure out while pulling my hair out. I just got into macros recently when my brother showed me this: #Showtooltip /cast [nomod] "spell" /cast [mod:shift] "spell" I had a lot of fun with it and it was super useful and easy, reducing action bar space usage and parring abilities. Then he showed me this: #showtooltip /cast [@cursor] "spells/trinkets" which made things even easier with the ground type abilities. When I started playing my MELEE holy paladin and applying these macros that's when things started to get a little more interesting. As a more close combat style healer I was having to balance out melee and healing abilities and I did so easily with these two macros but what started to get annoying was that I could not self cast with "ALT" while targeting an ally with macros in the same way you would with the "Self cast key". I had to target myself and then cast and after some hours of tinkering and googling I got: #showtooltip /cast [mod:altshift,@player] /cast [mod:alt,@player] /cast [mod:shift] /cast [nomod] Works great with healing abilities and buffs once I've learned that the complexity of your commands must order in complexity top to bottom but what did not work out so well was that I started parring offensive and supportive abilities in the same macro (i.e.): #showtooltip /cast [mod:altshift,@player] Flash of Light /cast [mod:alt] Crusader Strike /cast [mod:shift] Flash of Light /cast [nomod] Crusader Strike This macro did not work properly as every time I tried self-casting while targeting an ally Crusader strike would try to cast as well and any enemy nearby would automatically be targeted by the macro in attempt to attack due to both having "alt" in the command. This macro could have easily been fixed by deleting the "[mod:alt] Crusader Strike" but that would mean dealing with the hideous '?' icon that would strike me with its eye sore appearance no matter how distracted I was. I've spent hours trying to figure out another way to rewrite the "[mod:altshift]" command to distinguish it from the "[mod:alt]" command to have them work separately from each other but I could not find another way. This is where the headache began and I've searched all hours of the night trying to find a way to make this macro work and even asked in-game on my server, of course while playing Moon Guard we could all assume how that went. Finally after hours on end I've decided to give into KZbin's equivalent to "Influencers" on Instagram, content creators and bracing myself for a endless amount of cringe inducing Minecraft style tutorial videos, I came across this video and after watching the much relatable intro and not being told to immediately "Like, comment and subscribe for more of these videos" I've realized that I've should of done this a long time ago. Watching you explain the most basic command in macroing I immedietly "light Bulbed", this entire time I did not realize that #showtooltip not only did what it said (displaying the tool tip at the bottom right hand corner), but also displayed the icon without having to be hand pick it and of course it would because when has a self explaining command ever not tell you about its other possible functions. This basic command gave me the idea that I could combine a key command with it to run a script and fix my little issue and behold: #showtooltip /cast [mod:altshift,@player] Flash of Light /cast [mod:shift] Flash of Light /cast [nomod] Crusader Strike #showtooltip [mod:alt] Crusader Strike Now when use the macro I use Crusader strike, when I SHIFT I use Flash of Light on target, when I shift+alt I self cast Flash of Light but most importantly when I just hold ALT, I get no ugly icon. You have my comment, my like, and my subscribe. Thank you.

[@PappSaTT]

Great video! I love your simple and dummy like eXplanations. Big help!!!

[@MrCarrcon]

loving your videos.. one suggestion would be to slow down a touch. constructive criticism only. great work! extremely helpful!

[@here-lies-wes1738]

Here's one for the arena players out there. #showtooltip /cast [nomod] Life Cocoon /cast [mod:shift, @party1] Life Cocoon /cast [mod:ctrl, @party2] Life Cocoon This will let you cast LC on whoever you're targeting unless you press shift or control. Party 1 and 2 are the first and second players in your party frames after yours, so there's no need to change player names in the macro.

[@marios20202]

OMG Thank u, what a fantastic tutorial. finnaly ime making macros all due to this easy guide. thnk u vm.U Rock. 1 thing try to slow dwn regarding ur explanations :) have to keep rewinding :)))) but truely an awesome vid thnk u thnk u

[@johnnychipello919]

I get so irritated when im at a target dummy to practice and folks dont care and just use it as well. On all my toons i get a garrison in Dranor with the mage house to get the target dummies to use. This way im never bothered by anyone and enjoy not being bothered while I practice. Might be a good idea for videos this way you can make a vid wth target dummies without being bothered. Great videos btw..they are sooooo helpful!!

[@brandone7273]

Amazing video! Really appreciate this.

[@IsaacFNghost]

i jumped into a bg as an arms warrior yesterday and would charge, got frost nova'd and then just sit there because i didn't have macroes for spellreflect or intercept XD.. Thanks for the guide! i was looking for addons that could make setting them up easier, but i guess they don't have any?

[@Sojourner142]

at 30:33, you mention possibly condensing the /casts into one. each /cast (or /use) will only activate one spell, item, or ability. so if I had spells 1 and 2 (where spell 1 didn't activate the GCD) that I wanted to cast simultaneously I would use: /use spell 1 /use spell 2 The Macro: ```/use spell 1; spell 2``` would stop after using spell 1

[@Doxolity6969]

Is this why when I have some things macroed it says can’t cast at a start of fight cause I don’t have combo points even tho the start of the chain is not a combo move

[@Sojourner142]

@@Doxolity6969 yes, macros technically apply each operation in order, but it might as well be simultaneously. So if you have the first line an attack that generates a combo point, and the second line using it, the macro will use both abilities (assuming no gcd) but you won't have generated any combo points yet. (I'll have to double check this later)

[@durtaw]

Huge help on learning more about some more about the macros. I do have a question about one that is possibly tripping me up and can not find anything online about it. I am trying to see if I can create a macro to cast Reaves (legion engineering) and have him go into "Repair Mode" automatically. Not sure if this is even possible. Thanks again for your great video.

[@jonatanvaldes3525]

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make a macro in cast sequence for my DH. /castsequence felblade, sigil of fire That works but the only thing is when I cast felblade which has an 8 second cooldown and then cast sigil of fire which has a 30 second cooldown it allows me to use felblade but since the sigil is still on cooldown it won’t let me cast felblade. Is there any way I can make a macro if felblade is available and sigil isn’t it still work with felblade until sigil is back up from its cooldown. Sorry if I was confusing

[@starvingsquirrel]

I'm a little over 2 mins in, and my mind is blown by ctrl + backspace. Yeesh xD

[@SaudAbuMarirah]

Thank you brother ... really good info

[@kevincepeda13]

Great Content. I appreciate the way you make these guides. Congrats :)

[@wolfsavergroup7734]

Would be nice to include in the video that if you have a long macro over 255 chars like i.e if you are raid leading then you can download for example "Super Duper Macro" to increase the length of text only to the game limit of 1023 chars.

[@patrickbaker7250]

Yess this video is very helpful, but I would like a cast macro video as well, I play a warlock and need help

[@johnstaley6423]

Really like this video thank you for making it really explained so much

[@racwool8181]

thanks so much, really helpful. I am enjoying all your videos. Thanks again.

[@gabrlovx]

Macros always confused me!!! Ty for this

[@spacecowboy1591]

Good tutorial and you explained things perfectly thanks man

[@sllevy]

Excellent tutorial. I've been creating macros for many years but never managed to make [@target] to work. Whenever I use this condition, the macro stops working.

[@lRocafellal]

Just out of curiosity, did you ever make a video on sequence? I haven't found it if so. Lol Would be very helpful to me.

[@Ecanhoj]

I'm playing Tank Demon Hunter loved it 😀

[@Thetkidd]

Yeah this is way too overwhelming I’m just going to be a noob forever

[@Here4theComments9]

I know, right? So many players are awful instructors assuming we’re at the same level as everyone else

[@RickheadWashington]

It's kind of sort of like programing. It's a different programming language. But still programming

[@lukaskekesi1276]

Great video! Do you have that cast sequence macro video? that would help a lot!

[@jaapbosters5104]

Thank you SO much for this. I've played World of Warcraft for over 12 years now and I never fully understood macros, aside from the "/p BURST" kinda stuff. This really opened my eyes about the possibilties, it's awesome. Thank you!

[@joshuaschultz6513]

care to elaborate on the /p burst?

[@andreyisaev1774]

alot wasting-words, but still the most usefull guide iv seen. ty man

[@jeremystewart9111]

Great video man

[@GamerTeah]

You definitely earned a sub man :) much appreciated!!