That silly ol' Darrwyn is at it again...
I've come up with what seems to me a VERY effective MM castsequence macro (hence the herecy) and I would like to open discussion about it's merits, or lack thereof.
The heretic speaks:
#showtooltip
/petattack
/castsequence reset=2/target/combat Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
Let me tell you, this casts Chimera Shot whenever it is available. It also keeps Auto Shot ticking along and gives my pet something to munch on.
I have perused several guides, and what I constantly read is a Steady/Arcane "rotation" of 5 Steady Shots and 2 Arcane Shots in a Chimera Shot cooldown. This can be either AS,SS,SS,AS,SS,SS,SS or AS,AS,SS,SS,SS,SS,SS or any other pattern, it doesn't seem to matter. What the guides also say is to use the 3rd (or 5th) SS to slot in an Aimed Shot proc when it becomes available, just keep the SS flying in pairs.
So... While Chimera Shot is on cooldown, this macro opens with 2 steady shots (giving me the ISS 5% haste bonus) then provides 2 arcane shots and then I can either thrown in an aimed shot proc or a third SS. By the time I've got the Aimed Shot away, the macro resets and I'm back at the beginning of the cycle.
This allows me to spam away with 3 major shots all taken care of with one key. I have another key for Aim Shot, another for Kill Shot and another for either Arcane Shot or Steady Shot if I need to act outside my "rotation" for some reason.
Most naysayers to castsequence macros seem to cite the need to be able to adapt to situations as the most pressing argument against their use. I find this system has improved my DPS and makes it much easier for me in both PVE and PVP situations and I invite trial and discussion.
Cheers D
I'll have to give this a go when I get home. Thanks for sharing this.
Question though: Could you add "Kill Shot" under Chimera Shot to further consolidate?
Interesting... I'll try on raid later... but since Wotlk I always prefer cast manually
Hunters!
I notice a lot of people have viewed this thread, but I am underwhelmed by the discussion it has provoked.
Nevertheless, not content to let sleeping dogs lie, I have started using a different set of castsequence macros, though they are somewhat similar:
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
and
#showtooltip
/castsequence Steady Shot
/cast Kill Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
I know a lot of hunters prefer Kill Shot on it's own, but I remind you I am one of the game's senior citizens, and the macro casts Kill Shot a lot earlier than I can usually react to my visual prompts (Power Auras). The thinking here is that when I want damage, I hit the Arcane/Chimera button, when I want focus, I hit the Steady/Kill button. After all, if Kill Shot becomes available, and I have the focus, it will cast!
My rotation nowadays is usually:
Hunter's Mark, send in the pet
Serpent Sting
Aimed Shot hard cast (usually the mob is >90% at this stage, if I switch targets and it isn't I skip this shot)
Arcane/Chimera till focus nearly depleted (20% or so)
Steady/Kill till I have some focus then Arcane/Chimera again, rinse and repeat
Needless to say, Concussion, Tranq, Multi, Chimera and Kill Shot buttons are also available.
Well, what do you think?
Ok, I tried it, didn't like it!
I've gone back to my origninal castsequence with a slight alteration
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat/target Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
This brings the punch of Arcane Shot into the fight sooner, still maintains the 2 Arcane + 3 Steady Shot combination within the Chimera Shot cooldown, and Chimera Shot will shoot as soon as the previous cast is complete when it becomes available, which will usually be faster than my reflexes on any standalone shot with a /stopcasting thrown in, which I believe would amount to a dps loss anyway.
Another combination could be
/castsequence reset=3/target/combat Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot
and on short fights this may prove a better choice, but if you tend to lead off with Hunters mark, Serpent Sting and Aimed Shot on targets >89% health, you may not have enough focus to shoot the second Arcane Shot anyway. Of course, if you only use Aimed Shot when it procs, it becomes very viable. Perhaps it could be used in the thick of battle, and use the Steady/Kill macro to build focus again.
Alright!
I'm using my newly created Darrwyn on Moon Guard to test these theories. Being only Level 18, I don't have Kill Shot or Chimera Shot yet, so my macros are thus:
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Concussive Shot
/cast !Auto Attack
and
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Steady Shot
/cast Kill Command
/cast !Auto Attack
I've used Concussive Shot as a replacement for Chimera Shot, and Kill Command instead of the Kill Shot as it still packs a punch, though not as much as KS does, even though it has a 6 second cooldown, not 10.
I lead off with the following:
#Showtooltip Hunter's Mark
/assist Focus
/petattack
/castsequence reset=target/5 Hunter's Mark, Concussive Shot
/cast [party][raid] !Auto Attack
I include the Concussive Shot in this macro as I want to slow down a mob if I am soloing. Also, If I'm solowing I don't want the Auto Shot going off; I want my pet in melee range before I start shooting.
Then I use:
#Showtooltip
/cast Serpent Sting
/cast !Auto Attack
/petattack
My next shot is either:
#showtooltip
/cast Aimed Shot
/cast !Auto Attack
/petattack
or
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Concussive Shot
/cast !Auto Attack
If I lead off with the Aimed Shot, I follow up with a Steady Shots instead of the Arcanes to build up some focus again. When I get Improved Aimed Shot I'll only be using Aimed Shot when it procs. This is still a bit haywire at the moment because Kill Command will be used with a 5 second cooldown, but when Kill Shot replaces it in the macro, steady shot will fire until Kill Shot becomes available anyway (mob health <=20%).
I use Sexy Cooldown to visualise the Kill Command and Concussive Shots for me, so I don't have to try and follow the combat log; that is way too messy!
If anyone else is trying any of this stuff, please tell me about your experiments and results…
Cheers for now.
D
Your persistence and attention to detail intrigues me. If I get some extra time, perhaps I'll give these a try. I do not, under normal circumstances ever play MM, but we shall see
Ozolin said:
Your persistence and attention to detail intrigues me. If I get some extra time, perhaps I'll give these a try. I do not, under normal circumstances ever play MM, but we shall see
Thanks Oz
Sorry guys, got some stuff wrong...
I re-read my reference material, and it seems I should be looking for 2 Arcanes and 5 Steadys during the cooldown period of Chimera Shot. That is what this is all about.
I also had an interesting discussion with a guildie last night (Not on MG) about using Cobra Shot in the mix somewhere, purely because it's Nature Damage and not Physical Damage like Steady Shot is. He was talking specifically about PVP, and getting through plate armor. However, I got to thinking that we have the same sort of considerations in PVE. Some of the mobs we come up against have defences against Physical Damage, and therefore throwing in some Nature Damage surely won't hurt us. So... I'll be threading a Cobra Shot into the mix.
I also got to thinking, we really only need to cast the 2 steady shots to get the 15% range haste boost once every 8 seconds, when the shots are available, I'll be using the following castsequence macro:
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/petattack
My thinking here is that by opening with 2 Steadys I immediately get the range haste buff for the next 8 seconds. I get my 2 Arcanes in as they pack a decent punch, and 2 Cobras in for the Nature Damage. That they also extend Serpent Sting is a bonus. I end the sequence with another Steady Shot so there are still 2 Steadys together to reset the haste timer at the time Chimera Shot goes off. Remembering that I usually lead off with Aimed Shots until the target is under the 90% health, the Steadys will provide an immediate boost to my focus store.
In total, this sequence gives me
Nature Damage from Chimera Shot and 2 Cobra shots
Arcane Damage from 2 Arcane Shots
Physical Damage from 3 Steady Shots
15% Range Haste Boost
If anyone can figure a way for me to add in some Shadow Damage, let me know, please!
Now remember, this is all about my main "rotation". Suffice to say, I have Serpent Sting on the go all the time, and Tranq is handy to throw in, and of course launching a trap now and then.
Actually, I have set my Aimed Shot as
#showtooltip Aimed Shot
/castsequence Immolation Trap (This will change to Freezing Trap when it's available to me)
/cast Aimed Shot
/petattack
I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but in theory it should put down my trap and be ready to renew after 30 seconds.
I'll report back once I have used it in earnest.
Cheers,
D
Ozolin said:
Your persistence and attention to detail intrigues me. If I get some extra time, perhaps I'll give these a try. I do not, under normal circumstances ever play MM, but we shall see
I forgot to mention, Oz, this sort of thing works very sell for BM and SV. I used it for SV for quite a while until I got tired of launching traps all the time.
In BM it works a treat too, threading cobras, arcanes and Kill Command when it's available every 6 seconds.
/castsequence reset=combat/3 Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Cobra Shot
/cast Kill Command
Or
/castsequence reset=combat/3 Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, (Cobra Shot... if needed to fit CD)
/cast Black Arrow
I think... depends on your cast time for Cobra Shot, how many you need in the sequence, just aways have more Cobras than Arcanes... and just below your CD time... human interaction will be slow enough to make up the milliseconds short...
I can't remember if you need to bother with Kill Command in SV, whether Arcane hits harder or not, a consideration for the sequence... another 1.5 seconds for the GCD, could replace the last Cobra Shot.
Cheers
D
After reading some input from Takass in his MM Guide, I'm thinking that instead of:
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/petattack
I'll use:
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Arcane Shot, Cobra Shot, Arcane Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/petattack
Although it will reduce the Nature Damage component of the rotation, it increases the chance of Master Marksman procs which give us the free Aimed Shot.
Thanks Tak!
D
The purists will enjoy this...
I admit I didn't really feel as though I was in enough control last night. I haven't ditched the whole idea, but I have made some changes...
1. #showtooltip Hunters Mark
/castsequence reset=target/combat Hunter's Mark, Serpent Sting, Concussive Shot
/petattack
/mend pet
2. #showtooltip Arcane Shot
/castsequence Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Tranquilizer Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/cast Silencing Shot
/petattack
3. #showtooltip Steady Shot
/castsequence Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Cobra Shot
/cast Chimera Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/cast Silencing Shot
/petattack
/petattack
4. #showtooltip Kill Shot
/stopcasting
/cancelaura Deterrence
/cancelaura Hand of Protection
/ cast Kill Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/cast Silencing Shot
/petattack
My low level versions will replace Kill Shot with Kill Command.
PVP
I do things a little different in pvp and I'm liking it...
1. #showtooltip Hunter's Mark
/castsequence reset=target Hunter's Mark, Freezing Trap
/cast !Auto Shot
/petattack
/mend pet
2. #showtooltip Aimed Shot
/cast Aimed Shot
/petattack
/mend pet
3. #showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target Serpent Sting, Widow Venom, Arcane Shot, Concussive Shot, Arcane Shot, Hunter's Mark, Arcane Shot, Tranquilizing Shot
/castsequence Chimera Shot
/cast Kill Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/petattack
4. #showtooltip
/castsequence reset=3/combat Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Steady Shot, Cobra Shot
/castsequence Chimera Shot
/cast Kill Shot
Now I know a lot of people don't like castsequence macros anyway, and having Kill Shot in one let alone two is very contraversial, but this just seems to work. I haven't done it in PVE, but it's working a treat in PVP. I'm toying with the idea of throwing in a Kill Command too, but further testing will be done along those lines.
You will notice that the two "spam" macros are complete opposites: One builds focus, the other spends it (with the exception of Chimera and Kill Shot in the focus build macro).
I use two power auras to help me out:
a. When Focus >85%, Dump Focus!
b. When Focus <35%, Low Focus!
Cheers,
D
More PVP…
in a bit
As promised....
The more I think about my Dump Focus spam macro, the more I'm thinking it should be more like:
#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target/combat Serpent Sting, Concussive Shot, Arcane Shot, Arcane Shot, Tranquilizing Shot, Arcane Shot, Kill Command
/castsequence Chimera Shot
/cast Kill Shot
/cast !Auto Shot
/petattack
Let's go through this so you (and I) can understand my thinking…
Firstly, in my macro research, I've read that in macros like this the commands are checked from the bottom up. In that case:
/Petattack will cause the pet to attack the current target
/Auto Shot will fire if it isn't on or will continue to if already on
/Kill Shot will fire if available
/Chimera Shot will fire if available and Kill Shot wasn't
/castsequence shot will fire (depending on where it is in the sequence) if Kill or Chimera didn't.
My observations support this.
My castsequece:
- First thing I wish to do is put the Serpent Sting debuff on my target. I’ve specced Improved Serpent Sting over Pathing as I believe (though others don't) it is a better option as it causes SS to do damage up front, as well as over time.
- Secondly, I have glyphed and specced Concussive Shot to cause a reduction in run speed. I find that in MY pvp encounters, I'm giving chase to flag carriers a lot, and it also helps to keep warriors with those godawful stuns and big axes away from my nice, shiny mail. Hence Concussive Shot is the second launched as the benefits of a stun and a slow early on outweigh damage in my opinion.
- Arcane Shot is the best instant shot I have without a cooldown.
- Tranquilizing Shot is there for the buffs, if I can knock a couple off, great, if not, next up is…
- Another Arcane. 'nuff said.
- Last but not least, (for now) is Kill Command. It’s not as strong for a MM hunter as for a BM, but still packs a clout. I will check when I get home how much clout and I may reassess this one…
As for the length of the sequence… Both Concussive Shot and Kill Command have cooldowns (5 and 6 seconds respectively) so I wanted the sequence to take at least that long to get through…
Now remember, this sequence is weaved with the Focus Restore macro as well, and even the occasional Widow Venom if I see a healer helping the target out. Generally I’ll shoot off 3 or 4 of these focus-costing shots, then some (at least 2) of the focus restore shots until the Dump Focus sign comes up. Chimera Shot chimes in every 10 seconds, and Aimed Shot procs now and then as well. And interupts... Scatter Shot is my friend...
I applaud those of you who can successfully use 14 or so buttons, but I struggle with too many. Though, you may have guessed that already…
Cheers,
D