A macro is one (or many) command(s) issued when you press an icon. It can be as simple as
/say w00t!
or
/lol
or it can be more complex. Macros can be used for every slash command (/) in the game, like /p /s /y /w /g /dance /smile /cheer etc.
Creating a macro is simple. , just follow these 4 easy steps:
1) From inside the game world, press esc and then select Macros from the Options menu.
2) Here you have 2 choices; either you create/modify a macro in the General Macros tab for everyone of your characters to use, or in the tab specific to your current character only.
Personally, I put macros in the General tab for things like emotes, gestures or funny chat comments.3) I've selected here the character-specific tab. I pressed New and selected an icon (quite a few are available to you, I tend to take something that represents the type of action the macro does or I use the "?" icon displaying the same icon as the original attack.
After pressing ok, you come back to this window:
It is now either time to write your commands or paste them (from this website for example) in the box. You can always change your icon later if it is not fitting.
Wait. What? You don't want to have to write the long complicated name of a weapon or armor you want equipped?4) I find when using default attacks, I often encounter a situation where I want my character to attack a target but it actually stops attacking (toggles attack off). So I decided to add a /attack command to my main attack button so it always attacks. I can easily turn it off by left-clicking on the background. I find this little command so useful I add it to pretty much all my weapon attacks, on all my characters.
You don't have to! Just make sure your macro box is opened, then either open your bag containing the item or your character equipment sheet if it's equipped and then shift-click on the item: voilà! The name magically pops up in your macro box (now you can cut/copy/paste it all you want).
For the purpose of this how-to, let's make a little modification to the rend attack so that if you use it, it will continue attacking once the rend has been executed (technically both commands happen at the same time).
As you see, each line contains a command. A line can sometimes be longer than the window so it wraps around. This usually doesn't cause problems, but may if it reaches a certain length.
Here I've issued 3 commands:
#show rend will display the icon of the attack or item you write. For it to work, you will need to choose the "?" icon.
/rend is the special attack
/attack is the little tidbit that makes most of my attacks more efficient.
Macros are very flexible, useful in all kinds of situations. You'll find some WoW macros for general use, for any class as well as ones specific to the rogue class, warrior class, hunter class and mage class. Please note that some of the macros for warriors also apply to shield bearing pallies and shammies.
More macros will be added over time. Have fun and remember to experiment!
