Help with WS Macros and Skillchains

[Sirc]

Well I'm finally in Qufim levelling my 21WAR/10MNK and I'm finding that I am competing for parties with experienced players who really have their acts together (along with people who seem to have been PL'd from level 3 to level 20 in 4 hours and have absolutely no idea what they are doing ).

So here's my questions:

1. How are people figuring out which skillchains can (and should) be used with the different weapon skills that are available in the party? Is there a handy chart somewhere? I've seen the big diagram that shows how everything is grouped with all the arrows and flows and stuff, but sheesh, isn't there a simple table or something to refer to?

2. How should I set up my WS macros to make them most useful to the other members of the party? It seems that you would need to set up two different macros depending on whether you are starting a skillchain or are the 2nd or 3rd link in the chain. For instance if I were 1st in the chain:

/p USING RED LOTUS BLADE IN 2 SECONDS! <call20>
/wait 2
/ws "Red Lotus Blade" <t>
/wait 3
/p START NEXT WEAPON SKILL NOW!

If I were 2nd in the chain I'd just simply use the 2nd WS, for instance:

/ws "Fast Blade" <t>

I also have a macro to show my TP, so when it hits 100% then I use the following macro to let others know that I'm ready when they are:

/p TP = <tp>

If I'm pulling with my boomerang I use the following macro:

/p GET READY! PULLING THE <t> NOW! <call20>
/ra <t>


Please let me know if what I am doing is appropriate, or if not, then what I should be doing. Also, any additional suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've discovered that I definitely need to filter out everything except for what is going on with my party. Last night there were two other full parties near us and the chat window was scrolling by so fast that I missed a few skillchains. ><

[Klenath]

Overall your macro's are FAR better than what I've seen (and I've been in a number of painful groups ... and I'm only 22WAR/11MNK!

Most weapon skills people cough up are either trial and error or they bought the strategy guide (or bought a premium account at http://ffxi.allakhazam.com ... which is kinda ... lame). I'll let some of the more experienced players post a list of skill chains (I forget the ones I see often).

Every macro I have uses the translator stuff for the weapon skills and what I'm doing as much as is reasonable, mainly because the translator stuff stands out when your log scrolls by.

I prefer to use the ==> method to show an action because it stands out more than plain text a lot of the times. Food for thought.

I like to think I'm a good tank / communicator in a party. Every WS macro has the following:

/party (Weapon Skill) ==> <t> in 3 seconds! TP: <tp> <callxx>
/wait 3
/ws "Weapon Skill" <t>

It's up to the people doing the chain to pay attention. If a /party announcement with a call and then actually seeing the action doesn't clue 'em in they're not worth their xp. The handy thing with the above macro is the second you see someone ready their skill you can immediately use this one and not worry about whether or not it will hit. I've never missed a chain with this macro config.

For ranged stuff, I pester people to confirm they're ready and have a macro that looks like this:

/party (Ranged Attack) ==> <t> TP: <tp>
/ra <t>

Simple and it works. For tanking I've got the following Provoke macro set up:

/party (Provoke) ==> <t> TP: <tp>
/ja "Provoke"
/wait 20
/party (Provoke) ready in 10 seconds! TP: <tp> <callxx>
/wait 10
/party (Provoke) ready! TP: <tp>

Notice how all my /party stuff has my TP in it?

And finally, the BEST macro you'll ever want to use is a simple one-liner:

/attack <bt>

You'll never miss-target the mob ever again while it's being pulled.

Hope this helps!

[Sirc]

And finally, the BEST macro you'll ever want to use is a simple one-liner:

/attack <bt>

You'll never miss-target the mob ever again while it's being pulled.

Hope this helps!

Heh, yeah I really need to use that. The other night I accidently voked something right next to me that I couldn't see. I was like...

Fortunately no one died as a result of my stupidity.

[maryadavies]

Akk! I forgot about this one

Syine told me about a skillchain calculator that might be a big help to you. (Okay, it was when I was tryin' to help my hume thievy bro.)

http://ffxi.liquid-x.net/renkei/index.php

Check it out. Might help you get a list of skillchains you can do with a specific party. Only problem is you have to A. Have the FFXI Windower running (PC) or have a internet connected laptop by you (PS2) or C. Temp log out (both) so you can check it, sowwy.

(Oh and Golddess: feel free to add that to the links!)

[Mystiana]

If I were 2nd in the chain I'd just simply use the 2nd WS, for instance:

/ws "Fast Blade" <t>

Please keep the /p in the second, third, etc weapon skills. The black mage will want to magic burst off the renkei, and the /p hepls for sight/timing. ^^