Here's a video of me doing nothing special while I run around getting spam healed and playing a powerful, underrepresented class.

 

The Art of War I:

 

Starring

An'na Montana (formerly Kourni'kova)

<Crimson Elite>

Jung Ma (RP-PvP)

 

My playstyle is that of a team player, so most of this footage was collected while I ran at least 21+ deep in the Shield Specialist tree. The emphasis is not so much on me as an individual, but rather a compilation of interesting PvP moments I've shared with my teammates, so you'll see plenty of action-packed team fights, but I've also included some 1v1 and 1v2 footage for your viewing pleasure. Special thanks goes to my esteemed guildies of the 507th Crimson Elite and my other faction allies, without which none of this would be possible.

 

Special Side Note Concerning Macros

Yes, I use them. In fact, a lot of your favorite PVPers use them. I tend to keep some of mine on "repeat while pushed", which not only overcomes the bugginess of the UI delay (and any trooper who has tried to get Energy Blast or Incendiary Round to fire knows exactly what I'm talking about), but also prevents me from burning out the buttons on my Razer Naga every two months. This set-up leads to a lot of red "Ability Not Ready Yet/Not Facing Target/Obnoxious Wall of Red Text" error spam. Yes, I know its an eyesore but I haven't figured out a way to disable UI error messages yet. As to the actual integrity of using keybound button combinations, I'm not even going to open that can of worms here-- suffice to say it frees up more of my fingers, reflexes, and mind so I can concentrate on outmaneuvering my opponents in the thick of battle instead of staring at my tiny little ability and buff icons.

 

Enjoy~!

Would you mind sharing what keys you have bound in macros?.

I can't believe that gap closer is legit. Funniest animation I've ever seen.

Would you mind sharing what keys you have bound in macros?.

 

If you don't bind more than 1 ability to each key press you avoid the red text, its not just the repetition but the fact that you have half you rotation bound to a single key that causes that wall of text.

 

Video is well made though my link isnt good enough to watch in HD....

Red wall of text destroy the video.

The red text is caused because you've set your macro up wrong. You have the key press set to loop, which not only causes screen clutter, but will more than likely cause a slight client/server side lag too.

 

Also, for clarification, you are only allowed to use macro's on ability's on the global cooldown, i.e. the macro can only ever perform one action. Using macro's on ability's off the global cooldown that can perform more than one action at the same time, is not allowed or encouraged by Bioware and is actually a bannable offence as it is against their ToS.

 

But as I said on youtube, the red spam ruins an otherwise good video. You need to work some more on your macro's that's for sure. You certainly don't need to disable the error messages, you just need to set your macro's up correctly. I have macro's set up to use multiple ability's on the global cooldown and this is exactly what used to happen until I set the key presses not to loop. Besides, you should never need to loop ever, not unless you are wanting to make a macro that you can just hold down and that will play the game for you...which needless to say, is not allowed.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Sweeet

The loop is so he can just hold the button down rather than spamming the key, the red text is because he has more than 1 skill macroed to the button.

The loop is so he can just hold the button down rather than spamming the key, the red text is because he has more than 1 skill macroed to the button.

Correct. For example, I (personally) have Taunt macro'd to most of my other damaging abilities for my PVP profile, so that I'll taunt + Ion Pulse, for example. Since I tend to hold the button down instead of push it repeatedly, you'll typically see the wall of red text in situations where I'm stunned, CC'd, or my target has managed to significantly evade my range/facing.

 

What I am NOT interested in doing (and I never will) is to use any sort of macros or set-ups which effectively play the game for you by (for example) using Storm/Leap, waiting a full 1.5 seconds, then using some other attack like Stockstrike, all with the push of a single button. Neither do I have my entire rotation keyed to a single button. My macros are more the sort that, say, use a particular melee skill if I'm within 4m, or a longer range skill if I'm greater than 4m but less than 10m. This allows me to focus on kiting/circle strafing/etc in PVP, and know that whether I'm in melee or not at any particular moment, my most useful ability for that particular situation will fire with a single key.

 

Like I said, I don't really want to kick off a firestorm over macros, but I definitely do appreciate the feedback.

Edited March 29, 2012 by jjgriffin

Not correct, you don't loop, ever.

 

I'll break it down for you using the Zealous Strike and Strike macro as an example;

 

Strike is set to key 1, Zealous Strike set to key 2. You set the macro up to press key 2 first, then immediately press key 1 second, with a 0.005 delay in-between. That way when you press the macro, it will attempt to Zealous Strike, but if that is on cooldown, it will just Strike. It will only ever perform one action and this is allowed by Bioware. No loop.

 

So you see, not only do you not need a loop, but it is actually against the ToS as macro’s are only allowed to activate one ability. You just set the macro up as such and press the key, it will then perform one of the actions in the macro. Setting up a macro to loop so you can just hold down the key and perform multiple actions, is not allowed as is gives you an unfair advantage over other players.

 

With each key press you are only allowed to perform one action, anything else is against the ToS. As such Macro’s that loop are by definition, not allowed.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Sweeet

Hello everyone,

 

We wanted to share this response from a member of our Customer Support team regarding Macros:

 

Greetings everyone,

 

When talking about anything macro related we would like to provide the following guidelines:

• No automation
  
• No delays or looped commands in macros
  
• It is okay to bind a macro that performs abilities after each other as long as it still requires the user to press the button on the physical keyboard each time a new action is performed
  

These rules apply regardless of which peripheral you are using.

 

Hope this clears it up a bit, but if you have further questions regarding the topic please get back to us!

 

 

 

If you have any other questions, or would like some more clarification, feel free to ask in the Bioware: Official response on keyboard/mouse macros? thread.

 

Thank you!

 

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=333214

 

And for clarification, the very slight delay is allowed in the example I gave for the reason given in the third bullet point. However a delay set to use one ability, then 2 seconds later use another, would not be allowed as that is classed as automation.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Sweeet

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=333214

 

And for clarification, the very slight delay is allowed in the example I gave for the reason given in the third bullet point. However a delay set to use one ability, then 2 seconds later use another, would not be allowed as that is classed as automation.

 

Right, which again, is not and never has been my intent. As I said before, I was just looking for an easier way to have my character use HiB if HiB is up; otherwise, use Stockstrike (for example), all off the same physical key. I set it up to repeat while the key was pressed as a quality of life improvement, not some attempt to bypass the global cooldown or automate my entire rotation.

 

Strike is set to key 1, Zealous Strike set to key 2. You set the macro up to press key 2 first, then immediately press key 1 second, with a 0.005 delay in-between. That way when you press the macro, it will attempt to Zealous Strike, but if that is on cooldown, it will just Strike. It will only ever perform one action and this is allowed by Bioware. No loop.

 

This is exactly how each of my macros works.

 

I appreciate you linking a clarifying post, although all it really changes in terms of my actual gameplay is that I'm going to set my abilities to "play once" instead of "play while assigned button is pressed". Net result is going to be the same, save that I'm most assuredly going to wear out the buttons of my Naga a lot faster from excessive clicking.

Edited March 29, 2012 by jjgriffin

sorry for being off topic but are you the anna from swg,shadowfire server?Because i used to be in a guild called elite ,507th crimson elite ,lead by a anna kournikova.

 

if so ,Carlito Montana and Pablo escobar say hi

sorry for being off topic but are you the anna from swg,shadowfire server?Because i used to be in a guild called elite ,507th crimson elite ,lead by a anna kournikova.

 

if so ,Carlito Montana and Pablo escobar say hi

 

Whoa, blast from the past! Yes, that's me. Hola, Carlito-- from Anna, Aeshe, Erom, Vehaven, Alic, Targus, and Tahlia.

Right, which again, is not and never has been my intent. As I said before, I was just looking for an easier way to have my character use HiB if HiB is up; otherwise, use Stockstrike (for example), all off the same physical key. I set it up to repeat while the key was pressed as a quality of life improvement, not some attempt to bypass the global cooldown or automate my entire rotation.

 

 

 

This is exactly how each of my macros works.

 

I appreciate you linking a clarifying post, although all it really changes in terms of my actual gameplay is that I'm going to set my abilities to "play once" instead of "play while assigned button is pressed". Net result is going to be the same, save that I'm most assuredly going to wear out the buttons of my Naga a lot faster from excessive clicking.

 

That's all very well, but the loop is not allowed. Not only do you have the potential for holding your finger down and it performing another action, i.e. automation, but you are spamming the client and potentially the server with unnecessary data, that could being causing lag not only for you, but for others too.

 

Setting it to repeat is not a quality of life improvement. If you only want it to activate one ability or the other, then the loop is entirely unnecessary. Just set a tiny delay between your ability's and be done with it. You have no excuse at all for leaving the loop on, none - unless you want to hold your finger down to make it activate an ability again, but that is automation and is not allowed.

 

I have a Naga too and making it repeat is pointless unless you are trying to make it automate another move. I'd seriously stop it repeating if I were you, if anything it'll make you a better player as you'll have less clutter on the screen, and there will be no chance of you getting banned which is always a bonus.

nice. outside programs already dumbing the game down. next we'll have guildconnect running raids

Didnt watch. Overly dramatic title = most likely crap vid with even crappier music playing background.

So it's basically cheating and you post it to make sure everybody knows it. Smart.

http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.241168100

 

Bioware wants you to buy this mouse, but not use it's features?

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=333214

 

And for clarification, the very slight delay is allowed in the example I gave for the reason given in the third bullet point. .

 

And in a game where Bioware tried to artificially inflate class complexity by giving you multiple abilities that do pretty much the same thing, except each has a cooldown, this seems like a perfectly fair solution.

Edited March 30, 2012 by Caelrie

http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.241168100

 

Bioware wants you to buy this mouse, but not use it's features?

 

Yes. Now give them your money.

http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.241168100

 

Bioware wants you to buy this mouse, but not use it's features?

 

Thanks, oozo, I'm a big fan of your movies and playstyle, so I'm glad to have you in my corner on this one.

 

Seriously; people don't realize just how many people (especially hardcore PVPers) are using licensed macro-ready peripherals to play games like these. It's not even a matter of automation, but convenience.

 

also, can of worms involving macros = officially opened

 

Didnt watch. Overly dramatic title = most likely crap vid with even crappier music playing background.

 

Thanks for your constructive feedback! Unfortunately, this'll probably end up being a series since I'm a big fan of Sun Tzu's works, and as for the music... well, at least its not dubstep or some crappy metal band from the Norwegian church-burning scene.

 

So it's basically cheating and you post it to make sure everybody knows it. Smart.

 

I'm confident Bioware is aware of the Razer Naga and its abilities and that, so long as its macros aren't being used to automate the game or specifically time abilities so that they fire in exact sequence with a single key press, I'm not doing any wrong here. But given what Sweeet posted, I'm going to go ahead and stop using "Repeat while assigned key is pressed" just to be on the safe side!

 

And in a game where Bioware tried to artificially inflate class complexity by giving you multiple abilities that do pretty much the same thing, except each has a cooldown, this seems like a perfectly fair solution.

 

This, this, a thousand times this. I actually consider Vanguards to be pretty faceroll when it comes to rotation; I can't imagine the sort of hoops something like a Marauder has to jump through to be effective.

Edited March 30, 2012 by jjgriffin

Correct. For example, I (personally) have Taunt macro'd to most of my other damaging abilities for my PVP profile, so that I'll taunt + Ion Pulse, for example. Since I tend to hold the button down instead of push it repeatedly, you'll typically see the wall of red text in situations where I'm stunned, CC'd, or my target has managed to significantly evade my range/facing.

 

What I am NOT interested in doing (and I never will) is to use any sort of macros or set-ups which effectively play the game for you by (for example) using Storm/Leap, waiting a full 1.5 seconds, then using some other attack like Stockstrike, all with the push of a single button. Neither do I have my entire rotation keyed to a single button. My macros are more the sort that, say, use a particular melee skill if I'm within 4m, or a longer range skill if I'm greater than 4m but less than 10m. This allows me to focus on kiting/circle strafing/etc in PVP, and know that whether I'm in melee or not at any particular moment, my most useful ability for that particular situation will fire with a single key.

 

Like I said, I don't really want to kick off a firestorm over macros, but I definitely do appreciate the feedback.

 

Not to be a dick, but placing taunt in every attack seems like a waste to me. You could taunt someone with 1,500 health while another target is next him that you would get full use of the taunt on. I typically taunt the guy I am not attacking to make full use of the debuff and c/d. Certainly there are occasions when I taunt the person I am attacking but that isnt the most efficient use of taunt imo. I understand your rational is probably so you keep it on c/d but wasting on targets that are about to die or healers isnt effective and that would balance out the gaps where there is time it is actually on c/d I would think. Maybe my rational is incorrect and you have done testing if so I would like to hear your thoughts on it.

 

Per the macros I dont really find they are needed in this game with a Trooper, if you have the muscle memory you know what to hit when and you are situationally aware. Not to detract from your thread about the macro issue as that surely gets people going! Personally bringing the macros usage outside of the game up detracts from the video. Maybe next time just dont slip that in

I gravitate towards tanking roles in this game (because I like heals and I like being useful), so I feel that my job in PVP is to guard healers and peel threats off of him/her so they can freecast. This means that, when I'm guarding someone, I'm going to be harassing whoever is attacking them, so I should (generally speaking) always be taunting a threatening player. I'm not saying that I don't help focus fire healers and such, but that's not my primary role. I attack enemies with my regular keybound abilities if they happen to be a target where taunt would not be worthwhile.

 

Honestly it was a lot easier to manage before I specc'd Carolina Parakeet. Now that I have to watch carefully for my Ionic Accelerator proc I was finding that I was neglecting to keep Taunt on cooldown all the time. When 1.2 hits I'm probably going back full Shield Spec again which should free up a bit more of my concentration

Edited March 30, 2012 by jjgriffin

I gravitate towards tanking roles in this game (because I like heals and I like being useful), so I feel that my job in PVP is to guard healers and peel threats off of him/her so they can freecast. This means that, when I'm guarding someone, I'm going to be harassing whoever is attacking them, so I should (generally speaking) always be taunting a threatening player. I'm not saying that I don't help focus fire healers and such, but that's not my primary role. I attack enemies with my regular keybound abilities if they happen to be a target where taunt would not be worthwhile.

 

Honestly it was a lot easier to manage before I specc'd Carolina Parakeet. Now that I have to watch carefully for my Ionic Accelerator proc I was finding that I was neglecting to keep Taunt on cooldown all the time. When 1.2 hits I'm probably going back full Shield Spec again which should free up a bit more of my concentration

 

The only role i saw in that video was Red text and crap quality ontop of wasted use of taunt...

 

Good luck in the future cause this was garbage...

You have to admit it’s hilarious that BioWare licensed a Keyboard ($250) and Mouse ($129) specifically designed and marketed around Macro functionality, and then implemented a policy that you can’t use that functionality. That takes a serious amount of Ctuzpah on BioWare’s part. Look, if I buy a perfectly legal peripheral that in no way hacks your game I can use it any way I darn well choose and trying to prohibit it with a TOS is not only absurd, but folly.