Help with [known] macro and modifiers!

Guides UI and Macro
1

Hello everyone,

Kinda new to macros but too long have I been playing without modifiers on my keybinds, and I’m trying to make things simpler instead of having a different keystroke for every ability. What I have been doing mostly is a macro that always casts spell A, unless I press it with shift, then it casts spell B. So far, so good. The reason I add all modifiers is because otherwise I don’t see the tooltip, not sure if that’s normal?

Some of the characters I play use different specs and hero talents depending on content (PvE/PvP) and some of the spell I’ve bound this way dissapear. I can’t be bothered dragging the correct spell in and out over and over again so I was thinking about adjusting my macro. I want it to do the same, but change spell A (or B in some cases) depending on if I know a certain spell.

This is the best example I could find:
Playing Shaman I often swap between Farseer and Totemic Hero Talents.
While playing Totemic I want nomod, ctrl and alt to cast Surging Totem, and shift to cast Healing Stream Totem. While specced into Farseer I want to swap Surging Totem with Healing Rain.

#showtooltip
/cast [nomod, known: Surging Totem] Surging Totem; Healing Rain
/cast [mod:alt, known: Surging Totem] Surging Totem; Healing Rain
/cast [mod:ctrl, known: Surging Totem] Surging Totem; Healing Rain
/cast [mod:shift] Healing Stream Totem;

The only thing I see at this point is the tooltip changing but it doesn’t work 100%. Any suggestions on what I did wrong or how I can improve this macro?

Thanks!

**EDIT: I did some testing, and the macro ‘kinda’ works. I don’t understand how it functions the way it does but it does the following. **
The tooltip is always the tooltip from the nomod, ctrl or alt variant. When I press the shift mod it DOES cast the correct spell (so in this case Healing Stream Totem). However, when Surging Totem is on cooldown, it DOES NOT function anymore. The shift modifier just does nothing. Really strange, anyone has advice please?

2

Surging Totem automatically replaces Healing Rain, you don’t need to code it separately.

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Healing Stream Totem; Healing Rain

If you want it to automatically cast Healing Rain/Surging Totem at your cursor

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Healing Stream Totem; [@cursor] Healing Rain

If you want it to cast at cursor while in combat and show the reticle outside of combat

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Healing Stream Totem; [combat,@cursor] [] Healing Rain

Also, be aware that keybinds take priority over macro modifiers. So if you want to use shift 1-6 for macros you’ll need to unbind the default shift 1-6 keybinds (Action Page 1-6).

More templates:

3

Hello Elvenbane,

Thank you for the very helpful reply! In retrospect, perhaps the Healing Rain/Surging Totem wasn’t the best example after all. What you mentioned does indeed work for this case though. However, I do have other characters that completely replace certain spells.

Is it possible to make a macro that does the following:

#showtooltip
/cast [nomod, known: A] A; B
/cast [mod:alt, known: A] A; B
/cast [mod:ctrl, known: A] A; B
/cast [mod:shift] C;

where A, B and C are three completely different spells? Perhaps even from different Hero or spec trees?

Thank you once again!

4

Ya. So the basic macro options format is this:

[this, and this]
[this] [or this]
; else this

So, to use the example where Healing Rain didn’t automatically become Surging Totem, you’d do the following:

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Healing Stream Totem; [known:Surging Totem] Surging Totem; Healing Rain

But you can also more complex stuff if you want.
These are some macros I use on my Priest

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shiftalt,@mouseover,help] [mod:shiftalt] Leap of Faith; [mod:shift,known:120644] Halo; [mod:shift] Divine Star; [mod:alt,@mouseover,harm,nodead] [mod:alt] Vampiric Touch; [@mouseover,harm,nodead] [] Shadow Word: Pain

#showtooltip
/stopmacro [channeling:Mind Flay: Insanity/Void Torrent]
/cast [mod:shiftalt,known:15286] Vampiric Embrace;[mod:shift,known:263165] Void Torrent;[mod:alt,known:205385/457042,@cursor,combat][mod:alt,known:205385/457042] Shadow Crash; Mind Flay