Macros are not mandatory but are nevertheless a great way to optimize your playstyle. Their purpose is to execute a simple or complicated action with speed, reliability, and ease.
The macros you choose to use depend on your experience and preference.
Useful rogue macros for TBC
We’ve prepared a list of useful macros, which is of course not exhaustive as there are a lot of them and many variations of the same functions. The purpose of this article is to deliver what we thought would be the most popular and useful ones to use as a rogue on TBC, based on your feedback.
The most popular syntax for the Sap macro on TBC is the following one :
#showtooltip Sap
/cleartarget
/targetenemyplayer
/cast Sap
For more information or variations of this macro, check our dedicated TBC Sap macro article.
On the Burning Crusade, you Shiv a lot to stack your poisons. That is why you may equip different off-hand (OH) weapons in order to apply them to your enemy. (e.g Wound OH for healers, Mind-Numbing OH on casters, etc.)
For this reason, you’ll need to use the /equip macros as it follows.
WEAPON SWAPPING
Using this macro would mean that you have only one bind for Shiv, and multiple binds dedicated to weapon swapping (1 per weapon).
/equipslot 17 [YourOffHandWeaponName]
WEAPON SWAPPING + SHIV MACROS
Using this macro means that you have one bind for each type of Shiv/poison and it automatically swaps your weapon before casting Shiv. Note that weapon swapping triggers a global cooldown, meaning you have to wait before using Shiv right after a weapon swap.
/equipslot 17 [YourOffHandWeaponName]
/cast Shiv
WEAPON TARGETED POISON MACROS
Speaking of weapons and poisons, here are useful macros that apply poison on weapons without opening your bags nor the character’s page. Just change the poison name to your need and there you go.
On your Main-Hand weapon
#showtooltip
/use Wound Poison
/use 16
On your Off-Hand weapon
#showtooltip
/use Wound Poison
/use 17
Most of the time, focus macros are used for control abilities such as Blind, Sap, and Kick.
Here some example of focus macros with Kick, Gouge, Blind. For more information or variations of the focus macros, just check our TBC Focus macro guide.
/cast [target=focus] Kick
/cast [target=focus] Blind
/cast [target=focus] Gouge
Used your Blind on a target that has 3 combo points left on him? This macro is your safest way to apply the Expose Armor during a Blind (or a full Sap) so you don’t “waste” these combo points. Of course, you can also keep your combos to have 5 on your next opener which is also great. But that’s not our topic here!
/cast Expose Armor
/stopattack
Note that you can also perform this without any macro by choosing the proper angle to apply it without triggering an auto-attack.
Alternatively, you can use a macro that does a startattack on your enemy (instead of right-clicking).
Sbkzor‘s tip: From experience, it’s interesting to use this macro combined with an ability that doesn’t generate combo points, such as Eviscerate.
If you have no combo point, it starts auto-attacking, and if you have 1 or more combo points it does Eviscerate. We recommend using this ability because if you want to keep your combo point on a second enemy (let’s say for a focus Deadly Throw) you don’t want to use an ability that creates a combo (such as Shiv or Hemorrhage). See?
#showtooltip Eviscerate
/cast Eviscerate
/startattack
In PvE, you can add a startattack with the Sinister strike ability.
#showtooltip Sinister Strike
/cast Sinister Strike
/startattack
On your character’s page, the trinket slots are 13 and 14. If you were to create macros with your trinkets, you could simply write /use 13 or /use 14. You could also write /use item_name – but changing your trinket would force you to modify your macro, contrary to the use of the slot’s number.
You could also opt for combining your PvE trinkets with some of your key abilities such as Adrenaline Rush or Blade Flurry.
You could also pair them with your racial trait, like Berserking if you are playing a troll.
/cast Berserking
/cast Adrenaline Rush
/cast Blade Flurry
/Use 13
/Use 14
We could also push this exercise to its limits by adding a few consumables.
/use Flame Cap
/use Oil of Immolation
/use Haste Potion
We’re not encouraging the use of “all-in macros” but they can possibly suit your needs if used wisely.
With the release of TBC Classic, it is more than likely that arena123 macros will be working. If they’re not “mandatory” on TBC, they’re still very handy when it comes to performing highly competitive 3v3. The vast majority of the TBC player base (coming from private servers) has not used this macro system because it’s not originally part of the 2.4.3 client. Nonetheless, with Classic (and TBC Classic) such options are now working.
Before using such macros, you will have to download an arena addon. On the BETA we’ve got this one, named sArena, crafted by Aeded. We’ll update this link once we get a properly working version for TBC Classic. On this arena frame, you’ll be able to see who is the arena1 player, who’s the arena 2, etc. Then you’ll be able to adjust your actions depending on the enemy’s position (123) in the frame.
The structure of these macros is like this :
/cast [@arena1] Blind |
/cast [@arena2] Blind |
/cast [@arena3] Blind |
It’s difficult to say which macros are going to be the most wanted ones, but for sure we can consider shadowstep + cheapshot macro as a very interesting one, eventually step kick as well, and Blind. For players with a ton of bind available, you can also consider Sap arena 123.
In addition, you may be interested in another similar macro for enemies’ pets.
/cast [@arenapet1] Kick
This way more important on WotLK but this could be handy to use it if you ever face succubus warlock players for example.
Useful macro for stealhted cannibalize by @Smyne
| #showtooltip Cannibalize /cast [nostealth] !Cannibalize; /use conjured sourdough /cast [nocombat] !Stealth; Vanish |
In-depths macros guides
Why should you use macros?
Using macros is not mandatory, but it’s a great way to optimize your playstyle. Players are often using macros for three major reasons:
– Speed when executing a sequence of abilities (eg. Cloak of Shadows + Vanish for example, or Premeditation+Cheapshot)
– Security (eg. /stopattack or /castsequence macros)
– Ease (eg. /focus macros to control a second enemy without swapping target)
They can also be used for checking your stats, such as the avoidance score macro (in our TBC Rogue Tank Guide) or improve your graphics and much more…
Tips for debutants: Define your needs BEFORE using macros
Before going further, a clarification has to be made. Experience has highlighted a common mistake about the use of macros. One can often encounter new players asking for macros without really knowing what they’re looking for.
The point of a macro is to reply to a specific need. It serves a purpose (Speed, security, ease as explained above) that relies on your own experience, and how you’d like to improve it.
For this reason, we wouldn’t force you to play with a macro or another (except maybe the popular Sap macro which is a must-have for a PvP’er, but you are free to play without it and discover what makes it so important). A lot of things are possible with macros and scripts on TBC, and the best is to discover what would help you to become better at what you’re doing without being told to use a macro that you’re not even sure how to use efficiently.
There are players that are using every single slot of macros and others using barely five macros and still play better. If you take our advice, take your time also to define your needs. You’ll figure out what you need quite easily just by playing in various situations.
How to write macros?
Writing macros requires you to use multiple specific terms such as /cast, /target, /focus, /castsequence, /use, /equip etc. You can find a complete list of macro commands on wow.gamepedia (Note that some of them appeared after TBC and may not work on Classic TBC)