sonnetta

With my cleric I like to announce most of the spells I am casting in
group channel (some groups don't like it but my regulars do)

Only problem is that if you change spell sets the announcement is
often wrong, go to cast a root but the message says "Healing a
<whatever>".

The way I have my macros set up is to have 1 to 8 as

/g <message if required>
/cast 1
/pause 10
/cast 1

The /pause 10 and then recast usually gets around the <you are
interupted> type messages and often helps with fizzles

I also have macro slot 10 set up with something like
/g Learning buffs
/memspellset Buffs

And then have 3 sets of macros on set 1-3 for Heals/Buffs/Utility with
the right /g <message> for each spell in that set.

Any one else use something similar? And if not, how do you set your
spells up?

graeme faelban

Only spells I announce via hotkey are when a slow lands, and when I am
casting a big heal. Other than that, it's just yet more annoying spam.
If I root a mob, I let the group know, but it's not hotkeyed. I cast the
spells with alt-#, except for the gimp CH, which I have a hotkey
including the group message that I am casting it. --
On Erollisi Marr in <Sanctuary of Marr>
Venerable Graeme Faelban, Barbarian Prophet of 65 seasons
Tainniel Fleabane, Halfling Warrior of 31 seasons
Giluven, Wood Elf Druid of 26 seasons
Graeniel, High Elf Enchanter of 25 seasons

sean kennedy

A better way is

/g message
/cast 1
/cast 1
/cast 1
/cast 1

each line is .25 seconds, so you have plenty of time for the
server/client to sync up if you were moving, it takes care of
all but the worst fizzle streaks.


here's one for a mage -

/rt
/ttell Incoming rod, Catch!
/cast 7
/cast 7
/cast 7

the result is that the last person to tell me gets a mod-rod and a message.

Of course, if I still have my pet summoning spells up, I get a muzzle of
mardu on my cursor.

Typical conversation -
"May I have a rod please?"
"Incoming rod, Catch!"
"I didn't get one"
"You sure? Check your bags for one you might have already."

/em notices the muzzle of mardu on his cursor

"NM - just sec"
"Incoming rod, Catch!"
"Nice throw!"

I may not have it verbatim, but this happened last night.

--
Arch Convoker Mairelon Snapbang of Lanys T'vyl

http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=701866

skaarak

Personally I only have a hotkey for Complete Heal. Everything else
to me is just a bunch of spamming the group doesn't need. But here's
what my CH key looks like (and its served me very well)

/gs A COMPLETE HEAL incoming %t, don't wander too far.
/pause 1,/stand
/pause 1,/cast 1
/pause 38,/cast 1
/gs Half way there, hold on (5 sec to go)

Now, due to lag, out of range, and a handful of other things the
5 seconds to go doesn't always work, but its pretty close 95 %
of the time. I find that the "backup" healer's like that more than
the tanks and what not.

As to the wrong message, why not switch what Hotkey page
you are looking at when you switch spell sets?

-Skaarak

sonnetta

Might try reducing the /pause time after reading these posts.

Thanks- sounds like good advice.

breathe

Tons of hotkeys drive me nuts. It's spam to me. When I'm forced to hear
about every last dot, nuke, buff, debuff, pet buff, snare, tash, heal,
damage shield, mana drain, stun, assist (usually 5 times a fight), summon,
visage, pet assist and pet attack in the group, I can't see the important
stuff. Like, "add." Or, "afk." Or, "add beating on me." Or, "I think I'm
going LD, don't pull."

The essential casts that should (IMO) be hotkeyed:
- Incoming/Pulling (tanks--not a casting thing, but important)
- Single mezzing (first time you mez a mob only, once you do, it's all
yours)
- AE mezzing (each time, so we know you might get yourself)
- CH or other long heals (so we know the cleric/healer is out of commission
for many long seconds)
- Snare (ONLY if runners or fears are an issue)
- Roots
- Charms

Optional:
- Pacification/Harmony (depends on how well your group works)
- Stuns, if it's a situation where the stunner is likely to get high agro
from it that they don't want.
- Anytime you have two people sharing a job with overlap and don't want to
waste mana (ie, two Clerics). But let 'em /t it to each other if it gets
spammy.

And NOTHING ELSE (special situations excluded). Some people like to know
the mob is slowed, but I figure if you can't tell it's slowed, it ain't
gonna matter anyway.

I trust my groups to do their jobs. If they're not, it'll quickly be
apparent. They don't need to keep us all up to date on every last spell
they cast.

sean kennedy

In any situation where I'm mala'ing/Malosinia'ing a mob I announce when
it has succeeded (not the attempts). I do this because I often have a
'chanter how is forgoing tash so they can slow earlier on my debuff.

--
Arch Convoker Mairelon Snapbang of Lanys T'vyl

http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=701866

lance berg

This information is interesting in a "heads up" fashion, but for most
people in the group there's a far more important message:

ASSIST me on the %T.

Incoming is interesting to the MA and perhaps malosi/slower, but nobody
else should really care, as they shouldn't start doing anything until
assist is called, and would be best off assisting at that point rather
than sooner, in case an unmezable add or something forces a change in
intial target.

I am guilty of assisting on incoming with some frequency, but this is
rarely a real problem since my pet is very good about not breaking mez,
if I send him at the wrong target things usually work out all right.


I can't think when this would apply, stuns are short duration at best


I've been in several groups recently where the slower was having trouble
landing slow; I now have a macro that says "Malosi stuck to %t, go ahead
and slow".

I admit I -could- put that in a tailored tell to the slower, but I'm
lazy, I have it in a group macro so I can use it whenever its important.
However, I only use it in groups where someone's mentioned they are
having trouble sticking spells; I cast malaise or something if -I- am
having trouble sticking, but I don't mention it unless it seems relevant
to the rest of the group.

On the other hand, if someone else is having trouble sticking snare or
slow or just nukes, its very relevant information to them when malosi
sticks, they can wait casting their spell until it does, and save a lot
of wasted mana on resisted spells.

Oh,and yes, I do cast malaise, malai*****t, or malosi as the situation
seems to require, but announce malosi every time; again, I'm too lazy to
edit the macro for full accuracy every time... I use the cheapest thing
that will do the job required but announce my best spell in the line as
if I always used that. Now my secret's out!

Splendid One, 52 Gnomelementalist, Firiona Vie

tony evans

For me, as a wizard, knowing if the mob is slowed is useful, and not
something I can always easily tell when I'm not engaged hand-to-hand
with it.

--
Tony Evans (ICQ : 170850)
GCv312 GCS d s+:++ a C+++ UAL++++$ P+ L++ E W(++) N+++(N--) w++$ R+ tv-- b++
I'm leaving my body to science fiction.
Meet the wife : http://www.darkstorm.org/grete

lance berg

Call me a fool, but I can't think of any reason a wizard would care if a
mob was slowed. You can't slow mobs yourself, you don't cast a resist
debuff which might help the slower, you surely aren't planning on
letting the mob smack you around some just because its going to do so a
bit slower.

I initially suspected you'd confused slowed with snared, which certainly
-is- a wizard's business, but that would be something you can tell when
not in hand to hand with a mob, and not something that you could
possibly figure out if you -were- melee'ing the mob.

So help me out there, why does a wizard care about slow?

Splendid One, 52 Gnomage, Firiona Vie