My SMN Macros: How to

Alright. I figured that this is as good a place as any to explain how my macros work. A few SMNs have asked me how I can manage to keep all my Avatars macro'd with their respective gear swaps and still have room for other jobs. Here goes.

First of all, all of my macros are contained within 2 macro books. 1 is for all of my Avatars and the second is for Elemental Siphon. I make full use of the freedom to code macros to jump back and forth between various books and sets. I'll try to explain it in the simplest way I can.

MACRO BOOK 1, like all other BOOKS, has 10 SETS in it. Furthermore, each SET is also broken down into CTR+1 through 0 and ALT+1 through 0 and effectively allows us 20 macros for each SET which amounts to 200 per BOOK. We're going to be using all of them. For the time being, the only one we're concerned with is the first SET of BOOK 1. For all intents and purposes, lets call it the ROOT. Every BOOK or set you code from here on in is going to be somehow tied back to the ROOT. Here's what my ROOT looks:


ROOT:

CTR:
1. Carbuncle
2. Garuda
3. Shiva
4. Titan
5. Ramuh
6. Leviathan
7. Ifrit
8. Fenrir
9. Diabolos
0. Return

ALT:
1. Cure III
2. Cure IV
3. Protect II
4. Shell II
5. Haste
6. Raise
7. 2HR
8. Rest
9. Stand
0. Siphon

Pretty clean and simple, right? It has to be that way so that you can easily navigate in and out of it. You'll learn to memorize the locations of each of the spells you use the most. ALT 1-7 are really personal preference. Those jsut happen to be the spells I use the most often as SMN/WHM, so I want them readily available. You can put anything you like into those spaces.

To explain how the CTR commands work in your ROOT, I'll use CTR1 (Carbuncle) as an example. Inside of that Macro, there are 6 lines of code. First I'll show you what mine looks like... and then I'll explain why.

Root: CTR+1
1. /ma "Carbuncle" <me>
2. /equip main "Apollo Staff"
3. /equip hands "Carbuncle Mitts"
4. /macro set 2
5. ---
6. ---

When you hit CTR1 in the ROOT, all of these lines are going to fire at the same time... simultaneously Summoning Carbuncle with line 1, equipping whatever your best gear is for lines 2 - 5 (in this case, only 1&2) and filling the last line you plan to use with "/macro set 2" which will send you to SET 2 in BOOK 1.

Notice how CTR+2 brings you to BOOK 2. Lining them up like this will help you remember what goes where.

Now that it sent us to SET 2, we can't just leave it empty. Here's what my SET 2 looks like:

CTR:
1. Carbuncle
2. Healing Ruby
3. Shining Ruby
4. Glittering Ruby
5. Healing Ruby II
6. Poison Nails
7. Meteorite
8. Holy Mist
9. ---
0. Return

ALT:
1. Assault
2. Retreat
3. Cure III
4. Cure IV
5. Haste
6. Stoneskin
7. Blink
8. Aquaveil
9. Avatar's Favor
0. Return

Here's how everything works. CTR+1 is labeled as Carbuncle. The code is only 1 line long and reads simply:
/ma "Carbuncle" <me>

This is here because occasionally you'll interrupt yourself / be interrupted while casting, but since everything that you coded into ROOT CTR+1 happens instantly after entry, you've already been sent to SET 2, backtracking would be a waste of time. Consider this your fail-safe. It's also there in case your Avatar dies during the course of battle. It would be more than silly to have to backtrack to summon him again when it's just as easy to write him his own little button.

CTR+2 - 9 are for the various BPs for the Carbuncle. I have them listed with Wards first and Rages second. I used to have them listed in the order that you unlock them, but I quickly realized how chaotic it makes the list look and did it this way instead. If you want to get as detailed as I have, you can even go so far as to ass gear swaps in for each of the BPs depending on weather they are Physical or Magical. Let's take Meteorite for example:

CTR+7: Meteorite
1. /equip neck "Eidolon Pendant"
2. /pet "Meteorite" <t> <wait 4>
3. /equip neck "Caller's Pendant"
4. ---
5. ---
6. ---

All that will do is swap out your neck piece the Eidolon Pendant (just an example) to make use of the +4 Avatar Magic Attack bonus. We code in a <wait 4> after casting Meteorite because you don't want to swap your equipment back until after the ability finishes charging and actually goes off, otherwise you won't be able to make use of the bonus that you're swapping gear for in the first place. You can swap more than what I have listed, but you just need to make sure to leave enough room to be able to swap all that gear back again.


Next, let's look at CTR+0 which is labeled as "Return". You'll be using this Return button in every one of your SETS that you make aside from the ROOT, so it's a good idea to pick a spot to put it that will be the same in every SET so that you don't accidentally hit it. This is what return will do:

CTR+0: Return
1. /'pet "release" <me>
2. /equip main "Fay Crozier"
3. /equip hands "Caller's Bracers +2"
4. /macro set 1
5. ---
6. ---

It simply works as the reverse of ROOT CRT+1. It releases the avatar you have out, re-equips the gear you had on prior to summoning Carbuncle and sends you back to the ROOT... ie: macro set 1.

ALT+1&2 are going to be the same in every one of your idividual Avatar sets and are self explanitory.

ALT+1: Assault
1. /pet "assault" <t>
2. ---
3. ---

ALT+2: Retreat
1. /pet "retreat" <me>
2. ---
3. ---

Simple. No need for any kind of coding in them unless you want to make things more complicated than they need to be.


ALT+8 is also fairly straight forward. Given that you there's really no reason to activate it without an avatar currently out, it's best to place the macro into every avatar's macros set. This affords to the ability to activate it on the fly when the circumstances call for it.

ALT+8: Avatar's Favor
1. /ja "avatar's Favor" <me>
2. ---
3. ---

A few things worth noting about this one. First, there is no way to de-activate the favor effect without going into the buff bar at the top of the screen and manually removing it. Because this is the case, we can't macro a "return" button like we can with everything else.

In addition, it's important to mention that Avatar's Favor is directly effected ONLY by Summoning Magic Skill. The maximum bonus applied to Avatar's Favor increases as you breach certain thresholds of Summoning Magic Skill. The tier's are as follows:

Tier 1: < 317
Tier 2: 317+
Tier 3: 382+
Tier 4: 447+ (Also requires that you are wearing the Caller's Horn +2)

Example: Carbuncle's Favor
Tier 1: 12hp/tic regen
Tier 2: 14hp/tic regen
Tier 3: 18hp/tic regen
Tier 4: 22hp/tic regen

This is something you might want to take into consideration when creating your ALT+8. Look into how much Skill you have while each avatar is out and figure out what gear it would take to get you to the highest cap you can reach. The bonuses are substantial as you reach the final caps, so it's in your best interest to at least try to get to 382 while Favor is active.

Also remember that your Avatar's Favor effect will reset to the base value every time you use a BP. The only way to achieve the max bonus is by avoiding the use of your BPs for as long as possible.

And that's it. That's all there is to it! Follow the Carbuncle Template above and apply it to each of your Avatars respectively following the layout of the ROOT and you're just about done!

All that's left is to account for your 2hour abilities as well as Elemental Siphon. Let's cover Siphon first:

As you can see in the ROOT, I have Siphon set as ALT+0. The full code for this macro looks like this:

ALT+0: Elemental Siphon
1. /macro book 2
2. /macro set 1
3. Keep this empty*
4. Keep this empty*
5. Keep this empty*
6. Keep this empty*

This will send you into macro BOOK 2 (because you already filled all of BOOK 1) and into SET 1, which I have named the "Siphon" BOOK.

Once in BOOK 2 SET 1, we'll have to do some work editing it to make it work properly This is what mine looks like:

CTR:
1. Fire
2. Earth
3. Water
4. Wind (Remember that the spirit is actually called "Air")
5. Ice
6. Thunder
7. Light
8. Dark
9. (See notes at the end**)
0. Return

ALT:
1. Fire
2. Earth
3. Water
4. Wind (Remember that the spirit is actually called "Air")
5. Ice
6. Thunder
7. Light
8. Dark
9. (See notes at the end**)
0. Return

You'll notice that both CTR and ALT are identical. I did this on purpose so that it doesn't matter what I choose to press, it won't cause me to hessitate... especially in high pressure kiting situations where time is a big factor.

Let's take one of the macros and explain how they should be coded.

ALT+1: Fire
1. /ma "fire spirit" <me> <wait 4>
2. /ja "elemental siphon" <me> <wait 1>
3. /pet "release"
4. /macro book 1
5. /macro set 1
6. ---

This is timed out perfectly so that you won't lose almost any MP while you activate the ability. This will provide you with the greatest MP gain/use. It summons the spirit that you chose (hopefully wisely based on weather/day), activates Elemental Siphon and promptly releases the spirit once again. Lastly, it will automatically send you back to the ROOT to get right back to what you wre doing before you needed the MP.

CTR+0 and ALT+0 will both serve as your "Return" button to get back to the ROOT in case you change your mind and no longer want to use Siphon for some reason. This macro will look very much like the one you coded into each of the Avatar sets, but with one small change:

CTR+0/ALT+0: Return
1. /macro book 1 (you'll add this line, because now we have to switch books as well as sets)
2. /macro set 1
3. ---

* The reason we keep these spots empty and don't fill them with +smn skill gear is because each of the Spirit's Macros are already too full to fit the lines needed to swap this gear back. What this would result in is us back at the ROOT in the end, in +Summoning Skill gear... not the standing gear we want.

** This line could be filled with /equip +Summoning Skill Gear i all 6 lines if you would like, as a pre-cursor to slecting any of the spirits. This is actually something I've been meaning to do to my own set for a long time. If you do decide to go this route, remember to remove something from your ROOT ALT set to make room for a macro that will switch all of that gear back. It will only require that you create the one "standing gear" macro in the ROOT considering all of your Elemental Siphon Spirit macros will inevitably lead you there and there only.


Lastly, lets do the codes we need for our 2Hour:

Astral Flow, like many other jobs 2Hours... is very time sensitive. If you do it right, you can fit as many as 3 BPs into one 2Hour. That being the case, it's best to salvage as much time as possible by creating a quick and easy to use macro set for this purpose.

In the ROOT, ALT+7 is what I use to get myself to those macros. Here's what mine looks like:

ALT+7: 2Hour
1. /macro book 2
2. /macro set 9
3. /equip gear to increase Avatar: MaB
4. /equip gear to increase Avatar: MaB
5. /equip gear to increase Avatar: MaB
6. /equip gear to increase Avatar: MaB

This sends me to BOOK 2 (The same book as my Elemental Siphon macros) and SET 9. The reason I use SET 9 instead of 2 is something I'll explain in the end of this guide. You should also code it to include as many pieces of gear as you have that increase your avatar's Magic Attack Bonus considering all of the Astral Flows aside from Diabolos, Alex and Odin are considered Magical Attacks.

DO NOT code your Astral Flow macro into this set. Should you accidentally hit this instead of say... Haste or Raise... you don't want to have wasted it for nothing.

Once you're in Macro BOOK 2 SET 9, it should look a little something like this:

CTR:
1. Elemental Avatars
2. Alexander
3. Odin
4. ---
5. ---
6. ---
7. ---
8. ---
9. ---
0. Return

ALT:
1. Elemental Avatars
2. Alexander
3. Odin
4. ---
5. ---
6. ---
7. ---
8. ---
9. ---
0. Return

Again, I have made it so that CTR and ALT are identical simply to avoid confusion or flustering while I'm trying to utilize the ability to it's maximum benefit. I personally seperate Alex and Odin from the rest of the avatars because of their instant useage. Let me explain how the 2 of them work before I explain the others. Here's what my CRT+2/3 and ALT+2/3 look like:

CTR+2/ALT+2: Alexander
1. /ma "Alexander" <me>
2. /p Perfect Defense! <Full Attack!>
3. ---

CTR+3/ALT+3: Odin
1. /ma "Odin" <t>
2. /p HASAN CHOP!!!! (Or anything funny you wana put in there)
3. ---

The main difference that you have to remember is that Alexander's 2Hour is a <me> effect where as Odin's needs a <t>.

As for the remaining Avatars, their macro set is a lot trickier to code given that you have the capacity to use each of their 2Hours multiple times before the timer is up... while Alex and Odin expend your 2Hour immediately upon use. First of all, CTR+1 and ALT+1 in this set will work like this:

CTR+1/ALT+1: Elemental Avatars+Diabolos
1. /macro set 0 (Still in BOOK 2)
2. ---

Simple, no? There really isn't much to it. This is the way I code the my set... and it's absolutely not perfect... feel free to change it to whatever works best for you.

Macro BOOK 2 SET 0: Elemental Avatars + Diabolos

CTR:
1. Astral Flow
2. Carbuncle
3. Garuda
4. Shiva
5. Titan
6. Ramuh
7. Leviathan
8. Fenrir
9. Diabolos
0. Return

ALT:
1. Astral Flow
2. Carbuncle
3. Garuda
4. Shiva
5. Titan
6. Ramuh
7. Leviathan
8. Fenrir
9. Diabolos
0. Return

The idea for how it works is really simple. Once you're in here, CTR+1 and ALT+1 both activate your Astral Flow with a simple /ja "Astral Flow" <me> line and nothing else. As for CTR+2-9 and ALT+2-9, it's just a matter of applying the appropriate name to each of the lines. For instance:

CTR+2/ALT+2: Carbuncle
1. /pet "Searing Light" <t>
2. ---

That's it.

The "Return" button on this macro works in the same way that the one in your Elemental Siphon set did. The only difference is that you'll need to fill lines 3-6 with the equipment swaps that you changed from when you selected the 2Hour set, if any. Aside from that, as expected, it will return you to the ROOT.


Special Note: All of these macros are written as if you were playing as a SMN/WHM. It's very easy to alter them if you choose to play as a SMN/RDM or SMN/SCH... or for whatever reason SMN/BLM or SMN/NIN. If you set aside another macro BOOK, simply copy and paste this completed BOOK into that slot and change the spells and abilities that in the ROOT and in the ALT sets for each of your Avatar sets to your liking. For instance... if you made one for SMN/RDM, you might want to add in "Refresh" and "Convert" as well as "Phalanx" to the list of spells that you frequently use.

In addition, remember to also Copy/Paste/Alter your Elemental Siphon and Astral Flow BOOK to ensure that your "Return" button sends you to the right place. For example, if you choose BOOK 3 as your SMN/RDM BOOK, your "Return" button and all of your Elemental Siphon macros will not send you here unless you make a second book for them... as they are coded to send you to BOOK 1... not 3. If you account for this, you'll have no problems.


And that... ladies and gentlemen... is how my SMN macros work. Feel free to comment or send me a private message if you need further details on how something works... or to inform me of something that is incorrect. I want to be as accurate as possible, so all the input you can provide is appreciated as always.



Enjoy! ^.^)d