provoke macro problems..

[intranet69]

hi~^^
ive been having problems knowing when provoke is ready.
my macro has the 2 /wait 15 etc but i notice that when i pressed provoke macro, it provokes, then in the middle of that 30second period i would have to use my cure macro too.

by using this cure macro that i have, it cuts off the flow of my provoke macro, thus, the line /p Provoke OK!! doesn't appear after 30s.

im wondering if i shouldn't use a cure macro and press alt+m to select it..... or if theres something else i can do...

thx in advance^^

[imac2much]

Yes, using another macro while your first macro is /waiting will interupt the first one.

But never fear.. the /p Provoke ready should just be for your party's benefit, not your own. I changed my button config so my job abilities menu is alt+Q, so I continually check between my refresh timers in the JA menu. Remember that the timers are lagged... i.e. you can use provoke when it says it needs 2-3 seconds left, you can use Sentinel and Shield Bash when it says there are 5-6 seconds left, etc. (No idea why this is...)

[Somajan]

putting 15 and 15 sometimes doesn't work, I usually put in 15 and 16 (limit is set to 20) then have whatever message you want, or even put in another macro for it.

[intranet69]

i see.. theres no way around it but look at job abilities menu huh.. thx alot imac2much~^^

i now use echo...so i can spam that to know the countdown..

[Silenthavoc]

the answer to this is:

/wait <------------- this command can only be used in 10 sec intervals.

so you have to do this

/wait 10
/wait 5
/p provoke ready in 15 sec

hope that helps

[PsychoPingu]

Originally posted by Silenthavoc
the answer to this is:

/wait <------------- this command can only be used in 10 sec intervals.

so you have to do this

/wait 10
/wait 5
/p provoke ready in 15 sec

hope that helps

Erm, /wait works up to 20 seconds, not 10.

My voke macro goes a little something like this:

/p <Provoke> <t>
/ja "Provoke" <t>
/wait 15
/p <Provoke> 15s
/wait 15
/p <Provoke> <Ready>

Where the bits in <> (except <t>) are translated :)

As imac said, macros interrupt each other - you can only have one running at any one time. So checking the Job Ability list is the only way to find out (or set up a second macro with just Provoke in it - this gives the time left in the log window in dark blue usually) :spin:

[Silenthavoc]

Okay yeah youre right. LoL I forgot I guess. /wait does go up to 15 sec.

[Sihaya]

I'm just an aspiring paladin still, but as a warrior I do have problems with my Provoke macros. I used a similar macro. Sometimes it tells me when Provoke is ready, sometimes it doesn't bother. not sure what the problem is :(

[PsychoPingu]

Originally posted by Sihaya
I'm just an aspiring paladin still, but as a warrior I do have problems with my Provoke macros. I used a similar macro. Sometimes it tells me when Provoke is ready, sometimes it doesn't bother. not sure what the problem is :(

If you activate another macro (or the same one again) before the 30 seconds is up, the game stops counting and switches to the other macro - you can only run one macro at any one time. Bit of a pain really though - means that it's difficult to use WS macros or even a TP macro without it messing up and not telling you when provoke is ready :(

[foobar]

After 40 I don't think I ever let one of my macros finish since I was either curing myself or flashing (spell :P) in between. I changed my macro to stop spamming with /p so I can trigger it at any time and get the wait time for my next provoke.

[Arnda]

I've taken to going right back to the old "/ja "Provoke" <t>" macro, with nothing else in it. My logic's always been:

1) I spam the button. I want to provoke IMMEDITATELY and OFTEN. No sense spamming my party while I do so.

2) The party, 9 times out of 10, doesn't need to know that I'm provoking. I'm the Paladin. I'm the tank. I'm perfectly capable of holding hate on myself. That I am provoking regularly shouldn't need to be said. If aggro isn't on me, it's not for lack of provoke, so it's nothing another provoke will magically clear up (and besides which, I'll be provoking again as soon as it's up, dammit).

Other JAs such as Shield Bash and WS are announced, but that's because they're used infrequently. Provoke is just too important for that.

[Sihaya]

Bleh. I've been told by several people that macros DON'T interrupt each other. I guess I was told wrong :(

As for the 'spam' text provokes, I find them useful for a couple of reasons. If I'm tanking with someone else, it let's them know exactly what I'm doing - we can bounce aggro off each other and take tougher monsters that way without putting the mages at risk.
And when I'm the only tank, it lets my mages know exactly when they should or shouldn't use a big aggro-grabbing spell. I know the tank should be the highest level in the group, but poo happens (and I like to play with my friends, some of whom are higher level than me). I do provoke as often as I can, but sometimes it just isn't enough when my mages are casting certain spells or healing a lot.

I dunno, does that make sense? How would I have to change this strategy once I'm a Paladin? I'm still trying to get my head around the tactical/strategic differences between Warriors and Paladins.

[Arnda]

That's a very valid low-level strategy, but in the mid-20s I stopped needing another tank in my party. Oh, now and then one of the other melees takes a hit because the THF did a sneak/trick/viper bite that was TOO good, but it doesn't take me long to get hate back.

So as a Paladin, particularly a midlevel and higher one, you will be the ONLY tank, and except in very rare circumstances you shouldn't be losing hate long enough to reach a crisis point. There is no reason, therefore, to tell people what you're doing. I mean, my party KNOWS I'm provoking every 30 seconds... that's why they invited me. ;)

[Kagi]

I haven't included anything with /party since... level 30? ^^; Everything is now in /echo, I follow the same thinking as Arnda.

[foobar]

The only thing I announce is my TP and weapon skill for obvious reasons. Some /party macros people use are ok but after the 100000th time reading "I invoke the powers of Altana to heal you oh mighty warrior to aid you in your battle against evil with my Cure II" it really gets old. :mad:

[Lodoss]

I have a slightly modified version of the provoke macro posted earlier, Instead /p or echo (Provoke) (Ready) i replaced that with another /ja "Provoke" <t>

Is this a bad thing? I mean, In most cases of heavy battle where Im not using shield bash or a cure this helps me out alot because I can just sit back and watch the game do the work for me.. Not to say I dont like doing the work.. but a PLD needs a break once in a while.

I also recomend what imac2much said about checking the timers, Ive been doing it for a while now and it has been very helpful on keeping on top of those timers.

[Claritin]

I also think doing
/party Provoke RDY!

is incredibly lame.

It's spam... when people need to do a weapon chain it makes it hard to see people's TP calls.... it also takes slightly more focus off of monster positioning and player HP and mana bars.

The only one that needs to keep track of my provoke timers etc... IS ME! So why would I want to distract other people with them?

Your group should trust you to do your job.... if they say they would like the info tell them.

"I am a PLD... not a WAR. PLD use Cure Macros non-stop to maintain aggro. These macros make it so my provoke macro messages rarely complete anyway. I assure you I will use provoke as soon as it resets.. However Provoke is not my only aggro management tool... I will be using FLASH and CURE3 also... Which is odd because no one asks for the time for those..."

If they still give you lip

"Ok... give me one second while I build my "My HP are low CURE ME NOW" macro.. and my "SOMEONE STUN THIS BEFORE IT DROPS A BOMB" macros... that way I spam us even more about things we are already aware of and working on"

Yeah the 2nd one is a bit arrogant... but then again so is someone continuing to demand you set up macros to thier specifications so that they can micro-manage you.