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Targeting & Macro Discussion
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Post by
pelf
Since Arideni decided to lock the other one (and I suppose there's probably no thread splitting capability in their forum code),
and
there's stuff I have left to respond to, allow me to continue here:
Turn on enemy name plates & you may hover over their name plate to use a mouseover macro much as you would hovering over a creature's body.
Yeah, I guess I knew about that but I've always avoided those nameplates like the plague. It's just so dirty looking and it offends my minimalist sensibilities. Thanks for reminding me, though. I might actually end up having to use Lacerate on multiple mobs again in Wrath when I'm not grossly overgeared initially.
This way, if you don't have enough rage/energy, you start your auto attack anyway.
QFT! Putting /startattack in the top of oft-used abilities is amazing. Sometimes target changes will time right and fit inside the swing cooldown, but sometimes you'll be left standing there with your hand down your pants. Putting /startattack inside my Judgement macro on my Paladin has been the best thing ever for keeping my swings going in multi-tank situations. I've had it on Mangle and Maul for ages now on my Druid.
The main issue I'm having is I'm picking up mobs in tabbing that are way out of range for me. I can't remember how to set the range to my tab... =(
targetNearestDistance - Tab targetting distance in front of you, default 41, max 50 (
Source
)
Post by
Lightrain
I always have nameplates on, but it causes problems sometimes when watching for runners, trying to select a target while moving them, and can get in the way when trying to select a runner as well. When tanking, I'm constantly moving my screen around to make sure I have no runners and when trying to select targets. IDk, I think it causes problems a lot of the time while tanking, but helps for watching newb groups to make sure you have threat on the target(s) being hit.
IMO, nameplates are very important in 2v2 and 3v3 tho. You can select people thru pillars while they are humping it to death(tab does work, but I've had issues with tab too many times). In 5v5, it's a bit different on the strategy, and nameplates could definitely cause problems.
The range makes me curious tho, can you bind a button to tab target at a certain range so you can, say, tab for a rogue that accidentally comes in range and not be tabbing thru the mage and his elemental also(or the shaman and his 4 totems, lock and pet, etc...), and then have tab for normal use with max range?
Post by
182246
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Lightrain
I've never liked nameplates, I find mouseover to be more useful; mobs often move less than those stupid nameplates do. >_<
Hehe, QFT! I generally don't click em, just use em to make sure dps is on the right target. Sometimes I can grab skull or x with them, but it's rough.
Post by
pelf
The range makes me curious tho, can you bind a button to tab target at a certain range so you can, say, tab for a rogue that accidentally comes in range and not be tabbing thru the mage and his elemental also(or the shaman and his 4 totems, lock and pet, etc...), and then have tab for normal use with max range?
Well, I suppose you could have a macro that sets it to near, then runs /targetnearestenemy and then sets it back to far.
IMO, nameplates are very important in 2v2 and 3v3 tho. You can select people thru pillars while they are humping it to death(tab does work, but I've had issues with tab too many times). In 5v5, it's a bit different on the strategy, and nameplates could definitely cause problems.
Yeah. If I ever got serious with the arena thing, I would definitely turn them on. The fact that you can use them to target through objects and terrain almost seems a little broken to me.
Post by
Arideni
When using name plates, primarily while tanking, take notice to which creature has lower health & make that your next target. Also, be sure to zoom far out to help get a better view on everything. Many times I find myself moving the camera a high angle over my character while zoomed out completely & this alleviates many issues with one's immediate surroundings.
Also, I'm now renaming this thread because repeating discussion on a locked topic is against the forum rules.
Post by
Kaitain
I've never liked nameplates, I find mouseover to be more useful; mobs often move less than those stupid nameplates do. >_<
There is an addon called
Aloft
that lets you customise the appearance of namplates. Not necessary ofc but you can do a couple of helpful things with it:
- make them a lot smaller so they don't move much even when it's crowded.
- make them class coloured (for PvP)
- make them show combo points you have on your target
Post by
pelf
There is an addon called
Aloft
that lets you customise the appearance of namplates. Not necessary ofc but you can do a couple of helpful things with it:
- make them a lot smaller so they don't move much even when it's crowded.
- make them class coloured (for PvP)
- make them show combo points you have on your target
I looked into Aloft a while back, and while it looked really interesting, there was a lot of concern about how resource-intensive it was as it basically had to watch a bajillion things to make sure it was drawing those frames in the right place and keeping them on top of the ones it was trying to replace. I figured it was a neat idea, but that I didn't need to tank my performance for it.
When using name plates, primarily while tanking, take notice to which creature has lower health & make that your next target. Also, be sure to zoom far out to help get a better view on everything. Many times I find myself moving the camera a high angle over my character while zoomed out completely & this alleviates many issues with one's immediate surroundings.
Generally kill order is pre-defined. People can't assist in PUGs and even if they could, there's usually a reason for X to die before Y, even if Y has less health after the primary target dies. I think the nameplate thing just boils down to preference. I would guess that one can tank as effectively with them as without them.
The point about having the camera zoomed out is an excellent one, though. I just wish there were more situations where the place in which I'm doing the tanking allowed my camera to be that far out without running into the wall/ceiling.
Also, I'm now renaming this thread because repeating discussion on a locked topic is against the forum rules.
That's fine. I left the name the same so people would associate the two threads. I think the appropriate parties have found it now :).
Post by
Lightrain
Having it zoomed out is a double edged sword actually. It makes it easier to see all the name plates, but makes it harder to see the mobs. Back to the name plate dancing issue..... If you zoom all the way out in aoe situations, you won't see the runners till after they hit your healer. I've found, with 3-5 mobs in front of you, if you are about mid zoom, and about a 30% down angle, you can see the mobs under the name plates. You get the best of both worlds. The crappy part, if it runs, and you don't catch it before it gets out of your screen, the name plates can get in the way again when you turn the camera around to follow it.
This falls under the, "if you are grossly overgeared, you don't have this issue" clause tho. LOL!
Post by
Arideni
The point of the name plates is so you can distinguish between the mobs without looking at them. I rarely have issues moving the camera around, especially zoomed out. I do zoom in half-way by default, and change it as needed, though.
Pre-defining targets & kill order is really a tank thing. The rest of the group could care less & if they're paying attention, doesn't need to be done.
The one with the lowest HP is often the most optimal choice to have DPS focus on next. How will one know without looking at nameplates, and without tab-targeting everything? This method works very well for me when tanking without CC as a warrior, and I intend on using it as Feral, too.
Post by
Lightrain
Ya, I did heroic Bot last night, and they just couldn't get the concept of square, then triangle. Once it got down to 2 mobs, it was split dps, for 4 groups worth.... If my nameplates weren't on, they might have got a fair lead on me. Luckily it was an under geared group. No one did over 600dps, so it was pretty easy to hold aggro on 2-4 targets(it was a really long run tho.... >.< ). That's the main reason I have nameplates on. I see what's been hit, and if it was by me or not. =)
Post by
pelf
I guess it's the difference between people's group experience, then. When I mark targets, I make sure they're killed in that order as I will have had a good reason to have marked them that way.
The rest of the group could care less &
if they're paying attention
, doesn't need to be done.
Arideni made a funny :).
Generally if someone doesn't follow the kill order (and, by extension, my tanking order), they have a chance of pulling off of me if their threat exceeds the threat I'm making with swipe. If they do, I'll taunt off. If it keeps happening, I will stop taunting. People learn pretty quick when they die because they don't follow the marked kill order.
The one with the lowest HP is often the most optimal choice to have DPS focus on next.
I would rather have a melee DPS mob with 1/3 health keep beating on me while a spell damage mob with 90% health is killed. I will have marked it so that it works out that way, too.
Post by
Arideni
When I mark, casters usually die first (healer, then warlock/mage types, then oracles). If a creature has a special move such as Mortal Strike then I take measures to ensure I am not made unhealable (as warrior, disarm & stun, but as druid obviously CC is a better choice). If the creature has something such as Solar Burn in Mechanar, well you want those to die quickly. Warlocks in Magister's Terrace are another good choice to dispatch quickly.
Make no mistake - having a target marked properly is a wonderful idea. It's hard to tank something if it knocks you down (Shadow Labyrinth) & it's hard to heal something that stuns you (removing all avoidance, such as in Heroic Ramparts).
Having a preset order in mind is great, but my method of implementing this order is more "on the fly" adaptive. It works well since I love to float rage from pull to pull.
Rage floating . . . what?
Check this out
, a wonderful technique which many of you may already know & love, but now has a popular name! Just one more thing warriors have in common with druids.
Post by
pelf
When I've had the chance to group with people who are all confirmably and demonstrably capable, I don't even bother marking. They just assist me and I choose my targets using much more dynamic methods.
I just think that your espousing adaptive target changing over marked pulls with a specific order is not going to be useful in the majority of situations.
With good groups, I take pains to keep the rage I have between pulls. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't.
Post by
Arideni
In my experiences a group either goes much better with some targeting (but not necessarily spending 30 seconds marking up a whole group) or they overgear the instance & just destroy any target, in which case marks don't matter as everything just drops to the floor.
I don't foresee a situation in which I would not use marks since I have six of them bound to the keyboard & tapping a skull on my current target is pretty darn easy. As a rogue it can be hectic to fight large pulls w/ a good tank since all the creatures are in my way. This is another reason why I like using name plates. It's just my style.
Post by
pelf
It's just my style.
Quite. I'd like to try it out, despite my arguments otherwise. Who knows, maybe I'll be a convert :).
Post by
Lightrain
It's just my style.
Quite. I'd like to try it out, despite my arguments otherwise. Who knows, maybe I'll be a convert :).
LOL! You could be a mutt spec too. Off to pull till everything stops moving, then on to watch hp levels, or any method you prefer. =) Pressing v is rather quick and easy to do on the fly.
Post by
176018
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Lightrain
That would be why I never pull with FC unless it's absolutely necessary or I'm trying to keep the boss in the same spot.
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