i have been reading the strategy guide (better late than never? :) ), and noted the helpful suggestion that to ensure the group's dps is targeted most efficiently during instances, party members should create a macro to:

/assist "character who is main assist"

it has occurred to me in the past that my dps targeting in instances is sometimes a bit random, and so i am keen to give this suggestion a run.

could someone please tell me the mechanics of how i make it work? assuming that Sabre is my team's main assist, i go into the macro interface and create a macro with the command

/assist Sabre

presumably this includes assigning an icon to that macro, and dragging that icon to the toolbar?

what next? do i activate that macro before launching each dps spell (in which case, can it be hotkeyed?)? or do i activate before each mini fight within the instance? or something else?

do i then just modify that macro before commencing each new instance to substitute the name of the main assist in any particular party?

all suggestions gratefully received, including if someone has other ideas to use in place of this one, or in addition to it.

many thanks again,

x.

Hallo druid :>

To make an assist macro:

1. Type /macro to bring up the macro window
2. Click new, type a name for the macro (eg Assist) and choose an icon for it - whichever one you like best.
3. Click OK and you will see the macro appear in the top section of the macro window. In the bottom section is a blank sheet where you can type commands.
4. Making sure your new macro is selected, type the following into the bottom window: /assist Sabre
5. Now your macro is complete. Drag the icon from the top section of the macro window onto your hotbars on your UI.
6. That's it! Now just click the macro (or press whatever hotkey you have bound to it) and it will assist Sabre.


-Annikk

That said, make sure the person you are assisting is NOT the tank. As tanks often target non-primary targets in order to maintain threat levels.

Frankly, if blizzard would just let us do /cast [target=<skull>] XXXX, we'd be set.

If there is a rouge or a mage. Assist off them for the main DPS target. Usually rouge doesnt swich targets because of combo points

If there is a rouge or a mage. Assist off them for the main DPS target. Usually rouge doesnt swich targets because of combo pointsUsually someone is designated the main assist, as clearly as someone is designated the main tank. What, are we going to just fuddle through an instance, throwing heals on bears and plate-wearers? Neither should the main assist job be considered something to be performed on the fly.

Neither should the main assist job be considered something to be performed on the fly.

Hmm, not sure what you mean by this. By its very nature the MA's job is done on the fly, surely..?


Frankly, if blizzard would just let us do /cast [target=<skull>] XXXX, we'd be set.

Yes, damnit. Would make it so much easier. Even just /target <Skull> would be enough..

I have ctrl-middlemousebutton bound to "assign Skull to target", so when I'm tanking I just whap a skull on the mob I want the dps to take down next. This helps a lot to make the aggro predictable, so I know which mob I need to pay lots of attention to, whereas the others I only need to do enough to keep them off my healer.

I've been doing it for so long now that I've started thinking about assigning skulls as more like another bear ability. :> Like the mother of all damage-over-times... :P


-Annikk

I mean you should discuss and agree who is the MA before anyone's in combat.

Oh right. In that case yes.. =)


-Annikk

I have ctrl-middlemousebutton bound to "assign Skull to target", so when I'm tanking I just whap a skull on the mob I want the dps to take down next. This helps a lot to make the aggro predictable, so I know which mob I need to pay lots of attention to, whereas the others I only need to do enough to keep them off my healer.I do the same thing. F1 == skull. As soon as he dies, I put the mark on whatever mob I want killed next.

Regarding assists. In my years of playing Wow, I don't think I have ever used assists (the default key assignment was lost long ago when I re-mapped everything [im left handed]). I just tab target ("H" for me) to whatever mob we are suppose to be killing next. In fact, I don't think I have ever heard (or read), anyone even mention a MA during a run. But most of my instance runs have occurred during the post-luckycharm era. Every knows, kill the skull. It just helps if someone remembers to mark it.

I would recommend making an assist macro like this:

/assist focus

Then you target the MT and either type /focus or create a macro that does the same thing. This way you don't have to manually edit the thing each time. Then put the assist macro on some bar and keybind it to a convient key.

This assumes you 1) aren't the tank 2) don't use focus another way 3) you understand that the tank might be targetting something deeper in the kill order in order to build threat.

awesome, thanks taiglin, thanks all!

[oh 4 more weeks until the rowing season is over and i can level my toon!! :-)]