Macros for the Leveling Druid

Note: I’m going to assume that you know the basic macro interface (type /macro, make a new one, pick the icon then start editing).

Macros were a late discovery of mine. For a long time, I didn't know the coding or how Lua worked, so I just clicked spells in sequence and managed with my keystrokes. Then I wandered over to the UI/Macros forum one day and read the compendium of macro information. Now I'm hooked on macros and use them on almost all of my toons.

Space Saving

Ice, my druid main, is the guinea pig. I test all new macros on her, then tweak the spells/items for other characters. One of the more common ones I use is the 3-Button macro.

#showtooltip /cast [button:1] Mark of the Wild; [button:2] Thorns; [button:3] Gift of the Wild

This macro does a few things. The first line is a standard opener to any macro. It gives the command to show the tooltip of the first item/spell listed when you mouse over it on the action bar. In this case, Mark of the Wild is listed first so that’s the tooltip that is displayed.

Your mouse has three buttons (mine has 7, but that’s a different story).

Button 1 – left click

Button 2 – right click

Button 3 – scroll wheel click

If you lack a scroll wheel….go buy a new mouse. Seriously.

This macro gives the command “Left click casts Mark of the Wild. Right click casts Thorns. Clicking the scroll wheel (not turning it, you must click) casts Gift of the Wild.” Rather than take up 3 buttons for 3 buffs, this takes up one button and does 3 different things depending on how I click.

Other combinations include “Innervate/Abolish Poison/Decurse” and “Bear/Cat/Moonkin.” You can replace the buffs with any spells you want.

Consumables at Your Paws

One version of the 3-Button macro that I love is the consumables aspect. Instead of “/cast” you would put “/use” followed by an item name.

#showtooltip Honeymint Tea /use [button:1] Runic Healing Potion; [button:2] Runic Mana Potion; [button:3] Honeymint Tea

Left click pops a health potion, right click pops a mana potion, and scroll-click lets Ice drink a mana restorative outside of combat. The specific command to display the tooltip for Honeymint Tea is in the first line. It will also show the number of that item in my inventory in the lower right corner (as would happen if you dragged an item to your action bar). All of my characters have their own version of this, based on what items they have and their level.

Leveling Kitty Opener

Frostleaf is a feral cat and she usually prowls up behind an opponent, then uses Pounce followed by 1-2 Shreds. Clicking the spells doesn’t always result in the maximum number of Shreds possible, so I made a macro for it.

#showtooltip /cast [stealth] Pounce /cast [nostealth] Shred

If you’re in stealth, you’ll cast Pounce on the target. If you’re not stealthed, you’ll cast Shred. The bracketed words are called conditions. Conditions control the situation in which the macro will be run or completed.

Need Moar Health!

Frost gets into trouble sometimes, and I need a panic button to hit when I’m about to take a trip to the Spirit Healer. This next macro will cast Lifeblood (herbalism heal ability), Barkskin, and Survival Instincts all at once.

#showtooltip Survival Instincts /castsequence Lifeblood; [form:1] Frenzied Regeneration /use Superior Health Potion /cast Survival Instincts /cast Barkskin

Normally a macro can’t cast more than one spell at a time, if that spell triggers the 1.5 second global cooldown (GCD). The GCD is there to prevent people from shooting off dozens of spells in a matter of moments. However since Barkskin, Survival Instincts, and using health/mana potions don’t trigger the GCD, they can be used all at once.

Lifeblood and Frenzied Regeneration are both on the GCD – if you want to have two or more GCD spells in the same macro, you have to use a “/castsequence” line. This tells the macro to cast Lifeblood first, then on the second click cast Frenzied Regeneration. The [form:1] condition checks to see if you’re in bear form – if you’re in cat form then it won’t run that part of the macro, just Lifeblood and the rest of the spells. Also if a spell is on its cooldown (potions are usable once per fight and you have to be out of combat for 2 minutes before you can use another) then it won’t be cast in the macro.

Shadowmeld + Prowl

My druids are both Alliance, meaning they both have Shadowmeld. The changes to Shadowmeld in the expansion have made it usable in combat and it works like a pseudo-Vanish, dropping your threat temporarily and causing all monsters to reset at their spawn points (if you’re the last one living in combat). If you’re soloing, it’s very handy for getting out of trouble.

#showtooltip /cast [form:3; combat] Shadowmeld /cast [form:3; nocombat] Prowl /cast Shadowmeld

Cat form + combat –> Shadowmeld
Cat form + no combat –> Prowl
Otherwise just cast Shadowmeld

I can use this macro in any form to slip into the shadows. Really I was tired of confusing the Shadowmeld and Prowl icons (identical on action bars) and accidentally using my Shadowmeld cooldown in the middle of a field or safe area. The nifty thing about this macro is that if you’re in Cat form and not in combat, the tooltip will show Prowl. If you’re in combat or not in cat form, it will show Shadowmeld.