Castsequence reset times

Have any of you noticed that the reset=10 or such on castsequence macros don't ACTUALLY reset at 10 seconds?

For example, I had my prot pally's holy shield macro'ed to a castsequence (before the constant "whoosh"ing sound of me spamming that button made me want to rip my ears out), and I found that, if the button was spammed, the reset could take up to 30 seconds or so before actually resetting the macro

However, if I press it once and don't spam the button, it will correctly reset at 10 seconds.

I have no idea how to fix this issue or if it's even something others have noticed. It's terribly annoying to expect a reset at 10 seconds and have to wait 3 times as long because you were smash-happy with your keyboard buttons. This is especially frustrating with my X-keys set to auto-repeat.

Sorry to say this, but this is by-design. Blizzard didn't want folks using this to time their abilities. Because of this, I don't really use reset=NN, I go by target/combat

Thats not a bug, that is exactly how it is supposed to work.

reset=10 says "If I have not hit this hotkey in 10 seconds, reset it" not "10 seconds after I hit it the first time, reset it"

They (correctly) don't want that level of automation in the game.

That's all and good, but Holy Shield is a 10 second self-buff. I basically trailed a bunch of rightousness->judge's at the end and want it to reset to Holy Shield once the cooldown is up. That way I can spam the button if I want to go all out threat-whoring, or press it just a couple times to conserve mana.

If reset=# isn't used for timing a macro, what DOES blizzard intend for it to do? I mean, it's not like this macro wouldn't do exactly what I was intending to do with a whole bunch of interface spam:

[code:1]/cast Holy Shield
/castsequence reset=30 Seal of Righteousness, Judgement[/code:1]

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Originally Posted by Vyndree

That's all and good, but Holy Shield is a 10 second self-buff. I basically trailed a bunch of rightousness->judge's at the end and want it to reset to Holy Shield once the cooldown is up. That way I can spam the button if I want to go all out threat-whoring, or press it just a couple times to conserve mana.

If reset=# isn't used for timing a macro, what DOES blizzard intend for it to do? I mean, it's not like this macro wouldn't do exactly what I was intending to do with a whole bunch of interface spam:

[code:1]/cast Holy Shield
/castsequence reset=30 Seal of Righteousness, Judgement[/code:1]

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Thats exactly what they don't want you to be able to do. They don't want to see macros like that.

Basically, it's to give a way to reset the sequence other than combat/target.

For example: (not that good of an example, but oh well)
They don't have a problem with hitting a hotkey twice to ice then blink.
They do have a problem with something like Frost Nova, Blink, Frostbolt, Frostbolt, Frostbolt (till Frost Nova resets) then Frost Nova, Blink and Frostbolt spam again all by just hitting one button over and over (and spinning arround after blink).

It's one of the protections in the game to (attempt) to stop players from being able to play the game by just hitting one button over and over.


I love the macro system in this game, they did a great job of stopping to much automation while at the same time giving very powerful macro ability.

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Originally Posted by laeelin

For example: (not that good of an example, but oh well)
They don't have a problem with hitting a hotkey twice to ice then blink.
They do have a problem with something like Frost Nova, Blink, Frostbolt, Frostbolt, Frostbolt (till Frost Nova resets) then Frost Nova, Blink and Frostbolt spam again all by just hitting one button over and over (and spinning arround after blink).

It's one of the protections in the game to (attempt) to stop players from being able to play the game by just hitting one button over and over.

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Why? They still have to push the button EACH TIME they cast a spell, and target the mob correctly, and move correctly... And honestly, it's not like that sort of macroing is not going to SEVERELY gimp your PvP abilities or your ability to react to shifting circumstances.

I uses to use a macro for Leotheras the Blind when I'm on my resto shammy (before the +heal to +spelldmg 2.3 change) that goes along the lines of:
[code:1]/outfitter wear leoweapons
/startattack
/use Vengeance of the Illidari
/use Glowing Crystal Insignia
/cast Nature's Swiftness
/castsequence reset=6 Earth Shock, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Lightning Bolt, Lightning Bolt[/code:1]

Or this one for Illhoof when I spec elemental:
[code:1]/target tere
/target kil'rek
/target Demon Chain
/stopmacro [noharm]
/cast Lightning Bolt[/code:1]

I would say those are far worse than spamming a button that buffs Holy Shield every time the cooldown is up. I mean, I can put holy shield on a button and jam that button for ages and I would be 100% sure that Holy Shield would be on my buff list 100% of the time until I was OOM. I see no difference, and there's nothing automated as I'm still pushing one button to get one spell.

Whether or not macroing is bordering automation is a totally different story. Tell me if this macro is broken or not:
[code:1]/castsequence reset=10 Holy Shield, null[/code:1]

I am going to press that macro over and over and over again in the course of 10 seconds. But that macro will not reset to Holy Shield after 10 seconds because I'm a crazy button jammer.

Is that fair?

The whole point to me is to get rid of the "whoosh" noise that happens when you almost cast a spell, but it's on cooldown. It drives me insane. So I want a button that does nothing if I have Holy Shield on cooldown, and buffs Holy Shield when it's not on cooldown.

However, if I spam that macro I'm going to end up without the Holy Shield buff because the macro does not reset after 10 seconds when I jam the button. And that makes a dead paladin.

So I can either be annoyed by the "whoosh" noise, or not have holy shield on me 100% of the time. Broken macro reset, if you ask me.

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reset=# is pretty much worthless. I can't really see an instance were I'd use it instead of combat or target. The whole point of /castsequence is to be able to push the button over and over again to do multiple things. If the timer increases with every button push... uh... ya. Pointless!

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I understand where your coming from here (and where he is coming from with that)

But I don't agree, I still use reset=10 (or whatever) for a few macros...

For example, faerie fire and barksin on my druid...

It lasts 40 seconds, and on some fights thats not long enough.

I use /castsequence reset=40/combat/target/alt Farie Fire(), Barkskin()

I use this because it saves a "quick access" hotkey for PVE.

I'm NOT trying to claim that reset=x is great, or really useful... just that it can be useful is some situations... enough where I don't want it removed.

Working as a hard time reset (ignoring spamming) would be really nice for multiboxing, but I think it would be to much automation for normal play.

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I am going to press that macro over and over and over again in the course of 10 seconds. But that macro will not reset to Holy Shield after 10 seconds because I'm a crazy button jammer.

Is that fair?

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There is nothing wrong with that macro, thats not what they are trying to stop.

I'm not trying to argue that *you* would be abusing it, just that the reason it doesn't work that was is because some would abuse it.

It's not like multiboxers are looking to make the game simple or easier! ;)

We have already chosen the more challenging path.

PS: I'm a spammer as well, And right now all I need to do in a fight with my 1xPaladin * 4xPriest group is spam one key. Number 2 on my keyboard is:
On Pally: /startattack
On Priests: /cast [target=focustarget] Smite()

I just spam that and it even changes target automatically when the current mob dies... This will not last as my priests start to bring in a lot more spells, but a set time reset on macros would enable me to come closer to it.

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Originally Posted by Fursphere

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It lasts 40 seconds, and on some fights thats not long enough.

I use /castsequence reset=40/combat/target/alt Farie Fire(), Barkskin()

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The timer here starts when you cast barkskin though, effectivelly adding to the Farie Fire cooldown. After you cast barkskin, won't the macro automatically start over? Or will it just stay on barkskin?

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It does start over, I can also make it start over with the alt key. I use the icon change to remind me to recast FF (oops, actual hotkey doesnt reset on target change, forgot about that)

I rarely use barkskin in pve (I'm resto), but when I need it I need it fast, so I have it bound to "c" so that it's right at my fingers (unlike something like 8 )

If things are going bad enough that I need to use barkskin, chances are I'm not going to have time to recast FF anyway. :P

I use this for fear on my guys and have not noticed any issues with spamming the keys. If I can remember, I'll give this a try tonight and let you know what I see.

It is possible this has something to do with the changes in 2.3 to the GCD.

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Originally Posted by Ughmahedhurtz

It is possible this has something to do with the changes in 2.3 to the GCD.

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This was identified by me pre-2.3... In fact, I haven't played any of my shammy/pally team since before 2.3 because of the pending ele shammy changes and my frustration with how Blizz is deciding to handle the direction of the class.

Anyway, totally off topic, but the point is I noticed this pre-2.3

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Originally Posted by Fursphere

Vyndree - You do know that Blizz decided to un-nerf the elemental 2.3 shammies changes, right? The +Spell Damage nerf was completely undone.

Also, I beleive Earth Sheild is getting a change making it undisspellable in 2.4.

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I do realize this, however it's a hint at the direction they're looking at for Ele shammies.

I started my shammy when clearcast was buffed from 10% chance of free spell to 100% mana reduction on the next spell after every crit.
I persisted after the change to 60% mana reduction after crits.
I persisted after the change to 2x40% mana reduction after crits.

The proposed "buff" to elemental dps that was promised ended up being a coefficient nerf. The shaman on the forums erupted, and blizz ate their words at the "buff" that really was a nerf and altered the coefficient until they can find a better solution.

I predicted the hidden LO cooldown (much like the hidden WF cooldown). Blizz reverted this as well once it was discovered by the shaman community.

IMO, Blizz has mishandled the shaman class multiple times and this was kinda the last straw for my 4x shammies. I'm keeping my 70 shammy, as I do enjoy playing resto, but will not be leveling my 4 nublet shaman any further.

They're focusing on nerfing the burst damage of elemental shaman in exchange for mana efficiency. Stacking crit isn't the be-all-end-all anymore. I just don't like the overall DIRECTION of the buffs/nerfs/proposed buffs/proposed nerfs and I'm not willing to pigeon-hole myself into a single class.

Earth shield, as far as I know, will continue to be dispellable. If you have info otherwise, I'd love to see it. However, they're decreasing the mana cost, since, at 500 mana to cast and no dispell resistance, it's very hard to keep it active in PvP encounters. Not to mention the giant rock screams "I'M A HEALER, KILLME!"

Anyway, end of the story is I'm sticking with some other classes. Sticking with one class and only one class puts me at risk of being totally disappointed if and when they nerf elemental to oblivion. Whereas, if I have multiple classes, at least ONE is bound to be OP ;) ;) ;)

Oh, I have no problems with people doing whatever makes them happy. :) It's just I am still stuck in the "golden days" mindset and it's disheartening to see the direction my favorite DPS spec is heading.

I still love my 70 resto shammy, no doubts about that, and I'm glad they're buffing enh since they sorely needed it.

I'm with you Vyndree,

my lvl 70 Enhancement Shammy is sitting idle... I used to love PVP with him, then we got nerfed into a laughing stock in the BGs. I have dabbled with Elemental and Restoration but really can't be bothered with them. I have no time for instances so the only viable spec (restoration) is useless to me unless I want to play a PVP healer. Considering I rolled a Shaman to be a melee offensive hybrid with a big 2h I also find the direction blizzard are going with the class to be very disappointing.

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Originally Posted by Fursphere

Vyndree brings up an extremely good point.

reset=# is pretty much worthless. I can't really see an instance were I'd use it instead of combat or target. The whole point of /castsequence is to be able to push the button over and over again to do multiple things. If the timer increases with every button push... uh... ya. Pointless!

Perhaps someone should try and open a thread on the official forums about it? (or not. :lol: )

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I don't think it is useless. I use reset= with EarthShock. Each of my Shaman have Earthshock on the same key - using commas in different positions to they can fire off at different times. Now why reset? Because for the most part I only need the main to cast it to interrupt and its easier to control facing with the main - let alone targetting issues with the followers (get don't assist till target is dead etc)

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Originally Posted by Vyndree

I persisted after the change to 2x40% mana reduction after crits.

The proposed "buff" to elemental dps that was promised ended up being a coefficient nerf. The shaman on the forums erupted, and blizz ate their words at the "buff" that really was a nerf and altered the coefficient until they can find a better solution.

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I actually find the 40% off for two spells not a problem, but I would prefer 60% for both

If you just use one comma in a cast sequence it will save you from one bad key press every cast. Whether you wait the duration or use up your bad key press it will be back at holy shield.

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Originally Posted by shivetya

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Originally Posted by Vyndree

I persisted after the change to 2x40% mana reduction after crits.

The proposed "buff" to elemental dps that was promised ended up being a coefficient nerf. The shaman on the forums erupted, and blizz ate their words at the "buff" that really was a nerf and altered the coefficient until they can find a better solution.

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I actually find the 40% off for two spells not a problem, but I would prefer 60% for both

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There's nothing wrong with 40% off two spells.

This is the problem:
Crit, Non-crit, Non-crit = 80% off
Crit, Non-crit, Crit = 80% off, refreshed buff for the next 2
Crit, Crit, Non-Crit = one of your 40%'s is wasted, 80% off, refreshed buff for next 1
Crit, Crit, Crit = 80% off, refreshed buff for the next 2

Some of those crits are "wasted". Shammies with 40% crit or more weren't uncommon, which means that it's now more efficient to stack +dmg rather than +crit after 30% crit or so.

This is pushing shammies away from the burst damage, slowly but surely. You can see just based off of the iterative changes:

100% clearcast = crit is AMAZING
60% clearcast = crit is still good to stack, but not AS mana efficient
40% x 2 clearcast = crit will now start to lose effectiveness in mana-efficiency if you stack it too high

Then look at what they tried to do for 2.3:
- Lower spelldamage coefficient on lightning bolt, making shammies want to use their +crit itemization points to get more +spelldmg -- this change was last-minute reverted after elemental shaman noticed a significant dps decrease that would have ruined the spec entirely.
- Increase LO proc rate, but lower damage by half on the procs as well as 0 threat on that proc, spreading the damage out over time so it is less bursty, good for PvE, bad for PvP
- Water Shield changes make ele shammies less dependant on their clearcast talent for mana efficiency

You can clearly see what they have in mind for elemental shaman. Anyone care to predict any future changes?