Hey guys,
I'm just thinking about my DPS macro's in ISBoxer, and how to improve them.
DPS Macro #1:
KEY PRESS - DOWN
Step 1: I would say we start off by picking a target (healer preffered) and cast
Outbreak on it so our Obliterate does much more damage.
Step 2: This step is optional. You can add in
Pestillence to spread both diseases to all the enemies around your picked opponent.
Pestilence is a great choice to spread diseases, if you're talking pvp you want to control this manually, and NOT part of a dps "sequence" Sure 1 button spam is mindless and easy... but lets face it, you need to make some choices sometimes!
Step 3:
Obliterate
Step 4:
Obliterate
Step 5: Add a
Frost Strike in your DPS macro to dump Runic Power.
Step 6:
Blood Strike
Step 7:
Blood Strike
KEY PRESS UP:
Step 1:
Obliterate (so it gets used asap when it's off cooldown)
Step 2:
Horn of Winter
Step 3: Macro that uses your
DPS trinket (+strength trinket preffered),
Pillar of Frost (to increase your strength by 20%) and for Orcs
Blood Fury.
Of note here, pillar of frost, as well as pestilence above, both cost one rune to activate. combining them in a macro that does /cast blood tap /cast Pestilence or /cast pillar of frost, will ensure that you're not using up odd runes to do some utility while losing out on dps cuz you used up that rune ... blood tap will give you a rune to use but only if its already on cooldown... use pillar after initial burst with your blood tap or after two blood strikes have gone off.
Basic way to do this in steps 6 and 7 is to make a cast sequence and put it in both steps, /castsequence reset=combat blood strike, blood strike, blood tap, pillar of frost(or pestilence)
DPS Macro #2:
KEY PRESS - DOWN
Step 1: Your runes are now on cooldown. I would say we cast
Empower Rune Weapon to reset our runes.
Again here is one of those things that should not be used mindlessly every chance its up. Its a VERY powerful tool for burst in pvp, and you dont just want to fire it off willy nilly. The way i use mine is a big OH SHIT type macro, i use all my trinkets horn of winter, dark Simulacrum, then go to town with my single target or aoe dps macro... It should have its own key, not part of any sequence. For pve this wont matter, but you're going to find in pvp it WILL mean more kills vs 2 healer teams and pesky priests/druids
Step 2:
Howling Blast
Step 3:
Howling Blast
Step 4:
Dark Simulacrum to copy the next casted spell that costs mana. I recommend picking a healer as first target.
Good advice here, i like to choose shadow priests or pallys as my first target to use dark sim on. Aoe the whole group to put pressure on then start spamming single target on the pally/priest. This USUALLY nets me their dispersion OR the pallys bubble. Just be aware that if you pop it too soon when you're just starting to DPS a target, you're wasting it... as they just wont cast until its off. The smart ones do anyway lol
Step 5: Add a
Necrotic Strike in your DPS macro to use your Unholy Runes. The target should be below 50% hp, and you will absorb the last healing because of the debuff to peel more.
Step 6: Add a round-robin
Mind Freeze so you hopefully interrupt any heals casted.
Step 7: Add a
Frost Strike in your DPS macro to dump Runic Power.
Step 8: Add a
Heart Strike in your DPS macro to use your Blood Runes.
<-- Heart strike is Blood spec only... you mean blood strike here
<3
Step 9: Use
Blood Tap to convert a blood rune into a death rune.<--
covered this above in my comments earlier. This should not be used just whenever... instant rune regen is a POWERFUL tool if used right
KEY PRESS UP:
Step 1:
Howling Blast (so it gets used asap when it's off cooldown)
Step 2:
Horn of Winter. Your character can use it when it's off cooldown to refresh the buff and get some extra runic power.
I've read up some on horn of winter spam, it actually goes off too much if i put it in dps spam... need to find a way to make it only fire off every time its off cooldown, and NOT before otherwise you're eating a GCD that could be used for something else. overspam = dps loss from what i've seen personally
Step 3: Macro that uses your
DPS trinket (+strength trinket preffered),
Pillar of Frost (to increase your strength by 20%) and for Orcs
Blood Fury. Your character can use it when it's off cooldown.
Step 4:
Dark Simulacrum to copy the next casted spell that costs mana. Your character can use it when it's off cooldown.
^
^^steps 3 and 4 have been covered above as well
DPS Macro #3:
KEY PRESS - DOWN
Step 1: Your runes are now on cooldown. I would say we cast
Empower Rune Weapon to reset our runes.
Step 2:
Oblterate
Step 3:
Obliterate
Step 4:
Strangulate Macro:
Be sure to change arena 1 into arena 2, 3 and 4 or 5 on your alts.
#showtooltip
this is a good macro idea, i use it in arenas with death grip added to it, so that it silences everyone and deathgrips them all into me if there's facing /line of sight. Then i fire off a hungering cold, which gets trinketed usually, then my priest rushes in with an aoe fear that lasts full length. This, however, is an on use keybind that is NOT part of a dps spam key
You dont want to waste your strangulates like this...
i also have a focus key and focus a healer, and then just like my interrupt key(mind freeze keymap round robin) i implement a few steps that cast strangulate at my focus if it exsists and is not dead on round robin. This lets me focus down one healer whilest my dks pound away and chain silence the other healer. This however is NOT part of my dps spam in any form, it simply just a key that i hit all the time every 20 seconds or so(my G key, horn of winter, random silence at focus, dps trinkets)
/cast [@arena1] Strangulate
Step 5: Round-Robin
Hungering Cold.
Step 6:
Necrotic Strike Gotta be careful working in necrotic strike into a macro /dps sequence like this, as you're going to lose obliterates like mad if you're not careful. I have a little trick i like to use
/castsequence reset=combat obliterate, obliterate, blood strike, blood strike, chains of ice, icy touch, necrotic strike, necrotic strike
i put this macro in place of everywhere you have obliterate and blood strike in this dps key. what happens is then, that it will auto use all your runes but starts with obliterates first for big burst. Its surprisingly sneaky and gets lots of use for finishing off a target thats close to dead
chains of ice goes off on round robin,so to speak... each dk does it at a different time thru clever use of macro placement. This prevents diminishing returns... just put icy touch in place of it for different dks and move it around the macro for the other dks...
or just skip the chains of ice all together
Step 7:
Blood Strike
KEY PRESS UP:
Step 1:
Horn of Winter. Your character can use it when it's off cooldown to refresh the buff and get some extra runic power.
Step 2: Macro that uses your
DPS trinket (+strength trinket preffered),
Pillar of Frost (to increase your strength by 20%) and for Orcs
Blood Fury. Your character can use it when it's off cooldown.
Step 3:
Dark Simulcrum to copy the next casted spell that costs mana. Your character can use it when it's off cooldown.
I also have a simple macro that uses
Icebound Fortitude and
Anti-Magic Shield for extra survivability when you get focussed. I also have the round-robin
Mind Freeze on a hotkey so i can press it when the healer casts a spell so i can get the interrupt, and don't have to hope on my DPS macro #2.
I too use something similar... however i like to space out those defensive cooldowns usually. Dont forget that pillar of frost prevents knockbacks, lichborne prevents fears/polymorphs. I have every defensive cooldown on this key, as well as each dk targeting arena1-5 and casting chains of ice. what THIS does is to blow all defensive cooldowns if im in serious heat, rooting everyone and their mother, and letting me run away...
while you may say, "we dont want to run away" you're going to find that sometimes if you just run away for a while your healer can top you up and off, and ALL of your runes will be up by the time you go back after their team. lol it makes for a fun time too watching them all chase after you one by one.... if you split them up some by retreating, you're going to get them to chase more likely one at a time... where you're going to nuke the snot out of them and catch em off guard
Connect With Us