#showtooltip
/equip [nomod,noworn:Fishing Pole] Seth's Graphite Fishing Pole
/cast [nomod:ctrl,worn:Fishing Pole] Fishing
/use [mod:ctrl,worn:Fishing Pole] Sharpened Fish Hook
/use [mod:ctrl,worn:Fishing Pole] 16

The above macro will:

• Equip [Seth's Graphite Fishing Pole] if it isn't already equipped
• Try to fish if you have your fishing pole equipped and you aren't pressing down CTRL
• Apply a [Sharpened Fish Hook] to your fishing pole if you have one equipped and hold down CTRL

I created this macro tonight and thought I would share. Does anyone else have a favorite fishing (or other tradeskill) macro?

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I’ve covered a couple of uses for the /focus command in the past in such articles as Hibernating via Focus Target and Healing via Focus Target. However, there is so much more that can be done with this highly versatile command, and I wanted to demonstrate just one more fun and interesting adaptation I discovered over the weekend: debuffing your focus’s target.

The basic idea behind this technique is to set up one or more macros that cast debuff spells on your current focus’s target. In my case, I created a macro that would ordinarily cast Insect Swarm on my focus’s target and Faerie Fire if I hold down CTRL. If a focus target cannot be found (as it cannot when I am soloing), the target defaults to my own target instead. My macro looks like this:

#showtooltip
/cast [modifier:ctrl, exists, target=focustarget, nodead] [modifier:ctrl] Faerie Fire;[exists, target=focustarget, nodead] [] Insect Swarm

When in a 5-man group, I set my focus to my group’s tank and am able to debuff his current target’s hit chance by 2% (decreasing damage taken and needing to be healed) while also decreasing its armor by 610. This means the mob dies quicker and does less damage on the way out. It’s also a great use of the time in between stacking up 3 x Lifebloom when it’s not necessary to get your stack rolling as quickly as possible. This technique is also a great compliment to mouseover-based healing since those who use mouseover aren’t generally as comfortable clicking to select targets, and it’s more convenient than having to set a separate assist key.

In addition to the macro described above, you will want to set up a focus target window so that you can monitor what your tank is actually targeting. (But be careful not to cast Insect Swarm on a target that’s crowd controlled or needs to be!) Most of the better unitframes addons such as Pitbull and Ag Unitframes include the ability to display these frames. For my UI, I set up a panel beneath the place where my Focus Target frame appears when I do have a focus set. That way I can tell at a glance whether I’ve remembered to focus my tank and if both of my debuffs are currently running on the target. You can see a preview of this setup at left, using Andrige’s lovely Heart of the Wild UI as a backdrop.

So far, I’ve employed this technique in both normal and Heroic Magister’s Terrace. I’ve been told that it seems to make fights easier (though admittedly it doesn’t get much easier than grouping with a Paladin tank on AOE pulls). If nothing else, I feel more proactive than simply pressing my heal buttons, and it’s nice to see my name actually show up on the damage meters, even if it’s only for the paltry amount from Insect Swarm. Just remember not to use Faerie Fire if your tank happens to be a Druid, as I know most like using the Feral version for extra threat.

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• Debuffing Your Focus Target
• Leveraging Insect Swarm as a Healer
• Healing via Focus Target

I used to be so die-hard Resto4Life (haha) that I refused to even map my shapeshifting abilities. If I turned into a Bear, it was only to /dance. Fortunately however, PvP has opened my eyes to a whole host of advantages to our various forms, and I’m happy to say that I’m now never more than a thumb movement away from turning into a happy woodland — or underwater — creature. Here are a few of the tricks I’ve learned for each form:

Cat Form

• Prowl + Dash past groups of enemies the rest of your group or raid has to carefully avoid.
• Bravely leap from ledge to ledge on the ramps in Karazhan.
• Dash back to your raid after being the victim of an ability that signficantly displaces you (ex. waterfalls on Morogrim).
• Dash back to your raid (wait for a straightaway like that of Curator’s hall in Karazhan) after a wipe so you can blog — I mean, buff — after a wipe.

Bear Form

• Mob out of control and running to bash your skull in? Turn into a bear and Bash his skull in instead, giving your tank 3 seconds to mosey over and give you a hand. PvP-specced Druids often have the Brutal Impact skill, making this a 4-second stun instead of 3.
• Impending doom from a Gruul Shatter? Pop Barskin and turn into a Bear. You’ll get more hit points and take 20% less damage than you would otherwise.

Aquatic Form

Turning into a seal lets you travel through water faster than everyone else. This is great for getting back to the circular platform that surrounds The Lurker Below in SSC after a Whirl, Geyser, or ill-timed Spout. And does anyone else get really annoyed by the fact that a few random AIR bubbles knock us out of Aquatic Form on our way through the drainpipe to Coilfang Reservoir?

Tree of Life

Use Tree of Life form on Blackheart the Inciter (possibly any mob that charms; I’m not sure) and during the phases where he charms your whole group, you’ll wander around ineffectually slapping your groupmates with your branches.

Flight Form

• Die in an unsafe spot? Click the “Resurrect” button and hit your Flight Form button for a quick getaway!
• One of my favorite things to do in game is to leap off Aldor Terrace, drop halfway down, turn into a bird, glide into the bank, and shift out so that I’m thrown across the room and land beside the mailbox. Sometimes, I even /bow. Not exactly combat-focused, but tremendously entertaining.

All-Terrain Travel Form Macro

Rather than creating and using multiple buttons for your various forms, consider creating a macro that will use Travel Form, Flight Form, Aquatic Form, or your mount based upon your current conditions:

/cast [swimming] Aquatic Form; [flyable,nocombat,noswimming] Swift Flight Form; [noswimming,outdoors,combat] Travel Form;
/use [noswimming,outdoors,nocombat,noflyable] Reins of the Swift Frostsaber

So what special form-based tricks do you use?

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Matticus posted a great article on the Priest spell, Shackle, today. Shackle is very similar to the Druid crowd control spell, Hibernate:

• Both are limited target. While Hibernate can be used against Beasts and Dragonkin, Shackle Undead can be used against … well … Undead.
• Both have three ranks, cost 150 mana, and have a 1.5 second cast time.
• Both can be refreshed before their durations have elapsed.
• Both have a chance to break early that can be reduced by wearing items with spell hit.
• Both break on damage. Yes, even yours, Mr. Swipe-Happy-Druid-Tank!
• Neither can be cast at the same time as a heal spell.

Due to their similarities, I recommend going over there, reading his article, and mentally substituting the word “Hibernate” everywhere you see “Shackle” for a stellar set of tips on how to leverage this limited-use crowd control spell effectively. And so as not to be a complete slacker, I’ll throw in a tip of my own for using Hibernate in instances. You can use a focus target macro to easily associate your crowd control target with your Hibernate ability for the duration of the fight:

#showtooltip Hibernate
/clearfocus [button:2]
/stopcasting
/cast [target=focus,exists,nodead] Hibernate
/stopmacro [target=focus,exists,nodead]
/clearfocus [target=focus,exists,nodead]
/focus [harm,exists,nodead]

Assuming you do not already have a focus target, this macro will store your current target as your focus target. From that point on, you can click or press the button to automatically cast Hibernate on that mob without switching targets. If your focus target dies and you click the button, your focus target will automatically be cleared (or reset to your new target if you have one selected). Alternatively, you can right click on the button to clear it manually. In a hectic fight, this macro can be a lifesaver since it’s not always easy to target your assigned Beast or Dragonkin while keeping everyone alive. It also makes refreshing your Hibernate before its duration elapses a lot easier.

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I’m probably behind the times on this one, but I recently discovered a quick and easy change that I can make to the interface options that has has greatly improved my soloing ability — and one that will likely be a big help when I start PvPing again. This is the Auto Self Cast toggle on the Basic interface options tab. This causes any helpful spell you cast to be cast on you by default should no other target be selected (be it a standard target, a mouseover, a focus target, etc.).

This option, first pointed out to me by frequent reader and commentor, Someone of Some Server (Some Region), eliminates the need for me to use an additional targetting parameter in all of my healing and decursing macros. However, if for any reason that’s more your cup of tea, how to accomplish this using macro commands is demonstrated below.

/cast [target=mouseover,help][target=target,help][target=player] Lifebloom

You could also dress up a macro like this one with a Swiftmend to intuitively “pop” your Rejuvenation when you press down the CTRL key:

#showtooltip
/cast [modifier:ctrl,target=mouseover,exists,help][modifier:ctrl,target=target,help][modifier:ctrl,target=player] Swiftmend; [target=mouseover,exists,help][target=target,help][target=player] Rejuvenation

In PvE, this (the interface option or the macro modification) allows me to throw a heal on myself without losing my current DPS target. By DPSing using Moonfire, Insect Swarm, and Thorns and using macros like these for Lifebloom, Rejuvenation, and Swiftmend, I never have to worry about spell pushback, which means I don’t have to worry with casting Entangling Roots unless my target is a particularly heavy hitter. In PvP, this will allow me to easily heal myself while running away from the Skillherald hurtling toward my delicate elven features.

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