I use the Underfoot Classic build from MQEmulator - this write-up assumes you have the same or equivalent.
Remember that AFK-macroing is strictly prohibited by the server rules. If you are ever unsure if something you want to do/try is kosher, ask!
Setup
Once you've downloaded the package from MQE, unzip it into a folder within your EverQuest install. Make shortcuts of EQBC (EverQuest Box Chat) and MacroQuest2 for ease of use (unless you want to get into that folder every time you launch). The order that programs open matters: EQBC, then MQ2, then WinEQ2/ISBoxer (if applicable) and then your instance(s) of EQ. Failure to launch in this order will result in things not working properly.
So now that it's installed, what are you going to do?
Plugins
MQ comes packaged with multiple plugins, some are on by default and others aren't. Check here for the MQ2 wiki page for an intro to plugins. Tl;dr - plugins make the functionality of macros "easier" by controlling some of the more finite details (mq2cast let's you use /casting to cast a spell... without mq2cast you would need to set up a series of elaborate mouse clicks) of the function.
I personally use: mq2chatwnd, mq2cast, mq2emuautomacro, mq2eqbc, mq2labels, mq2custombinds, mq2itemdisplay, mq2map, mq2melee, mq2moveutils, mq2netbots, and mq2exchange.
EQBC, mq2melee, etc.
EQBC is a really handy tool as it can be used to send commands from one toon to another, to all other toons, or all connected toons (remember when we launch EQBC? that is what facilitates all this). Essentially you'll set up a ton of in-game macros which you can use to control your group. For a full list of commands, click here. Relevant commands:
/bct Malistari //sit - tells Malistari to sit
/bca //sit - tells all characters to sit, excluding the sender
/bcaa //sit - tells all characters to sit, including the sender
/multiline ; /bct Malistari //sit; /bct Feydakin //sit - tells both Malistari and Feydakin to sit at the same time
/multiline ; /bca //target Malistari; /timed 1 /bca //follow - tells all characters to first target Malistari, and then .1 second later (timed 10 is a full second, timed 1 is .1) tells all characters to /follow him
Note: when using /multiline you must use /timed and not /delay or /pause - /timed is the only one that works reliably and is calculated from the beginning of the macro, so /timed 10 happens a second after you press the key, not a second after the command preceding it. /timed can be put before at the beginning of the line (to make all of the included commands trigger at the same time) or you can stagger it by doing a /timed preceding the individual command.
I use EQBC for ease of use when entering Guild Hall or using the porter fairies - super handy!
mq2melee is a great plugin for handling melee characters. It's quite straightforward, and I recommend jumping in:
/melee - see a list of things you can tweak
/melee aggro=1 - this activates aggro mode, and giving an =0 would turn it off
/melee save - this saves the current configuration for the next time you log in
/melee load - this loads your last saved configuration so you can revert (during testing!)
mq2melee can also handle in and out of combat "triggers" called holyshit and downshit. It is easiest to open your HiddenForest_Character.ini file to tweak these. If you want to jump in to these for controlling buffs (personal) or combat actions, check here.
Macros are the final "step" to reach, if you will. When I first started with MQ2 I was fully EQBC and had 4 full hotbars of in-game macros just for combat (add another 3 for buffs, porter fairies, etc.). Once I figured out writing a macro I dropped to 5 that I use frequently with a handful for the rest. Whereas before you could reference a single page and have a great idea of what you're doing, that's not the case with macros. To give an example simple rundown:
Open up a text file (Notepad++ is best), write your macro, save it as name.mac in the Macros folder contained within your MQ2 folder.
Code: Select all
Sub Main
:Main_Loop
/call TankHeal
/goto :Main_Loop
/return
Sub TankHeal
/if ( ${Spawn[pc MAINTANK].PctHPs} <= 60 ) /casting "SPELLNAME" gem# -maxtries|X -targetid|${Spawn[pc MAINTANK].ID}
/return This macro will: 1) loop continuously and 2) heal whoever is indicated to be the MAINTANK with whatever spell is indicated (name, what gem it's in, how many times you want to retry in case of fizzle or interrupt or out of range). Again, this is incredibly simplistic, but if you're not afraid to try (and fail, a lot!) you can build off of this and gain a very broad understanding of MQ2.