MQ2Melee Melee Range Query
Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 3:37 pm
I've been using MQ2 for a while now and one aspect that I've never really been able to properly nail down is managing my melee DPS characters efficiently.
I've written dozens of different macros and have researched a lot of different ways to approach the problems I have but nothing really "fits all". My attack macros generally work fine for normal sized mobs (any variation of /stick tends to work fine here) but the trouble comes when you try to attack larger mobs and wish to maintain a sensible agro distance with your assisting melee DPS.
I haven't got any issues when I'm assisting someone else who is tanking, because I've written a macro that effectively tells my melee to start attacking from the position of the character I am controlling; this works fine, because I set the location I want my melee to be at by simply standing there. It's when I'm playing the main tank and need my dps to assist me that I am struggling, because I want my melee to be on the other side of the mob and at maximum melee range, for which there really isn't a straight forward command that works.
I engage with my tank and turn to face my group. I tell my dps to target my target ID and tell them to /stick. What I want is my dps to engage at maximum melee distance (with a bit of leeway) but the /stick 90% behind command isn't suitable. I thought it would be but it calculates 90% of my players' melee range. Which is useless. I want them to attack at 90% of their target's melee range.
I've tried so many convoluted ways to do this, including engaging with my tank and then switching to my Rogue to then set the melee positions, but this is really messy and makes some encounters (particularly those with knockback) a nightmare to control.
I've also tried writing a macro that gets all dps to /stick snaproll until they are close enough, then to move back to a distance I set via /varset at a distance which is dependent on the height of my target... it sort of works, some times. But it's erratic. Sometimes my dps just end up too close or even in front of the mob.
I use loops (I know, I hate them too.. where is the /while command?) to check distance from the target to allow my dps to get into a position right behind the target first, so it's irrelevant which direction they begin their attack from (this is a preference). A second loop is used to push them out to a distance I select, this works by checking the distance at 2 second intervals whilst they move using the /stick behind xx command. I've based my logic on the idea that the bigger the target, the larger its agro radius is, so they /stick off once their distance from the target is what I want it to be.
Generally, this works fine in testing with my chaotic sneak rogue when testing on dragons in ST. But it's not reliable when I get 2-3 melee to do it in a fight. It'll also fall flat on its face with some rooted boss mobs that (bizarrely) have tiny melee radius (example Vulak). I know a lot of people on this server use dps melee and will likely command them from a tank, so I'm wondering if anyone has any more elegant solutions to this?
It's almost getting to the point where I'm thinking of sacking off my melee and just going for pet classes, because pets simply do what they should and engage the mob at its maximum melee radius, regardless the size of the mob.
I've thought of writing a macro that tells my melee to /stick with attack on, then /stick off when they start to hit the target (kind of like saying /while not hitting the target, then get closer), but I can't really think of a way to do this. This also wouldn't work well for re-positioning in the event that I need to move the mob/tank.
It's a shame MQ2MoveUtils doesn't have a setting for /stick that sets the distance to the maximum melee range of your target. That, combined with behind, would be suitable for every single possible scenario, in a single line. As it currently stands, I have about 15 macros in my folder purely for covering attacking with melee, whereas for my mage I need only a single line.
If I'm missing something, I'd be so grateful for any help on this. Thanks in advance.
I've written dozens of different macros and have researched a lot of different ways to approach the problems I have but nothing really "fits all". My attack macros generally work fine for normal sized mobs (any variation of /stick tends to work fine here) but the trouble comes when you try to attack larger mobs and wish to maintain a sensible agro distance with your assisting melee DPS.
I haven't got any issues when I'm assisting someone else who is tanking, because I've written a macro that effectively tells my melee to start attacking from the position of the character I am controlling; this works fine, because I set the location I want my melee to be at by simply standing there. It's when I'm playing the main tank and need my dps to assist me that I am struggling, because I want my melee to be on the other side of the mob and at maximum melee range, for which there really isn't a straight forward command that works.
I engage with my tank and turn to face my group. I tell my dps to target my target ID and tell them to /stick. What I want is my dps to engage at maximum melee distance (with a bit of leeway) but the /stick 90% behind command isn't suitable. I thought it would be but it calculates 90% of my players' melee range. Which is useless. I want them to attack at 90% of their target's melee range.
I've tried so many convoluted ways to do this, including engaging with my tank and then switching to my Rogue to then set the melee positions, but this is really messy and makes some encounters (particularly those with knockback) a nightmare to control.
I've also tried writing a macro that gets all dps to /stick snaproll until they are close enough, then to move back to a distance I set via /varset at a distance which is dependent on the height of my target... it sort of works, some times. But it's erratic. Sometimes my dps just end up too close or even in front of the mob.
I use loops (I know, I hate them too.. where is the /while command?) to check distance from the target to allow my dps to get into a position right behind the target first, so it's irrelevant which direction they begin their attack from (this is a preference). A second loop is used to push them out to a distance I select, this works by checking the distance at 2 second intervals whilst they move using the /stick behind xx command. I've based my logic on the idea that the bigger the target, the larger its agro radius is, so they /stick off once their distance from the target is what I want it to be.
Generally, this works fine in testing with my chaotic sneak rogue when testing on dragons in ST. But it's not reliable when I get 2-3 melee to do it in a fight. It'll also fall flat on its face with some rooted boss mobs that (bizarrely) have tiny melee radius (example Vulak). I know a lot of people on this server use dps melee and will likely command them from a tank, so I'm wondering if anyone has any more elegant solutions to this?
It's almost getting to the point where I'm thinking of sacking off my melee and just going for pet classes, because pets simply do what they should and engage the mob at its maximum melee radius, regardless the size of the mob.
I've thought of writing a macro that tells my melee to /stick with attack on, then /stick off when they start to hit the target (kind of like saying /while not hitting the target, then get closer), but I can't really think of a way to do this. This also wouldn't work well for re-positioning in the event that I need to move the mob/tank.
It's a shame MQ2MoveUtils doesn't have a setting for /stick that sets the distance to the maximum melee range of your target. That, combined with behind, would be suitable for every single possible scenario, in a single line. As it currently stands, I have about 15 macros in my folder purely for covering attacking with melee, whereas for my mage I need only a single line.
If I'm missing something, I'd be so grateful for any help on this. Thanks in advance.