Form macro & bar switching?

[Mickb]

Forgive the noob question but first time levelling a restodruid and finding the form switches quite confusing, both in terms of the number of keybinds for the various options but also the way the UI automatically keeps switching my bars (eg turns wrath into shred etc).

Is there some way of simplifying all the different form possibilities into a macro or two?

Also, what controls the bar switching abilities depending on what form I'm in and is it possible (or desirable) to switch this off? I use elvui on my main pc but even on my laptop which has default ui it does the same thing. It only does it on bar 1 and bar 7 if that helps? Are these bars linked in some way?

Does any of this even make sense lol!

[Raugnaut]

So, each form has it's own action bar - Just the first action bar (Actions bars 2-6 remain the same regardless of form). You have to manually put the spells in the 1st action bar that you want to be in the action bar. If you haven't manually added the spells you want to the first action bar for Bear, Cat, and Moonkin form, then it'll be whatever the spellbook put in there while you lvld up/got new abilities.

[parasight]

As a druid, you have one bar that auto switches. Humanoid form, cat form, bear form, and stealth form are the modes that naturally 'switch' when you change forms. Typically, these encompass bars 1, 7, 8, and 9.

Many addons will let you enable all of the bars. This way you can really set up some nice key strings. You could spam '5' on your keyboard, and while in cat form, it would change you to (boomkin form) and then cast starfire, for example. There are some nice shortcuts you can use, just by taking advantage of similar keybinding locations between forms.

I would suggest not creating macros for form switching. As someone who plays all four druid specs, I will tell you that you can set up your UI, without macros and still have a fluid control over all aspects of the druid. Find a way to take advantage of bars switching when shapeshifting. Even when you add Night Fae Soulshape, too!

good luck

[huth]

As a druid, you have one bar that auto switches. Humanoid form, cat form, bear form, and stealth form are the modes that naturally 'switch' when you change forms. Typically, these encompass bars 1, 7, 8, and 9.

Druids have no Stealth bar. Cat, Bear and Moonkin each get an extra bar.

[parasight]

Druids have no Stealth bar. Cat, Bear and Moonkin each get an extra bar.

I don't understand what is going on then. For all of my druids, it's the same. Caster form is default for bar 1. When entering stealth, from any spec, it switches to bar 8, cat form, without stealth, is bar 7. Bear form is bar 9. I've never seen a moonkin bar. The spells that require moonkin form are simply greyed out when you can't cast them because of form. I've never seen a bar switch for moonkins.

This same set up exists for rogues as well and the benefits are more obvious. For example, you put Ambush on your stealth bar. You press it. You exit Stealth, the keybind becomes something else. All while pressing the same button. The tactical placement of buttons while taking advantage of hotbar switching because of form is very useful. Stealth bar is real.

[Bloodyleech]

I don't understand what is going on then. For all of my druids, it's the same. Caster form is default for bar 1. When entering stealth, from any spec, it switches to bar 8, cat form, without stealth, is bar 7. Bear form is bar 9. I've never seen a moonkin bar. The spells that require moonkin form are simply greyed out when you can't cast them because of form. I've never seen a bar switch for moonkins.

This same set up exists for rogues as well and the benefits are more obvious. For example, you put Ambush on your stealth bar. You press it. You exit Stealth, the keybind becomes something else. All while pressing the same button. The tactical placement of buttons while taking advantage of hotbar switching because of form is very useful. Stealth bar is real.

I do not use hotbar addons and when going into boomie I get another bar.
Do you use the glyphe for the astral form or sth? Except for this case I do not have a clue what's up with your hotbars, except addons.

[Chakah]

Huth is correct for base UI.

I use bartender 4 and it gives me cat, prowl, and bear bars in 7,8, and 9.

But you can completely customize behavior if you want

[huth]

I don't understand what is going on then. For all of my druids, it's the same. Caster form is default for bar 1. When entering stealth, from any spec, it switches to bar 8, cat form, without stealth, is bar 7. Bear form is bar 9. I've never seen a moonkin bar. The spells that require moonkin form are simply greyed out when you can't cast them because of form. I've never seen a bar switch for moonkins.

This same set up exists for rogues as well and the benefits are more obvious. For example, you put Ambush on your stealth bar. You press it. You exit Stealth, the keybind becomes something else. All while pressing the same button. The tactical placement of buttons while taking advantage of hotbar switching because of form is very useful. Stealth bar is real.

Try disabling your addons. Stealth does not have its own bar for Druid, nor is there any point as Cat has no stealth only abilities, they just get extra effects when used from stealth. Stealthing should just give you the Cat form bar since it automatically puts you in cat.

Moonkin most definitely has its own bar, though.

Astral Form should not effect this, since it's just a visual change to Moonkin.

[parasight]

Thanks guys. I should have went with my gut instinct and just listened to huth. It was bartender4 doing it. I thought the default settings were in place, guess not.

[Aedruid]

Hey OP, you can create a macro for each form and then bind it to any key you want. Here's example macros:

#showtooltip
/cast Bear Form

#showtooltip Cat Form
/cast cat form

#showtooltip
/cast Moonkin Form

Then go under the macro menu -> Keybindings -> then (in my case) select "MultiActionBar" or "ActionBar", you can bind your extra action bars to a key, like CTRL + 1

[huth]

Hey OP, you can create a macro for each form and then bind it to any key you want. Here's example macros:

#showtooltip
/cast Bear Form

#showtooltip Cat Form
/cast cat form

#showtooltip
/cast Moonkin Form

Then go under the macro menu -> Keybindings -> then (in my case) select "MultiActionBar" or "ActionBar", you can bind your extra action bars to a key, like CTRL + 1

Or, you know, just rebind the form-buttons themself.

[Aedruid]

Or, you know, just rebind the form-buttons themself.

True, you could, but I like macros more.

[Vaedan]

True, you could, but I like macros more.

Well, but these macros don't offer anything of value. In that way, you could just bind the spell itself and it's the same. At least you add stopcasting command or something to make worth making it a macro.

[huth]

Well, but these macros don't offer anything of value. In that way, you could just bind the spell itself and it's the same. At least you add stopcasting command or something to make worth making it a macro.

Yeah, they take up space for no purpose since we already have those exact functions keybound by default.

[Lahis]

Hey OP, you can create a macro for each form and then bind it to any key you want. Here's example macros:

#showtooltip
/cast Bear Form

#showtooltip Cat Form
/cast cat form

#showtooltip
/cast Moonkin Form

Then go under the macro menu -> Keybindings -> then (in my case) select "MultiActionBar" or "ActionBar", you can bind your extra action bars to a key, like CTRL + 1

These macros do literally nothing.

[Aedruid]

These macros do literally nothing.

I use them everyday, so they do something.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, but these macros don't offer anything of value. In that way, you could just bind the spell itself and it's the same. At least you add stopcasting command or something to make worth making it a macro.

You can add different shapeshifting forms to the same button ->

Human form button 0 -> shapeshift cat form
Cat form button 0 -> shapeshift moonkin form (cast sunfire and etc)
Moonkin form button 0 -> shapeshift back into cat form

I find it very useful for owlweaving

[huth]

I use them everyday, so they do something.

- - - Updated - - -



You can add different shapeshifting forms to the same button ->

Human form button 0 -> shapeshift cat form
Cat form button 0 -> shapeshift moonkin form (cast sunfire and etc)
Moonkin form button 0 -> shapeshift back into cat form

I find it very useful for owlweaving

You realise you could achieve the exact same thing by simply using the spells from your spellbook and putting them on your action bar? The macros are completely pointless.

[Lahis]

I use them everyday, so they do something.

But they don't do anything that simply dragging the spell button from your spellbook into your action bars do.

Putting normal, non-macroed spell into action bar does two things:

Shows the tooltip when moused over (and by extension, shows cooldown on the button).
Casts the spell when you click the button or press associated hotkey.

Your macros do the following:

Shows the tooltip when moused over (and by extension, shows cooldown on the button).
Casts the spell when you click the button or press associated hotkey.

So congratulations, you have created a macro that recreates how normal hotbared spells works.

[Aedruid]

You realise you could achieve the exact same thing by simply using the spells from your spellbook and putting them on your action bar? The macros are completely pointless.

Uhm, you do realize that forms don't appear in your spelbook right? They are on a shapeshift bar, so if you want to move it without an addon, you have to create a macro

- - - Updated - - -

But they don't do anything that simply dragging the spell button from your spellbook into your action bars do.

Putting normal, non-macroed spell into action bar does two things:

Shows the tooltip when moused over (and by extension, shows cooldown on the button).
Casts the spell when you click the button or press associated hotkey.

Your macros do the following:

Shows the tooltip when moused over (and by extension, shows cooldown on the button).
Casts the spell when you click the button or press associated hotkey.

So congratulations, you have created a macro that recreates how normal hotbared spells works.

see above comment

[Lahis]

Uhm, you do realize that forms don't appear in your spelbook right? They are on a shapeshift bar, so if you want to move it without an addon, you have to create a macro

- - - Updated - - -



see above comment

Have you actually looked into the spellbook?