Question - New User, lots of questions!

[DoHBoY]

Hello Everyone!

I am new to the MQ2 scene, freshly back from a 10 year absence, and have been using KA to level a new group of toons, specifically Mnk, Shm, Brd. They are only in their mid 30s, but I am getting there!

I have been absolutely loving KA and have become pretty comfortable with adjusting the INI for different situations, but I have run into some frustrating things that have left me with a few questions, mostly for my shaman...


Is there any way to successfully med during combat, but NOT when you have aggro? There are times where my shaman heals, draws aggro, and then just constantly tries to sit down while a mob is beating on her.. I'd rather her stand there until aggro is lost, especially in a group setting. Not sure if there is any disadvantage to sitting while getting hit, I always thought it was a guaranteed max/crit hit, but I could be thinking of another game.

Another question with Med along the same lines, say I have it set to med under 80, is there anyway to STOP medding above 80 rather than insisting on medding until 100?


The next line of questions I have is in regards to buffs. I've been searching around and learned that the way buffs work with KA is through each character using KA and having their current buffs listed in a file, which KA then reads to determine who to buff.. but is there any easy way for us to automatically buff characters who are not using KA, that we happen to group with? Shaman buffing is ridiculous without group buffs

I know there are options like TellNSpell, but I would rather not have to involve other people in interacting with my characters. I would like it be automatic for my shaman to buff everyone in the group with all of her buffs as soon as they expire, or even with one click, but I am not sure what I can do for that to happen. Is there a plugin or a macro that scans the target's current buffs and applies whatever is missing, moves to the next group member, rinse/repeat?


And my last line of questions has to do with when things go south, my innate reaction is to turn off AA and bolt, but EQ2Melee likes to stick me hard to the mobs and I have to either target myself or end everything to get out of sticking and move. That being said, does anyone have any suggestions for getting all of my characters to stop attacking, follow my monk, and ditch? Is this something I should use EQBC for?


Thanks for your time everyone, sorry if these were answered before or if this isn't the right place to ask.. I tried doing my best to search and have definitely learned a lot, but there are some things I don't quite know the limitations of yet.

 

[Incognito]

Welcome, glad you are enjoying MQ2 and KA.

Sometimes the answers to questions lead to more complexity, I will attempt to avoid that.

Is there any way to successfully med during combat, but NOT when you have aggro

I don't think you can have it both ways; if you want to med in combat then it doesn't matter if you are the current target (have aggro). There is definitely a correlation to sitting and getting hit, try using a mount.

Another question with Med along the same lines, say I have it set to med under 80, is there anyway to STOP medding above 80 rather than insisting on medding until 100?

Iirc, that would require modifying KA. I think it is actually set to 90% even though it says 100% in the MQ2Window. If you want to mod KA, we can lead you in the right direction.

but is there any easy way for us to automatically buff characters who are not using KA

The buff file is really behind the scenes, more like temporary memory, doesn't usually come up in discussions. It is not the reason grp members are not getting buffed. KA should buff everyone in grp regardless of whether they are running KA AFAIK. I haven't noticed either way so someone will have to chime in on that one.

I think you will need to post your SHM INI so we can see the buff settings. Best way to do that on these forums is cut and paste the file between CODE tags that make it neat and tidy and easy to scroll thru without bloating the post:

[code=rich]
Lots of test here, pages and pages
More Text
And.. some more
[/code]

We can spot most issues in the INI, or suggest better settings, etc.

Is there a plugin or a macro that scans the target's current buffs and applies whatever is missing, moves to the next group member, rinse/repeat?

Essentially, you setup your buff lines in the KA ini. It should be that simple. lets see your INI and we can go from there.

getting all of my characters to stop attacking, follow my monk, and ditch? Is this something I should use EQBC for?

There is a setting for Duids and Wizzies to port/exodus, but at your lvl not sure what the options would be. EQBC "could" be used to send AA off, afollow, etc, but unless you did some special coding (SHITS) you wouldn't automate it. Most of the time people suggest holding an easier camp. Disaster recovery is hard to automate.

 

[DoHBoY]

Hey, thanks for the reply!

I don't think you can have it both ways; if you want to med in combat then it doesn't matter if you are the current target (have aggro). There is definitely a correlation to sitting and getting hit, try using a mount.



Iirc, that would require modifying KA. I think it is actually set to 90% even though it says 100% in the MQ2Window. If you want to mod KA, we can lead you in the right direction.

Okay, If it gets to that point I'll reach out. As far as a mount, we unfortunately do not have them yet

The buff file is really behind the scenes, more like temporary memory, doesn't usually come up in discussions. It is not the reason grp members are not getting buffed. KA should buff everyone in grp regardless of whether they are running KA AFAIK. I haven't noticed either way so someone will have to chime in on that one.

I think you will need to post your SHM INI so we can see the buff settings. Best way to do that on these forums is cut and paste the file between CODE tags that make it neat and tidy and easy to scroll thru without bloating the post:


Essentially, you setup your buff lines in the KA ini. It should be that simple. lets see your INI and we can go from there.

[General]
KissAssistVer=9.1.3
Role=Assist
CampRadius=30
CampRadiusExceed=400
ReturnToCamp=0
ChaseAssist=1
ChaseDistance=10
MedOn=1
MedStart=60
MedCombat=0
LootOn=0
RezAcceptOn=0
AcceptInvitesOn=1
GroupWatchOn=0
CastingInterruptOn=0
EQBCOn=0
IRCOn=0
MiscGem=8
HoTTOn=0
CampfireOn=0
[SpellSet]
LoadSpellSet=0
SpellSetName=KissAssist
[Buffs]
BuffsOn=1
Buffs1=Quickness|MA
Buffs2=Quickness
Buffs3=Raging Strength|MA
Buffs4=Raging Strength
Buffs5=NULL
Buffs6=NULL
Buffs7=NULL
Buffs8=NULL
Buffs9=NULL
Buffs10=NULL
Buffs11=NULL
Buffs12=NULL
Buffs13=NULL
Buffs14=NULL
Buffs15=NULL
Buffs16=NULL
Buffs17=NULL
Buffs18=NULL
Buffs19=NULL
Buffs20=NULL
RebuffOn=1
CheckBuffsTimer=10
PowerSource=NULL
[Melee]
AssistAt=95
MeleeOn=1
FaceMobOn=1
MeleeDistance=25
StickHow=snaproll rear
AutoFireOn=0
UseMQ2Melee=1
[GoM]
GoMSHelp=Format - Spell|Target, MA Me or Mob, i.e. Rampaging Servant Rk. II|Mob
GoMSpell1=NULL
GoMSpell2=NULL
GoMSpell3=NULL
[GMail]
GMailHelp=Events currently support - Dead,GM,Level,Named,Leftgroup
GMailOn=0
GMail1=NULL
GMail2=NULL
GMail3=NULL
GMail4=NULL
GMail5=NULL
[AE]
AEOn=0
AERadius=50
AE1=NULL
AE2=NULL
AE3=NULL
AE4=NULL
AE5=NULL
AE6=NULL
AE7=NULL
AE8=NULL
AE9=NULL
AE10=NULL
[DPS]
DPSOn=1
DPSSkip=20
DPSInterval=2
DPS1=Root|50
DPS2=NULL
DPS3=NULL
DPS4=NULL
DPS5=NULL
DPS6=NULL
DPS7=NULL
DPS8=NULL
DPS9=NULL
DPS10=NULL
DPS11=NULL
DPS12=NULL
DPS13=NULL
DPS14=NULL
DPS15=NULL
DPS16=NULL
DPS17=NULL
DPS18=NULL
DPS19=NULL
DPS20=NULL
DebuffAllOn=0
[Aggro]
AggroOn=0
Aggro1=NULL
Aggro2=NULL
Aggro3=NULL
Aggro4=NULL
Aggro5=NULL
[Heals]
Help=Format Spell|% to heal at i.e. Devout Light Rk. II|50
HealsOn=1
Heals1=Greater Healing|50
Heals2=NULL
Heals3=NULL
Heals4=NULL
Heals5=NULL
Heals6=NULL
Heals7=NULL
Heals8=NULL
Heals9=NULL
Heals10=NULL
Heals11=NULL
Heals12=NULL
Heals13=NULL
Heals14=NULL
Heals15=NULL
XTarHeal=0
XTarHeal2=0
AutoRezOn=0
AutoRezWith=Your Rez Item/AA/Spell
HealGroupPetsOn=0
[Cures]
CuresOn=0
Cures1=NULL
Cures2=NULL
Cures3=NULL
Cures4=NULL
Cures5=NULL
[Pet]
PetOn=0
PetSpell=YourPetSpell
PetShrinkOn=0
PetShrinkSpell=Tiny Companion
PetBuffsOn=0
PetBuffs1=NULL
PetBuffs2=NULL
PetBuffs3=NULL
PetBuffs4=NULL
PetBuffs5=NULL
PetBuffs6=NULL
PetBuffs7=NULL
PetBuffs8=NULL
PetCombatOn=1
PetBreakMezSpell=NULL
PetRampPullWait=0
PetSuspend=0
MoveWhenHit=0
PetHoldOn=1
[Burn]
BurnText=Decepticons Attack
BurnAllNamed=0
Burn1=NULL
Burn2=NULL
Burn3=NULL
Burn4=NULL
Burn5=NULL
Burn6=NULL
Burn7=NULL
Burn8=NULL
Burn9=NULL
Burn10=NULL
Burn11=NULL
Burn12=NULL
Burn13=NULL
Burn14=NULL
Burn15=NULL
UseTribute=0
[Pull]
PullWith=Melee
MaxRadius=350
MaxZRange=50
PullWait=5
PullRoleToggle=0
ChainPull=0
ChainPullHP=90
ChainPullPause=30|2
PullLevel=0|0
[AFKTools]
AFKHelp=AFKGMAction=0 Off, 1 Pause Macro, 2 End Macro, 3 Unload MQ2, 4 Quit Game
AFKToolsOn=0
AFKGMAction=1
AFKPCRadius=150
CampOnDeath=0
ClickBacktoCamp=0
[Merc]
Help=To use: Turn off Auto Assist in Manage Mercenary Window
MercOn=0
MercAssistAt=92

I honestly think I read something about it only buffing people with KA running because it checks the file that is written to by KA, which requires it to be running. I don't run KA on my main and it won't buff him unless I do |MA, which is why I have |MA on two spells and then the regular spells to buff the bard who is running KA.

Honestly, the shaman won't even buff herself either unless I do "|ME" from what I remember, but I'm not too worried about her being buffed at this point. So from what I can tell, a buff without a parameter will buff all group members running KA, a buff with |MA will buff the assist regardless of them running KA, and a buff seems to only work on the caster if it's tagged with |ME.

There is a setting for Duids and Wizzies to port/exodus, but at your lvl not sure what the options would be. EQBC "could" be used to send AA off, afollow, etc, but unless you did some special coding (SHITS) you wouldn't automate it. Most of the time people suggest holding an easier camp. Disaster recovery is hard to automate.

I'm not necessarily looking for automation, but more so when I am grouping with others, or even "soloing" and I get a bad pull or a bunch of adds, I need the ability to turn tail and run ASAP with all the toons. So if EQBC can give me one button that tells them all to stop attacking, follow, and I can bolt, I'll look into that.

 

[Incognito]

I've got lazy, my SHM is 105 and all his buffs are grp anyway, so it hits everyone. It's been so long since I had to deal with single target buffs I don't remember how KA handles it, especially if the recipient isn't running KA. Someone gonna have to chime in...

EQBC:

/bcg //attack (should toggle on/off - might be a /attack off I dunno)
/bcg //afol spawn ${Group.MainAssist}

Should be that easy...

 

[ctaylor22]

Those running KA, will check the KissAssist_info.ini file to look for the group members spawn ID, and associated buffs. If KA does not find the group member in the ini file, I believe it will skip that group member, that or keep casting the buff over and over again. KA also updates the same KissAssist_info.ini file so those running KA will buff anyone needing buffs.

 

[DoHBoY]

I've got lazy, my SHM is 105 and all his buffs are grp anyway, so it hits everyone. It's been so long since I had to deal with single target buffs I don't remember how KA handles it, especially if the recipient isn't running KA. Someone gonna have to chime in...

EQBC:

/bcg //attack (should toggle on/off - might be a /attack off I dunno)
/bcg //afol spawn ${Group.MainAssist}

Should be that easy...

I got EQBC set up and it seems to be pretty easy and works awesome, thanks!!

Those running KA, will check the KissAssist_info.ini file to look for the group members spawn ID, and associated buffs. If KA does not find the group member in the ini file, I believe it will skip that group member, that or keep casting the buff over and over again. KA also updates the same KissAssist_info.ini file so those running KA will buff anyone needing buffs.

Yeah, it does definitely skip them. On the mention of spamming a buff, I noticed my shaman will do this when there is a more powerful spell active, is there anyway to fix this so that she realizes her spell isn't going to stick and moves on?

Also, is there any EQBC string or something else that I could use to write a macro that literally just targets group member 1, casts buffs, group member 2, casts buffs, member 3, etc etc... Doesn't seem like it would be a hard thing to write and I wouldn't mind just calling it whenever I need it like /mac buffgroup. Really, I guess all I would need to know is what the macro syntax is for targeting a group member, casting a buff, and pausing to cast if necessary. Maybe even go that extra step and have the syntax that activates the saved spellset for all the buffs. Edit: Oh, it would also need to handle fizzles if possible so I only have to press the button once.


Annndd one final thing... Being a shaman, I recently rediscovered canni as I had really forgotten about it and haven't had a need to use it until now. That being said, turning on Canni in a way such as Cannibalize|Mana|90|50 works to canni anytime she is under 90% mana but over 30% health.. however, she prioritizes canni over everything else and my monk/group members almost die.

Is there anyway for me to make her prioritize heals but also spam canni in her off time? Or even just spam canni out of combat?


Thanks again for the help guys!

 

[LamahHerder]

Hello Everyone!

Is there any way to successfully med during combat, but NOT when you have aggro? There are times where my shaman heals, draws aggro, and then just constantly tries to sit down while a mob is beating on her.. I'd rather her stand there until aggro is lost, especially in a group setting. Not sure if there is any disadvantage to sitting while getting hit, I always thought it was a guaranteed max/crit hit, but I could be thinking of another game.

KA does not work well for combat medding on TLP, it expects you have a mount.
It is better to use MQ2Melee holyshit+downshit for such things

Put this in each of your server_charactername.ini under the section [mq2melee] this ini file is in the root of your redguides install, not in the macros folder.

downshit21=1
downshit21=/if (${Me.CombatState.Equal[COMBAT]} && ${Target.Type.Equal[NPC]} && ${Me.TargetOfTarget.CleanName.Equal[${Me.CleanName}]} && ${Me.Sitting}) /multiline ; /echo Standing because I have aggro ; /stand
downflag22=1
downshit22=/if (${Me.CombatState.Equal[COMBAT]} && ${Target.Type.Equal[NPC]} && !${Me.TargetOfTarget.CleanName.Equal[${Me.CleanName}]} && ${Target.PctHPs}<95 && ${Me.PctHPs}>60 && !${Me.Sitting}) /multiline ; /melee downflag22=off ; /timed 30 /sit ; /timed 60 /melee downflag22=on

p.s.
Another good holy/down for jboots if you have them...these are the 2 I have on my characters

holyflag20=1
holyshit20=/if (!${Me.Invis} && ${Me.Standing} && ${Spell[Journeyman Boots].Stacks} && !${Me.Buff[Journeyman Boots].ID} && ${Cast.Ready[Journeyman's Boots]}) /casting "Journeyman's Boots" item
downflag20=1
downshit20=/if (!${Me.Invis} && ${Me.Standing} && ${Spell[Journeyman Boots].Stacks} && !${Me.Buff[Journeyman Boots].ID} && ${Cast.Ready[Journeyman's Boots]}) /casting "Journeyman's Boots" item

-LamahHerder (Hit Thanks! I need them Cents!)

 

[Incognito]

There are casting results from MQ2Cast you can test for, not stacking isn't one of them, but you can try X number of times then give up by testing the CAST.RESULT for Cast_SUCCESS.

This could be done in a mac, but would preclude you from running a mac; meaning if you are using KA, firing another mac to do the buffs would end KA. Most of what you are asking would be best implemented as a SHIT as LamahHerder pointed out, but there is a learning curve...

KA generally favors heals over anything else, and checks for the need for heals even if its already in another routine. I'm surprised you are having difficulty with keeping the MNK alive. Perhaps have the heal set to fire earlier than your canni would solve it (Greater Healing|70).

To avoid having to restart your mac (by running another one) you could put a lot of what you are asking in a hotkey (as you posited).

To battle stacking issues:

/casting "Fizzle a Lot|gem4" -maxtries|5

That's from the MQCast Wiki linked above. Regardless of what causes a failure (stacking issues, fizzle etc), it will only attempt to recast X (in this case, 5) number of times. I would use 2 or 3.

You iterate thru your group members in a mac:

/for x 1 to ${Group} 
     |Do Stuff
     /tar ${Group.Member[${x}]
     /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3
/next x

However, again if you are running KA then running another mac will end it. A hotkey approach would be limited to the 5 lines available, but as LamahHerder pointed out you can use the /multiline:

line1: /multiline ; /tar ${Group,Member[1]} ; /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3 ; /casting "Another Buff|gem5" -maxtries|3
line2: /multiline ; /tar ${Group,Member[2]} ; /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3 ; /casting "Another Buff|gem5" -maxtries|3
line3: /multiline ; /tar ${Group,Member[3]} ; /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3 ; /casting "Another Buff|gem5" -maxtries|3
line4: /multiline ; /tar ${Group,Member[4]} ; /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3 ; /casting "Another Buff|gem5" -maxtries|3
line5: /multiline ; /tar ${Group,Member[5]} ; /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3 ; /casting "Another Buff|gem5" -maxtries|3

But, this would definitely interrupt healing duties and MNK would die.

Its best to continue to try and get KA to behave as you need imho.

Using DownShits as opposed to HolyShits will allow you to buff between battles:

downflag0=1
downshit0=/if (${Cast.Ready[Raging Strength]}) /multiline ; /tar ${Group,Member[1]} ; /casting "Raging Strength|gem4" -maxtries|3

But you quickly see that you would need a SHIT for each grp mem you want to buff. It can be done, but I call it ... cumbersome. You would also have to test target for the existence of the buff or it would spam it: /if (!${Target.Buff[Raging Strength].ID}) /do something.

After all that, I say KA makes a great buff bot. I would suggest continuing to try and get KA to work. Someone chime in here, but maybe if you set the Blocked Spell List you can address your own stacking issues... anyone know how KA handles the Blocked List? I've never used it but maybe there is some potential there for you...

 

[DoHBoY]

Hey all, sorry for the late response, haven't had a chance to test all the new ideas

Thank you Lamah, I will try to put that in my ini for the cleric and shaman today and see if that keeps them from sitting down.

Incognito, I tried the hotkey route today and it literally just blows right through all the commands without pausing to wait for the first cast to finish. I also figured out that there needs to be a . between group.member, you accidentally typed a , In regards to canni, I am also pretty sure I had it set to canni to 50% and heal at 70%, and it would still get stuck canni'ing at some points. I'll have to retest to make sure.

I am really not worried about it interrupting KA, I would just use it between pulls and re-enable KA after buffs are done. I am really not automating anything for unattended play either, I am just looking for KA to automate the assist/attack/heal process so I can play one character and the rest will do their thing as though they were mercenaries, so I wouldn't start buffing if I was mid fight even if they fell off lol.

If server's weren't down, I would be testing some more stuff. However, I do have some more questions to ask as my group has grown significantly since my original post and I am trying to learn the best way to work everything.

As it stands now, I have a Warrior, Monk, Rogue, Bard, Shaman, and Cleric. Ultimately, I almost think the cleric will handle healing, Shaman will handle buff/debuffs/dots, and the rest are self explanatory. I am going to try running Auto Cleric on the cleric instead of KissAssist, is this advisable? And are there any other macros that are better for specific classes other than KA?

With this current group set up, there are some issues I've run into. First is that the shaman struggles to slow things/dot mobs on pull even though the spells are set to cast when the mob health is 100% or less. And, much like canni, she can tend to prioritize slow over an emergency heal. (Btw, Canni was set to

Also, the cleric and shaman are always grabbing agro on anything that isn't the main target, is there anyway to force my warrior to automatically tab between targets to attack and keep his agro up on everything?

And, one final question for now, what's the best way to handle bard mez without having to manually control it? Say I pull 2 mobs, I'd like him to swap from haste/dot/mana/health songs to mez/haste/mana/health, or even just mez multiple targets that are not being actively attacked. I set his mez spell gem in the ini under the mez section, but I've never seen it do anything.

Anyhow, thanks guys. I'll give the holy/down's a try as soon as servers come back up and report back.

Have a great evening!