GUIDE to the Party Leader assist method.

[Ualaa]

This is detailed, with a lot of examples. Hopefully, the examples make it easily understood.
If it's worthwhile, it could be added to the wiki, although I'm really sure how to go about doing that.





PARTY LEADER ASSIST SYSTEM:

Overview:
With this assist system, any toon can lead as easily as any other toon.
The current leader (active or master) toon is the party leader.
All other toons (slaves) assist the party leader for targeting their spells.

Two sets of action bars are required for this to work.
Each toon uses one set while they are leading, and another set while they are assisting the leader.

This system is a little harder to set up then a Focus based system, but is a lot easier then an FTL system.
Like the FTL system, it uses a few extra macro's more then a Focus System.
Unlike a Focus system, focus is then free for PvE crowd controls or PvP burst macro's.

I personally use Keyclone (www.solidice.com/keyclone) as my software boxing program.
Other popular options include Inner Space, Hot Key Net, and Octopus.

I personally use the Jamba addon, to make multiboxing so much better.
Very highly recommended - see the addon/macro forum here on www.dual-boxing.com




Set-Up (Part 1):
Every toon on the team will need one macro for each member, themselves included.
This means in a three member team, every toon has three switch macro's.
In a five member team, every toon has five switch macro's.

The macro's serve two purposes: a) Promote the new leader; and b) change action bars.
If you are using the Jamba addon, the promote macro also has an added Jamba command.

For demonstration purposes, we have three toons named A, B, and C.

Each toon puts their "A" macro on keybind 1, mine is Shift F1.
Each toon puts their "B" macro on keybind 2, mine is Shift F2.
Each toon puts their "C" macro on keybind 3, mine is Shift F3.

When I press Shift with F1, all three toons press their A macro.
I also have Shift F1 set within keyclone's maximizer to make that window active.
Similarly, Shift F2 has all toons press their B macro and has Keyclone activate that window.

Every toon has two promote type macro's.
The first macro type is when they are becoming the party leader.
The second macro type is when any other toon is becoming the leader.

A will have the first type on keybind 1, and the second type on all other switch keybinds.
B will have the first type on keybind 2, and the second type on all other switch keybinds.
C will have the first type on keybind 3, and the second type on all other switch keybinds.

To make a macro, within the warcraft client type /macro.
I like to have these icons on the general tab, not the character specific tab, which allows mixing teams down the road.
Choose an icon; I like to have each team with their own icon. Shaman's have one, Druids have another, etc.
I name my switch macro's S_ToonName, but anything that makes sense to you will work.

Each toon will have a first macro (when they become the leader) like this:
These macro's are two lines long.

Line 1: /changeactionbar 2
Line 2: /jamba setmeasmaster all

You can copy (Control C) and paste (Control V) to save typing. Each toon has the same macro for becoming Master.
The second line assumes you're using the Jamba addon, if you're not, you can omit it.
If you are using Jamba, ensure all toons belong to the "all" group.

Each toon will have a multiple second type macro's (when another toon becomes the Master).
These are also two lines long. You can copy/paste these as well.

Line 1: /changeactionbar 1
Line 2: /script PromoteToLeader("A")

Line 1: /changeactionbar 1
Line 2: /script PromoteToLeader("B")

Line 1: /changeactionbar 1
Line 2: /script PromoteToLeader("C")

Every toon except "A" will have the "A" becomes master macro.
In its place, A will have the first type macro.

Every toon except "B" will have the "B" becomes master macro.
In its place, B will have the first type macro.

Every toon except "C" will have the "C" becomes master macro.
In its place, C will have the first type macro.

When I press Shift F1, all of these happen:
-- Toon A --
/changeactionbar 2
/jamba setmeasmaster all
-- Toon B --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("A")
-- Toon C --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("A")

Similarly, pressing Shift F2, all of these happen:
-- Toon A --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("B")
-- Toon B --
/changeactionbar 2
/jamba setmeasmaster all
-- Toon C --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("B")

Finally, pressing Shift F3, all of these happen:
-- Toon A --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("C")
-- Toon B --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("C")
-- Toon C --
/changeactionbar 2
/jamba setmeasmaster all

By pressing Shift F1, all toons attempt to promote Toon A to party leader.
By pressing Shift F2, all toons attempt to promote Toon B to party leader.
By pressing Shift F3, all toons attempt to promote Toon C to party leader.
The toons who are not the leader tell warcraft to page them to Action Bar #1

The toon who is becoming the leader tells Jamba to make them the master.
The toon who is becoming the leader tells warcraft to page them to Action Bar #2.

When you press this, each of the non-leaders will give an error message saying they're not the party leader.
This is normal and relatively minor. It fades away very quickly.

[Ualaa]

Set-Up (Part 2):
In part 1, we have each toon able to become the leader of the group.
When they do so, they switch to Action Bar 2.
All of the other toons promote that toon to Party Leader, and switch to Action Bar 1.

Initially, on logging into the game, all toons will be on Action Bar 1.
So, you'll want to press the switch leaders key, even if you're already on the correct leader.

There will be two general types of macro's we'll use here.
The first type is an assist macro. The second type is a round-robin macro.
The majority of our spells will use the first macro type.

The reason for setting up Paging action bars in Part 1, is because we use this syntax for assist:
/assist [target=party1]...... or..... /cast [target=party1target]......

Within Warcraft, Party 1 is the party leader, if you're not the leader.
If you are the leader, it is the party member who's name is directly beneath yours.
The command "/target Party1" has the same effect as pressing F2 in the default keybindings.

With our assist syntax, each non-leader would assist the leader as desired.
However, since we do not want the leader to assist a slave (their party1), we need them on a different Action Bar.

Going with an example of Shaman's, who are the most common boxing team...
To switch action bars within game, press Shift 1 (for action bar 1) or Shift 2 (for action bar 2).

When the toon is the party leader, they'll be on action bar 2.
Each toon will have Lightning Bolt on keybind 1, on their 2nd action bar.
If your toons are mages, you might choose Fireball as your main spell, instead of Lightning Bolt.

When the toon is a slave, they'll be on action bar 1.
Every toon will have a Lightning Bolt assist macro, also on keybind 1, but on action bar 1.
For these macro's, I like to pick the red question mark as the icon, so whatever spell I'm casting will be the icon displayed on my action bar.
I like to have these macro's on the character specific tab, as other toons on that account won't need these exact macro's.

I recommend prefacing either #show or #showtooltip, prior to the active macro commands.
With #show, you will see the icon of the spell.
With #showtooltip, in addition to the icon, you can mouse-over the icon for the in-game tooltip.

The master (Action Bar 2) spell will be a Lightning Bolt dragged from the (P) spell book.
No macro is necessary for the party leader. We can get fancy and add macro's here down the road, if desired.

Each slave (Action Bar 1) will have a macro for Lightning Bolt in this same slot.
Their macro will either be Macro A or Macro B.
In Macro A, the slave will display the masters target as they attack it.
In Macro B, the slave will not display the masters target, but will nonetheless attack the master's target.
Macro A is generally better for PvE, as you know exactly what your toons will attack.
Macro B is very strong for PvP, as you can have all your toons attack the priest, while they all target the rogue.

Macro A
Line 1: #show
Line 2: /assist [target=party1]
Line 3: /cast Lightning Bolt

Macro B
Line 1: #show
Line 2: /cast [target=party1target] Lightning Bolt

We can repeat this for most other macro's.
Even other macro types. For example:

Master on Action Bar 2:
Line 1: #showtooltip
Line 2: /cast [nomod] Lava Burst
Line 3: /cast [mod] Flame Shock

Slaves on Action Bar 1:
Line 1: #showtooltip
Line 2: /cast [nomod, target=party1target] Lava Burst
Line 3: /cast [mod, target=party1target] Flame Shock

With these macro's, the party leader and slaves Flame Shock if the key is pressed with Alt, Control or Shift.
If the macro is pressed without a modifier key, it is Lava Burst, all of them on the Party Leader's target.

We can get creative with heal type spells too.

Master on Action Bar 2:
Line 1: #showtooltip
Line 2: /cast [help] Gift of the Naaru; [help, target=targettarget] Gift of the Naaru; [target=player] Gift of the Naaru

The Slaves on Action Bar 1:
Line 1: #show
Line 2: /assist [target=party1]
Line 3: /cast [help] Gift of the Naaru; [help, target=targettarget] Gift of the Naaru; [target=player] Gift of the Naaru

This macro has multiple targeting parameters. It will cast on the first that is true.
It initially checks if the target is friendly. The slaves assist the master. If the master's target is friendly, they all cast on it.
If the master's target is hostile, the first condition fails and the macro attempts the second condition.

The second condition, is if the target of the target is friendly. When you attack a mob, it will attack one of your shaman's.
The mob is hostile, but your shamans are friendly, so the heal goes to the shaman the mob is attacking.

If you're targeting an opposite faction toon, who is also targeting an opposite faction toon, the first two conditions fail.
Which means the last condition [target=palyer] has each shaman target themselves for the Heal Over Time.

You can combine this type of heal very easily with all of your heal spells.
If you go with either a mixed team, or a dedicated healer, the healer can use this to great effect.
They cast on friendlies by having the party leader target a friendly, and you click their heal macro.
During combat, the same macro has the heal go to whoever the hostile mob is attacking.
If your mixed team consists of Tank + Healer + 3x DPS, the healer will heal the tank, as long as they hold threat.

Going with a Druid example, combining Hot Keys via macro's.

Master on Action Bar 2:
Line 1: #showtooltip Wrath
Line 2: /cast [help] Rejuvenation; [harm] Wrath

Slaves on Action Bar 1:
Line 1: #show Wrath
Line 2: /cast [help, target=party1target] Rejuvenation; [harm, target=party1target] Wrath

With these macro's, if the target is friendly, a Rejuvenation is cast.
If the target is hostile a Wrath is cast.
On the slaves, the Icon of Wrath is always shown, with no mouse-over tooltip.
On the master, the Wrath icon is always shown, with the tooltip also shown if you mouse-over the macro.

Another type of macro is the round-robin.
This will generally be macro's which do not rely upon assist or targeting.

With shaman's, in addition to having each drop specific totems at once, you'll frequently start a fight and a default set out.
Each will have the same Line 1, but Line 2 will vary by shaman.
Assuming the classic 4x Shaman + 1x Paladin; one of the shammies could be Resto Spec.

Line 1: #show
Line 2: Each Shaman will have their own line here.

A: /castsequence reset=8 Totem of Wrath, Healing Stream Totem, Grounding Totem, Stoneclaw Totem
B: /castsequence reset=8 Grounding Totem, Healing Stream Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, Searing Totem
C: /castsequence reset=8 Cleansing Totem, Grounding Totem, Stoneskin Totem, Searing Totem
D: /castsequence reset=8 Mana Spring Totem, Grounding Totem, Tremor Totem, Searing Totem

I generally like Searing/Magma totems towards the end of the Totem Farm macro.
Mainly because they can pull, which I might not want as I'm dropping totems.
Also, more important totems are dropped first, less important are dropped last.
Generally, if I have a Resto Shaman, they will drop the Mana Spring since that won't stack with other Mana Springs, and occasionally they'll go Mana Tide instead.
Resistance totems are not included in this Totem Stomp macro, but they're easily inserted.
The reset=8 means, if 8 seconds pass without pressing this macro at all, it resets the sequence.

Valid arguements for reset include reset=target, reset=combat, reset=shift, reset=8.
In the case of Target, it resets when a new target is chosen. Could be useful for warlocks with a dot sequence.
Reset=Combat, resets when combat ends.
Reset=Shift resets when shift is pressed in conjunction with the macro.
Reset=8 (or any other number you choose) resets after that many seconds of not pressing the macro.
As always, when you run out of spells, a sequence will loop to the first in its sequence.

You can use similar cast sequence for Fire nova, Earthbind, Thunderstorm, Tranquility, Polymorph etc.

Shaman 1
#showtooltip Thunderstorm
/cast [mod] Elemental Mastery
/stopcasting
/cast [mod] Thunderstorm
/castsequence [nomod] reset=45 Thunderstorm,,,

Shaman 4
#showtooltip Thunderstorm
/cast [mod] Elemental Mastery
/stopcasting
/cast [mod] Thunderstorm
/castsequence [nomod] reset=45 ,,,Thunderstorm

In this case, the key can be pressed in sequence for control, with each shaman casting it after the other.
Alternatively any mod key will have all shaman's cast Elemental Mastery and then Thunderstorm for a possible Nova burst.
Talented, Fire Nova stuns and Earthbind roots, so these are candidates for a castsequence.

In a Paladin x1 and Shaman x4 (3x Elemental, 1x Resto), you might find a macro like this:

Paladin
Line 1: #showtooltip
Line 2: /cast [mounted] !Crusader Aura; [nomounted] !Concentration Aura

Elemental Shaman's
No macro, Water Shield straight from the ability book.

Resto Shaman
Line 1: #show
Line 2: /cast [mod:alt, target=party1target] Earth Shield
Line 3: /cast [nomod] Water Shield

With this, on a single keybind:
The Paladin will Crusader Aura once if mounted. Pressing it again will not turn the aura off.
The Paladin will Concentration Aura once if not mounted. Pressing it again will not turn off the aura.
The Elemental Shaman's will refresh their Water Shield.
The Resto Shaman will refresh their Water Shield, or Earth Shield the leader's (probably Paladin Tank) target, if pressed with a modifier like Shift, Alt, Control.

[unseen]

Thanks for this guide!

I guess I've got two questions for people using this model

How do you handle cc?
I mention this because in most cases you would want to re-apply cc and having to re-target and reapply the cc could be quite tedious using this method. Nowadays with cc used so little in instances it's not a big issue, but it's a valid thought for groups containing mages or other forms of cc that they would want to reapply.

How would a pet class use this model?
When I leveled up I initially planned on running 4x warlocks and a priest (I actually got them all to 70 this way and did almost every instance along the way with pets tanking). Each warlock pet would tank a different mob. How would you work around this?

I'm thinking maybe these are the limiting factors to using this method.

[Bettysue]

Seems like a decent system for soloing around but could become a problem in raid situations where you may not have the ability to become the leader.

Just a quick note you can use /pr ToonA or /promote ToonA instead of the script line and it should change leaders a little faster in high lag areas.

[davedontmind]

-- Toon A --
/changeactionbar 2
/jamba setmeasmaster all
-- Toon B --
/changeactionbar 1
/script PromoteToLeader("A")

FYI, Because you're using Jamba there's no need for the PromoteToLeader() calls - Jamba has the option to promote the master to party leader automatically. Just turn that on and you can remove the PromoteToLeader() lines.


Also, the bit about paladin auras and shaman shields - these can be done easily using the SmartBuff addon instead. Not only will it provide a single key to bash (repeatedly) to apply all missing buffs, but it will give audio warnings when buffs are running out and need re-applying.

[Ualaa]

The easiest would be to have the main target whatever you'd like to be CC'd.
Hit your assist key, so all of your slaves are now assisting the master toon.
Have a macro, keybound so only the slave does anything when you press it.
I haven't used cc's in forever, just blow things up. Pretty sure my cc was something like this:

#show Polymorph
/focus [mod:alt]
/cast [target=focus, nomod] Polymorph

In the case of pets, the easiest would be to have them on Defensive.
So when the hunter/warlock attacks, they also attack.
A safer method - have the pet on passive, and add, "/petattack" to each of your attack macro's.








When I implemented my system, Jamba did not have the auto promote feature.
If I were doing it again, or redesigning my system, I'd consider this.
However, even running with no addons at all, you can switch leaders and target effectively.

Smart Buff is a strong option, as are numerous addons out there.
A lot of the macro's are for illustration purposes.
Several examples show what you can do with this assist method.

The Party1 as assist, aside from two action bars for paging, is essentially as simple as assist the focus.
At the same time, it leaves the Focus free, for CC's or for PvP use.