Exclamation Point Explanation Please (Gnome)

Lazy Macros How To's
1

I’ve searched and searched and I’m still a little confused can someone please explain the “!” in ‘/cast !spellname’ please. Here are the two explanations I’ve read and I’m not sure which is accurate…

  1. The ! simply gives the spell priority - Does this mean that it will skip all other steps and jump to this spell first? If that’s the case, why not just put it on the list first?

  2. The ! tells the macro to make sure the spell isn’t already in effect - So, for instance, the spell, say a DoT for this example, is still ticking away so skip it. If this is the case, couldn’t you use this to verify if a buff is in place or not? Assuming you’re the one who cast the buff that is.

Thanks in advance.

2

I’m looking for this answer also. In another addon that was banable to use !spell would cause that spell act as /stopcasting was being used. Don’t think that effect is built into wow.

At one time !dotspell or !buffspell would not fire if the target was already dotted/buffed but I think wow stopped that in the effort to make macros dumber. (The player making the choice to cast a spell vs the macro being able to decide).

3

Neither is accurate. It stops the spell (effect) from being cancelled by the macro. Spell effect is a bit misleading though, as there are lots of effects we would not normally relate to spells such as trap launchers and stances. The !spell simple now says it is is on (you not the target, or is being cast by you0 do not dispel it/ deactivate it etc.)

What it does not do is set a priority (it will protect an effect though) and it will not look to see if your target is already affected (unless the target is you)

4

Did some testing /cast Aspect of the Cheetah will cycle AoC on and off each time you hit it, while /cast !Aspect of the Cheetah only turns it on (it will still cast the spell if its active it just doesn’t turn it off).

So how most use it/cast !Fireball is just wrong

5

Interesting. Thanks for the info, it makes perfect sense.

6

[quote quote=20203]Did some testing /cast Aspect of the Cheetah will cycle AoC on and off each time you hit it, while /cast !Aspect of the Cheetah only turns it on (it will still cast the spell if its active it just doesn’t turn it off).

So how most use it/cast !Fireball is just wrong
[/quote]

The ! protects the spell from being overwritten by another cast as I stated above. It effectively says:
Are you casting a spell presently? Yes, OK do not start casting something else right now. If the spell/ effect/ action is instant then there is no reason to protect the casting with !, the same thing applies if the cast time is less than GCD.

7

So it would work well with say , A monks Fists of fury spell? so as not to cancel the effect til it finishes?

8

Right, but it is not the fist of fury spell that needs to have the ! but rather the spells that come after it.