What is a macro in Aion 2?
People mix up two different things:
- A skill line (a stack of skills on one key). In the skill window, below the bar, there is a grid with rows 0, 1, 2 and 3. You can stack up to four skills on one key. Each press fires the skill that is ready and has the highest priority.
- The macro (the Macro button in the skill window). It is a list of steps: "press line Q", "press left mouse button" and so on. The macro runs while you hold its key and cycles through the steps by itself.
A line has to be pressed again and again. A macro containing that line only needs to be held (Grobs). So the order is: lines first, then a macro that presses them.
The in-game macro is allowed. It is a client feature, not third-party software.
Step 1: set up your lines (rows 0–3)
| Row | What goes there | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (right at the bar) | the skill that should always win when ready | lowest row = highest priority |
| 1–2 | cooldown or conditional skills (e.g. "only after a block") | fire while row 0 is on cooldown |
| 3 (top) | the filler with no cooldown | it is always ready, so it must be last |
The classic mistake is a filler in row 0. The line never moves on, because the filler is always ready (Lipej, Grobs). Grobs uses Assassin as the example: Insignia Explosion at the very bottom, Savage Roar at the top. Most of the time you cast Savage Roar, but the moment Insignia Explosion comes off cooldown, it goes first.
Only put rotation attacks in a line. Keep gap closers, buffs, dodges, stuns and defensives on separate keys (Grobs, couga54, ExpCarry). A 10–20 second buff belongs on the boss, not on a random mob.
The exact layout for your class is in the Rotation & macro tab of the class guide (the "Arrange your skills like this" table).
Step 2: build the macro
- Open the skill window. Click Macro in the top right.
- Add a step. You pick a whole hotkey line (e.g. Q or right mouse button), not a single skill (Grobs).
- Set Delay = 10 ms on every step. That is the pause between presses, not your ping.
- Save.
On the global client you get one macro with up to 20 steps (MistaWigglez). The macro skips steps it cannot use right now: skills on cooldown, or skills that need a target when you have none.
Delay vs ping
| Your ping | Delay | Recommended by |
|---|---|---|
| under ~50 ms | 10 ms | couga54, aLuckyRO |
| 80–100 ms | 40–50 ms | aLuckyRO, KaidGames2, MMO Codex |
You can tell the macro is working from the dark afterimages behind your character. Each one is a cancelled animation (Grobs, couga54).
Step 3: bind the key
Escape → Settings → Key Settings → General, scroll down to Gameplay → Macro. It is empty by default, so without this step the macro does nothing (Grobs, MistaWigglez, couga54).
Most players use right mouse or a side mouse button. One catch: a mouse button bound to the macro does not work in the AION 1 control mode (in-game warning, MistaWigglez; couga54 says the same in the Ranger guide). Switch to AION 2 controls or bind the macro to a keyboard key.
How to play with it: hold the macro and LMB together
Grobs shows this for every class: hold the macro key and the left mouse button at the same time (your basic attack). The game weaves LMB attacks between skills and cancels animations. If you put LMB into the macro as a step instead, it still works, but fewer animations get cancelled and you lose damage.
Some classes (Assassin, Chanter, Cleric) still have a basic-attack step in the macro because it restores mana. Details are on the class pages.
Common mistakes
- No key bound. The macro exists, but the Macro field in settings is empty.
- Filler in row 0. The line spams one skill forever.
- Charged skills in the macro. The macro taps them, so you only get stage 1. Think Sorcerer's Hellfire, Ranger's Deadshot, Cleric's Bolt (berdugz, couga54, aLuckyRO).
- Toggles in the macro. Chanter mantras and Cleric's Light of Protection turn off on the second press, so the macro switches them off (couga54, Wakayashi).
- Buffs in the macro. Season 1 cooldowns are long, so a buff wasted on trash is a lot of lost boss damage (Grobs).
- Too much in the macro on day one. Grobs and aLuckyRO say start with one line; aLuckyRO even suggests playing the first week without a macro to learn the class.
- Skill Queue set wrong for your class. It's under Settings → Combat → Controls. When it's on, a skill pressed during another one is queued and fires right after it. Sources split: couga54 (settings page and Ranger guide) and Solashur keep it on, because the macro then doesn't drop steps. Wakayashi, MR4KTV and GunghoGuns (Assassin) turn it off, because a skill waiting in the queue can stall the macro. Wakayashi admits that's a habit from Korea and EU servers may behave differently. Test it yourself: training dummy, Combat Analysis (Ctrl+X), same sequence with the option on and off. At low level compare normal hits, not DPS — crits skew the numbers (Wakayashi).
External mouse macros (mouse software that holds LMB and RMB for you) are not the same as the in-game macro. Grobs calls them "not exactly allowed, not banned" and does not use them himself. A macro that farms mobs in the open world while you are away is asking for a ban. We do not recommend them for beginners.
Macro for every class
This is only the core idea. Full lines (row by row), keybinds and the variants from different sources are in each class's Rotation & macro tab.
Templar
Two lines: Judgment in row 0 above the shield skills (Shield Smite, Warding Strike, Doom Shield), and a line with Pummel as the filler. The Pummel line goes into the macro; you press the Judgment line yourself (couga54/SolAshur). Templar rotation
Gladiator
Main line: Rage Burst in row 0, Overhead Slam above it, Rending Blow as the filler. From level 27 this line goes into the macro. Do not add more skills to it: every delay on Overhead Slam costs more than an extra skill gives (couga54). Gladiator rotation
Assassin
Damage line: Insignia Explosion in row 0, then Heart Gore, Ambush and Savage Roar as the filler. Macro: damage line + Quick Slice, 10 ms each. Never put the buffs (Illusive Clone, Swift Contract) in the macro. Assassin rotation
Ranger
Gale line (Gale Arrow in row 0, Tempest Shot as the filler) and the Griffon line. Never put Deadshot in the macro, because the macro will not charge it. Give it its own key and hold it together with the macro and LMB. Ranger rotation
Sorcerer
A fire line (Blaze, Firestorm) and a frost line with Ice Chain as the filler. The key rule: Hellfire never goes in the macro, or you only get stage 1. Watch your mana: when it runs low, release the macro and fire a few Flame Arrows. Sorcerer rotation
Elementalist
Two lines: spirits (summoned in order, Fire Spirit last because the last one stays out) and Elemental Fusion in row 0 with Combustion as the filler. Macro: spirit line → Fusion line, 10 ms each. Buffs and Ancient Spirit stay manual. Elementalist rotation
Cleric
Chain line: Chain of Torment in row 0, Condemnation above it, Judgment Thunder as the filler. From level 22 the line with Earth Punishment goes in front of it in the macro. Heals and Bolt stay manual, and Light of Protection is a toggle, so it stays out too. Cleric rotation
Chanter
Crush line: the opener (Impactful Crush) in row 0, Dark Crush right above it, Incandescent Blow as the filler. Macro: Crush line + Onslaught. Never put mantras in the macro, the second press turns them off. Chanter rotation
What next
A macro makes you faster, but skill levels make the damage. Where they come from: the Daevanion board (+4 to every skill) and stigmas (your class's strongest skills, from level 22). Rebuild your macro after 45, when skill levels and specializations change. The plan after 45: What to do after level 45.