Square Enix · 2002

Final Fantasy XI macros

Final Fantasy XI is played through its macro palette. There are no hotbars in the usual sense — you press Ctrl or Alt plus a number and the macro fires, and a job with twenty abilities means a macro book laid out to match. Six lines each, /ma for spells, /ja for abilities, /ws for weapon skills, and a set of target tags that the rest of the genre never quite matched.

Setting one up

Open the macro menu and pick a book, then a Ctrl or Alt slot.
Name the macro — the name is what shows on the palette, so keep it short.
Write up to six lines: /ma "Cure IV" <stpc> for a spell, /ja "Provoke" <t> for an ability.
Add /wait between actions that need to resolve before the next one starts.
Switch books with /macro book, and switch the Ctrl or Alt set with /macro set.

Rules and limits

A macro is exactly six lines. There is no way to extend one, so long sequences chain across two palette slots.
Spell and ability names must be quoted and spelled exactly, including the numeral — "Cure IV" is not "Cure 4".
/wait only takes whole seconds and snaps to the server tick, so a one-second wait can land anywhere from roughly 0.8 to 1.25 seconds.
A macro does not check whether an ability is ready; it simply fires and fails, which is what /recast is for.
Target tags are the whole system — <t> is your target, <me> yourself, <bt> your battle target, <stpc> prompts you to pick a player, and <stnpc> to pick an enemy.

Macros by job

Pick a job to see only the macros that apply to it.

Melee

Mage

Support

All FFXI macros

36 macros, searchable and ready to copy.

36 macros

FF
Assist and Engage
General
```
/assist <p0>
/wait 1
/attack <t>
```
Picks up whatever your party leader is fighting and attacks it. Keeps the whole party on one target without anyone calling it out loud.
WM
Benediction with Call-Out
White Mage
```
/p Benediction now!
/ja "Benediction" <me>
```
The two-hour ability that full-heals the party. Telling everyone the moment it goes off stops other healers from dumping their mana into an already-healed party.
WA
Berserk Opener
Warrior
```
/ja "Berserk" <me>
/wait 1
/ja "Aggressor" <me>
/wait 1
/ja "Warcry" <me>
```
Stacks your offensive abilities with waits between them, because job abilities share a short cooldown and firing them on the same tick loses one.
SU
Blood Pact with Recast Check
Summoner
```
/recast "Blood Pact: Rage"
/pet "Flaming Crush" <t>
```
Checks the blood pact timer, then fires. Blood pacts have long individual timers and firing one that is not ready simply wastes the press.
FF
Call It Out to the Party
General
```
/p Pulling now, hold your hate
/ja "Provoke" <t>
```
Announces an action to the party. FFXI has no combat log overlay by default, so telling people what you just did is how coordination actually happens.
BE
Charm and Send In
Beastmaster
```
/ja "Charm" <stnpc>
/wait 2
/pet "Fight" <t>
```
Charms a monster and orders it to attack your target. Charm breaks without warning, so having the re-charm and the attack order on one macro matters.
FF
Check a Recast Before You Commit
General
```
/recast "Provoke"
/ja "Provoke" <t>
```
A macro fires whether or not the ability is ready. /recast prints the remaining timer to your log, which is how you check without wasting the attempt.
FF
Check Then Pull
General
```
/check <t>
/echo Check the con before pulling
```
Checks a target to gauge its level before you commit. FFXI punishes pulling something too strong far more harshly than most games, so this habit is worth macroing.
RM
Convert and Recover
Red Mage
```
/ja "Convert" <me>
/wait 2
/ma "Cure IV" <me>
```
Swaps your health and mana, then immediately heals yourself back up. Convert leaves you at very low health, so the follow-up cure is not optional.
WM
Cure with Sub-Target
White Mage
```
/ma "Cure IV" <stpc>
/ma "Cure IV" <me>
```
The core White Mage macro. Opens a player selector so you choose who to heal without losing your enemy target, and falls back sensibly if you cancel out.
DA
Curing Waltz with Sub-Target
Dancer
```
/ja "Curing Waltz III" <stpc>
/ja "Curing Waltz II" <stpc>
```
Heals using TP rather than mana, aimed with a player prompt. Dancer waltzes are what make the job the most self-sufficient in the game.
RM
Enfeeble Chain
Red Mage
```
/ma "Slow" <t>
/wait 5
/ma "Paralyze" <t>
/wait 5
/ma "Blind" <t>
```
Lands your debuff stack in sequence with waits long enough for each cast to resolve. Six lines is exactly enough for three spells and their waits.