Guide: The Auto-Gather Macro in Aion

[Bunny]

The Auto-Gather Macro in Aion
Written for Aion NA/EU
Written by: Bunny
Last Updated: 31 October 2009

Introduction:

This guide explains how to write and use an auto-gathering macro within Aion using in-game functionality only.

Firstly, this is not a guide explaining how to use a third party bot program. Believe it or not, the functionality to auto-gather actually exists within the game itself without the need to use third party programs. So, if you're feeling particularly lazy and you want to do some semi-afk gathering, this is the macro to help you!

Secondly, this is not against the EULA for Aion. This macro uses pure game functionality to make gathering easier and lazier. There is nothing in this guide that the game doesn't allow you to do inherently, so there is nothing to fear by using it. In this guide I will only explain how to use one version of the macro. You could easily create multiple versions of it to suit your different gathering requirements, but I'll start with the basic version and take it from there.

The Auto-Gather Macro in Aion:

1. Setting Your Variables

Before you start using the auto-gathering macro, you need to decide what it is you want to gather. The item you want to gather and it's associated delay will be assigned to "Variables" within your current session of the game. Remember, variables are only stored for as long as you are logged into the game. They reset once you log out so in this first step I will also explain how to create a macro to automatically set your variables at the click of a button each time you login.

Manually Setting Your Variables:
If you prefer, you can manually set your gathering variables each time you login by manually typing into your chat window. For example, if I intended to head off and macro gather a pile of Hasia with a delay of four seconds I would type the following text into my chat bar to assign the variables. In this case, I have assigned the item to variable 9 and the delay to variable 8, however you may choose any variable slot from 1-9:

/Variable 8 4
/Variable 9 Hasia

Using a Macro to set Variables:
As I mentioned, macro variables are only stored in Aion for as long as you remain logged in. This means each time you log into the game, you need to remember to manually set all your variables. This is fine if you only have 1-2 to remember, but once you start needing a few more it can become a hassle. To make this easier, I prefer to use a Macro to set all my variables for me when I login.

Using the following code, I am able to assign all my variables at once by clicking a single macro after I login to Aion. Notice that I have added my choice of gathering variables to the end as variables 8 and 9.

/Variable 1 Healing Light II
/Variable 2 Healing Light IV
/Variable 8 4
/Variable 9 Hasia

2. Writing the Auto-Gather Macro

This macro will allow you to extract all the "gatherable" instances of any node within radar range of your character without you needing to interact with your character at all. No mouse clicking is required, the macro selects and gathers until the node is empty. All you need to do is move your character in rage of a node, then hit the macro. The rest is taken care of so it's a nice way to do a bit of hard-core gathering when you're watching a movie or semi afk.

The macro itself is not "looped" so you will need to invoke the macro once the gatherable node respawns (approximately once every 3 minutes). Looping macro's in Aion is considered against the EULA so I would warn anyone wanting to use this in-game macro for anything other than it's intended purpose.

Deciding on the Delay:
The auto-gather process requires inserting a delay between gathering attempts in order to align with the amount of time it takes for your character to complete each gather. This will vary depending on the level of Extract Vitality that your character has. The lower your characters extract vitality skill is, the slower you will gather. You will need to time yourself based on manaul gathers of your chosen target and work out what average delay time suits your character.

After you have decided on a suitable delay time for whatever you are gathering, you should set the amount (in seconds) to the variable you have selected to represent your delay time. Setting variables is explained in further detail in section 1 of this guide above.

The Auto-Gather Macro Code:
Once you have decided on the required delay, the code for the macro is simple. Take note that the code repeats itself five times instead of three. This is a "just in case" functionality that is built into the macro to ensure that if there are any delays in the gathering process, your character will still continue to gather the node until it is dry.

Notice that I have used Variable 9 to identify the item that I wish to gather (refer to section 1. above), which corresponds to what I had used to define what I was gathering. If you have used a different variable number, you will need to amend this line of the code throughout the macro. In this example I have used a 4 second delay, which is what my character seemed to work best at for Hasia in this case.

/Select [%Variable9]
/Attack
/Delay [%Variable8]
/Select [%Variable9]
/Attack
/Delay [%Variable8]
/Select [%Variable9]
/Attack
/Delay [%Variable8]
/Select [%Variable9]
/Attack
/Delay [%Variable8]
/Select [%Variable9]
/Attack

How to Use It:
This couldn't be simpler. Simply move your character into the general range of a node you want to gather and click your macro button. You could even go further and bind the macro to a hot-key, allowing you to simply move your character in range of a node and hit a keyboard key. You barely even need to pay attention, depending on where you are gathering, so gathering this way gives you more flexibility to do other things to relieve the boredom of such a repetitive task.

~~ The End ~~

[General Mrs Piggy]

Very nice guide, was bothered by having to click it 3 times all the time