Hi all,
As of right now, my SCH is 69. And I've been trying to find a good macro set up that is the most efficient. I'll put down how I have my macros set at the moment. It may not make sense if you look at it chronologically, but just bear with me. Also note: Light Arts is always on Ctrl+1, and Dark Arts is always on Alt+1. Hitting either of these macros will send me to the Light Arts main and Dark Arts main. Again, bear with me. Sorry if this is confusing.
Sublimation is always set on Alt+0, except for Storm spells/helices (set 6), for which I don't have any room to put Sublimation on.
Set 1: Main switchboard. I don't use this, as I feel it's just one more macro set to trudge through to get to the spells I need to use for the given time. Of course, this is subject to change (equipment change macros, etc.).
Set 2: Light Arts main. Here's where everything starts for everything Light Arts related. I have macros that send to me to Cures (set 7), Status Removal (set 4), Enspells (set 10), Enfeebles (set 9). I have all JAs related to Light Arts too. There's plenty to work with here, and hitting Ctrl+1 only puts on Light Arts and doesn't switch macro sets.
Set 3: Dark Arts main. Follows the Light Arts main example. Nuking (set 8), Enfeebles (set 9), Helices/storm (set 6). All JAs related to Dark Arts are here. Lots of room to work with, which I could make good use of Sleep macros.
Set 4: Status Removals. I keep everything related to removing statuses (duh) and what Addendum: White gives. I don't go here too much unless I know I need to use multiple spells from this category.
Set 5: Originally I had intended this to be where all Addendum: Black spells went. But I quickly discovered there weren't enough spells to make use of, and it had become more cumbersome to put Sleep and Dispel in here all alone. Of course, with Tier IV nukes now becoming available to me, this could be a good place to house them.
Set 6: All of my storm and helices are here. I have them in order of how the days go, so Firestorm > Hailstorm, etc. all on Alt, and Pyrohelix > Cryohelix, etc. all on Ctrl. I have just enough room to stick the default Light/Dark Arts, Kilmaform and Modus Veritas macros here, but nothing else.
Set 7: All cures go here. I'd say I spend 90% of my time here for Light Arts. After cures and job abilities are set here, I have enough room to throw Stoneskin, Phalanx, Blink, Erase and a status removing spell of my choice. For fighting imps, Silena is a godsend to go here, and I couldn't imagine having to switch macro sets to access it.
Set 8: All nukes go here. I have not worked with Tier IV nukes yet, so it's just all Tier III nukes (and I macro in II nukes in case of level syncing). I also found it helpful to put Aspir and Drain here, for fighting Colibri and whatever else. I put Sleep macros in here too, although I still need to fine tune them.
Set 9: Enfeebles. Self-explanatory.
Set 10: Enspells. Self-explanatory too.
How do these macros look? Of course, I macro in Elemental Staves when necessary, and everytime I hit Light/Dark Arts, it switches the rings I'm using (Dark = +INT, Arts = +MND).
I just want to be able to access spells without fumbling around like a moron and not getting a spell off in time. With my current macros in Sets 7 and 8, I don't have any room to put in equip macros, aside from in the spell macros themselves.
I'm also going to give myself a tad bit of slack when it comes to anything Dark Arts related. I was fine doing pre-ToAU areas, but once these areas hit, between level sync and the sheer amount of new spells I was getting, I am finding it to be a bit overwhelming. Couple that with the fact that my prior 75 job is SMN, so I don't have much experience leveling another real mage class.
Any advice you can give me is much appreciated, and if you need clarification or additional information, please let me know.
Thanks!