TBC Classic Macro Guide — All Classes | Burning Crusade Anniversary 2026

Macros are one of the highest-leverage things you can set up in TBC Classic. The right macro turns a two-button sequence into one keypress, gets your interrupt out half a second faster, and keeps your pet doing what you told it to do while you’re busy not dying. The wrong macro — or no macro at all — costs you DPS, wipes you in arena, and makes your raid leader quietly question their life choices.

This hub covers how macros work in TBC Classic Anniversary, what every player needs to know regardless of class, and links you directly to the full per-class macro guide for your spec.

How Macros Work in TBC Classic

TBC introduced a completely redesigned macro system compared to original WoW. The scripted macro exploits of vanilla — where addons could cast spells and target units automatically via /script — are gone. What you have instead is a robust conditional system that’s still powerful, just cleaner and more intentional.

The Macro Interface

Open it with /macro in chat, or Escape → Macros. You get two tabs:

• General Macros — shared across all your characters on the account (36 slots)
• Character-Specific Macros — only available on the current character (18 slots)

That’s 54 total macro slots per character. Most players won’t use all of them, but Druids and Warlocks will come close.

Macro Anatomy

Every useful macro has a few common elements:

#showtooltip Spell Name
/command [conditional] Spell Name

#showtooltip — Makes the macro button display the icon and tooltip of the specified spell. Use it without a spell name (#showtooltip alone) to display whatever spell the macro is about to cast dynamically.

/cast — The primary command for casting spells and using abilities.

/use — Used for items and trinkets (e.g. /use 13 uses your top trinket slot, /use 14 uses the bottom one).

/stopcasting — Cancels your current cast immediately. Essential on interrupt macros — without it, your interrupt gets delayed by the tail end of whatever you were casting.

/startattack — Forces your character to begin auto-attacking. Add this to any melee ability macro so you never stand idle waiting for resources.

/cancelaura Buff Name — Removes a buff from yourself. Used by Mages to exit Ice Block instantly and by Druids to cancel forms.

/petattack — Commands your pet to attack. For Hunters and Warlocks, adding this to your opener spells ensures your pet engages the moment you do.

/cqs — Clears the spell queue. Prevents a macro from accidentally re-casting a previous command when spammed. Use it on any burst macro you press multiple times in quick succession.

Macro Conditionals — The Real Power

Conditionals are what turn a simple /cast Spell into something intelligent. They go inside square brackets between the command and the spell name.

Conditionals can be chained with commas (AND logic) or with semicolons (OR/fallback logic):

/cast [@mouseover, help, nodead] Rejuvenation; [@player] Rejuvenation

This casts Rejuvenation on your mouseover target if they’re friendly and alive, and falls back to casting it on yourself if no valid mouseover exists.

Universal Macros Every TBC Player Should Have

These work for any class, any spec. Build these first before you touch class-specific ones.

Focus Target

/focus

Sets your current target as your focus. Your focus target persists even when you switch targets — you can then cast spells on them via [@focus] conditionals without losing your main target. In arena, set your focus on the enemy healer at the start of every match.

Target Nearest Enemy

/targetenemy [noharm][dead]

Targets the nearest hostile enemy, skipping dead targets. Useful for quickly picking up a new target after a kill without tab-cycling through corpses.

Assist Focus

/assist focus

Switches your target to whatever your focus target is currently attacking. Raid leaders use this to make sure everyone is on the kill target. Works well combined with a damage spell on the next line.

Smart Mount

#showtooltip
/use [flyable] Your Flying Mount; Your Ground Mount

Replace the mount names with your actual mounts. Automatically uses your flying mount in Outland and your ground mount in Azeroth zones where flying isn’t available.

Use Healthstone / Potion

#showtooltip
/use item:22105:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
/use item:22104:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
/use item:22103:0:0:0:0:0:0:0

Uses your highest-rank Healthstone first, then falls to lower ranks automatically. Every player who runs with a Warlock in the group should have this.

Macro Limits and Slot Tips

TBC Classic macros have a 255-character limit per macro. Most well-written macros stay well within this, but complex conditional chains can approach it. If you hit the limit, split the macro into two and use modifier keys to switch between them.

⚡ Keep your most-used combat macros in the General tab so they carry over if you reroll or level an alt of the same class. Put spec-specific or gear-specific macros in Character-Specific so they don’t clutter your other characters.

🎯 Name your macros with short labels you’ll recognize instantly — “CS Stop” for stopcasting Counterspell, “NS HT” for Nature’s Swiftness + Healing Touch, “WE Frz” for Water Elemental Freeze. You’ll be scanning that list fast mid-setup.

TBC Classic Macro Guides by Class

Every class in TBC Classic has a dedicated macro guide on noobtoboss.com. Each one covers all specs — DPS, tank, healer — and both PvE and PvP setups. Jump straight to yours:

Which Classes Need Macros the Most?

Not all classes benefit equally from macros. Here’s a quick honest breakdown:

High dependency — macros are nearly required for competitive play:

• 🔥 Warlock — Fear timing, pet management, and burst alignment all fall apart without macros
• 🐾 Feral Druid — Powershifting for Cat DPS is literally unplayable at a high level without the !Cat Form macro
• 🏹 Hunter — Preserving Auto Shot while weaving Steady Shot requires specific macros or you clip your own shots constantly

Medium dependency — macros give significant gains:

• ⚔️ Warrior — Stance dancing and Heroic Strike queue management macros are standard at any serious level
• 🌿 Restoration Druid — Mouseover HoTs and the NS + Healing Touch combo macro are expected at raid level
• ❄️ Mage — The stopcasting Counterspell and Ice Block toggle macros are used constantly

Lower dependency — a small set goes a long way:

• 🛡️ Paladin — Mouseover heals and blessing macros cover most of what you need
• 🌊 Shaman — Totem management macros help, but the class functions well with minimal macros otherwise
• ⚡ Priest — A few key mouseover macros and a Shackle macro covers most situations

FAQ