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SWG Crafting Macro

last updated 9.30.2004
I last used these macros January 2005 (pub 12)

If you choose to be a crafter, you will find that it takes a while to earn experience points (XP) by making items. I decided early that I wanted to be a weaponsmith. I did artisan as a starting profession, but didn't know how to gain the XP in the best way.

A game term called grinding means doing an activity (that is usually boring) many times over in order to gain a benefit from your activity. For crafters in SWG, the term grinding crafting, means that you are crafting one particular item many times over in practice mode in order to gain a large enough amount of XP so you can gain skills in your crafting profession (be it Artisan, Armorsmith, Architect, Weaponsmith, etc.).

Below are macros that I used to gain crafting XP. I used this particularly for gaining weapons crafting XP, but it can be adjusted for any form of crafting.

The first thing you need are 6 of the same crafting tools for whatever item you are making. The most basic items only require a generic crafting tool. If you choose to make something more specific or complex for a different crafting profession, you may need 6 of the following:

  • weapon, droid, and general item crafting tool
  • armor and clothing crafting tool
  • food and chemical crafting tool
  • structure crafting tool

Once you have enough crafting tools, and the resources required for the item you want to grind on, (be sure you have this item in your draft schematics and check the details in your datapad (Ctrl-D), then you can begin to grind.

Here are the actual macros. I made three macros and named them grindcraft1, grindcraft2 and stopmacro.

Grindcraft1: (this is the first macro)
/ui action toolbarSlot04;
/selectDraftSchematic 71;
/pause 6;
/nextcraftingstage;
/nextcraftingstage;
/createprototype practice no item;
/createprototype practice no item;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot05;
/selectDraftSchematic 71;
/pause 6;
/nextcraftingstage;
/nextcraftingstage;
/createprototype practice no item;
/createprototype practice no item;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot06;
/selectDraftSchematic 71;
/pause 6;
/nextcraftingstage;
/nextcraftingstage;
/createprototype practice no item;
/createprototype practice no item;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot01;

 

Grindcraft2: (this is the second macro)
/ui action toolbarSlot07;
/selectDraftSchematic 71;
/pause 6;
/nextcraftingstage;
/nextcraftingstage;
/createprototype practice no item;
/createprototype practice no item;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot08;
/selectDraftSchematic 71;
/pause 6;
/nextcraftingstage;
/nextcraftingstage;
/createprototype practice no item;
/createprototype practice no item;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot09;
/selectDraftSchematic 71;
/pause 6;
/nextcraftingstage;
/nextcraftingstage;
/createprototype practice no item;
/createprototype practice no item;
/pause 2;
/ui action toolbarSlot00;

 

stopmacro:
/dump;

Details

I will explain the macros now. In order for you to select the proper item to build, you much change the number on the /selectDraftSchematic 71; line. Go to your datapad (Ctrl-D) choose draft schematics, then find what item you want to create. (please use the default view, not the list view). Once you find it, you need to then start at the top left schematic and begin counting them. On this, you should start counting with 0 instead of 1. (Computers start with 0 instead of 1). These items are in rows of 4, so the first row is numbers 0, 1, 2, 3. Keep counting until you get to the item you want. You will have to test the macro to make sure you have the correct item. If it doesn't work, then your stopmacro will come in handy (or type /dump to end the macro).

Ok once you have all three macros saved and your 6 crafting tools, you will need to setup your toolbar. You must go to your first toolbar (and in the top row, if you have it for 2 rows), you need to clear everything out of it.

Now go to your abilities and commands window (Ctrl-A), choose macros and drag the icon for your first grinding macro (Grindcraft1) into the F1 spot on your toolbar (make sure this is the first toolbar set--you will see a "1" to the left of the toolbar).

Now put the Grindcraft2 icon in the F2 spot on your toolbar. Place your first crafting tool (open your inventory, Ctrl-I) into the F5 position on your toolbar. Place the rest of the crafting tools in the next positions--be sure you are chosing a different crafting tool for each slot. You should fill up F5 to F10 with your tools. Now put the stopmacro macro in the F11 slot (or whichever one is available).

You should only craft when you have plenty of resources for your item in your inventory and do not craft near any crafting station (these are on city streets, inside private structures, and the advanced field base camp). It is best to craft in a quiet city or out in the wilderness that doesn't have many creatures. Rori is my favorite place to craft because it is isolated and has few players in it.

To begin the macro, press F1. This will loop forever until you press F11 to call the stopmacro (or type /dump).

You will need to adjust a few lines.. Here I detail them:

/selectDraftSchematic 71; <-- this number will need to change to what schematic you want to use (explained above). /pause 6; <-- You may want to change this number, if you want more time to click your resources, or less time if you think you are waiting too long--I don't recommend anything less than 4. /pause 2; <-- This can be changed to make it faster, I had problems with the macro if I set it to 1 and 3 may be too excessive for a waiting time.

Everything else you shouldn't have to change if you put in everything correctly.

Macro tips and information:

Now I will talk a little more about this process.

These macros require that you are able to click on your resources during the crafting stage. Items with a number of different types of resources will take you longer to select. Be sure to double-click on a resource to enter it into the slot. This is where the /pause 6 takes place in the macro. If you need more or less time, adjust it accordingly.

Some people have suggested using a wireless mouse or pointing device to do this, you can just double click every 8 seconds or so and it will continue as long as you have enough resources and do not encounter any in-game problems. I did not have one, but wished I did. (I could have watched TV or something while doing this).

Something to note is, that you will need TONS of resources for your items. You can build one of these items in about 8 seconds. Your multiple tools means you can craft all the time. Normally you have to wait anywhere from 3 to 70 seconds for a tool to finish crafting, well with your tools and by adjusting your two /pause statements, you can craft non-stop. Remember that you will not have to empty your inventory, because you are using practice mode which will not create the item, and you will get a 10% XP bonus for choosing this mode.

Be sure to use proper capitalization and spelling in the macros! It will not work if one thing is wrong!

Here is a little bit about making a new macro. You have to press Ctrl-A to bring up your commands and abilities window, go to macros, then click on new macro. This will bring up a new window where you can set the macro name, icon and the actual macro text. It takes a little time to get used to making macros. These grinding macros are one of the most complex ones, but the others you can make could only be a few lines.

The same window to make new macros, has a list of macros that you have. This is where you will need to click and drag them into your toolbar.

Remember that in your inventory, you will need the 6 crafting tools (all must be the same type) and your resources. As for suggestions on what resources to put in there, I recommend having as few resources in your inventory as possible. For instance, if you need metal and chemical for your crafting, just have one of each type in your inventory. If you have many kinds of metal and chemicals in your inventory, you will have a harder time clicking on the ones you want to make your item. It is easiest to make an item that requires only one kind of resource, like steel. That way you do not have to move your mouse around, but just click on it a number of times.

I suggest for artisans, to get all the engineering skills that they can to start.. you can make wind generators once you reach engineering III. After that point, just get steel, aluminum and low grade ore. You can use that to make many wind generators -- these give you a ton of XP per item made. You will quickly gain XP and will have Artisan all but mastered in a short amount of time (if you have enough resources and use my grinding techniques within here).

The only other profession, I ground for was Weaponsmith. I used metal staffs to grind on. These only required metal and it was very easy to use these in macros. Others suggest rifle barrels, or other things like that. I found that a metal staff can earn you almost 2 XP per resource item. Not many other schematics will give you that yield.

To test how much XP you get from making an item, bring up your skills sheet and write down how much XP you have in the crafting skill you want. Like for artisan, write down how much general item crafting XP you have. Now make one item in practice mode. After that is done, then check your XP amount again. Subtract your new amount from your old amount and you will see how much XP you gained for making that item. I like to use that number and divide it by the number of resources you needed to make it. A metal staff requires 42 metal and gives you 84 XP. So the XP divided by the resource number is 2. (these numbers are close, but not exact.)

Possible problems:

Problem: I cannot select the proper schematic number (I don't want to make this item)

Solution: Remember to use the view of the datapad where you just see a picture of the items. Begin and the top left corner and start counting. The very first item is number 0 the next one is 1. Keep going until you find the item you want. You may be a few numbers off of the number you want. Just try the macro and if it isn't right, press F11 or use the /dump command and change the number of the /selectDraftSchematic 71; line. Remember that the beginning of Grindcraft1 is where it will go first, so just change that number at first until you have the right item. If you had to change the first line, be sure to go into both macros to have exactly the same number (otherwise you will be making different items and it will throw you off).


Problem: The macro is going too fast!

Solution: change the /pause lines in the macro to have a higher number. I gave you /pause 6; to insert your resources and /pause 2 to switch to the next crafting tool. Make that higher if you need more time, or are experiencing lag.


Problem: The macro won't stop! I want to stop it!

Solution: Call up your stopmacro macro. This I told you to put into F11 or wherever. If you don't have it up, type /dump and press enter.


Problem: I do not see any things to click on to make my item.

Solution: look in your inventory to make sure you have the proper resource to make the item. Steel is not the same as Iron, etc. Go to your schematic on the Datapad to pull up the item you want to make. Read to see what ingredients/resources are required to build it. Do not use anything that requires a component. Try an item that only requires raw materials, like metal, chemical, wood, hide, etc.


Problem: I can't find the resource I want when I'm given the chance to enter it into the slot.

Solution: Clear out your inventory of items that you do not want to use to make it. If your item requires mineral or inorganic, organic in one of the slots, this includes many kinds of items. You should remove anything from your inventory that you do not want to use. This will give you fewer resources to choose from when clicking on them when you are making an item.


Problem: I ran out of resources to make my item, where can I get them?

Solution: Well you either need to buy them from vendors or the bazaar, extract them yourself, or finding a kind person who will give you the needed resources. You have a better chance of buying or extracting what you need. Be certain of what kind of resource you need. Being able to extract what you need is an entire help guide in itself. Also, it is likely that you won't have enough credits to buy the resources, unless if you were a combatant in a former life and earned enough money that way from sales and/or missions.