- Software Requirements
- Entropy macro https://gitlab.com/exspes/entropy
Entropy is only supported for MQNext. This instructions were written with latest version of redguides MQnext and Entropy pulled from GitLab as of June 9, 2021. No support will be provided if a user is not using MQNext and the latest version of entropy from GitLab.
There could have been updates that change commands below since the time this guide was written. For the most up to date documentation on Entropy and all commands, the Entropy wiki is the source of truth: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Entropy heavily uses mq2dannet so I will give a lot of setup instructions using dannet to issue commands to characters.
My use-case for Entropy is to run a raid of 30+ characters, however I wrote this guide with a brand new group on Live server using MQNext. My goal with this guide is to get you through these steps:
1. Install
2. Setup group movement (similar to chase mode in other tools)
3. Setup a tank in a camp radius
4. Setup a simple healer
5. Setup a puller to the camp radius
6. Setup a rogue dps to backstab and assist the tank
That will be the start, and is surprisingly simple to get going. Later I will add some more information about how to start using tags / setup casters/heals etc.
Install
Some MQNext Presetup:
- Change MQNext\Config\MQ2GroupInfo.ini Line 16-41 -> remove comments from the Dannet lines, comment the EQBCS lines
- Download nav meshes
Plugins I used for this tutorial:
/plugin mq2collections
/plugin mq2sqlite
/plugin mq2autoaccept
/plugin mq2nav
/plugin mq2lua
/plugin mq2autoloot
Install instructions for Entropy are well documented on the Wiki: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Install
If for some reason it does not load, read the error message and it will tell you exactly what is missing. Likely causes (which are all documented in the instructions)
1. You need to load some plugins
2. You need to create a folder Entropy\data\
3. You need to put the file custom.inc into Entropy\data
Load entropy on ONE character first. This will build the shared sqlite tables.
1. Main char: /mac entropy\start
Wait for the sqlite file to finish building (usually takes 45s-60s the first time)
When it's done you should see something like this where it says Ready: XXs
2. Now you can run the macro on all other chars: /dgge /mac entropy\start
Now you will build your "crew"
On your driving toon (this is typically my Tank character), invite everyone to group, and set the tank as MT and MA in the UI.
- Build the crew: /crew buildas CREWNAME
You should see some output with group member names and SUCCESS messages. Now you can test if the crew form works.
From here on out you can now use entropy to setup the group. To test this, first disband everyone:
/dgga /disband
Now form the crew with entropy:
/crew form CREWNAME
Basic Movement Setup
For me the first step was getting comfortable with moving chars around. Entropy does this with the Tie command (https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Tc) This is very similar to chase mode for other tools
First set the /tc mode, I use 'nav' so that they will use mq2nav. Then set the name of the toon you want them to follow (typically your group leader)
Since everyone is in group we can use dannet to do this: (/dgge will send to everyone in group except the one that sent the command)
/dgge /tc mode nav
/dgge /tc toon leadername
Now you can have the group follow you by using:
/dgge /tie on
They should now be chasing you around. To make them stop chasing you:
/dgge /tie off
These are the only two follow commands you will need. The difference between "Chase and fight everything with me along the way" and "follow me but don't fight anything" comes from having characters in manual/auto mode which we will cover later.
Basic Tank / Camp Setup
This will be a variation of what's on the "Quick and Dirty tank setup" on the wiki, and I will try to correlate the settings to other tools. The goal here is to get a character tanking mobs in a camp as the main assist, and another character pulling mobs to that camp.
We'll be using the following commands:
Pull: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Pull -> Everything to do with pulling, similar to pull section of an ini, one difference is for the main tank you will want to set a pull radius equal or less than your home/env radius so that the tank will engage 100% hp mobs when they get within that distance
Home: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Home -> This is the main "camp" commands. The set command is the same as setting /camphere and gives some flexibility to how you engage targets within that camp radius
Agro: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Agro -> Tank aggro abilities
Env: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Env -> This is more general macro settings, one of which is again radius. Anything outside that radius is out of range
CC: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/CombatControls -> This is where the different modes are turned off/on. Things like nuke, dot, heal etc, which all correspond to a different rotation. Those rotations are triggered using tags which we will cover later
Run these commands on your tank character. Set the character as Main Assist in the group window
/pull rad 30 <-- will engage anything within 30 rad even if mob is at 100% HP. This is basically like setting your campradius to 30 in tank mode.
/pull with melee <---- engage whatever is within that 40 radius with melee
/pull active on <----- Enable the pull so you will engage
/pull mode base <----- Use stick to get to the mob (since it will be inside LOS in your camp this should be fastest way to get to the mob)
/home deathclear on <---- this will reset your "home" (which is the xyz coordinate for your camp) when you die
/home incombat on <----- stay within the camp radius set within /env rad that we set later
/home facefast on <---- quick face target when engaging in camp
/home onauto on <--- We set this so that when we use /here, it will set the current position as home (like doing /boxr camp / camphere)
/agro active on <---- this will enable aggro abilities that are populated for the class (not taunt because it's separate)
/agro taunt 99 <-- use taunt if aggro is below 99
/cc mode melee on <---- this turns on melee mode for combat controls, this is similar to enabling melee section in a kissassist INI, and will enable the melee rotation you setup using the /melee commands (which we will get to later.
/env rad 40 <---- this is again a radius for your camp. This radius applies more broadly to every aspect of the macro, anything out of this radius is out of range
At this point the tank will be standing in place and ready to engage any mob that comes within a 40yd radius.
Setup all the Melee to engage targets and assist the main tank:
/dgge /cc mode melee on <--- toggle on melee mode
/dgge /cc engage 99
/dgge /cc ass smart g <--- use smart assist by using the group window Main assist
/dgge /home deathclear on
/dgge /home incombat on
/dgge /home facefast on
/dgge /home position random --- I manually went to my rogue window and used /home position rear to prepare for backstab
/dgge /home onauto --- so that /here will set a home point
/dgge /env rad 40
Setup max level for engaging mobs in combat so we don't engage guards
/dgga /env moblvlmax 5
Setup the healer (I was using a shaman with minor healing loaded in gem1)
/heal 1 gem1 <--- set entropy heal 1, to the healing spell loaded in gem1
/heal 1 <--- toggle entropy heal 1 on
/heal 1 tag single add <--- add a tag to tell entropy this is a single target heal
/cc mode heal on <--- enable healing mode
/heal group <---- toggle on heal mode for group members
/heal 1 see <--- check the settings of the heal
/rest pct 80 <---- once the char hits 80% mana, toggle resting. They will still do heal routine while resting
/rest full on <---- try to rest to full
/rest combat on <----- rest in combat
Setup the Puller (I used a monk)
/pull with melee
/pull rad 300
/pull sethome on
/pull zrad 25
/pull mode nav
/pull stop pct 40
/pull stop time 10
/pull active on
Start the Party
From your tank character, bring everyone to the spot you want to camp.
Use /here to set this as the spot for everyone in the group (except the char that issues the command)
/here
Then on the tank:
/env auto on
The puller should now run off to go grab a mob and bring it back to camp. The tank should engage once it gets into the 40yd radius, and all chars should start melee once the mob is 99% hp or less. The healer will heal and rest to full (even through combat) once it gets to 40% mana. The puller will take a break if anyone in the group reaches 40% hp/mana.
To stop everyone, from the tank issue the command:
/off
Then turn off the tank with:
/env auto off
If you need to ignore / exclude mobs from pulling, use the following command on the puller when the mob is targeted:
/area exclude
Running into issues? Character just standing there doing nothing? One of the best parts about Entropy is the ability to quickly debug using the /debug command (https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Debug)
For example, "Why isn't my puller pulling?"
On the puller, debug the pull function:
/debug combat pull
You should now see tons of information regarding what it's trying to look for / do in the pull routine. If you see no information, that means you aren't making it to the pull routine and need to just keep stepping backwards till you get to the proper routine.
To turn debugging off do:
/debug stop
Shaman Buffs:
Once I hit level 9 I jumped into setting up some buffs
On the Shaman you will run the following commands
/buff 1 gem8 <---- sow
/buff 1 tag crew|group|self|nocombat add <---- These tags mean the buff will be used on crew (your entropy toons), group (everyone in your group even if they are not running entropy), self, and only when not in combat
/buff 1 on
/buff 2 gem7 <---- stam
/buff 2 tag crew|group|self|nocombat add
/buff 2 on
/buff 3 gem6 <---- group str
/buff 3 tag crew|group|self|nocombat add
/buff 3 on
/buff crew on <--- enables buffing of crew with buffs tagged crew
/buff group on <--- enables buffing of group with buffs tagged group
/buff self on <--- enables buffing of self with buffs tagged self
Entropy uses timers to space out buffs and keep things looking more natural. The default time on that cycle is 1m, but can be dropped to 15s by editing the tiCheck_Buff_Cycle variable.
/edit tiCheck_Buff_Cycle 15s <--- found this with /see maTimer , greatly shortens the buff cycle, default is 1m
At this point the shaman (make sure they are turned on with /env auto on or by issuing the /on command from DRIVER toon) should start buffing everyone in the group. You can also force a buff cycle by using the command:
/cb c <--- force a buff cycle for your crew
There is also a very cool method of adding buffs using SPA to add buff categories, so that they will dynamically resolve as you level. You can read more about that here: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Buff#SPA_Method
**Edit 6/12/2021**
Just wanted to add that when it's time to update a spell, all you have to do is load the new spell into a spell gem and replace the /buff slot:
Load spirit of Ox (sta buff) into gem 7
Earlier we set /buff 2 to stamina buff so we just now do:
/buff 2 gem7
And done!
Setting up Bard
Again at level 9 picked up a few bard songs and set these up. Making use of the tags again, the built-in tags for pulseXXX are used.
/song 1 gem1 <---- Chant of battle
/song 1 tag pulseincombat add <--- only in combat
/song 2 gem2 <----- selo's accelerando
/song 2 tag pulseincombat|pulseooc add <---- play in combat and out of combat
/song 3 gem3 <--- hymn of restoration
/song 3 tag pulseincombat|pulseooc|pulserest add <---- play all the time
/song 1 on
/song 2 on
/song 3 on
/song line 1|2|3 <---- this is the order of priority for the songs. Tags get applied, so if we are incombat, 1->2->3, if we're out of combat it would just be 2->3
/chr ooc on <----- Careful with this, this will set bard to twist songs out of combat, which could result in insta death if puller gets hit with a song and causes aggro to the bard. If this is set to off the bard will only play pulseincombat tagged songs
Setup SK Snare + Dot + Nuke
**Setup spike nuke**
/nuke 1 gem1 <---spike of disease
/nuke 1 tag incombat add <--- always use when it's up and we're in combat
/nuke 1 on
/cc mode nuke on
**setup dot**
/dot 1 gem2 <--- disease cloud
/dot 1 on
/cc mode dot on
**setup snare**
/debuff 1 gem3 <---- xxx darkness
/debuff 1 tag snare add
/debuff 1 on
/debuff snare on
**setup self attack buff**
/buff 1 gem8 <----- grimaura
/buff 1 tag self add
/buff 1 on
/buff self on
***Setup the SK to rest between pulls (I use a monk puller)
/rest pct 99
/rest rad 30
**To be continued**
As I level this set of characters I will continue to add more detailed setup of healers / bard, as well as things like auto rez and general group management using entropy.
Update July 4, 2021: I didn't end up taking my group past level 25 mostly because I play on test server, so adjusting to live was a bit too much of a shock. Hopefully a test build of MQNext is in the cards soon to pick this back up. At this time I think I've transferred all my notes into this guide.
There could have been updates that change commands below since the time this guide was written. For the most up to date documentation on Entropy and all commands, the Entropy wiki is the source of truth: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Entropy heavily uses mq2dannet so I will give a lot of setup instructions using dannet to issue commands to characters.
My use-case for Entropy is to run a raid of 30+ characters, however I wrote this guide with a brand new group on Live server using MQNext. My goal with this guide is to get you through these steps:
1. Install
2. Setup group movement (similar to chase mode in other tools)
3. Setup a tank in a camp radius
4. Setup a simple healer
5. Setup a puller to the camp radius
6. Setup a rogue dps to backstab and assist the tank
That will be the start, and is surprisingly simple to get going. Later I will add some more information about how to start using tags / setup casters/heals etc.
Install
Some MQNext Presetup:
- Change MQNext\Config\MQ2GroupInfo.ini Line 16-41 -> remove comments from the Dannet lines, comment the EQBCS lines
- Download nav meshes
Plugins I used for this tutorial:
/plugin mq2collections
/plugin mq2sqlite
/plugin mq2autoaccept
/plugin mq2nav
/plugin mq2lua
/plugin mq2autoloot
Install instructions for Entropy are well documented on the Wiki: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Install
If for some reason it does not load, read the error message and it will tell you exactly what is missing. Likely causes (which are all documented in the instructions)
1. You need to load some plugins
2. You need to create a folder Entropy\data\
3. You need to put the file custom.inc into Entropy\data
Load entropy on ONE character first. This will build the shared sqlite tables.
1. Main char: /mac entropy\start
Wait for the sqlite file to finish building (usually takes 45s-60s the first time)
When it's done you should see something like this where it says Ready: XXs
2. Now you can run the macro on all other chars: /dgge /mac entropy\start
Now you will build your "crew"
On your driving toon (this is typically my Tank character), invite everyone to group, and set the tank as MT and MA in the UI.
- Build the crew: /crew buildas CREWNAME
You should see some output with group member names and SUCCESS messages. Now you can test if the crew form works.
From here on out you can now use entropy to setup the group. To test this, first disband everyone:
/dgga /disband
Now form the crew with entropy:
/crew form CREWNAME
Basic Movement Setup
For me the first step was getting comfortable with moving chars around. Entropy does this with the Tie command (https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Tc) This is very similar to chase mode for other tools
First set the /tc mode, I use 'nav' so that they will use mq2nav. Then set the name of the toon you want them to follow (typically your group leader)
Since everyone is in group we can use dannet to do this: (/dgge will send to everyone in group except the one that sent the command)
/dgge /tc mode nav
/dgge /tc toon leadername
Now you can have the group follow you by using:
/dgge /tie on
They should now be chasing you around. To make them stop chasing you:
/dgge /tie off
These are the only two follow commands you will need. The difference between "Chase and fight everything with me along the way" and "follow me but don't fight anything" comes from having characters in manual/auto mode which we will cover later.
Basic Tank / Camp Setup
This will be a variation of what's on the "Quick and Dirty tank setup" on the wiki, and I will try to correlate the settings to other tools. The goal here is to get a character tanking mobs in a camp as the main assist, and another character pulling mobs to that camp.
We'll be using the following commands:
Pull: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Pull -> Everything to do with pulling, similar to pull section of an ini, one difference is for the main tank you will want to set a pull radius equal or less than your home/env radius so that the tank will engage 100% hp mobs when they get within that distance
Home: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Home -> This is the main "camp" commands. The set command is the same as setting /camphere and gives some flexibility to how you engage targets within that camp radius
Agro: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Agro -> Tank aggro abilities
Env: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Env -> This is more general macro settings, one of which is again radius. Anything outside that radius is out of range
CC: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/CombatControls -> This is where the different modes are turned off/on. Things like nuke, dot, heal etc, which all correspond to a different rotation. Those rotations are triggered using tags which we will cover later
Run these commands on your tank character. Set the character as Main Assist in the group window
/pull rad 30 <-- will engage anything within 30 rad even if mob is at 100% HP. This is basically like setting your campradius to 30 in tank mode.
/pull with melee <---- engage whatever is within that 40 radius with melee
/pull active on <----- Enable the pull so you will engage
/pull mode base <----- Use stick to get to the mob (since it will be inside LOS in your camp this should be fastest way to get to the mob)
/home deathclear on <---- this will reset your "home" (which is the xyz coordinate for your camp) when you die
/home incombat on <----- stay within the camp radius set within /env rad that we set later
/home facefast on <---- quick face target when engaging in camp
/home onauto on <--- We set this so that when we use /here, it will set the current position as home (like doing /boxr camp / camphere)
/agro active on <---- this will enable aggro abilities that are populated for the class (not taunt because it's separate)
/agro taunt 99 <-- use taunt if aggro is below 99
/cc mode melee on <---- this turns on melee mode for combat controls, this is similar to enabling melee section in a kissassist INI, and will enable the melee rotation you setup using the /melee commands (which we will get to later.
/env rad 40 <---- this is again a radius for your camp. This radius applies more broadly to every aspect of the macro, anything out of this radius is out of range
At this point the tank will be standing in place and ready to engage any mob that comes within a 40yd radius.
Setup all the Melee to engage targets and assist the main tank:
/dgge /cc mode melee on <--- toggle on melee mode
/dgge /cc engage 99
/dgge /cc ass smart g <--- use smart assist by using the group window Main assist
/dgge /home deathclear on
/dgge /home incombat on
/dgge /home facefast on
/dgge /home position random --- I manually went to my rogue window and used /home position rear to prepare for backstab
/dgge /home onauto --- so that /here will set a home point
/dgge /env rad 40
Setup max level for engaging mobs in combat so we don't engage guards
/dgga /env moblvlmax 5
Setup the healer (I was using a shaman with minor healing loaded in gem1)
/heal 1 gem1 <--- set entropy heal 1, to the healing spell loaded in gem1
/heal 1 <--- toggle entropy heal 1 on
/heal 1 tag single add <--- add a tag to tell entropy this is a single target heal
/cc mode heal on <--- enable healing mode
/heal group <---- toggle on heal mode for group members
/heal 1 see <--- check the settings of the heal
/rest pct 80 <---- once the char hits 80% mana, toggle resting. They will still do heal routine while resting
/rest full on <---- try to rest to full
/rest combat on <----- rest in combat
Setup the Puller (I used a monk)
/pull with melee
/pull rad 300
/pull sethome on
/pull zrad 25
/pull mode nav
/pull stop pct 40
/pull stop time 10
/pull active on
Start the Party
From your tank character, bring everyone to the spot you want to camp.
Use /here to set this as the spot for everyone in the group (except the char that issues the command)
/here
Then on the tank:
/env auto on
The puller should now run off to go grab a mob and bring it back to camp. The tank should engage once it gets into the 40yd radius, and all chars should start melee once the mob is 99% hp or less. The healer will heal and rest to full (even through combat) once it gets to 40% mana. The puller will take a break if anyone in the group reaches 40% hp/mana.
To stop everyone, from the tank issue the command:
/off
Then turn off the tank with:
/env auto off
If you need to ignore / exclude mobs from pulling, use the following command on the puller when the mob is targeted:
/area exclude
Running into issues? Character just standing there doing nothing? One of the best parts about Entropy is the ability to quickly debug using the /debug command (https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Debug)
For example, "Why isn't my puller pulling?"
On the puller, debug the pull function:
/debug combat pull
You should now see tons of information regarding what it's trying to look for / do in the pull routine. If you see no information, that means you aren't making it to the pull routine and need to just keep stepping backwards till you get to the proper routine.
To turn debugging off do:
/debug stop
Shaman Buffs:
Once I hit level 9 I jumped into setting up some buffs
On the Shaman you will run the following commands
/buff 1 gem8 <---- sow
/buff 1 tag crew|group|self|nocombat add <---- These tags mean the buff will be used on crew (your entropy toons), group (everyone in your group even if they are not running entropy), self, and only when not in combat
/buff 1 on
/buff 2 gem7 <---- stam
/buff 2 tag crew|group|self|nocombat add
/buff 2 on
/buff 3 gem6 <---- group str
/buff 3 tag crew|group|self|nocombat add
/buff 3 on
/buff crew on <--- enables buffing of crew with buffs tagged crew
/buff group on <--- enables buffing of group with buffs tagged group
/buff self on <--- enables buffing of self with buffs tagged self
Entropy uses timers to space out buffs and keep things looking more natural. The default time on that cycle is 1m, but can be dropped to 15s by editing the tiCheck_Buff_Cycle variable.
/edit tiCheck_Buff_Cycle 15s <--- found this with /see maTimer , greatly shortens the buff cycle, default is 1m
At this point the shaman (make sure they are turned on with /env auto on or by issuing the /on command from DRIVER toon) should start buffing everyone in the group. You can also force a buff cycle by using the command:
/cb c <--- force a buff cycle for your crew
There is also a very cool method of adding buffs using SPA to add buff categories, so that they will dynamically resolve as you level. You can read more about that here: https://entropy.exspes.com/wiki/index.php/Buff#SPA_Method
**Edit 6/12/2021**
Just wanted to add that when it's time to update a spell, all you have to do is load the new spell into a spell gem and replace the /buff slot:
Load spirit of Ox (sta buff) into gem 7
Earlier we set /buff 2 to stamina buff so we just now do:
/buff 2 gem7
And done!
Setting up Bard
Again at level 9 picked up a few bard songs and set these up. Making use of the tags again, the built-in tags for pulseXXX are used.
/song 1 gem1 <---- Chant of battle
/song 1 tag pulseincombat add <--- only in combat
/song 2 gem2 <----- selo's accelerando
/song 2 tag pulseincombat|pulseooc add <---- play in combat and out of combat
/song 3 gem3 <--- hymn of restoration
/song 3 tag pulseincombat|pulseooc|pulserest add <---- play all the time
/song 1 on
/song 2 on
/song 3 on
/song line 1|2|3 <---- this is the order of priority for the songs. Tags get applied, so if we are incombat, 1->2->3, if we're out of combat it would just be 2->3
/chr ooc on <----- Careful with this, this will set bard to twist songs out of combat, which could result in insta death if puller gets hit with a song and causes aggro to the bard. If this is set to off the bard will only play pulseincombat tagged songs
Setup SK Snare + Dot + Nuke
**Setup spike nuke**
/nuke 1 gem1 <---spike of disease
/nuke 1 tag incombat add <--- always use when it's up and we're in combat
/nuke 1 on
/cc mode nuke on
**setup dot**
/dot 1 gem2 <--- disease cloud
/dot 1 on
/cc mode dot on
**setup snare**
/debuff 1 gem3 <---- xxx darkness
/debuff 1 tag snare add
/debuff 1 on
/debuff snare on
**setup self attack buff**
/buff 1 gem8 <----- grimaura
/buff 1 tag self add
/buff 1 on
/buff self on
***Setup the SK to rest between pulls (I use a monk puller)
/rest pct 99
/rest rad 30
**To be continued**
As I level this set of characters I will continue to add more detailed setup of healers / bard, as well as things like auto rez and general group management using entropy.
Update July 4, 2021: I didn't end up taking my group past level 25 mostly because I play on test server, so adjusting to live was a bit too much of a shock. Hopefully a test build of MQNext is in the cards soon to pick this back up. At this time I think I've transferred all my notes into this guide.
