How to Use Macros in Aion 2 – Setup, Skills, Delay & Tips

TL;DR

• Aion 2 has a built-in macro system — no third-party tools needed or allowed.
• The macro key is not assigned by default. You must set it manually in Settings → Key Settings → Gameplay → Macro.
• Macros work by holding a key — the game cycles through your skill stack automatically.
• Use a 10 ms delay between skills for the best results.
• Keep buffs, ultimates, and charged skills out of the macro — use them manually.
• Always test your macro on a training dummy before heading into real content.

Aion 2 combat revolves around repeating a small set of skills in the right order — over and over, every fight. That gets tiring fast, especially for long grinding sessions.

That’s where the built-in macro system comes in. It handles the repetitive part of your rotation automatically, so you can focus on positioning, dodging, and the skills that actually need manual timing.

This guide walks you through how to set up macros in Aion 2 from scratch — assigning the key, building the skill chain, picking the right delay, and knowing what to leave out.

You can play Aion 2 on the official Aion 2 website or on Steam.

What Is the Macro System in Aion 2?

The Aion 2 macro system is an official, built-in feature that lets you chain multiple skills behind a single key. When you hold that key, the game automatically cycles through your assigned skills in order — firing each one as soon as it’s available.

It’s not the same as an auto-combat system. You still control your character. The macro just handles the button presses for your core rotation, cutting down on the number of keys you need to mash every second.

A few things worth knowing:

• The macro fires skills in a loop, from bottom to top of your skill stack.
• If a skill is on cooldown or can’t be used, it’s skipped — the next available one fires instead.
• The macro references the hotbar slot, not the specific skill in it. Swap the skill in that slot and the macro updates automatically.
• You must have an enemy targeted for most skills to activate properly.

Before this system was introduced, many players used third-party mouse software to simulate the same effect. That’s no longer allowed — and no longer necessary. The in-game macro does the same job cleanly, within the game’s rules.

Step 1 – Assign the Macro Key

This is the step most players miss. The macro key is not set by default. Until you assign one, your macros won’t do anything — even if they’re already configured.

Here’s how to set it:

1. Press Esc to open the Settings menu.
2. Go to Key Settings, then open the General tab.
3. Scroll down to the Gameplay section.
4. Find the Macro option — it’s the first entry in that section.
5. Assign the key you want to hold during combat.

Most players use right-click, Mouse 3, or a side mouse button. The key needs to be something you can hold comfortably for extended periods. If you assign right-click, the default heavy attack moves to T automatically.

Once this is done, the macro system is active and ready to use.

Step 2 – Understand Skill Priority and Stack Order

Before building your macro, you need to understand how Aion 2 handles skill order on the hotbar. The macro follows the same logic.

Press K to open the Skill menu and look at the hotbar grid. Each column shares one hotkey. The skill at the bottom of a column gets the highest priority — the game tries to use it first every cycle. If it’s on cooldown or can’t fire, it moves up to the next skill in the column, then the one above that.

The smart setup looks like this:

• Bottom of stack: Your main damage skill with a short or no cooldown — fires constantly.
• Above that: Skills with a 5–20 second cooldown — fire whenever available.
• Higher up: Situational skills that only trigger under certain conditions.

The macro cycles through every hotbar slot you’ve added, repeating this priority check for each one. A compact setup with 3–4 well-chosen skills works better than cramming in everything you have.

Step 3 – Build Your Macro

Here’s how to actually set it up inside the game:

1. Open the Skill menu by pressing K.
2. Click the Macro button in the upper-right corner of the Skills window.
3. Click Add Macro to create your first entry.
4. Select the entry’s icon, then choose the hotbar slot you want to include.
5. Repeat by clicking Add Macro again to add more skill slots to the sequence.
6. Arrange the entries in the order you want the macro to follow.

Remember: you’re selecting hotbar slots, not individual skills. Whatever skill is in that slot at the time of combat is what fires. This makes it easy to swap skills in and out without rebuilding the macro.

Don’t go overboard with the number of entries. A tight 4–6 slot macro is more reliable than a long chain that skips and stutters.

Step 4 – Set the Delay to 10 ms

Each entry in your macro has a Delay setting — measured in milliseconds — which controls the pause between each skill activation.

The recommended setting is 10 ms. This is the lowest commonly used value and is what most class builds are designed around. Start here.

If you’re on a high-latency connection (roughly 80–150+ ms ping) and notice skills failing to register, try bumping the delay to 40–50 ms. A slightly longer delay trades a small amount of speed for better consistency.

Don’t overthink it. Start at 10 ms, test on a training dummy, and only adjust if you see problems.

Which Skills to Put in Your Macro

Not every skill belongs in a macro. Putting the wrong ones in will actually hurt your performance. Here’s a simple breakdown:

Skills That Work Well in a Macro

• Zero-cooldown spam skills — your bread-and-butter attacks that fire constantly.
• Short cooldown damage skills (5–20 seconds) — they slot naturally into the rotation.
• Condition-based skills — like a skill that only activates on a Staggered enemy. Include them if you can reliably apply that condition.

Only include skills that are leveled up enough to be useful. A low-level skill just wastes animation time and lowers your DPS.

Skills to Keep Out of the Macro

• Toggle buffs and permanent auras — the macro will switch them off on the second pass through the loop. Keep things like Light of Protection or Chanter Mantras on a separate key.
• Charged skills — the macro releases them at whatever charge level they’ve reached. Use these manually so you can control the timing. This applies to the Ranger’s Charged Shot, Sorcerer’s Hellfire, Templar’s Punishment, and similar skills.
• Rush and gap-closer skills — in PvP especially, the macro might fire a rush after you’ve already reached your target. Keep these on manual keys.
• Long cooldown ultimates (45–60 seconds) — mixing them into a fast rotation causes stalls and missed damage windows. Use them at the right moment, manually.
• MP recovery skill — you need this as a fallback when mana gets low. Don’t automate it.
• Skills that reposition you — anything that roots you or forces movement can disrupt your positioning mid-fight.

The general rule: if a skill needs deliberate timing or a specific moment, keep it off the macro.

How to Use the Macro in Combat

Once set up, using the macro is simple:

• Lock a target first — many skills won’t fire without one.
• Hold your macro key — the game runs through your rotation automatically.
• Keep left-clicking your basic attack while the macro runs — this enables animation canceling, which cuts recovery time between skills and boosts your overall DPS.

Animation canceling works by clicking your basic attack right after a skill fires, before the recovery animation finishes. You’ll see a brief shadow or afterimage on your character when it works correctly. It also helps regenerate MP during the rotation, which keeps your mana from bottoming out.

Your manual inputs take priority over the macro. If you need to use a charged skill or a cooldown ability at the right moment, you can do that while the macro continues running in the background.

How to Use Multiple Macro Presets

Aion 2 gives you three separate macro presets, labelled 1, 2, and 3 next to the Macro button. Each preset holds its own skill macro setup.

This is useful for switching between PvE and PvP situations. For example:

• Preset 1 (PvE): Include rush skills and sustained damage combos.
• Preset 2 (PvP): Keep rush and gap-closers off the macro, give yourself more manual control.

Presets can also store gear, Arcana, Pantheon titles, and wings. The Batch Preset Equip feature under SET 1, SET 2, or SET 3 lets you swap your entire loadout with one key press. Default shortcuts are Ins / Home / PgUp for the three presets, though all of these can be remapped in Key Settings.

Test Your Macro on a Training Dummy

Don’t take an untested macro into a dungeon or group content. The skill order alone can shift your damage output more than you’d expect.

Head to your faction’s training area and use the Training Scarecrows to verify your setup. Use Ctrl + X to open Combat Analysis — it tracks DPS, total damage, hit count, and crit rate for each ability in real time.

The right approach:

1. Start with no temporary buffs for a clean baseline.
2. Run the macro for a fixed interval — 20 to 30 seconds works well.
3. Note the results, then reorder skills and test again.
4. Compare run by run until the output feels right.

A successful macro shows higher damage over time, extra basic attack hits in the total, and the animation shadow on your character during combat. If the sequence stalls or skips frequently, check that you have a target locked and that no manual input is interrupting the loop.

Need help finding the training dummies? Check the full Aion 2 training dummy location guide.

Is It Allowed to Use Hardware Macros?

No. Using your keyboard or mouse software to record and fire macros externally is against Aion 2’s user agreement and counts as cheating. This includes tools like Razer Synapse, Logitech G Hub, or any other hardware macro recorder.

Using the in-game macro is fully allowed and officially supported. That’s exactly what this guide covers — and it does the same job anyway.

Also worth noting: using the in-game macro to run rotations while you’re AFK is not allowed either. It’s designed for active combat, not unattended farming.

Macro Tips by Content Type

A few quick adjustments depending on what you’re doing:

• For grinding mobs: A tight damage macro with your core skills is all you need. Keep it simple.
• For dungeons: Test before you go in. The last thing a group wants is someone with a broken rotation discovering it mid-boss fight. Check our best duty missions guide for what to prioritize.
• For PvP: Be careful with rush skills in the macro. What works in PvE can be a liability when opponents move around unpredictably. Use a separate PvP preset.
• After changing Stigmas or gear: Always retest. Cooldowns, procs, and skill combos can all change when your setup changes. Here’s more on how Stigmas work and how they affect rotations.

If you’re still figuring out which class to main, check the full list of all classes to see how each one approaches the skill priority system differently.

FAQ – Aion 2 Macros