ShamWOW for HB2 - An Enhance/Elemental/Resto + PVP/RaF Healbot by Bobby53

[vboom]

vboom, It does not appear that the BGBuddy is making calls to the CC at the point the issue occurs since there is no log file output at that point. You mentioned debug output is still occurring, but there appears to be no log output of any type occurring from 12:58:13 until you stop the bot at 1:02:09 which seems to correspond to the problem you observed.

The only thing unusual I noticed is that there are some errors pertaining to the currently loaded profile:

[12:51:50 AM:762] XML Error: Unknown tag "StartLocation" (Input: "<StartLocation X="-1387.628" Y="-551.105" Z="54.9678" Side="Horde" />") in "PvpProfile"! - On line 6 - [<StartLocation X="-1387.628" Y="-551.105" Z="54.9678" Side="Horde" />]
[12:51:50 AM:762] XML Error: Unknown tag "StartLocation" (Input: "<StartLocation X="806.1611" Y="-494.3407" Z="100.0156" Side="Alliance" />") in "PvpProfile"! - On line 7 - [<StartLocation X="806.1611" Y="-494.3407" Z="100.0156" Side="Alliance" />]
[12:51:50 AM:764] XML Error: Unknown tag "Boxes" (Input: "<Boxes Side="Horde">
[12:51:50 AM:764] XML Error: Unknown tag "Boxes" (Input: "<Boxes Side="Alliance">

Note that you do not have to load BGBuddy profiles. BGBuddy will automatically select a profile from the Default Profiles\BGBuddy folder when you enter a battleground. I suggest loading any grind or questing profile that is level appropriate and then restarting HonorBuddy. If in doubt, you can load the BLANK.XML file which is a do nothing that many people use in situations like this. I have attached a copy to this post for you.

Thanks and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

Noted and considered, but wanna hear something odd? I turned off WoW and the Bot for roughly 8 hours. (Woke up at 9:00am and restarted) didn't change a damn thing. Been going strong since then, still is as I type this. Why would it have an issue JUST then, and reminder: It's on /every/ bg. From what I can tell at least, I'll see if I can track down a pattern of any kind and send it to the appropriate person.

 

[bobby53]

Noted and considered, but wanna hear something odd? I turned off WoW and the Bot for roughly 8 hours. (Woke up at 9:00am and restarted) didn't change a damn thing. Been going strong since then, still is as I type this. Why would it have an issue JUST then, and reminder: It's on /every/ bg. From what I can tell at least, I'll see if I can track down a pattern of any kind and send it to the appropriate person.

vboom, It isn't that odd. HB is a volatile operating environment that after encountering exceptions or multiple stop/starts can enter a compromised state where things do not act as expected. A restart of WOW and HB is definitely enough to clear that up. Sometimes a Shutdown Restart plus clearing the WOW cache is needed. It is definitely always something worth trying when you get unusual and previously unseen behavior. Bobby53

 

[vboom]

Hey, here's something odd. When I'm running my WoW and Bot on Computer #1 - your CC works flawlessly and runs fine. -- The second I run WoW and Bot on Computer #2 with a literal, copy of my entire HB folder, it derps out and the only thing it does is throws down totems over and over again. I'm not sure why one computer is running fine, but the other is not. Here's a log from the derp'machine.

 

[bobby53]

Hey, here's something odd. When I'm running my WoW and Bot on Computer #1 - your CC works flawlessly and runs fine. -- The second I run WoW and Bot on Computer #2 with a literal, copy of my entire HB folder, it derps out and the only thing it does is throws down totems over and over again. I'm not sure why one computer is running fine, but the other is not. Here's a log from the derp'machine.

vboom, There appear to be a couple issues with this log, but even though it may have appeared so none were due to running a second instance. Since time reference wasn't given I am not sure specifically which 'derp' refers the problem you witnessed, so I'll try to cover each:

[1:42:52 PM:925] System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
   at Bobby53.Shaman.GetBotName() in c:\Users\Locknlol\Desktop\HonorBuddy\CustomClasses\ShamWOW\Shaman.cs:line 1223

This happened because the Mixed Bot was selected, but it was not configured with a Primary or Secondary bot. I'll add a check to make sure they are setup before querying the bot name (which is why the error occurred.) This will fix the exception, but you will still need to select a primary and secondary bot before clicking Start for it to run correctly.

[1:43:55 PM:651] Styx.HonorbuddyUnableToStartException: Can not start quest bot - this profile does not contain a quest order!
   at Bots.Quest.QuestBot.Start()

Load a questing profile before starting the Questing bot and you should not encounter this error.

Last, it appears you experienced the Searing Totem spam issue. This occurs because ShamWOW calls HonorBuddy/WOW to get how many seconds Searing Totem had remaining before expiring. The return value provided is 0 so it cast Searing Totem again. It then asked how many seconds were left again and was told 0, so the cycle (and cast) repeats. This can occur after encountering errors while using HonorBuddy, WOW Errors, etc. It appears it has been over a week since you rebooted, so I recommend doing a Shutdown of your computer. When you come back in, before starting WOW clear out the Cache folders just to be safe. Assuming the other situations are resolved, you shouldn't encounter any further issues.

Thanks for the post and the log file and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[vboom]

Odd. Ok, I'll triple check that, but I'm 100% sure I have that all setup right. I'll triple check to be sure though.

 

[bobby53]

Odd. Ok, I'll triple check that, but I'm 100% sure I have that all setup right. I'll triple check to be sure though.

vboom, As I mentioned it is possible that after running for over a week that your system was simply borked. Exceptions and WOW errors can leave it in a state that provides unexpected results (which is definitely the reason for the Searing Totem issue described.) So the setup may be complete and accurate, yet to components it is providing unexpected values. So even if the setup appears correct when you check, be sure to do the Shutdown and Restart and let me know how it goes. Thanks for the post and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[zuabros]

Hi bobby. It's me again. Just to say your CC is amazing, and it overheals most common players.

I have done some BGs, and it ALWAYS satays #1 in healing done, sometimes with double the 2nd place.

i have played 2x (shamwow + warrior played by me) and success being nice.

I understand it's not your intention to make an arena module/tab for it, so shamwow just keeps healing himself while I kill the enemy's healer.

Of course an arena module which would consist of casting grounding totem only on enemy sheep/hex/fear/mana burn/cyclone, casting hex selectively (CCing enemy's healer or DPS, choosable), would be a very strong thing.

ShamWow 2x Arena Tab
[ ] CC interrupt focus
[ ] Grounding totem on CC / Mana Burn

Thank you again!

For the first time a CC bot has become a better player than handplay.

 

[bobby53]

Hi bobby. It's me again. Just to say your CC is amazing, and it overheals most common players.

I have done some BGs, and it ALWAYS satays #1 in healing done, sometimes with double the 2nd place.

i have played 2x (shamwow + warrior played by me) and success being nice.

I understand it's not your intention to make an arena module/tab for it, so shamwow just keeps healing himself while I kill the enemy's healer.

Of course an arena module which would consist of casting grounding totem only on enemy sheep/hex/fear/mana burn/cyclone, casting hex selectively (CCing enemy's healer or DPS, choosable), would be a very strong thing.

ShamWow 2x Arena Tab
[ ] CC interrupt focus
[ ] Grounding totem on CC / Mana Burn

Thank you again!

For the first time a CC bot has become a better player than handplay.

zuabros, Thanks for the post and sharing your ShamWOW success! +rep That's correct about a separate Arena tab or module, but that is only because all features requested for Arena typically apply to all forms of PVP.

In the next release, look for Focus as an additional selection in Interrupt Style. That will allow you to only watch the focus target for spell casts.

In a subsequent release, I'll look at adding support for selective casting of Grounding Totem.

Thanks for the post and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[ace3444]

Hey guys, I've read about how amazing this bot is, but for me it seems very lack luster. I'm using this mainly for pvp, and I've tried all 3 specs. Enhancement seems slow to react to anything, same with ele, and resto is the best, but still hardly does anything but occasionally heal someone or stand there and heal itself when attacked without moving. Singular works better for me as enhance and ele, but still that is not great at all. I know you've put a TON of work into this bot and for that I'm very thankful. I'm not trying to complain or gripe by any means, just trying figure out what I'm doing wrong. There has to be something I'm missing.

 

[bobby53]

Hey guys, I've read about how amazing this bot is, but for me it seems very lack luster. I'm using this mainly for pvp, and I've tried all 3 specs. Enhancement seems slow to react to anything, same with ele, and resto is the best, but still hardly does anything but occasionally heal someone or stand there and heal itself when attacked without moving. Singular works better for me as enhance and ele, but still that is not great at all. I know you've put a TON of work into this bot and for that I'm very thankful. I'm not trying to complain or gripe by any means, just trying figure out what I'm doing wrong. There has to be something I'm missing.

ace3444, Thanks for the post containing your feedback. Unfortunately the description doesn't match the results of my testing. Since the details (specifically the log file and the local system time on your computer you saw a specific problem) aren't present I'm not able to assist you further. Please see FAQ #1 in the ShamWOW Frequently Asked Questions [CLICK HERE] for steps on posting the information that will enable me to assist you. The FAQ also has answers to a lot of other common questions.

Before posting again with the log and info mentioned in the FAQ however, I would suggest checking that you have downloaded the latest release of ShamWOW from post #1 in this thread. Unfortunately HonorBuddy is bundling a very old and error prone version of ShamWOW. The errors could also be due to recent changes made that weren't tested in the scenario you are using them, but I can't begin to approximate that without the details that are present in the log file. If you do attach a log, note that the entire log file is needed as described in the FAQ. The beginning of each log file contains setting and version information that only appears once, so sending a fragment typically isn't more useful than forgetting the log file entirely.

It is worth noting that ShamWOW is a CC (aka Custom Class) and not a Bot. It handles only the Shaman specific elements of combat and healing. Behavior that is common to all classes is provided by the Bot, the Plugin(s), or the Profile you are using. These are represented in the log file however so even if you are unsure what the source of an error while using ShamWOW you can post here and I'll help triage you to the appropriate component author if needed.

Thanks for the post and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[Woxenrud]

How do I disable special abilities and only use auto attack? I want to grind low level mobs without leaving ghostwolf form

 

[bobby53]

How do I disable special abilities and only use auto attack? I want to grind low level mobs without leaving ghostwolf form

Woxenrud, That's a specialty setup that is supported. On the Grind tab of Class Config you can set the Combat Style to Low-Level Farming which will suppress totem casts and some other things, but you wont be able to stay in Ghost Wolf form. I'll look at doing something accounting for that in the future, but its not available now and not scheduled for inclusion in the next release. Thanks for the post and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[greaterdeath]

HonorBuddy Mode: PvP
Shamans Location: In front of Magetower, Eye of the Storm
What should have happened (be specific): Shaman moves within range to heal
What did happen (be specific): Shaman stutter steps towards heal target, failing to cast
Computer time of problem (local time, not realm time): 5:47:18

Honestly I don't know what my pull distance should be set to.

Aside from that, I read some other bits in this thread that indicate BGbuddy causes this behaviour and thought I would try to confirm that. I have recently tried PvP with a Mage and found the same stutter stepping problem.

So, might there be anything I can do to eliminate this behaviour?

Thank you for your wonderful CC!

 

[bobby53]

HonorBuddy Mode: PvP
Shamans Location: In front of Magetower, Eye of the Storm
What should have happened (be specific): Shaman moves within range to heal
What did happen (be specific): Shaman stutter steps towards heal target, failing to cast
Computer time of problem (local time, not realm time): 5:47:18

Honestly I don't know what my pull distance should be set to.

Aside from that, I read some other bits in this thread that indicate BGbuddy causes this behaviour and thought I would try to confirm that. I have recently tried PvP with a Mage and found the same stutter stepping problem.

So, might there be anything I can do to eliminate this behaviour?

Thank you for your wonderful CC!

Paddy, Thanks for the thorough post. The stutter step which results in a spell cast being interrupted is a HonorBuddy Spell Casting API issue that BGBuddy unfortunately underscores. A solution for ShamWOW which works around this has already been completed and is present in the next release. There is another issue related to initiating combat that is resulting in some non-movement which I am currently resolving (In some circumstances, Shaman stands still for a period of time after target has been selected -- it should close distance and attack immediately with little to no pause.) I would anticipate the next ShamWOW release by Sunday. There really isn't a configuratoin workaround available so the only option I can see is keeping an eye out for the new release. Thanks again and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[laria]

Profiling shamwow with Performance and Memory Profiler - JetBrains dotTrace , i observed that almost 60% of a pulse is spent on sleeps, which are used in loops.
I suspect that this causes the missed bites on AutoAngler for people which have slower computers where a pulse doesnt happen that often as it happens on my highend machine (which still has an occasional pulse warning for shamwow .19 every once in a while)

 

[bobby53]

Profiling shamwow with Performance and Memory Profiler - JetBrains dotTrace , i observed that almost 60% of a pulse is spent on sleeps, which are used in loops.
I suspect that this causes the missed bites on AutoAngler for people which have slower computers where a pulse doesnt happen that often as it happens on my highend machine (which still has an occasional pulse warning for shamwow .19 every once in a while)

Laria, Thanks for passing along some of the research. More detail would be needed to look into this due to the following:
1. What version of ShamWOW was used for testing? Sleeps were removed in 4.5.19 which was posted 4/18. There are still local sleep methods which do nothing.
2. Sleeps should not have been incurred during NeedRest or Pulse calls which should represent almost all calls made during fishing. It is possible that an execution path is invoking some that I hadn't considered, but some detail regarding the call tree or atleast the method calling a sleep would be needed.
3. I run AutoAngler w/ ShamWOW successfully on a fairly weak system with no discernable issues.
I'll take a look at it again, but if you can offer any detail it would be greatly appreciated. Bobby53

 

[bobby53]

ShamWOW Users,

To simplify attaching logs and referencing the place a problem occurred I have created a new light weight plug-in named LogMark [CLICK HERE]. When you are in WOW and see a problem occur you can press any two (2) modifier keys ( Left Shift, Right Shift, Left Control, Right Control, Left Alt, Right Alt ) and it will write a line to the log file (and log window) in the format:

... (log output from bot and cc) ...
[LOGMARK] Mark # 1 added to logfile
... (log output from bot and cc) ...
... (log output from bot and cc) ...
... (log output from bot and cc) ...
[LOGMARK] Mark # 2 added to logfile
... (log output from bot and cc) ...
​

This will simplify being able to mark a point in the log file where you observed a problem occur during your botting session. When you post, instead of a time reference you can say something like "Just before Logmark #1".

Hopefully this will simplify your issue reporting with log files and the effort needed to provide an accurate reference to the time it occurred.

Thanks and good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[Dawg356]

Is this CC stable for healing Hour of Twighlight heroics?

 

[bobby53]

Is this CC stable for healing Hour of Twighlight heroics?

Dawg356, Yes, just use LazyRaider for this. In general, it is easier and more meaningful when wondering if it works in a specific environment ( LFG, LFR, Battlegrounds, etc. come to mind) to simply try it out first. That way if things go badly for some reason, you quit the group.

The CC performs well but your mileage may differ if your gear isn't up to the task. Since most people use HoT Heroics to gear up and often try to enter severely undergeared meeting the iLevel requirements with via unrelated items (PVP items with no +int or +spi [like trinkets]), your results and the number of times you have to drink will be affected by this as well as the gear level of your tank. Same issues that arise when playing yourself, but important to know those same limitations exist when botting. Good luck with your Shaman, Bobby53

 

[shamash]

Just wondering on mana regen, the CC puts up mana spring but it takes it down when I hit half mana or so.. not leaving it up to keep my mana going up. Any way to fix this?