The Players' Guide to the Cities/Slash Commands, Macros, Keybindings, and Emotes
Slash Commands
In City of Heroes and City of Villains, there are a number of commands that can be typed on the chat command line to execute various functions. These are known as slash commands, because they begin with a slash (/). Slash commands are discussed in depth in their own article:
Macros
Macros allow the creation of a button that is placed in your power tray with the functionality of one or more stored slash commands. Macros are created using the /macro command as follows:
- /macro <macro_name> <function>
For example, the following will create a button in your power tray labeled "gratz" that will make your character say "Congrats!" in their currently selected chat channel whenever it is activated.
Keybindings
Using the /bind command, slash command functions can be assigned to any key on the keyboard and to any combination of keys with the ALT, CTRL, or SHIFT keys.
For example, the following will tie the /screenshot command to the SYSRQ key on the keyboard:
- /bind SYSRQ screenshot
If there are any pre-existing defined binds for a key, binding a new set of commands to the key will overwrite the old setting.
To remove functionality from a key, use the /nop (null operation) command.
Below are the keybinds that are set when you select the "Reset KeyBinds" button in the Keybind Profile options. The settings will be different depending on whether the profile selection is set to "Default", "Joystick", or "Original."
When you first begin play in City of Heroes/Villains, your keybinds will be set to the "Default" bind set.
Preset Keybinds
Emotes
Using the /emote command (or /e, /em, and /me) causes a character to perform a short animation (sometimes accompanied by sound effects). These animations are referred to as "emotes." Some emotes execute only once per command while others may loop contiunously until interrupted.
If the emote called out is not a defined emote, no animation will occur, but a thought balloon containing the text following the /emote command will appear above the character's head.
A detailed list of defined emotes is available here: