Is VoiceAttack allowed

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Voiceattack is an application that allows you to bind keys to voice commands for easier accessbility and for an extra layer of fun, for instance I can say bill I choose you and it will summon my pet for me. Also it allows me to turn on music or control my volume without having to tab out

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Blizzard tends not to approve any sort of third-party software as the software creator could make changes to it too.

That said, I believe that as long and one “voice command” equals one single action in one single instance of WoW (and doesn’t possess the ability to send it to multiple clients), then it should be okay.

When it comes to third-party software, it’s more of a “use at your own risk” sorta thing :wink:

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You can give Blizzard feedback about accessibility.

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I would agree with both Perl and Rufflebottom. While I can’t comment on any particular program, it does sound like you are only initiating a single macro that is otherwise possible within the game macro system.

I’d also recommend reaching out to the Accessibility team with any questions.

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The restrictions on using 3rd party software to send keystrokes are basically

  1. “one keystroke = one game command”
  2. “if you cant automate multiple commands with a macro, automating them through 3rd party software is a violation”.

In your example, the voice command to “get Bill” comes down to one command to dismiss your current pet and then a second command to call one of your pet slots.

The safest approach is to macro those two commands and use the voice software to execute the macro.

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Thank you very much everyone for the replies, you all have been very helpful :slight_smile:

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Been playing World of Warcraft since Vanilla. I have used VoiceAttack with WoW since 2007, even before it was released as a, ‘product’ (which was late 2009). I do not use VoiceAttack’s extensive macro ability for WoW, as there is no need for it - there’s no way to automate control of your character, as VoiceAttack only provides input (press key, click mouse) and does not recognize any type of game state whatsoever. That is, any attempt at ‘automation’ would be absolutely haphazard at best- if that makes sense. As mundane as it sounds, simple things like being able to say, ‘follow’ to my pet and ‘map’ without having to click or press a key adds just a little bit of immersion and fun- this is what this software is mostly doing for me.

I messaged Blizzard probably more than ten years ago about this, as VoiceAttack was created initially for use with WoW. The Blizzard rep at the time said it was a cool idea, but also said that using extensive macros would be questionable. I then, of course, inquired about using macro-enabled keyboards/mice/Nostromo/Tartarus/etc., as VoiceAttack’s macro ability would fall into a similar category, but in a virtual input (non-hardware) sense. I did not receive direction on that.

Since then, many have come forward and have expressed that without VoiceAttack, gaming would be much worse if not impossible. It’s not a stretch to see how software like VoiceAttack can be an enrichment of a person’s situation, however, just like any other macro-enabled device, something rather good can also be abused in some way. I believe it’s up to the end user to maintain trust between themselves and the TOS they’ve agreed to, and it’s up to the game developer to monitor and police abuse. I do take comfort that Blizzard has and continues to allow virtual input (that is, input from software and not keyboards or mice), as they have the ability to turn virtual input off. This at least lets me know that abuse is probably not rampant, and that the vast majority of players are adhering to the rules.

I am the creator of VoiceAttack, and this is not a sales pitch (lol, right?) - The spirit of the software is not for ill intent even in the very least, and it will continue to be developed with that spirit in mind. I do use VoiceAttack with WoW every day (for reals - every.single.day), and I just wanted to share my experience with you since your concerns are the same as my concerns.

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It sounds like you’ve made a very cool piece of software!

I’m surprised that you didn’t receive an answer to that part. It’s actually a pretty simple one as far as the rules are concerned. If you’re making an out of game macro using any software (mouse/keyboard/etc.), it’s not allowed to do anything that the in-game macro system can’t do. So basically, it can’t string along commands or make more than one action per command or create any kind of automation (like rapid fire macro buttons).

Simply put, if you can’t make the macro in the game, don’t use any software to make it outside of the game.

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