I
How Commands Work
There are three ways you'll direct your companions. Knowing which is which is most of the battle:
Dot
.playerbots … — type in any chat box; the server reads it
Order follow / attack … — type into party or raid chat
Strategy co … — whisper to one companion
Solo? When you're ungrouped, party orders can be sent in /say
instead — your summoned companions still hear them. The Control Panel add-on picks the right
channel for you automatically.
II
Summoning & Dismissing
Dot commands| Command | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
.playerbots bot add <name> |
Summon one of your own alt characters as a companion. Separate several with commas. The character must be on a different account than the one you're playing. | .playerbots bot add Thrall,Jaina |
.playerbots bot addaccount <account> |
Summon every character on one of your accounts at once. Give it an account name, not a character name. | .playerbots bot addaccount myalts |
.playerbots bot addclass <class> |
Spawn an auto-generated companion of a class (see the class keywords below). Great for filling a role fast. | .playerbots bot addclass mage |
.playerbots bot remove <name> |
Dismiss companion(s) by name. Comma-separate to remove several. | .playerbots bot remove Thrall |
.playerbots bot remove * |
Dismiss all of your companions at once. | .playerbots bot remove * |
Class keywords for addclass:
warrior, paladin, hunter, rogue, priest,
shaman, mage, warlock, druid, and dk (Death Knight).
III
Party Orders
Party / raid chat
Type these as plain words into party or raid chat (or /say when
solo). They steer your whole group of companions at once.
| Order | What it does |
|---|---|
follow | Companions run to you and follow your movement. |
stay | Hold current position and stop following. |
attack | Attack your current target. |
grind | Freely attack nearby enemies without waiting for a target. |
flee | Break off and retreat back to you. |
reset | Stop the current action and clear standing orders. |
IV
Combat Strategies
Whisper a companion
Strategies are set per companion, because roles are class-specific — you'd never ask a
priest to tank. Whisper the co command
to the companion you want to change. (In the add-on, just target the bot and click a button.)
| Command | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
co +<strategy> | Turn a strategy on. | co +tank |
co -<strategy> | Turn a strategy off. | co -aoe |
co ~<strategy> | Toggle a strategy on or off. | co ~heal |
co ? | List the strategies this companion currently has active. | co ? |
co ! | Clear all of this companion's strategies. | co ! |
Strategy keywords by class — each companion also auto-picks a sensible role from its
spec, so you only need these when you want to override it:
| Class | Strategies |
|---|---|
Warrior | tank, dps, aoe, behind, boost, threat |
Paladin | tank, heal, dps, aoe, boost |
Hunter | dps, aoe, cc, boost |
Rogue | dps, aoe, cc, behind, boost |
Priest | heal, dps, aoe, boost |
Death Knight | tank, dps, aoe, boost |
Shaman | heal, dps, aoe, boost |
Mage | dps, aoe, cc, boost |
Warlock | dps, aoe, cc, boost |
Druid | tank, heal, dps, aoe, boost, cat, bear, caster |
V
The Add-on Panel
What each button sends
Don't want to type? The Companion Control Panel add-on turns all of
the above into clicks. Every control just fires one of these commands for you:
| Panel control | Sends |
|---|---|
| Add altbot(s) by name | .playerbots bot add <names> |
| Add whole account | .playerbots bot addaccount <account> |
| Add random bot by class | .playerbots bot addclass <class> |
| Remove bot(s) by name | .playerbots bot remove <names> |
| Remove ALL bots (confirms first) | .playerbots bot remove * |
| Party orders (Follow / Stay / Attack / Grind / Flee / Reset) | the order, to party/raid chat (or say if solo) |
| Selected-bot strategy buttons | co ~<strategy> whispered to your targeted companion |
| Strategies? | co ? |
| Clear all | co ! |
To set strategies in the panel, target one of your companions — the bottom row fills
with the strategies that fit its class. Then target a mob to aim attacks; the panel keeps
controlling your last-picked companion.
VI
Slash Commands & Chatting
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/pcp | Open or close the Companion Control Panel (add-on required). |
/playerbots | Same as /pcp — opens the panel. |
/pcp help | Open the add-on's built-in guide window. |
/whisper <companion> | Say anything to a companion and it replies in character. Whisper an order keyword (follow, attack, stay…) and it acts on it instead. |
You can also open the panel from its minimap button (left-click; drag to reposition),
or bind a key under Key Bindings → Playerbots Control Panel.
Want the complete, exhaustive list of everything .playerbots can do? It lives
on the project's
Playerbot Commands wiki.