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Addon Spotlight: XLoot and friends

Addon Spotlight takes a look at the little bits of Lua and XML that make our interfaces special. From bar mods to unit frames and beyond, if it goes in your Addons folder, we'll cover it here.

Today I'm going to focus on an addon that is almost purely cosmetic. XLoot is one of those addons that people will see on screenshots and ask "ooh, what is that?" Essentially, it makes your loot frames much prettier, and somewhat more informative. You can see the default configuration in the screenshot.

It's extremely configurable, though; anything from background and border colors to whether the loot frame snaps to your cursor can be set with a simple "/xloot options." Personally, I like my XLoot to not snap to my cursor, since I use auto-loot and the movement is distracting. I also like to lighten it up a bit; glossy black isn't a great fit for my UI. But everyone should be able to find a look that fits.

I also like the option to color the loot frame based on loot quality; it's nice to see a blue frame when out questing. Finally, the "link all" button is quite handy for a raid leader, and there's a thoughtful option to only show that button when you're in a party/raid.

Download XLoot at Curse/WoWInterface

XLoot has a few plugins to extend its functionality, as well. XLootMaster is meant to give you more control, information, and options as a master looter.

I haven't tried it personally yet because there were some rumors that it wasn't working, and that's the last thing you want as a master looter in a raid. However, a new update just got pushed two days ago, and everything I've heard says it works great now, so I'll be giving it a try in my next raid.

Download XLootMaster at Curse/WoWInterface

There are two more plugins for XLoot that I have heard mixed reports on: XLootGroup and XLootMonitor. XLootGroup is meant to give you more attractive frames for rolling on items, and XLootMonitor is meant to keep track of who gets what loot as your instance progresses. However, I'm not sure they're working right now. Is anyone using them and able to confirm/deny?

In the mean time, Tekkub has written his own take on XLootGroup called teksLoot, and that is supposed to be working, so you could try that out.

Addons are what we do on Addon Spotlight. Check out some essential mods for raid leaders. Enhance your mailbox with Postal. And remember, Addon Spotlight is fueled by viewers like you, so if you have a mod you think we should take a look at, drop us a line.