AddOn Spotlight: Buttons, more buttons!
For me, the first real push to use addons came when I discovered I had no place to put new skills on the default toolbar. Yes, you can add several additional rows of buttons in the default UI (via interface options) but their location and size are set. I didn't like the amount of space they took up, so I looked for more flexible options. As I imagine many are struck with the same difficulty at some point in the game, today I'll go over the most popular button mods -- and maybe you, too, can twink your interface to perfection!
Bongos
What it does: Bongos replaces your main action bar with 10 customizable button bars and splits the rest of the main action bar up into movable parts. It's not as customizable as other such addons, but it's designed to provide the features most users want from a button bar.
The benefits: Gives you more buttons than the default action bar and lets you move all of the key UI components around to your preference. The author also claims to have a version that's already "workingish" in the expansion.
The downsides: Can't customize this as much as FlexBar or Discord.
Download: From Curse Gaming.
Discord Action Bars
What it does: Gives you 10 action bars (120 buttons) and hides the default interface art for a clean look. Each bar can be moved, resized, rearranged, colored, collapsed, etc. They can also be customizable to appear only when certain conditions are met (i.e. in stealth, in combat, out of combat, when you have a hostile target, when you have a friendly target, etc).
The benefits: Highly customizable. Seems to be a bit more usable "out of the box" than FlexBar.
The downsides: Requires a bunch of customization to get everything just the way you like it.
For more info: Check the Discord home page.
Download: From Curse Gaming.
FlexBar
What it does: FlexBar provides you with 120 (yes, that's one-hundred and twenty!) buttons that can all be moved, scaled, shaded, and hidden completely independently of one another. And beyond that, FlexBar can be configured to show certain buttons only when certain circumstances are met -- like showing a warrior's Overpower button only after a dodge or a rogue's Riposte button only after a parry. So with some configuration time, you'll have this mod displaying every button you want exactly how, when, and where you want!
The benefits: Total customization. Your entire hotbar structure can be designed exactly the way you want it.
The downsides: Total customization. This isn't an "out of the box: solution and requires time and effort to set up.
For more info: Check out the FlexBar forums and the developer's home page.
Download: From Curse Gaming.
Group Buttons
What it does: This mod is a bit different than the others here in that it doesn't replace the default action bar, but instead provides highly customizable button bars for various targets (one for you, one for each party member, one for friendly targets, one for hostile targets, one for the party member with the lowest health). These button bars show, obviously, only when the target is available. Clicking a button on the action bar performs the specific action on the specific target.
The benefits: This type of click-casting mod is primarily aimed towards healers, as the ability to target and cast a spell at the same time is handiest for them. It's a different way of casting spells, but if you're a healing class trying to find a new UI, I'd recommend giving it a try, as it greatly simplifies targeting.
The downsides: A DPS class might not find this the most useful way to arrange their buttons and a healer may find that click casting is slower than using keyboard hotkeys (I've done it both ways, and currently do not use a click casting mod).
For more info: Group Buttons is made by the makers of the Discord mods, and more information can be found at the Discord home page.
Download: From Curse Gaming.
