Addon Spotlight: 3 addons you shouldn't forget for your alt

Each week, WoW Insider's Mathew McCurley brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same.

Now is the perfect time to work on that alt you've been keeping locked away, sad and lonely for so long in his little alt box. You've got time now, right? Deathwing is long dead, and things are pretty chill. I even heard there's a new island out there to explore one of these days, most hopefully in July or August, which would be pretty cool.

Ironically, when I'm leveling most of my alts from an early level, I don't enable most of my addons. What's the point? Group and raid content that requires any addons is far off in the future, the number of abilities I have at the time doesn't reflect the button matrices that I've built for level 85, and there is practically no similarity to playstyle. So I turn off my addons, save some very crucial ones.

If you're looking to go addon-light for your next alt, I've got some addons that you're going to want to keep around because they make your life a thousand times easier. WoW's UI has gotten a lot better in recent years, but it still isn't perfect. These addons bring it a little closer to that perfection.

Autotabard is basically great

I've sung Autotabard's praises before, but they bear a repeat listen. Reputation in WoW has gone from an endgame activity for crucial gear pieces to a necessity in all players' lives. Reputation is gear, rewards, fun trinkets, and progress through a zone, dungeon, or raid. The way reputation is gained has changed even more substantially with the tabard system eclipsing the quest and mob system has the dominant mechanic.

By wearing a faction's tabard in level-appropriate dungeons, players will earn reputation with that faction. Mists of Pandaria looks to be adding many new factions to the mix, and as you level through Outland, Northrend, and Cataclysm content, you'll be bombarded with tabards with no understanding of what to do with them or time to even get those reputations up to significant levels. It just doesn't matter anymore; old reputations from previous expansions are relics unique to that time. If you want to go back and study them, you should. It's worth it, in my opinion.

For your alts, however, you're going to want to make every one of those dungeon runs count while you're leveling. Autotabard will make sure that this is the case. Just pick which tabard you want to be gaining reputation for, make sure that tabard is in your bag, and you're good to go. There isn't anything simpler in the world. Anything.

Check out my Addon Spotlight on Autotabard.
Download Autotabard at [Curse].

Whisp makes chat not always awful

Being on an alt and chatting away with your friends can be frustrating at times, especially if you're logging in and out, back and forth between characters or just forgetting what the other person said. Whisp is an addon I'll never be able to live without again (and that's a frightening proposition). But for this addon, chat for me would be a hideous experience.

Whisp adds a new box above your /reply messages when you are replying to someone who has sent you a message. In this new box is a history of your conversation with this specific person that will save over the course of your session and be available across your characters on the same realm. You'll never miss a conversational beat again because you were swapping around gear or jumping from alt to alt. That sigh of relief was you exhaling, finally able to alt-jump in peace and not miss any erotic tells. That's two ERP jokes in two weeks, isn't it?

My only issue with Whisp is that it's a bit buggy when dealing with Battle.net messaging. In-game chat and character whispers work perfectly fine, and I've never had a problem with them, but Battle.net communication is a bit wonky sometimes. Does anyone happen to know the issue? If so, leave the solution in the comments, and I'll put it up here. Whisp is still worth the price and will make everyone's lives easier. Get it! Get it now!

Download Whisp at [Curse]. You'll love it.

Sell-O-Matic 2 and Automaton's final release

Selling grays is still the most antiquated method of forcing you out of the battle and back into town that is still used in gaming today. Diablo III has it, Mists of Pandaria has it, and I wouldn't be surprised if StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm has some gray-selling component therein. Blizzard wants a cap on how much gold people can gain before having to stop -- yes, it's understandable. And there are many ways these days to sell your grays out in the field. However, with your alts, you're going to be forgetting about grays all the time. I do! Don't be ashamed.

Grab Sell-o-Matic 2 and never worry about grays again. When you hit any vendor, just press the button, and all of your gray items disappear into the ether, gold replacing their unwieldy forms. Gray items are never a problem again. I used to recommend Automaton for this function, but I've realized that at this point, poor old Automaton is going the way of the dodo. The final release of one of my favorite addons of all time happened last month, and I'll never let it go. Ever.

So yeah, grab Sell-O-Matic 2 and be fancy and happy. You'll be fine. If you want the automated, barely noticeable solution that is Automaton, the final release is available for download. If you're like me, you'll hold on to Automaton until the end of time, clutching it to your chest as the world ends around you. I'll never let go, Automaton.

Download Sell-O-Matic 2 at [Curse].
Download Automaton at [Curse].

How about a quick mailbag before I leave for today? I'll need your help with this one, dudes and dudettes.

I am the worst person to ask anything about the Auction House. Could I tell you exactly how to make a ton of money in Warcraft? Probably. Could I do it myself? Never. I will live forever in a Warcraft poverty that sees no end in sight.

So I need to get schooled on the Auction House and addons in a big way. Teach me, dear readers, and enlighten me as to whether this type of addon is out there. In fact, send your favorite Auction House addons to me, and we can do a big thing about them next week, considering how much crafting in Mists of Pandaria is devoted to mounts and items that could be put up for sale.

Addons are what we do on Addon Spotlight. If you're new to mods, Addons 101 will walk you through the basics; see what other players are doing at Reader UI of the Week. If there's a mod you think Addon Spotlight should take a look at, email mat@wowinsider.com.