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Addon Spotlight: Readers' bag addon recommendations
Thanks to everyone who responded to part one of this two-part series with their bag addon recommendations! If there are ones I still missed out, do let me know in the comments below, and as ever, links mean prizes! It should be noted that all prizes are imaginary. In testing all the addons I've looked at so far, I've come to the conclusion that bag addons are all extremely similar, but most have some feature that helps them stand out from the rest. It's not a great surprise, after all, there are only so many ways that an addon can say "hey, look at all these things you have"! Today we're looking at two more bag addons, in addition to the three we looked at last week. I confess right now, one of these has almost persuaded me to move away from my beloved Adibags, not for certain just yet, but it has certainly been a very interesting couple of weeks. Baud Bags I mentioned last week that the one bag option was so intuitive and logical that I didn't really see why Blizzard didn't make it standard. I should clarify, having ruffled some feathers by saying so, that I didn't mean to force all you separate bag lovers into having one big bag -- I am an advocate of adding options, not of removing them, and so, it seems, is Baud Bag.
Reader UI of the Week: The UI doctor is in
I spoke about this a while back with you all, the idea that someone had in the comments of doing a sort of UI surgery, where players would send in their UI for merciless revamping. I've compared this column to one of those home improvement shows before, you know, the ones where they come along and mess with all your stuff, and give you a house nothing like the one you had before, but one that you hopefully like better. And I think it's a good analogy, so I'm going to use it again. Your UI is kind of like your WoW house, at least until the inevitable happens with Sunsong Ranch. If anything it's more important than your house, because, unless you work from home like me, you don't conduct your entire life through the medium of your house. Anyhow, that aside, there are a few submissions that I want to get started with. And I definitely want your feedback on these too, there are various issues here that will benefit from several opinions, and mine holds no more inherent weight than anyone else's! If you're suggesting addons, brownie points will be awarded for links. And brownie points, in US parlance, lead to brownies. Lithuvien writes: I read the line about the UI surgery and wanted to send a snapshot of my UI in hopes that I can make it better.
Reader UI of the Week: Scrolling smackdown
This week's UI comes from Omegah, who's showing off his Blood DK UI. He clarifies in his email that the UI he's sent in does have to work for several other characters, as he's obviously been busy and has four level 90s, all of which he raids on when his team requires is. We've looked at a couple of other UIs that cater for several classes, roles or characters before, but this is definitely among the most minimal. It should be noted, however, that he doesn't use this UI as it appears for healing, when I read Omegah's email, my first thought was "where are the raid frames for healing, those ones are too small/far away!" He adds them in -- sense made. Another interesting observation about Omegah's UI was his deliberate division of chat channels. He deals with this well, moving the damage meter from what I'd refer to as its "traditional" spot at the lower right hand side up to the top left where the character frame used to be, freeing up his right-hand chat box for visible channels. Omegah says that the left pane is for basic channels, while the right is for global channels and others. I'm assuming that "basic channels" means things like say, guild, party, whispers, instance and the like, all the people you're (sort of) talking with out of choice. I do a similar thing, relegating trade and general to a separate tab behind the ones I want to see. I find it a useful aid to my sanity!
Addon Spotlight: Bags and Banking
This is a really big topic, likely one that we'll be dealing with in several parts, rather than in one fell swoop. There are so, so many bag addons available in WoW right now, and so much of the assessment of them is simply down to personal preference. Addon Spotlight is going to attempt to cover just a few bag addons at a time, but please do be aware that we can't ever hope to get through them all in the one column! As a result, I'm asking you not to be surprised or angry that your preferred bag addon isn't being covered, rather to let me know what it is and why you like it. I'm starting with my favorite today, and working through some others that I've either used in the past, or known of friends using. Let me know what you use, and next week, I'll take a look! Adibags I said I'd start with my favorite, and that is Adibags. I've used it for a while now, after giving it a go on a friend's recommendation, and I love it. Why do I love it? Well it's a very simple addon really, provides the user with a single bag, as opposed to several separate ones, which is such a straightforward and seemingly popular change that I don't know why Blizzard doesn't just make it standard.
New Blizzard Video: How to disable all your addons, hopefully solve lots of issues
Blizzard's Customer Support team have posted the latest addition to their WoW Tutorials site, this time it's a video filling you in on how to solve your WoW technical issues in 60 seconds or less! If you're suffering from high latency, low framerates, disconnections or similar issues, resetting your interface is worth trying before attempting more extreme measures. They're not talking about a simple /reload UI, which can be typed into the chat box, rather about renaming your Cache, Interface and WTF folders. Why rename them? Don't you usually delete them? Well, you can certainly do that, but if the reset doesn't fix your issues, renaming them will mean that your settings can be restored to how they were before. As the video says, exit the game, and open the containing folder of your WoW installation. Rename the Cache, WTF, and Interface folders, to whatever you like. When you next start WoW, the folders will be recreated. If this fixes your problems, reinstall your addons one by one. You could, theoretically, grab installs and profiles from your old folders, but if something has become corrupted you risk replicating the previous issues. A less extreme course of action than the one suggested in the video is to get an addon like Addon Control Panel that allows you to switch your addons on and off without logging out. Disable all your addons, then re-enable them one by one. You may find that one addon is the culprit! If this doesn't work, then your next step is the action recommended by Blizzard's team. As always, keep your addons updated, either at their own sites or via Curse, WoWInterface or WoWAce. These "big three" addon sites are where most addon creators host their work, so other sites may not necessarily have the latest updates or correct versions.
Addon Spotlight: Weak Auras, getting started and strings
Weak Auras is a really incredibly powerful addon, enabling users to create custom alerts for pretty much anything they want to see. However, like many very powerful addons, it can be a little daunting, and there's an awful lot going on. Unlike several other very powerful addons, a user guide also exists, that walks you through the basic starting point of Weak Auras, creating your first display. But, it's missing a few bits. While I use it a lot, I am far from an advanced user, given some of the things I've seen people create with this addon, so I'm going to keep it basic, and I'm also going to hopefully, with your help, start a useful set of Weak Auras strings! Weak Auras, when created, can be imported and exported as what are called strings. These, essentially, are huge text files full of mumbo jumbo that can be translated by Weak Auras into displays. When I first got started with Weak Auras, a while back, I found that the easiest way for me to learn to use it was to start with an existing aura and go from there. We've collected some of our favorite Weak Auras strings, and published them for each class (and some general ones) on their own page: Priest Strings Monk Strings Hunter Strings Death Knight Strings Mage Strings Shaman Strings General Strings
Reader UI of the Week: Light and shadow
Last week we featured a very different UI from Bull, which he had largely created from scratch with his considerable programming knowledge, and cunning use of custom textures from the game. One thing that was notable about Bull's UI was how it functioned well across several different characters. Bull, it seemed, was playing the same role over several characters, being DPS, and this week we're looking at a UI that has to perform a somewhat harder task. Nesavare is a priest on Jubei'Thos, and plays both as holy and shadow. While Nesavare's UI only needs to function (for the purposes of this column) for one character, the different demands of a healer and a DPS are difficult indeed to cater for with a uniform UI. And Nesavare makes a good stab at it, using ElvUI as a base, along with several additions, but as always, there's room for improvement! Nesavare sent over several screenshots, out of combat, raid healing, group DPS, and a test mode screenshot, showing off all his weakauras. Let's dive straight in with Nesavare's email. As ever, I've had to whack it down a bit with the editing stick!
Addon Spotlight: Readers' addons
Along with the usual questions about addons to use for specific tasks, and the like, we receive a decent number of readers' own addons that they ask for us at WoW Insider to take a look at. So here, we have a compilation of reviews of addons created by our very own WoW Insider readership! All of these addons have been sent over to me by our readers, and if you want yours featured in a future round up, do email me on olivia@wowinsider.com! I have to say, I'm really impressed with these addons I've featured today. I would love to have a go at creating an addon of my own, and it occurred to me that we could have an addon spotlight addon creation brainstorm, and go through the process as a sort of collaborative effort! What do you think, dear readers? Anyhow, let's get started with the reader addons from programmers who actually know what they're talking about! Claw Claw, created by Jpapertowels, is described as an addon for cat and bear druids that simplifies gameplay and maximizes DPS by doing all the decision making for you. Claw uses an advanced priority list developed by the people over at the SimulationCraft project and improved by Jpapertowels for ease of use in actual gameplay.
Reader UI of the Week: Mostly minimal
This week's UI comes from Buzzardbait of Winterhoof, US. He's been keeping an eye on us at Reader UI of the Week, and felt like he should send his version of a good-looking UI over. As you'll see from his email, Buzzardbait is a fan of minimalism, and doesn't like to see a cluttered UI on his screen. Each to their own, I, personally, agree with Buzzardbait to an extent -- as you might recall from my own UI, I like to keep things clean, but I also like to have everything on show that I feel I need. It's a fine balance between minimalism and utility, and Buzzardbait uses some clever ideas to lean heavily towards the minimal end of the scale. He makes great use of some macros, as we can see from reading his email. He also sent me a link to a full album of his UI screenshots, which you can see here. I've also grabbed a few relevant ones for you, in case the gallery doesn't work, so here's a solo screenshot, here's a 5-man screenshot, and here's the one in the header. Hit the break for Buzzardbait's email.
Reader UI of the Week: Crazy Castbars
I really wanted to make a special, seasonal, Winter Veil UI, but alas I ran out of time. Next year, maybe! If you made a special Winter Veil or other seasonal UI to pretty up your screen over the festive period, do send it in, I'd love to see it! Instead, we've got Palanorma's paladin UI, which he sent in in response to last week's column. He said in his email that it reminded him of his, and I can definitely see why. Palanorma included two screenshots, one not casting, and one casting. If you want to send in your UI, drop an email to olivia@wowinsider.com. Do let me know what addons you're using, and if you have any thoughts on elements of your UI that you're particularly proud of or unhappy with, do put that information in, too. Also, someone suggested a while back that we should run a UI surgery, where you send in a UI that you're unhappy with, and the community and I have a bash at fixing it for you. If that sounds like fun, or like it might help you, send in your UI!
Addon Spotlight: PvP Addons
You must have seen it coming, people. I'm the PvP columnist, and now the addon columnist, too. So, naturally, I had to eventually write a column about the addons I use for PvP. For clarity, I should state that the majority of PvP I do is in the arena. I am also on a couple of rated battleground teams, and do random battlegrounds to gear up my characters, but not once they're geared beyond honor gear, thanks to the changes to the conquest point cap. Now that that's out of the way, let's get started. I've got a lot of addons to talk to you about today. SaySapped When there's a rogue in your midst, particularly in random battlegrounds, and you're going about your merry way with a couple of cohorts nearby, they may not notice when you're suddenly sapped. SaySapped is a great little addon that does exactly what it says on the tin -- it makes your character say "Sapped". Simple as that! It's also very handy in rated battlegrounds, saves the use of the chat channel to announce such things, and allows your team to make a decision on whether to leave you as rogue-bait, or to stay and fight. Especially if there's two of you defending the flag or base, it's a boon.
Reader UI of the Week: Pretty in pink
Tweedlebop probably won't be happy with the title of this piece, given that the UI's color probably isn't really pink, as such. But he sent in all these screenshots with the most adorable of race-class combinations, being, of course, a gnome death knight, with pink pigtails, and I had to do it. Apologies, Tweedlebop! The other thing I could have called this column was something about Weak Auras. I've had a few UIs recently which have put this very powerful addon to great use, and, as we'll discuss, Tweedlebop's is no exception. If you would like to send in your UI, I'd be very happy to receive it, pop an email over to olivia@wowinsider.com, and please include some screenshots, a list of the addons you're using to create the visible elements, and tell me what you're happy with and unhappy with in your UI. Tweedlebop went a step further, and sent me a link to an online gallery showing off his UI! I will be pulling down some key images and linking back to them as they become relevant, but you can see that entire gallery here.
Addon Spotlight: Raid healing addons, part two
Two weeks back, I looked into two fine contenders for raid healing addons, namely Healbot and VuhDo. There was a great and lengthy tussle between the two, and no clear victor was named, although VuhDo snatched a narrow lead. As I promised back in that column, I've gone away to test two more raid healing addons, or party healing addons, as you prefer. Actually, I tested three of them, to be precise, but one probably couldn't stand alone as a healing addon, and is more a raid frame replacement. Those three addons are Healium, Clique and Grid. I began with Healium, for no other reason than because that was the first one I decided to switch on, but as it happens that worked out pretty well for the testing as, when I wandered into the settings, I discovered it could work with Clique. Healium Healium takes quite a different approach to the other addons I've reviewed so far in this set of Addon Spotlights. VuhDo, Healbot, and Grid+Clique are all click-to-heal addons, that is to say, they take a set of either their own frames or a third-party set of frames, and set up mouseover macros on them. A left-click on a frame fires one heal at that player, while an ALT+ left click fires a different one. Healium, on the other hand, as can be seen in the header image, doesn't perform quite like this.
Reader UI of the Week: Damage over time
I'm excited to be getting more standard UI challenge screenshots arriving in my inbox at the moment, but I still want more! Play without addons? Completely standard UI with no modifications whatsoever? No problem! Send it in! There's still customization available within the standard UI, without addons being used at all. And if you don't use the standard UI, have a go! Send it in, the only rule of the challenge is that you can't have any non-standard UI elements visible. To send in your UI, drop an email to olivia@wowinsider.com, and include your addons, your likes and dislikes about your UI, and some screenshots! I can take video submissions, but they need to also come with screenshots -- not everyone can watch videos! This week's UI submission comes from Tinala, of Moonrunner US-H. Tinala was extremely helpful in their submission, sending in not only one combat shot, but a second, solo one to go with it, as well as a "map" which shows which addon is which, an out of combat image, and a timeline showing UI evolution over the past 2 years. And many gold stars were issued to Tinala on that day!
Reader UI of the Week: Slim here
Slim here. I warned you I'd do it. It's an ominous way to open a column, and an ominous way to start an email with a UI submission. Slim, a regular in the comments here on WoW Insider, did indeed warn me he'd send in his UI, and you should all do the same! We're not elitist here, nobody's going to be awful to you. As I said in my first column with my own UI, there's no right or wrong answer to UI customization, no such thing as the perfect UI, only your perfect UI. I would say, though, that if you're plagued with errors, that might warrant some changes. If you want to submit your UI, do send me an email on olivia@wowinsider.com. Let me know what addons you're using, what you like, and what you don't like so much. I've had a few UIs for the challenge I set you all a couple of weeks back to create a UI using Blizzard standard elements, but I'd love a few more! But on to Slim. A full-size screengrab of his UI can be found here.
Addon Spotlight: Raid healing addons
What's Tori Amos doing as the header? Well, since starting to do the research for this column, I haven't been able to get this song out of my head. I'm not 100% sure what the song's about, but I've replaced the words in my head with the two addons I'm going to be talking about today. There are other raid healing addons, and next week I'll likely be comparing the third of the big three, which I consider to be Healbot, Vuhdo, and Grid+Clique. If there are others out there that do the same thing which you'd like me to look at, do let me know via email on olivia@wowinsider.com or in the comments below, with links please! But back to Tori. I never was a Vuhdo girl, I thought that was a good solution, hanging with the Healbot girls... I've been a Healbot user since I found out what a raid healing addon was, way back when, when I discovered that there were ways of healing that didn't require you to select your friendly target then cast spells. If you're not aware of exactly what all these addons do, they essentially replace your raid frames, and turn them into clickable frames, allowing you to heal with clicks on frames while holding various modifiers. I've talked before about why I don't like these for PvP healing, but for PvE, they're very handy.
Reader UI of the Week: Blast from the past
That's not very "from the past", you say? That's a current tier raid, Feng the Accursed to be precise? Well, you'd be right. But, ladies and gentlemen, this is the UI of a chap called Justo. Justo emailed me his UI, and let me know that he'd had a UI featured once before back in 2007, five years ago! In that original article, Justo referred to his UI as "controlled clutter" presenting this out of combat image, and this in combat one. I have to say, he was right about the clutter, and I'm impressed he was able to maintain control. Skip forward over five years and here we are. Justo's back, and it's really interesting to see how his UI has evolved! I was inspired by Justo's email to look back through my screenshots and get an idea of the evolution of my UI, but alas up until fairly recently, that is to say the last couple of years, I didn't really think my UI was worthy of many screenshots. It seems I preferred to hide it and take pictures of the world instead! If you have pictures of your UI going through the years, do send them in, I'd love to see a UI evolution take place! But anyway, here we are, 5 years after the original article. Justo's UI now looks more like this, when he's in combat, and this, when he's not in combat.
Addon Spotlight: Personal Cooldown Tracking
Last week's Addon Spotlight was apparently a little confusing for some readers, since it dealt with raid-wide cooldowns and addons to assist in managing those cooldowns. It was not meant as a column addressing your own personal cooldowns. We talked about addons for your entire raid to follow, such as healing cooldowns for healers, so that your entire raid don't blow them all at once. But fear not, this week we're going to look at personal cooldown tracking! This, in contrast to last week's column, looks at methods to monitor your own things, and not share them with other players. I touched briefly on this topic in an addon mailbag a while back, but my main recommendation is not behaving itself at all well at the moment, so I figure we ought to have a second look at this. Not-so-sexy cooldown This is the addon I recommended last time I discussed this, and up to recently was my addon of choice for personal cooldown monitoring. It's a pretty simple premise, really, it has a bar, as you use spells, their cooldowns move from one end of the bar to the other. They can either have a timer on them or not. Up to you.
Reader UI of the Week: Busy busy busy
This week I'm taking a different approach with the UI sent in to me by Vanard, you can see it in the header image if you squint really hard, but for those of us with normal vision, here's a link to the full size image. Vanard sent me his UI with a detailed email telling me exactly what he's using, and you should do the same! We're getting a lot of healer UIs, we had Synchrony's priest UI last week, and my own UI the week before. We need some tank and DPS UIs! If you do email me on olivia@wowinsider.com, tell me what addons you're using, why you're using them, what you like and what you'd change. And don't think you have to use a ton of addons, I'd love to feature a customized version of the standard UI. I challenge you! Actually, let's call that a challenge! Send me your best UI customization that only uses standard Blizzard UI elements. You can use addons to move them around, reposition, re-size, but it has to be exclusively Blizzard frames visible. Points awarded for using fewer addons, and for innovation, or doing things that most of us don't realize the Blizzard UI can do! Do still send me your normal UIs, as well.
Addon Spotlight: Cooldown tracking
I'm certainly not going to pretend even for a second that this is a comprehensive list of raid cooldown tracking addons, encompassing every addon that exists with this purpose. I'm starting off today's column with an addon suggested to me via email. If you want to suggest any addon for review, do email me with download links, a brief description, and why you think I should test it out! Today's topic is the start of a set of raid-related Addon Spotlights. I'm really hoping that our commenters will provide more addons that they consider vital for raiding, with links and all, and that I can have a look at them so we can do this again next week. Inevitably, you'll have raiding addons I don't use, or maybe ones that I don't even know about. Tell me about them in the comments! And, of course, today's addons could also be really, really handy for PvP! Anyhow, a while back in late October, Frego of The Wyld Hunt on The Sha'tar (EU-H) sent me an email regarding an addon he thought I should take a look at.
