Even though Blizzard’s default interface is more than enough for beginners, the more you sink deeper into the magical World of Warcraft, the more you need from your user interface. Perhaps you will find yourself thinking “If only there was something to do for that…”; or maybe you will catch yourself drooling over the flashy buttons on a friend’s screenshot…
As I mentioned in the welcome post, although Lorekeeper’s main focus is the story, sometimes we also like to write about other stuff. Well, this addon guide is one of them. After I tell the basics for absolute beginners, I’m going to start listing some of the addons I have used, and found useful. If there is an addon I forgot to mention or if you have anything else to add, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment under the post so I can update the list.
- Where can I download the addons, and how can I install them?
First of all, you need to download the addon you had your eyes on. Most of the popular addons have their own websites, but instead of downloading stuff from the websites that you don’t know, you might prefer using trustworthy sources like Curse, WoW Interface or WoW Ace.
Aside from a few complex packages, most of them are pretty easy to install. Extracting the .rar file you downloaded into the Interface/Addons folder (at your World of Warcraft install directory) will do the trick. Just be sure that the addon you download is the most recent version. Since almost certainly after each big patch, older versions of the addons will cause problems with your game and you can easily avoid this by keeping them up-to-date.
- Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That! Isn’t there an easier way to do this?
In fact yes, there is another way. Curse has an awesome, life saver tool which most players use for downloading addons. You can download it here. This Client is simply keeping the list of the files on your addon folder and notifying you when there is an update. Then you can update your addons with a single click. Whereas the free client is enough for most users, you also have an option to upgrade to a paid version if you like to update all of your addons with a single click (rather than clicking one by one) or save your hard-worked interface settings to a cloud server. Better yet, you can use “Download with Client” option on the addons you download from the Curse website. When you click on it, the program will ask for your permission and then it downloads and installs the addon automatically. It is worth mentioning that the Client also works with other games like Rift, Skyrim, Minecraft etc.
Long story short, if you really want to get into addon stuff, the first thing you need is the Curse Client. I am aware that I sound like I’m advertising this stuff, but it really is a rare jewel for people who depend on too many addons like me.
- It’s boring to download addons one by one. Isn’t there a ready-made package for this?
Of course there is! Actually there are many useful and popular addon packages out there. Downside is that since most of them come with standard settings arranged by the creator of the package, it can be pretty hard to make any changes to them. Many times these hardships also include struggling in code and it may be a drag if you don’t have any coding experience. But having said that, I’m still going to share some of the popular packages. Onto the next page!
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ElvUI is probably the most widely used and well-known addon package out there. It started as a branch of Tukui and became a completely different package. Fundamentally both packs offer you a clean and simple interface. So most of the addons you are going to need are already integrated in the package. If you want to use a pre-made package, you can download and try one of these two great packages without a second thought. Additionally, after you get more comfortable with settings or whatnot, you can take a look at custom ElvUI skins to personalize your interface a little bit more.
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Spartan UI (which I used to have some time ago) is a great example to those addon packages which look great even without changing anything on them. If you are okay to leave yourself to the mercy of the package’s creator, this is a great compilation of addons for you. It keeps the upper parts of the screen empty by putting most of the stuff on the bottom. But be wary, some users are reporting that some of the problems on the alpha version still persist to this day. So it might be wise to use a stable version.
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If you love keeping things at minimal, Leila UI might be your salvation. It shows as little as possible on screen. There is nothing unnecessary on the interface and it even supports different classes and event addons regarding PVE, PVP, Pet Battle etc. Depending on your needs, it can also turn various addons on or off too…
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It doesn’t have to be minimalistic all the time, sometimes fun interfaces are better, right? And Supervillain UI offers exactly that! It’s all about giving you a comic book vibe in World of Warcraft. It has Comic Sans fonts, a brilliantly done map screen and talk bubbles popping left and right when you are fighting the Legion. It really achieves the aim to give the game that comic book looks.
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The really popular LUI v3 really looks like it came straight out of Starcraft, and that’s a good thing. Upper side of the screen shows information like FPS, latency, your financials, and the bottom side contains mostly personalized choices that can be highly customizable. The below screenshot shows it as a blue interface, but with just a little work you can change the color or any other windows very easily.
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Well, you have seen the Starcraft look-alike, now you can have the Diablo one! As much as Roth UI tries to screw the health and resource orbs with each update, it’s the best package out there for all your gothic Diablo interface needs. If you are okay with messing around in it’s configuration files, you can change the orbs’ color and animations. But if you are not comfortable with digging into it’s code, you’ll get what you see in the picture… Except, it’s not German-only of course…
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It’s not just these few addons, of course. I just picked a few of my personal choices to give you an idea. Many more can be found on the websites I mentioned earlier.
Now that we covered the ground for beginners, let’s move on to the harder part. Although the packages we mentioned mostly look and function great, some of you may want to create an interface more to your own liking. For instance, I was using Roth UI (Diablo) for some time, but it is not very open to make any changes and the author played around with orbs a little too much with each update. So I took the matter to my hands and found myself a stand-alone Diablo looking orb and started to build my own interface from there. And there isn’t any reason that keeps you from doing the same. I will now list some very useful individual addons and their purposes to help you decide what you exactly need. Ready?
- _NPCScan: A fan of hunting “Rare Elite” or “Rare Spawn”s? This makes it a lot easier. You may miss a Time-Lost Proto Drake for weeks, even though you camped at the exactly right spot. _NPCScan warns you with sound and a visual notifier if it sees any rare spawns in your immediate area.
- Ackis Recipe List: Every craftsman should have a list. And that list is Ackis Recipe List! It scans your profession list and shows you what you are missing and where you can get them. It definitely beats hanging around on Wowhead for hours to find what you need.
- Altoholic: If you are leveling more than one character, this addon creates a bridge between your characters. Which character is richer, how much rested experience they have gathered, even what items they have on their bags or banks… You can easily access them all within Altoholic’s main window without logging off. With each character you have, the more irreplacable this addon gets!
- Archy – Archeology Assistant: A must-have addon if you love digging around for Archaeology. It notifies you when you have enough pieces to complete a project and marks the spots you have already dug, so you won’t have to dig the same place twice etc. However, as soon as you install, the first thing you should do is to disable it’s ugly main window. You don’t need it for any of the core features anyway…
- Atlas: Years in the making, you are probably familiar with Atlas if this isn’t your first rodeo. Since vanilla WoW, it shows various zones’ and dungeons’ maps. Nowadays, Blizzard have their own maps to cover these areas, but the real reason why Atlas is so popular is it’s other half. And that is…
- AtlasLoot Enhanced: I know, I know… Blizzard covered that one as well. Dungeon Journal shows all the necessary loot you can have from dungeons. But AtlasLoot Enhanced still has some tricks up it’s sleeve. You can practically see ALL collectibles in AtlasLoot; be it legendaries, event items, reputation rewards, profession made stuff, random world drops… Well, as you can see, Blizzard’s Dungeon Journal still have a long way to reach it’s precessor.
- Bagnon: Tired of searching for an item in your endless bags yet? Want to see all your characters’ bags and banks without logging into each and every one of them? Here, have some Bagnon! Sure, you can do some of these in Altoholic too, but Bagnon also brings all your bags together and even lets you search and organize them by color code.
- Bartender4: If you want full control over your action bars, there is no reason to look further. Whether you aim to shrink or enlarge them, or even want to change the number of rows to make your skills look like they gathered in a square… You can do it all. It gives you huge control and is very easy to use, so it’s nearly mandatory if you want to design your own interface. Just don’t ask why it is branded with “4”… We have no answer. (Alternatives: Dominos, Button Forge)
- Can I Mog It?: With the Legion pre-patch, the whole Transmogrification system changed from head to toe. Now you can use any armor or weapon you collected in ANY one of your characters (provided they can use that specific weapon and armor type) So it will be an important piece of information to see if you have already collected an item’s looks and “Can I Mog It?” does just that.
- Daily Global Check: When you have lots of alts, it’s hard to keep track of what activities you have done and which ones you haven’t yet. But as you can imagine, there is an addon for that. Even though it’s name suggests “Daily”, it can also keep your weekly activities’ track too.
- Deadly Boss Modes: There will be lots of things you have to learn during your raid and dungeon adventures. The most important one is: “DON’T STAND IN FIRE!” Second one is to have a proper Boss Mode addon. Deadly Boss Modes (or DBM for short) is the most commonly used addon for that purpose. It alerts you to boss’ ability times and warns if you do something wrong. And yes, that’s also the addon that spooks you with the voice of Big Bad Wolf’s “Run away little girl, run away…” when you stand in fire. Some guilds even make it a requirement to have this addon. (Alternatives: BigWigs Bossmods)
- Gatherer: If you picked herbalism or mining as one of your professions, it’s inevitable: You will have to wander around a lot to get those herbs or ores. That’s where Gatherer comes in handy. It records all the mine nodes and herb roots you collected, so you know where to look for some Khadgar’s Whisker. It gets even better if you have a friend who also uses Gatherer in your party or guild: The addon records and syncs those too!
- Gryphonheart Items: If you do not want to limit yourself with what Blizzard offered you already, Gryphonheart Items is just the thing. You can create and design your own items with it and even set pre-determined outcomes. Of course, you can’t make items with use effect of “kill everyone in sight” since Gryphonheart’s capabilities do not have physical outcomes in the game world. But when you are role playing, you can give your friends a potion that gives them “courage” cosmetic buff or you can send a picture of your guild mates with an actual screenshot on it…
- GTFO: As we said before, the golden rule of World of Warcraft is “Never, ever stand in fire!”. It’s a pretty basic rule in itself, but if you somehow still have difficulty following it, GTFO will definitely help you. It will provide both visual and sound cues to let you know that you are doing something wrong. Definitely recommended to the easily distracted (or to people who love watching something while doing LFR)!
- HandyNotes: What Gatherer does for Herbalism and Mining, HandyNotes does the same for the rest. It attaches various notes to points of interest and lets you know if there is any valuable collectibles nearby. It’s popularity is still on the rise, especially with previous versions of HandyNotes_TimelessTreasures and HandyNotes_DraenorTreasures. Though I would also recommend downloading the next version for the upcoming expansion: HandyNotes_LegionRares&Treasures
- Master Plan: Let’s be honest, Master Plan is in every Garrison’s fixture. It’s simple, but also very effective. Which of your followers are idle, who is the best for a spesific mission and which ones you should prioritize… All of these can be handled by Master Plan with just a few clicks. It also lets you skip those lengthy after-mission animations. (Alternatives: GarrisonCommander, Garrison Mission Manager)
- MikScrollingBattleText: Extremely light-weight MikScrollingBattleText makes your combat texts more flashy and more dashy. It really helps you distinguish what’s exactly happenning in the middle of combat.
- MogIt: Well, with Legion’s new transmog system, MogIt’s most item previewing functions became obsolete; that much is true. But it still has some cool tricks, such as previewing mounts and pets, creating lists etc. So consider those before passing up on MogIt entirely.
- MoveAnything: Bartender4 and its likes let you put your action bars wherever you like, but you will still need this little fella to move some of the pieces. As the name suggests, it let’s you move ALL UI elements that are there. Although it may take some time and experiment to completely understand which bar is which.
- OmniCC: OmniCC’s function is simple: Making the cooldown counter on your skills more visible and customizable to a point. If you are having a hard time with Blizzard’s original counters, it may come in handy. (Alternatives: TellMeWhen)
- PetBattle Teams: It’s not all about catching them all, you have to care for your pets. You have to train them, learn which types are strong or weak against others… Once you master that, save your best teams against certain trainers so you can instantly call them back when you face with Deebs, Tyri and Puzzle next time. Especially useful if you are trying Celestial Tournament. (Alternatives: Rematch)
- PetJournal Enhanced: Blizzard’s own Pet Journal is not necesarrily bad, but when it comes to using detailed filters, aligning the order of your pets in a certain way or examining detailed statics or breeds, you have to hand it over to PetJournal Enhanced.
- PetTracker: Well, another pet addon… This one helps you by marking the pets’ location on your map so you can catch them all. (Alternatives: Pokémon GO)
- Postal: For all your mailbox related needs, there is Postal. It records all your characters and makes it easier to send mails to them, warns you if you forgot to pick up any mail and most important feature of all: It lets you open all your mails at once… If you are buying or selling stuff in mass quantities, it is a life saver.
- Prat 3.0: Do you know the feeling when someone posts a link on guild chat and you can’t click on it or open it? You won’t anymore… Prat 3.0 brings lots and lots of improvements to your chat window. Highlighting player names with class colors, chat history, font options… You name it, Prat probably has it.
- Quartz: Quartz’s main purpose is to improve your casting bar. It looks good, it calculates your latency status and lets you know when exactly your cast should end; so if you are having latency issues, you can cast more precisely. Or, if you are crafting and wondering how long will it take to make 320 Bolt of Embersilk Cloth, it shows you the total amount of time it will take… All in all, a very useful addon indeed.
- RaidAchievement: It says “Raid” in it’s name, but it covers dungeons as well. If you are hunting for dungeon/raid achievements, this one will save you a lot of time. When it is on, it warns you when you have failed to meet an achievement’s criteria, so you will have a pretty good idea when to wipe it or what exactly did go wrong.
- Rarity: You have slain Arthas for the 58th time and that damned horse still hasn’t dropped. Wait, how do you know that it was the 58th time? Well, that’s thanks to Rarity. It shows you a list of rare pets and mounts, and how many times you have killed them. Very useful if you are a mount/pet hunter.
- Recount: Also known as “EgoMeter”. Who is the best in DPS, who healed the most, “That Death Knight said he was interrupting the boss, but he has 0 interrupts”. All those bits of information come from Recount (or its like). Sure, it is very useful most of the time, but sadly most people just use it to measure their ego and see if they really did the best dps or not. (Alternatives: Skada)
- Scrap (Junk Seller): You have been doing quests/dungeons and your bags are full of grey junk items? You want to get rid of them all but find it tedious to click on them one by one? Well, say no more! Scrap is the addon for you. It automatically sells all the junk items in your bag upon interacting with any merchant NPC in game. It also lets you to enable the in-built auto-repair option if needed.
- SexyMap: Changing the shape of the minimap, hiding/showing the addon buttons circling the map… Most things you can imagine about minimaps, SexyMap has them. On plus side, it really has some damn sexy looking minimap themes.
- Shadowed Unit Frames (SUF): There are lots of Unit Frame changing addons out there, but my personal choice is definitely Shadowed Unit Frames (SUF). It changes your character portrait (you can have 2D or 3D images), target health bars, your target’s target bar etc… All those unit frames falls under SUF’s jurisdiction. It looks very pretty and makes keeping track of your enemies (and your own) easier. (Alternatives: XPerl, Perl Classic, PitBull)
- Storyline: Blizzard’s own quest interface is simple, but if you want something more detailed and would like to see yourself and the NPC in conversation, don’t waste any more time and download Storyline. It is not always perfectly aligned in terms of ambience but it sure adds a more “RPG”-like atmosphere to the game. It became so popular that Blizzard got inspired and decided to add more visuality to their characters and their related questlines with Legion.
- Tidy Plates: It is extremely useful to see the health bars of your enemies in combat if you are fighting a few of them at the same time. (Just press “V” in the game to see what we are talking about.) Tidy Plates is a valuable asset that adds more details to those health bars, especially with the Threat Bar extension…or was. With Legion, the exact same feature will be added to the game.
- Titan Panel: Now that’s an addon almost as old as World of Warcraft itself. It places itself on the upper side of the screen and gives you quick information about your favourite stuff: Armor durability condition, collective money amount of your characters, latency, fps and any other thing of your choosing. It comes with a few built-in extensions but you can find many many more under “Data_Broker” tabs. Some of the stuff I can recommend include: Broker Garrison, Titan Social, Titan Currency, Titan Rep, Saved Instances. (Alternatives: FuBar, Bazooka)
- Total RP 3: If you like role-playing but find whatever Blizzard offers (in this case, not much to be honest) insufficient, Total RP 3 can cover up everything you need; especially when it is used along with Gryphonheart. You can describe your character’s appearance/physical attributes in written form, prepare a long background story or even add a cool picture of your toon. All of these details are also saved online and shared with other owners of this addon, which makes your RP adventure even more unique. As an addition to all of the above, it also shows the information saved to other roleplay addons such Total RP 2 and… (Alternatives: MyRolePlay, XRP)
- WeakAuras2: Remember the huge warnings in the middle of your screen when you lose control of your character? Well, that idea doesn’t belong to Blizzard but to WeakAuras. Blizzard has its own version within the game, so you may not really need an addon for that but if you are looking for more options, this addon is certainly for you.
- WIM (Wow Instant Messenger): You went AFK for some reason and never even knew about the whispers you received while you were away… Not anymore. Wow Instant Messenger is a seperate chat window that only consists the whispers you sent or received. It has some customizable options and is useful to have…
- XLoot: XLoot is a small addon that improves your loot options. Auto-loot crafting materials, money or all stuff you can, or seeing how many people in your group said Need to a loot that just dropped. This kind of stuff is what XLoot is there for.
And tada! It was hard and time consuming, but now you have your own customized interface! It will probably crash a lot at first, annoy you with tons of error messages, but when you learn how to fix it, it will be worth it.
