One of the best decisions Blizzard made when programming World of Warcraft was to open the user interface (UI) to allow players to create custom modules that can display various information about the world in new and creative ways. World of Warcraft add ons let anyone with a little programming knowledge remake the interface of the game into their vision of what it should be and allow the rest of us easy access to tons of great information that wouldn't otherwise be as easily available.
First, just in case you're worried about violating the WoW terms of service for using add-ons, let me assure you that Blizzard has absolutely no problem with players using them. They won't help you troubleshoot problems with add-ons should you install one that doesn't work right but you're free to use as many as you want to!
Here's a top ten list of what I've found to be the most useful World of Warcraft add ons:
5. KLH Threat Meter
KLH Threat Meter is like a damage meter except that instead of showing the damage you're taking, it records the threat that you're generating. By monitoring all the abilities you use and checking your talents, armor set bonuses and buffs, this add on can recreate the threat list of a mob. This makes tank transitions simple and allows DPS classes to maximize their damage output without pulling aggro.
4. Titan Panel
Tital Panel adds an entire suite of useful information and controls to bars that can be displayed on the top or bottom of your screen. This World of Warcraft add on allows you to easily turn on and off modules like coordinate display, experience points earned per hour, group loot type, equipment condition and cumulative bonuses, honor points, sound, volume, and much much more.
3. Atlas
WoW Atlas provides detailed maps for instances, battlegrounds, and other popular areas within World of Warcraft. These maps are high quality (like those you might find in strategy guides) and the add on has a built-in in-game map browser that loads off your existing UI map. No more getting lost in instances!
2. Natur Enemy Cast Bar
This add on not only displays who your target is focusing its attacks on but also its full casting bar including a timer that lets you see exactly when a spell is going to be cast so you can time interrupts and counter-spells with exact precision. It also displays timers for gains (buffs, heals over time), cooldowns, DoTs and debuffs like stuns or polymorphs.
1. Scrolling Combat Text
This World of Warcraft add on is a fairly simple but very configurable mod that adds damage, heals, and events (dodge, parry, windfury, etc.) as scrolling text above your character - much like what already happens above your target. This makes it easier to concentrate on the battle without having to watch your regular combat chat window to see how much and what damage you're taking. WoW has a built-in scrolling combat text option but this add on takes what's good about that and adds a bunch of great features.
First, just in case you're worried about violating the WoW terms of service for using add-ons, let me assure you that Blizzard has absolutely no problem with players using them. They won't help you troubleshoot problems with add-ons should you install one that doesn't work right but you're free to use as many as you want to!
Here's a top ten list of what I've found to be the most useful World of Warcraft add ons:
5. KLH Threat Meter
KLH Threat Meter is like a damage meter except that instead of showing the damage you're taking, it records the threat that you're generating. By monitoring all the abilities you use and checking your talents, armor set bonuses and buffs, this add on can recreate the threat list of a mob. This makes tank transitions simple and allows DPS classes to maximize their damage output without pulling aggro.
4. Titan Panel
Tital Panel adds an entire suite of useful information and controls to bars that can be displayed on the top or bottom of your screen. This World of Warcraft add on allows you to easily turn on and off modules like coordinate display, experience points earned per hour, group loot type, equipment condition and cumulative bonuses, honor points, sound, volume, and much much more.
3. Atlas
WoW Atlas provides detailed maps for instances, battlegrounds, and other popular areas within World of Warcraft. These maps are high quality (like those you might find in strategy guides) and the add on has a built-in in-game map browser that loads off your existing UI map. No more getting lost in instances!
2. Natur Enemy Cast Bar
This add on not only displays who your target is focusing its attacks on but also its full casting bar including a timer that lets you see exactly when a spell is going to be cast so you can time interrupts and counter-spells with exact precision. It also displays timers for gains (buffs, heals over time), cooldowns, DoTs and debuffs like stuns or polymorphs.
1. Scrolling Combat Text
This World of Warcraft add on is a fairly simple but very configurable mod that adds damage, heals, and events (dodge, parry, windfury, etc.) as scrolling text above your character - much like what already happens above your target. This makes it easier to concentrate on the battle without having to watch your regular combat chat window to see how much and what damage you're taking. WoW has a built-in scrolling combat text option but this add on takes what's good about that and adds a bunch of great features.
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