WoW Cataclysm Addons

So yes, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is out and I’m back playing again. My husband Quutar peordered the Collectors Edition for me so I’d have a matched set. So now I have CEs of WoW and all it’s expansions. Went ahead and got a two month timecard to see if I’ll stick around with it. I’m not the only one of my friends who is coming back after a long absence and many have once again asked me about Addons and Mods for WoW.

To start off with, the new default User Interface (UI) of WoW is amazing. Unless you have specific needs, you really don’t need to mod much of anything anymore. I suggest to everyone to first play with a clean, non-addon UI for a bit before going Addon crazy. Find out what you simply just can NOT live without, and go from there.

Before I go into a list of Addons you might want to try, I’m first going to tell you a few addons you need to get rid of and why.

• TomTom – Blizzard had pretty much included this in it’s default UI. It’s even tied into the new quest system to show you where your quest objectives are. I actually like this better because it’s more of a general area and still makes things fun for me, rather than exact coordinates which make the game pretty boring if you ask me.
• Lightheaded – Again, Blizzard has pretty much included this into the default UI. The new quest log and quest tracker are utterly amazing. Every quest has been reworded to include more details about where you should be looking and for what, tied in with the map to show you entire areas that glow where the objectives can be found. Since I started playing again two weeks ago, I’ve only had to look up a quest ONCE and it was because I was being a dumbass and not looking -behind- me, not to mention being patient for the quest item to respawn on the ground.
• Any Quest Tracker replacement – Absolutely do NOT get any quest tracker replacement addon. The default tracker does things that addons can screw up: it shows the item you need to use with a clickable button so you don’t have to go searching in your bags; occasionally it will auto popup with a new quest either from killing a mob or reaching a certain area in an instance; it will auto update to allow you to turn in a completed quest and pick up the next leg in the quest chain without going back to the quest giver (only on certain quest, mostly in instances).
• Any Map replacement – The new map is sexy. Period. The big map now includes your quest log and tracker, shows your objectives on the map including the highlighted areas for said quest. You can now also shrink the map to see a movable area map that doesn’t completely obscure your UI. The ONLY type of map addons you might consider are minimap tweeks like “SexyMap” that simply only change the frame.

That covers the Addons to stay away from. Did I mention that most if not all of the above addon types are huge and lag inducing? Now let’s get into the Addons you might want to look at.

Tradeskill Addons

Let’s face it, while there have been improvements to the tradeskill windows, they are still pretty crappy. Not to mention actually using some of them is a pain in the ass (like fishing). Here are 4 tradeskill addons you might want to consider to make your life easier. Of the two, only pick one or the other, don’t run both.

• Cauldron (or @Curse) – Changes your tradeskill window to be a bit bigger, adds some more filtering options, includes a ‘queue’ and a ‘shopping list’ that you can take to a vendor or the auction house.

or

• Skillet – Total Tradeskill replacement window.  Larger, easier to read window, better filtering, add notes, includes a “queue” and a “shopping list”, auto buys from vendors, tracks materials on your other characters, and more. If you’re a major crafter, this is my suggestion on what to get.

Other tradeskill mods:

• Fishing Buddy – Click casting, fish tracking, auto lures, and more.
• Gatherer (or @WoWI) – Almost a must have for Miners and Herbalist. Tracks mining nodes, herb spawns, and even treasure chests.

Broker Addons

What is Broker (or LDB for Lib Data Broker)? Think of it as an RSS feed for addons. It’s meant to replace addons like old TitanBar and FuBar by allowing addon authors to include broker compatibility in their mod without any extra plugins. To make use of Broker functionality you will first need a Broker display addon.

• Chocolate Bar – My absolute favorite broker display bar. Highly customizable, allows you to not only show addons, but also enable/disable many broker addons from within WoW.
• Ninja Panel – A nice broker display, but you can’t chose to remove this display of any broker functions. Can get very cluttered very fast.

While many addons have Broker built into it, there are some addons you might want that are specific for bar display. Here are a few of the more useful ones that I like.

• Ara Broker Tradeskills – Allows quick glance to see what all your tradeskill levels are and easily open them without having to open the tradeskill window. You can pick and choose what skills are tracked. Also keeps track of your crafting cooldown timers.
• Broker Currency – Easy viewing access to all your currencies. Tracks your gold income and spending, see your badges without opening the currency tab.
• Travel Agent – Easy location showing as well as shows a list of all level appropriate zones, instances and battlegrounds.
• Volumizer – Easy access to all sound options and levels in WoW without having to go into the Sound Options menu.

General UI Addons

• TipTac -Edit your tooltip display, position, information, etc. I can’t stand the default tooltips look or position.
• Pitbull Unit Frames v4 – Another thing I can’t stand is the default unit frames. I want more information and I want it displayed nicely. Completely, totally, utterly customizable, but really geared for more advanced users. The newest (v4) is a bit more user friendly, but it’s not there yet for me to say anyone can use it.
• Macaroon! – Actionbar replacement. Completely, totally utterly customizable. Make your bars any size or shape, keybind them on the fly, and much much more. Truthfully I don’t use this right now because I can easily use the default action bars now, but if you want something more customizable this can do it all.
• Macaroon Xtras – Adds a few more things to Macaroon like editing your bag bar and whatnot.
• ArkInventory (or @WoWI) – I simply can NOT play WoW without this mod. Combines all your bag slots into one window, but allows you to create ‘bars’ and sort your inventory how YOU see fit. Put all your trash in one area, keep all your quest items together, sort your crafting materials as you need. Includes a custom Rule feature for more advanced users. It also uses “profiles” so each character can have their own setup, or use the ‘default’ and share. Includes windows for Inventory, Bank, Guild Bank, Pets, Mounts, Auctions, and Mail. Keeps track of inventory for all your characters and has a search feature. Will also put in tooltip which character has how many and where.
• Clique – Adds click casting and hover casting to your unitframes and more. Great for healers/cleansers.
• Postal – Better options for your mailbox. Includes bulk actions and more.
• Factionizer – Expands the faction window to include how many points till your next rank and how to go about getting more faction.
• Auctioneer – The Auction House addon. Better search functionality and tracks the prices for your server so you can sell things for current pricing. Highly customizable. Suggest getting only basic auctioneer unless you are a major auction house player. Enchantrix is only needed for enchanters so either disable or don’t install if you’re not one.  If you don’t play on the Auction House much and rarely sell anything, you can pass this up. It IS a major memory hog.

Misc Addons

Here are a few addons you might look at if you have need of them.

• Magic Runes – Death Knight only addon, tracks your runes and their recharge timers
• FlagRSP Cataclysm – RP addon that adds character descriptions to player characters.
• Omen Threat Meter – Keeps track of your threat in a raid/instance. If you don’t raid or do instances, you can pass on this.

 

So that’s all I have for now. A lot of these addons I’m not even using but I know people who do even now and can recognize the need for those that are here. I probably won’t be doing updates on when the addons are updated, but if I find something nifty I think folks might like I’ll post about it here.

Do you have any suggestions for what addons people might still like to use? I know I’m lacking more raid/instance addons because I simply don’t run them anymore. Comment with your suggestions!