My name's Will, and I'm addicted to addons... and transmogrification... and The Cranberries. Let's forget about that last part and focus on addons.
WoW's default UI is pretty darn good at displaying vital information at-a-glance, but I prefer a blockier, pseudo-minimalist aesthetic in which form truly follows function. It's taken months of addon shuffling to build my perfect UI, and now I couldn't imagine ever playing without it. In this post, I'll share everything I learned along the way and help you build your own custom user interface.
First, make a list of the essential elements of your UI. Write it down somewhere, so you can check items off as you go. I'll share mine as a reference:
Core
- Action bar(s)
- Unit frames
- Buffs/debuffs
- Chat box
- Map
Optional
- Cast bars
- Damage/threat meter
- Nameplates
- Bag management
At this point, I highly recommend heading over to curse.com and downloading their Curse Client - it's an addon manager which allows you to install and update addons without ever opening your game files. Once you have that, I'll also recommend the addons "Addon Control Panel" and "Reflux". Addon Control Panel allows you to enable and disable addons from an in-game UI, and Reflux allows saving and switching addon settings via slash commands.
Note: I do not recommend downloading an entire UI worth of addons at once. Many addons don't function well out-of-the-box, and require some setup. Instead, download one or two addons at a time, set them up to your liking, then download more.
Your UI will be shaped by your playstyle; for example, some of my healer friends like a grid of party or raid frames, and use additional addons to bind heals to mouse clicks. My brother, who plays many roles and classes at a high level, moves with WASD and clicks his action bars, so he has several action bars centered at the bottom of his screen for easy access. My rather unique setup has two action bars - one for keybinds on my Razer Nostromo, and one for clicking.
In designing your UI, take into account where you'll be focusing your attention. If you never want to look away from the center of your screen, find health and resource bars that can be moved to that position without obstructing your view (like IceHUD). Nameplates accomplish something similar, showing (at minimum) target health bars right above the target's actual position. They can also be configured to show resources, cast bars, and buffs/debuffs. If you want to look all over the screen, but don't want to miss a microsecond of action, consider multiple addons with a similar function; my target's cast bars are in three places - on my target's unit frame, it's nameplate, and just above my own cast bar.
"Ah, but you said you prefer minimalism!"
No, hypothetical reader. I said pseudo-minimalism. Keep up.
A few addons are more than replacements for UI items, and add some new function. Once you've got your UI set up, check out these awesome addons:
Deadly Boss Mods: Considered essential by many players, DBM uses visual and audio cues to alert the player to important boss mechanics in dungeons and raids. "___ is happening, move out of ___" and "interrupt ___ now!" may save your life someday.
_NPCScan: Plays a sound file anytime a rare is in range.
Auctioneer: Makes posting auctions easier by appraising items (matching or undercutting the current price), and allowing the user to post multiple items with one click.
MogIt: For transmogrification - allows the user to preview most 'moggable items in the game and create a wishlist of gear sets. A must-have in my opinion.
