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10/25/2010

Addon Spotlight: 4.0.1 updated favorites

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Addon Spotlight focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week everything broke, so let's fix it.

Addon Spotlight is going to do things a little differently this week. We've just come off a fresh, new patch, with loads of new abilities, content and system mechanics. Rather than focus on one or two addons this week, I want to give my readers a rundown on some of the crucial addons we all know and love, making sure you know what to update, considering some addons are taking the drive out of the car, so to speak. In addition, I'll give you some alternatives to addons that might not be functioning perfectly right now, tell you which addons are just being naughty and try to get you back on track before the weekend.

Classic damage and threat

Many addons have had Cataclysm variations and updates in the works, but most didn't get pushed out until late Wednesday night. Many people reported errors across the board as addons were mashing up against one another, ruining some people's nights. Recount, Omen and Skada have all been updated for 4.0.1, covering all of your damage and threat tracking needs. Be careful, DPSers, because some of your numbers might be awesome, but your poor tank is going to be very sad all night.

Download Recount at [Curse].
Download Omen at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Skada at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Raids and boss encounters

Those crazy fools over at Deadly Boss Mods, BigWigs and Deus Vox Encounters have got your back with an update for 4.0.1 that is stable, working and guaranteed to make your raid night go a little bit smoother. Raiding Tuesday night was a giant pain, with everyone's user interfaces on the brink. Having boss encounter addons ready to go after a new patch is a huge boon, considering most of the encounters in Wrath of the Lich King feel a little bit different with all the new changes. Update your boss encounters and make your fellow raiders a little bit happier.

Download Deadly Boss Mods at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Deus Vox Encounters at [Curse].
Download BigWigs Bossmods at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Action and cast bars

The two big names in action bars, Bartender4 and Dominos, both updated fairly quickly with 4.0.1 capable builds of these most important addons. I'm a Dominos man myself, so I can speak confidently when I say it's running fine with zero problems. I had one personal mishap with a profile issue, but it was all over quickly and the problem was solved. My Bartender4-savvy friends tell me that Bartender is keeping it real, rocking it old school and generally having an awesome night on the town after that horrible break-up with Samantha. That could have also been my buddy Rick. Either way, it involved bars.

My past recommendation of Castbars exploded on patch day. Without a working cast bar, I was not in a happy mood. I shifted over to Quartz, the reigning cast bar addon that I had proposed an alternative to a while back -- but lo and behold, I have totally refallen in love with Quartz. It's working great for the new patch and has even changed a lot of my own cast bar behaviors. You won me back, Quartz. That's a tough sell.

Download Bartender4 at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Dominos at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Quartz at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Unit frames

Unit frames are a staple of player interfaces, and thankfully, many of your favorites are working perfectly fine under the new 4.0.1 regime. Shadowed Unit Frames, my personal favorite, was not updated for 4.0.1 and was giving me some trouble. Shadowed, the creator, has recently announced that he is leaving the project and handing it over to the very capable hands of Antiarc and Nevcairiel. If you can't wait for an updated SUF, however, Pitbull and Stuf are both extremely capable and feature rich unit frames. I switched over to Stuf for a while until SUF is back up and running, and the customization options in Stuf blow my mind every time I use it. If you want complete and utter control over your unit frames and have the patience to sit with it, Stuf is your man. Pitbull really doesn't need an introduction, because it's great and everyone already knows it.

Update: SUF does have updates for 4.0.1, released after I had written the round-up. You can find the latest version of Shadowed Unit Frames at [WowAce].

Download Pitbull at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Stuf at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Healing UIs

Healers, rejoice! Not all is lost in your worlds, despite all of those new healy ... things ... going on. Something about mana? I don't know! I think that there's a tree involved. Anyway, Blizzard released this patch with a brand new raid UI that is a somewhat-capable facsimile of Grid, which is currently updated but experiencing a few issues that should all be fixed up soon. Vuhdo and Healbot users, have no fear, because your favorite healing augmenters are ready and raring to go.

Blizzard's new raid UI tries to be Grid for everyone, but misses the biggest boon of Grid -- customization. Sure, it's better than what was there before, but raid frames and healing interfaces are clearly the domain of the addon creators. With the newest raid frames, Blizzard seems to be acknowledging that.

Download Vuhdo at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Healbot Continued at [Curse].

Personal addon staples

Finally, I wanted to let you guys know about a few of my personal staples that, really, I have a hard time living without. Everyone knows Postal, the ubiquitous mail addon that makes the in-game mail system tolerable. It's been updated for patch 4.0.1, even after some hair-raising moments last night where Postal gave me a few issues. I might have cried.

Arkinventory is another addon that is finally updated to 4.0.1, but for a while on patch day I was getting some errors. Thankfully, that all seems to have gone by the wayside, and even better, all of my previous settings were perfectly intact. Rejoice!

Finally, OmniCC has a new, special place in my heart, as I adjust to my new life as an arms warrior in PvE as well as the new tanking changes. Seeing cooldowns on Rend, for instance, neatly displayed on my enemy's target frame is something I couldn't live without. OmniCC is updated and doing what it does with a stable and solid build.

Download Postal at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Download Arkinventory at [Curse].
Download OmniCC at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].

Double finally

Finally-finally, don't forget to update the two best addons ever, Addon Control Panel and ButtonFacade, both sparkly and shiny and patch-4.0.1-resistant.

Download Addon Control Panel at [Curse].
Download ButtonFacade at [Curse].

For a list of all addons updated for the new 4.0.1 patch and Cataclysm, hit up Curse for a comprehensive list.

Good luck with your interfaces, everyone. Next week on Reader UI of the Week, we'll discuss and highlight some of the UI packs that have updated for patch 4.0.1, so if you have a favorite UI pack that's stable and patch-ready, email me and let me know.
Addons are what we do on Addon Spotlight. If you're new to mods, Addons 101 will walk you through the basics; see what other players are doing at Reader UI of the Week. If there's a mod you think Addon Spotlight should take a look at, email mat@wow.com. Tags: 4.0.1, action-bar, action-bar-mods, action-bars, add-on, add-on-configuration, add-on-guide, addon-configuration, addon-control-panel, addon-guide, addon-unit-frame, addons, addons-4.0.1, button-facade, cast-bar, cast-bar-addon, cast-bars, castbars, featured, guide, heal-addons, healer-addon, healer-addons, healer-ui, healers, mail-addons, omnicc, postal, unit-frame-addons, unit-frames, update-4.0.1, updated-addons, wow-add-on, wow-add-on-guide, wow-add-ons, wow-addon-guide, wow-addons, wow-guide

Filed under: Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight


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