7.22 UI

I recently got some inspiration and decided to download ElvUI. ElvUI is a complete rework of the WoW interface. I love this add-on because it comes with almost everything a player needs, so I can eliminate some of my old add-ons to save on memory usage.

My new add-on list. 

 My old UI, in combat LFR. 

 New UI, in combat, resting.

 Resting, not in combat, solo.

 In combat, 5man group.

I kept a few of my old add-ons: DBM, Skada, Forte Xorcist, Weak Auras and oUF. Everything else in my new UI is ElvUI and plug-ins. 

Why I Like Skada Over Recount

Both Skada and Recount are damage meters. Both track more than just damage; they track healing, damage taken, deaths, enemy damage and more. Both also track which spells are used while damaging or healing and the percentage of those spells as they are used. Both can also be configured in a way that is aesthetic and functional (my favorite things). Both have profiles, as well, a must for alt-ololics everywhere (like me) who like their interfaces to be the same across all the toons. Skada, however, comes out on top for me for a few reasons:

1. Configuration! I love the many ways Skada can be configured. Recount's configuration is very limited compared to Skada.

2. Windows everywhere! Many windows can be crated with Skada, making it possible to record and see different things at once. With Recount, only one window can be active at a time. 

I created, and stopped at 10 windows in Skada, because at that time it seemed a little excessive and highly doubtful anyone would create more than 10. 

3. Mode switching! With Skada, any window can switch modes during combat then back to another mode out of combat. I love, love, love this feature. This is the reason I don't need to download Omen (threat meter) because, another thing I love about Skada: it also tracks threat. 

4. Low memory! My favorite thing about Skada I like over Recount is the memory usage. Skada uses about half the memory that Recount does, while doing the same thing. With one window open in Skada, the memory was half of Recount's, with two windows it was a little under half, with ten windows, well, it was double. 

This is with two windows open in Skada. 

Yes, I know most of the WoW population uses Recount, and the numbers come out different. Which is more accurate is hard to decipher, because both rely on range to collect data. Skada's functionality and aesthetics make this add-on one that is very hard to play with out. I like Recount, but I like Skada so much more.  

This is my priest's in combat and out of combat examples of Skada. (Damn shaman beat me in healing, grrr.) The top portion is the damage window, it tracks only damage. The bottom window tracks threat in combat, and switches to healing done out of combat. 

Skada can be found here or here. Recount can be found here. 

New UI 7.1.13

I have decided to play around with my UI again and this is the fruit of my labor:

 25 man (LFR) in combat.

 10(ish) man on Algalon. (I just really like this room, lol)

 Solo in town.

And the Before.

I just shifted many of my raiding add-ons to make information easier to read while in combat. I also replaced some of my non-important add-ons which don't effect the appearance at all, but just make questing and what-not easier. The new panels at the bottom I took from Mono UI. I basically downloaded this interface and grabbed the file from that folder and put it in my interface folder. This folder also skins my DBM bars and a few other add-ons. It also somehow made a few things off the Blizzard Interface disappear, like error messages (You are too far away! You can't do that, yet! etc.) and the Battle.net toast frame. 

I like my new interface and I hope I keep it longer than a week! (I actually had another happy-fun-time with my UI before this one, but forgot to take any screenshots of it because it was very short-lived)

Add-on Highlight: Aurora

Aurora is a beautiful add-on that reskins the default WoW interface to a sleek, transparent black skin. I like this add-on because I hate the default interface, really hate. My meticulous, fussy mind wouldn't allow me to continue with out this add-on purely based on it's aesthetic value to me. I am very particular on how I like my  UI set up and I am annoyed when things are out of place or not looking minimal. This is one of the few add-ons that serve my "I want this to look pretty!" desire with out being functional to my play style. It does serve the purpose of making the Blizzard default screens pleasing to the eye and not giving me a headache for being opposite of the aesthetic i strive for in my UI.

There are some plug-ins that, in combination with Aurora, create a more harmonious interface as a whole. I only use two of the plug-ins, Aurora: Missing Textures and Aurora DBM. The missing textures just add the textures that were missing in the original add-on (duh), but it also skins the log-in page as well as the page with all your characters.

The Looks:

 

The log-in with authenicator. 

  

 Character log-in screen with add-on page. 

 In game character page. 

 In game Interface menu with the Esc menu.

 Looking for group pages, both PvE and PvP. 

Talent and Glyph pages.

 Casting and Mirror bars. 

This screen shot has a bit of everything. I took off all my add-ons except for Aurora and this is the product. It's still messy and I hate clutter, hence I have tons of add-ons. Which, put together results in....

With Aurora, my Ui is cohesive while being aesthetically pleasing.  

Add-on Highlight: oUF and Mlight

oUF is a framework for unit frames. I love it because I can choose a layout that I like (mlight for example) and then I can play around with its configuration. 

I currently have oUF_Mlight for my layout. The reason I like this layout in particular is the raid frames. Out-of-the-box, the raid frames are great. They show the buffs you want showing in the healing format as well as an indicator of the raid buff that may be missing. I also love that it has a different configuration for tanks/dps and it switches automatically. 

Healing layout with hots.

Priest layout: top left corner is Renew, top right corner is Prayer of Mending, bottom left is time left on Power Word: Shield and the left middle is Weakened Soul debuff. I also added another dot next to the Weakened Soul indicator for Divine Aegis and another timer for Spirit Shell in the top left corner. 

Shaman layout: top left corner is for Riptide, top right for earth shield count.

Druid Layout: top left is Lifebloom, the color of the countdown reflects how many stacks is on the target (red=1, orange=2, green=3) top right is Regrowth, bottom left is Rejuvenation. I also added a dot in the left center for Wild Growth. 

Paladin layout: top left is Eternal Flame, top right is Beacon and left center dot is forbearance. 

Monk layout: top right is for Renewing Mist, left center is Soothing Mist, bottom left is for Zen Sphere, but my monk doesn't have that talent. 

All of the bottom right indicators are missing buffs, for example the druid, paladin and monk all have the same stat buff, and on all three it is missing, therefor it is the same color. 

This healing layout also shows big tank cool downs on a target, even if the buff was cast by another player. This icon shows up over the target's name on the right. On the left of the box, there is a debuff indicator icon. This icon prioritizes debuffs that can be dispelled (and can tell by class which type of debuff can be dispelled) it also shows major raid debuffs that are important to know. 

The way it switches from the healing layout to the damage/tank layout is genius. The healing layout is the normal raid frames that are important (and almost essential) for a healer. The damage/tank layout is much more simple and tucked away in the corner, to not be in the way. 

I pushed mine right under my mini-map on the top left of my screen. 

This layout only shows the player's name and health. 

On each of the raid frames there is an arrow indicator to show where a player is who is out of range.  There is also an option to have the frames transparent (like I have) or to have them have the class colors as the background. There are many configuration options in the in-game configuration menu,

and so many more options in the LUA file (with knowledge).

I love oUF for the pure simplicity that it gives the player while still being able to be configured to the player's liking, play style and aesthetic.

Weak Auras!

One of my favorite add-ons is Weak Auras. It's very versatile and very customize-able. I love that there is so much that can be done with this fabulous add-on. With my layout, I have a group of icons for my cool downs as well as a group of bars for spell times that need to be tracked. Basically, I took auras from Derevka's blog (found here) and modified them to fit and work with my UI. And I have he same general set up for all my toons:

Discipline Priest auras in action. 

Another fun addition I have made is a reminder for my buffs I need on me at all times, like Inner Fire/Inner Will for my priest or shields and weapons enchants for my shaman. 

This pops up if i have more than 1% health and I am missing either Inner Fire or Inner Will. 

Likewise for my Water Shield or Lightning Shield on my shaman, depending on what spec I'm in. 

I also have auras for my target that show up on the target's health frame (which didn't screenshot so well) which change depending on the target's class. I also have the same auras so up on my player health frame for the class I am currently playing. The one that photographed the best is the Paladin target with my Priest player aura:

And that' all I have for my Weak Auras! I love this add-on and I love playing with it. There are so many more textures and icons than I experienced with the Power Auras add-on. Weak Auras is an add-on I cannot play WoW with out. 

Weak Auras can be found here.

6.2.ui

So, there were problems with that last UI. Mainly, that I kept tunnel-visioning on my raid and I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. When I did look off the raid frames, I lost our tank (which is really bad when you're tank healing). During our break on raid day, I had to change my layout really fast, so I did. Then after the raid I tweaked it more.

 In combat, in 5-man party. 

Out of combat, 10-man raid.

The raid frames were not in the center, so there was no way of watching my feet at the same time as my raid, which is important as a healer. My health is less important and is also reflected in my raid frames, so I don't need the player unit frame front and center.

In combat, 25-man raid.

This layout seems to work for me well. I can watch my raid while watching my feet and all the important information is right next to the raid frames, which have most of my attention. 

5.30.UI

So, after our raid, I quickly moved around my unit frames and weak auras.

The Before (in combat):

and The After:

I just changed the layout to be almost the original layout of the oUF_Mlight frames. Then I moved my Weak Auras and Forte bars to fit better with the new layout. I'm hoping to change a bit more later on, but this is a good start right now.

Current Interface!

Ever since I stated playing World of Warcraft, I've been obsessed with add-ons and configuring the User Interface. I've probably changed my UI about 1000 times since I started playing in Wrath and I have tried many, many add-ons. Currently I have about 50 add-ons installed and in use.

I like my UI, but I constantly change it or tweek some add-on slightly. I change at least one thing about once every week with a major change about every month. My main goal in changing anything in my UI is to make it functional and beautiful. I know I'm the one that has to play with what I have set up, but that still doesn't stop me from being obsessive about how it looks and preforms. My current UI as of May 23rd, when we finally got council down in Throne of Thunder:

I am thinking of changing the layout of my unit frames, raid frames and my weak auras. We'll see how it goes!