Add to Your Game – Target Charms

Considering Cataclysm’s tougher new dungeon and raid environment, crowd control and kill order marking have become far more important to a successful outing. If you’re going to have to do quite a bit of marking, either because you’re a leader in your guild groups or raids, or because you like to help out PuG groups with your experience, here’s a little something to make your experience easier.

Target Charms adds in a handy little toolbar that contains all of the marker options. The bar is draggable, so you can place it wherever you want. You can also change the geometry of the bar to however you like it from a single vertical row to a single horizontal row and anything in between. The add-on also has a few other options, such as a ready-check button, and a world marker/flare button for placing the game’s default placement markers, each of which can be activated or placed individually.  Though simple, the add-on does have a variety of display options, such as “display always” and “display only when targeting.”  To use the add-on simply click on a target and click the icon you wish to assign to it. It’s that simple. No need to mess with the clunky, tiered, right-click menu in the default ui.

Shown here framed horizontally.

Now, yes, I know there are other ways to handle this problem. I know of many people who have their markers bound to action keys (typically the row of function keys along the top of the keyboard) or set up in macros. I know still others just tough it out with the default UI. But the advantage to this sort of add-on is that keybindings, action bar spaces, and macro slots are all limited. This add-on doesn’t make you waste any of these precious, limited resources for simple marking. The other advantage, of course, is that it’s simple and easy to use and requires no effort on your part to code, edit, or test keybindings or macros. Which is plenty good enough of a reason to use it in my book. At any rate, try it; we need more people who are willing to take a few second to mark the kill order in dungeons instead of just hoping everyone knows and complaining about the ensuing wipe.

Add to Your Game – Panda

Panda is a nifty little add-on for making your crafting experience a bit easier. It gives you an auction-house style frame for your professions and includes sub-functions – like milling, prospecting, and disenchanting – for them too.

The various supported professions are denoted by the tabs along the outside of the right side, while the functions of that profession are listed category-style along the left-hand side of the pane.

The add-on can be filtered so that things you don’t want to disenchant don’t show up. For example, class-appropriate items that are soulbound are turned off by default so that you don’t accidentally shard your shiny new epic drop. I would offer the caveat that – since this makes disenchanting, prospecting, or milling so much easier – you should be sure that you aren’t destroying something you wanted to keep.

One handy function of the add-on is that when you mouse over an item within its pane, it tells you what the item could turn into. For example, hovering over a stack of saronite in the prospecting section will show you that saronite can turn into any of the northrend uncommon or rare gems. This comes in handy when you want to know what sort of shard or dust an item will turn into. Will this green item become vision dust, illusion dust, or arcane dust? Panda knows. Granted, this function is handled better by certain other add-ons (I’m looking at you, Enchantrix), but the visual reminder of what dust you’ll get can still come in handy as you’re about to push the DE button. After all, there is no “un-DE” option.

It also gives you a quicklist of what items can turn into what. For example, the Cooking tab shows you the available types of food and feasts, along with an icon for each of the ingredients. Not only is this nice information to have on its own, but it also plays very well with add-ons that give your information when you mouse-over an icon, such as how many you have/where they are (altoholic), or what an item can DE into and the chance it will become each type of item (enchantrix).

As I mentioned in the previous, very short blurb, on this add-on, it isn’t a make-or-break type of add-on. It doesn’t add awesome new functionality like some add-ons do. But it does improve your quality of life by giving you a sort of encyclopedia to certain crafting professions, and especially by making the sub-functions much more streamlined. It’s easily worth it to install Panda for the milling, disenchanting, or prospecting alone. Give it a shot and see if you don’t pull it out every time you need to convert a stack of raw materials into dust, ink, gems, etc.

Setting the Record Straight

I’ve seen several people making much ado about the newer, harder heroics and raids. “Isn’t this great?” “It reminds me of BC.” “You actually have to work for gear now.” And so on. Yeah, everyone from the hardcore crew to the not-quite casuals to the game developers themselves are waxing philosophic about the awesome new state of heroics and raids. Guess what? It won’t last. Nerfs are already on the way with patch 4.0.6 and it will be more of the same from there on out. Blizzard can talk tough as much as they want, but there’s a basic economic truth that they won’t be able to dance themselves around no matter how much they may want to.

This introductory phase of the expansion is Blizzard’s nod to the hardcore and serious casuals who want more of a challenge out of the game. These people deserve their due as much as anyone else and I’m glad they’ll have their opportunity. The frontrunners pave the way for the rest of us, giving us great strategy advice that makes our path just a little bit easier. They deserve a bit of pride about being the fastest, the first, and the best of the best. But, see, the thing is that the vast majority of WoW’s fanbase plays the game for fun, not ego. The newer, harder system is putting a dent in Blizzard’s bottom line as it chases away those who are just looking for a good time. Concentrating on a challenging encounter is great for making you feel like you accomplished something. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that if what you want is to put in a lot of effort to eventually earn a reward. You know what that’s called? Work.

The problem comes in because not everyone enjoys so much work in their entertainment. Call them what you will, casuals, morons, slackers, whiners; the label doesn’t matter, the bottom line is that they comprise the bulk of Blizzard’s subscriber base. Remember that simple economic truth I told you about? Well, here’s the deal: Blizzard has made the entire game, in one way or another, all about grabbing gear. The grind to 85 is just the introduction. Blizzard has made sure that at least half of the game is about the “end game” – the gear grind, the rep grind, heroics, raids. People are going to want to see the content and get the gear. Yes, even the unforgivably “lazy” ones who don’t want to put in 20 hours of grinding for every one hour of pleasure. Blizzard can’t help but to cater to them if they expect to pay the bills, so it’s only a matter of time before Cataclysm becomes Wrath’s purple parade part 2. For good or ill the people who want more fun and less work are the ones who put cars in the developers’ garages and roofs over their heads. I know that Blizzard has said repeatedly that they want you to work for your rewards. They may even mean it, but in the end it doesn’t matter. Principles are nice, but they don’t feed your family. Nerfs WILL happen, little by little until Cata is easy enough to please the casual crowd. You can count on it. It’s happened with both previous expansions. Don’t expect this one to be any different.

One final piece of food for thought: how long will the shiny last? I can’t speak for everyone on this, but here’s an example of what I mean. The very first time I accepted the ride to the Argent Tournament grounds in Wrath, I felt it was truly epic. The long, slow swooping path was incredible as I saw everything for the the first time. The second and third time it was pretty cool. But long before I ever got my first Crusader title I was cursing at the stupid griffin to stop wasting time swooping around and just frickin’ land already. All of these people who love the new heroics now: are they going to still love that much work on the 30th time through? The 50th time? Or at some point are they just going to want to zerg through the stupid content so they can earn a little gold/rep/gear/justice points and move on to what they really want to do?

The (Not-So) Great Debate About Healing Add-ons

I mentioned in the HealBot article that there is great debate among gamers about the use of healing add-ons. Unfortunately, most of said debate is born out of woeful ignorance, so if you thought today’s article would be some sort of ultimate showdown for the title of best healing add-on, I’m afraid you’re in for a bit of a let-down.

Round 1: HealBot vs. Grid vs. VuhDo

First up, I’d like to address the major myths associated with each of the big three (usually rumors spread on message boards by supporters of one of the rivals).

• Myth 1: Healbot does the healing for you. This isn’t true and hasn’t been since Burning Crusade raids were bleeding edge content. Blizzard decided it was unacceptable for an add-on to select the appropriate heal for you and quickly banned that functionality from all add-ons. Neither Healbot nor any other add-on is capable of “healing for you” even if you wanted it to.
• Myth 2: Grid is complex. This one is sort-of-true. Grid on its own is a very simple add-on. The complexity (and flexibility) of Grid is that it requires several other add-ons and quite a few minutes of set-up to work in a manner similar to the other 2 add-ons. The thing is, that set up is mostly one-time only. Afterwards, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the 3 major add-ons if they had identical graphical interfaces.
• Myth 3: VuhDo is for Lazy healers. This came about because VuhDo allows you to automatically use your trinkets and CDs as if they were macroed into your spells. Guess what? So do the others. The only difference is that VuhDo has it enabled by default.

There are, of course other myths, lies, rumors, and errors of fact where these add-ons are concerned, but these are the major highlights. As you probably noticed from the myths, not all of the misinformation being spread by supporters of one camp or another is necessarily malicious. There is plenty of good old fashioned ignorance spreading around by people who never bothered to learn how a particular add-on works before bashing it.

To settle the debate (insofar as this page is concerned) I’ll offer my usual standby. Although I’m sure you’re sick to death of hearing me say this, there isn’t a huge difference between your three choices. I know I keep saying “just pick the one you like” but it remains true. If there’s ever a noticeable difference between one add-on and it’s rival(s) rest assured that I’ll let you know about (loudly and emphatically).

I chose HealBot for my healing needs because it does everything I need it to do right out of the box, it works well, and it has an easy and intuitive menu system. I disliked the idea of getting multiple add-ons from multiple authors to make Grid function the way I wanted it to. This is just my preference, however. The flipside of that is that somebody running Grid can make their add-on more streamlined by not installing features they won’t use (thereby wasting no HDD space or RAM storing and running them). As I said, this difference is a matter of preference. It isn’t intrinsically good or bad, it just depends upon your playstyle and how it works with you.

Now, you may have noticed that I didn’t factor VuhDo into that equation. That’s because it was a late-comer to the scene, and I was already used to HealBot at that time. I gave VuhDo a go, didn’t notice any major differences and went back to HealBot. That is to say VuhDo is, much like HealBot, a fully functional, easy to use, and customizable add-on that works just as well as any other healing add-on. Had I used VuhDo first I’d have stuck with VuhDo. I didn’t see a need to change because there simply wasn’t enough of a difference between them. That’s all there was to it.

Round Two: Healing Add-on vs. No Healing Add-ons

The second major point of contention regarding healing add-ons is the Add-on vs. No Add-on Debate. The argument goes that some people are just so naturally gifted at healing that they do not need an add-on. In short, that their skill can trump then need for any mechanical assistance.

This is sort of like saying that if you can run really fast you’ll never need a bicycle. The major advantages of a healing add-on are pretty plain to anybody who ever bothered to learn to use one. This debate is a non-debate. The simple fact of the matter is that anyone who becomes proficient in using a healing add-on will see a marked increase in efficiency compared to their abilities without an add-on. Period. There might be some back-stepping in performance while your muscle memory adjusts to a new set of actions for healing, just as you’re wobbly as you learn to ride a bike. However, once you become used to it and steady things out, you’ll leave your old abilities in the dust and open up new heights that you never knew you could achieve.

Using the default UI, you have two options for healing: mouseover macros or click-targeting. Click-targeting is where you click on the target you want and then click on (or press the hotkey for) the spell you want to cast. This is slow, clunky, and inefficient. The extra step of clicking on the target takes up valuable time. Any competent healer with an add-on will beat the very best click-targeter to ever play the game. It’s like having a sprinting contest with a cheetah: you’re not going to win. Ever. Click-targeting is garbage, plain and simple.

Mouseover macros may seem to make it a closer race at first glance, but this too is far less efficient than a healing add-on. Mouseover macros tell the game that the target of the spell is the player whose nameplate, raid frame, or character your mouse is currently hovering over. Hovering over a nameplate or character is difficult in the best situations and nigh-impossible in most raids. Which leaves you using the raid frame. The teeny tiny raid frame that can’t be customized the way that an add-on can. The raid frame that can’t give you the information a healing add-on gives you with nearly as much efficiency, if at all. Mouseover macros are a good first step (this is basically what the healing add-on does for you with its interface: it writes the macro for you).

The difference comes in with the details. The new and improved raid UI built into the game is a step in the right direction, but it still does not compare to a healing add-on in terms of customization (i.e. giving you the information in a way that’s easy for you to respond to). The default UI also does not give you a sound and/or color alert for debuffs, missing buffs, etc. The default UI does not show incoming heals from yourself or other healers. The default UI does not track bouncing heals (like Prayer of Mending) or HoTs (like Rejuvenation or Renew). Being unable to track what other healers are doing means that you are likely to overheal (or make others do so). Healing over each other wastes everybody’s time and mana. In the new, more difficult dungeon environment where mana management is king, that could mean wipes. Nobody likes wipes.

Long story short: it doesn’t matter which one you pick, as long as you have one.

Bonus Round: Healer vs. Non-healer

As you may have noticed from some of the features listed in the HealBot article, labeling these as simply “healing add-ons” is something of a misnomer. While no one would argue that healers get the most benefit from these add-ons, healing add-ons aren’t just for healers: there are useful features in it for all roles and classes.

Hybrids will find them especially useful, particularly in those situations in which an extra heal or shield could swing the tide, or if a healer goes down and the player needs to switch roles to try to save the attempt. Now, more than ever, back-up and supplemental healing duties are a key role for hybrid dps. If your healers are struggling then a little emergency heal or quick cleanse can save the day. DPS generally have a far less demanding mana curve, so if you can spare the mana to cleanse or shield now and then you’re literally giving your healer extra mana for heals. That’s a win-win situation made easier to direct and execute thanks to a healing add-on.

Pure-dps classes can also find them useful, because HealBot isn’t limited to healing spells. The assist feature, for example, can be used to automatically target the same target as the player whose bar you just clicked on. Since Healbot can handle cleanses and buffs, any class capable of cleansing or buffing can find them useful. The buff management may seem like a no-brainer, but a visual reminder that player x died or was out of range and didn’t receive a buff comes in handy more often than you’d expect. Healing add-ons tend to be very good for coordinating your utility functions. Mages, for example, could use it for decursing and for sheeping mind-controlled party members. Rogues and Hunters can use it for their respective threat misdirection talents. Warlocks can use it for soulstoning, etc. Basically, anytime you have an ability, command, or spell that interacts with other players, a healing add-on makes it easier.

Add To Your Game – BugMeNot

BugMeNot is one of those beautiful little add-ons that’s nice not because of what it adds to your game, but rather because of what it takes away. Think of this as a pop-up blocker for your game. Ever been checking your mail or sorting through your bank, only to be interrupted by somebody popping open a trade window to beg for gold or maybe throwing a guild signature request in your face? Ever get someone who must have been under the impression that you accidentally clicked no the first 8 times he spammed your level 10 character with requests to duel his level 85?

Well, fear not, BugMeNot has your back. What it does is allow you to automatically reject those annoying pop-ups without ever displaying them to you. Now, I know what you’re thinking, because it’s the first thing that occurred to me, too: what if my friends/family/guild want to group up, raid, invite, etc. No worries, BugMeNot allows you to make exceptions to the filter. Requests from people on your friends list or from within your guild are allowed by default. Additionally, you can invite others who whisper you, or you can set up a temporary window in which the filter is skipped. For example, a simple slash command can tell BugMeNot to allow the next group invite you receive even if it’s from someone who is not on your allowed persons list.

I found that the “reject” setting met all my needs, but if that’s not the case for you, then the “ignore” feature rejects the request and then adds the player to your ignore list, negating any further contact.

Another interesting option is the whisper feature. You can create a message to be whispered to the player when he is blocked. For example, you might type something like “I automatically ignore unsolicited invites with BugMeNot. If you would like to group up, please whisper me back so I can bypass it.” That message would be automatically whispered to anyone blocked by the add-on. This helps cut down on the possibility that you’ll miss out on a group invite before a quest mob or other bottleneck.

I won’t claim that the add-on would be anything more than a speedbump to somebody who is actively trying to harass you. However, it is an effective roadblock against people who are kind of clueless about etiquette and so pop things up without asking or just won’t take no for an answer.