Zuggy 2 - Rogue Arena Video
July 3, 2008 by Zuggy · 9 Comments
Zuggy 2 - Return of the Troll…
This is my 2nd arena video and features myself in all 3 arena brackets. The footage showcases clips from my rogue / priest 2v2 team, rogue / mage / priest 3v3 team, and rogue / hunter / elemental shaman / druid / priest 5v5 team.
All clips were filmed at or above 2300 rating during season 3.
2 talent specs were used in this video, 16/45/0 combat and 20/0/41 shadowstep. (Note: combat is only used for the very first rogue / priest match)
Rogue Arena Addons / User Interfaces Used
- AG Unit Frames
- SCT
- Proximo
- Quartz
- Bongos2
- OmniCC
- NECB (2s / 3s only)
Other U.I. notes, because several people asked this question about my last video. The large bar which shows cast bars towards the middle of my screen is a focus casting bar. You can see the focus frame to the left of my screen.
I use it to watch for incoming crowd controls / heals so I can adjust before they land.
Music
- Queen - Another One Bites the Dust (intro only)
- Nightwish - Dark Chest of Wonders
- Muse - Assassin
- Trivium - Ascendancy
- The Arcade Fire - Rebellion
- Motely Crue - Kick Start My Heart
Looking for my first arena video? Check it out now! Zuggy 1 - Rogue / Priest 2v2
Best Unit Frame Addons
June 20, 2008 by Zuggy · 2 Comments
No custom user interface is complete without ditching the stock Blizzard unit frames. The blizzard frames are anything but “ideal, they are small, poorly positioned, and offer the user little information, especially for raiders. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of unit frame addons out there to help us out.
1. X-Perl Unit Frame
Perl has basically been around forever, I can remember using the very first versions of this module in AQ40. Overall, it’s just a great unit frame. It comes equipped with all the normal features you’d expect an addon to have; range finder, HoT monitor, raid frames, debuff highlighting, raid target icon, raid tooltip, in-combat indicators, 3D portraits, red and green combat flashes, timers, and configurable colors, just to name a few.
Setup on this mod is extremely fast, out of the box it’s pretty much ready to go and doesn’t require very much customization to get to looking good.
Download X-Perl Unit Frames
2. Pitbull Unit Frame
Pitbull is built on the Ace2 library of functions and as such uses very little memory. As far as features go, Pitbull tops all other addons. If you can dream it, chances are it’s an option in Pitbull.
While this feature has it’s appealing nature, it’s also a big negative for many users. Pitbull will take some time to setup. With so many available options the first couple times you configure the addon could be painful, especially if you are a perfectionist about your U.I. like I am.
Keep in mind, the screenshot above is just one possible U.I. you could create using Pitbull. There infinitely more complex (or simplistic) iterations you could build using the options available in this addon.
3. AG Unit Frames
AG unit frames may look suspiciously like Pitbull to you, that’s because it was created using the same scripts. Essentially AG unit frames is a more simplistic version of pitbull. It offers less functionality, but as a result the setup time is pretty quick.
The major draw back for me on this addon was not having a range finder, you may find other quarks you dislike about it, but overall it’s a solid mod that offers a minimalistic feel that’s quick and easy to setup.
4. Healbot Unit Frames
Though I haven’t had a chance to personally try out healbot in raids, It looks pretty solid from what I’ve heard and read. Healbot is built with the raid healer in mind and is packed with features to help you including: 20 key mouse combinations to cast any beneficial spell, usable items can be added to combos, macros can be added, target, focus, and assist can be
added, displays aggro, decurisve functions, monitor buffs / debuffs, configurable appearance, raid sync, range checker, etc.
Additional Unit / Raid Frame Addons
In addition to the above addons I’ve listed you may consider using some of the following.
Proximo
Proximo generates a small box (moveable via alt + dragging) that populates the names of your arena opponents and their current HP percentage. In addition, you can set certain bindings off the frame.
For example, a left click on a player in the frame could cast a sheep, set it as your focus, etc.
Grid Raid Unit Frame
Grid is an ideal solution if you have a unit frame that doesn’t provide very good raid frames. For me this was the ideal solution, since AG unit frames did not have a range checker.
Grid creates a small frame and fills it with a box for each member of your raid or party. From there each box is broken down into various sections which display various data; debuffs, buffs, aggro, HP, etc. All of which is 100% customizable.
Check out my full write up on grid raid unit frames for more information.
Think you’ve got an awesome unit frame addon that should be added to this list? Post yours below!
Best User Interface Addons
June 20, 2008 by Zuggy · Leave a Comment
The following list is my big players for addons, I won’t go much into specific class based addons, though curse.com has plenty to offer you if you so desire to search.
You can also checkout files.wowace.com for additional U.I. modifications.
Proximo
Simple, yet amazing. Proximo allows you or any of your teammates running the mod to scroll over the opposing players with your mouse, these players are then listed on a small frame which you may move to any location of your screen. Once listed you can then target the opposing players via this frame. The mod comes equipped with many other features for assisting, targeting, macros, focus, etc.
Unit Frames
Perl Classic
X-Perl
Pitbull
Ag Unit Frames
Each unit frame mod offers essentially the same thing, a better player, target, target of target, target of target of target, focus, party, and raid frames. You can determine for yourself which design you prefer, though I strongly suggest choosing some mod, as the blizzard UI frames simply do not offer enough information in a format easily visible. Choosing one of these four, or another I haven’t mentioned (there are scores out there) is crucial to setting up your UI for PvP, as it provides you a much cleaner view and allows you to customize the frame for the information you find most urgent.
Natur Enemy Cast Bar
Certainly one of my favorite mods I am currently running. NECB assist you in that every time a spell, skill, buff, debuff, etc. shows up in your combat log it creates a small bar, which you may move around, change the orientation, width, etc, which essentially works as a timer. Example, you can watch a mage’s ice block tick down, when you see your timer at 2 seconds, knowing you have a 2.5 second cast, simply queue your spell and you know right as he breaks out of that block you are going to nail him with another spell. Wondering when that paladin’s bubble is coming back up? NECB handles that also, and virtually all other timers in the game, everything from short duration objects to the longer cool downs as well, it’s a great addition and when customized right is an excellent tool for PvP.
Bongos (now known as Dominos)
Now personally I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to my UI, so I don’t use bongos currently, though I have in the past. Bongos simply lets you change the size, position, and orientation of your action bars quickly and easily. In addition it also removes all the extra art, freeing up more space for your UI canvas. The greatest part about Bongos is how easily it lets you bind your keys. No longer do you need to go through the key bindings menu, simply open the bongos options up, hover over the key, and pressed the desired hotkey, key set! If you want to adjust your bars around this is the perfect mod to do it with.
Ecasting Bar
Ecasting bar, obviously enough, is a better casting bar. It turns off the small default blizzard casting bar and allows you to move, change orientation, width, length, color, etc. of your casting bar, focus casting bar, and target’s casting bar. If you’re a class that doesn’t cast, get it anyway, the benefits of the target’s casting bar and the focus casting bar are crucial and you’ll want those implemented in your UI.
Scrolling Combat Text
Improved version of blizzard’s scrolling combat text. SCT is basically all the import stuff which appears in your combat log, then it’s blown up, color coordinated, and positioned at any location on your screen, divided, and organized in which ever way you choose to customize is. It’s not a huge thing, though the fonts are much clearer than the cheesy version blizzard through in.
Trinket Menu
Adds a small, fully customizable, mobile frame that allows you to quickly swap trinkets. In addition you can also setup queues for your trinkets. Example, after I use my bloodlust brooch I have my renataki trinket swapped in as soon as I leave combat, then again the bloodlust brooch is swapped back in once renataki is on cooldown. Great tool to keep track of your trinkets at all times without having to open up your character menu.
OmniCC
Last, but certainly not least, OmniCC adds timers to your bars over your entire cool down based abilities. Many bar mods now come with this feature built in, but in the event your action bar happens to not, or you are cool and use the blizzard default bars like me, then you certainly want to use OmniCC
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