It has been a while since I requested input regarding changing my interface yet again, and I have finally tweaked my UI to a point that both provides a good view of everything going on, is fairly minimalistic, and provides me with all of the pertinent information I need across any character I play. Read on for the details:

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch! – Click to enlarge.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch! – Click to enlarge.

My goals were simple in reconstructing my UI: I like to see the game instead of having a screen full of information that blocks my view of what is happening, I wanted everything to mesh well together aesthetically, I wanted to be able to completely customize any aspect of the UI as time progresses, and I wanted to be able to use the exact same setup among any of my primary or alternate characters. In looking at various packages I found things that I liked, but then in practice I would find minor annoyances (such as blocking just a little too much of what I could see, or with one class or another having some unnecessary information), and eventually settled on taking individual addons and constructing an experience that met each of my goals.

The Addons

Bartender 4 – Anything I use regularly is bound to a key press, but I still like having the option of mousing over an ability or using a mouse click in the event I have some reason to do so. I’ve been using Bartender for a long time to achieve these goals, and the ability to customize visibility, bar changes based on any number of factors, and relocation of the bars however I see fit is ideal. (Note that I use ButtonFacade in order to customize the appearance of the buttons to ensure it meshes well with the UI.)

ag_Unitframes – I like minimal unit frame cluster on my desktop, and ad_Unitframes allows complete control over which frames are shown and when they are shown. Again, ideal for meeting my goals, and the look of the unit frames meshes well with the other UI elements present on screen.

DoTimer – It took a while to figure out how to customize DoTimer the way I wanted. I have one “anchor” for general buffs, one for debuffs, one for cooldowns, one for the targets of any spells or abilities, and one for specific self-buffs that I need to watch (like Savage Roar, Horn of Winter, Berserk, etc.). Not all of these are visible in the screenshots above, so I’ll try to remember to grab a screenshot while on my Druid that shows the way the target frame and associated timers behave.

Grid – I have long been a proponent of using Grid because of its sheer customizability. Again, it will take a while to configure (especially if new to using the addon), but having such a wealth of information available at a glance, and in such a minimalistic fashion, is ideal for my use and preferences.

Parrot – The benefits of showing scrolling combat text shouldn’t be overlooked, but having all of that text on the screen constantly is extremely annoying. Parrot allows the customization of not only how long the text stays, but whether crits should be shown differently, what direction any aspect of the combat text should be displayed (such as the way I have it set up, where heals go to the right, damage to the left, and cooldowns/procs/etc. go up) and what size text should be used. Another huge win in the customization department, and it fits well with the overall look and feel of the interface.

Decursive and Clique – I try to reserve keybindings for things I use all the time, so the ability to customize keypresses plus mouse clicks allows me the flexibility to have quick access to those things that are needed at a moment’s notice, but not always used. In addition, adding Decursive to the mix means I do not have to use precious keybindings or key plus mouse combinations for cleansing.

There are, obviously, more addons in use. The above are the central addons that comprise my UI however, and the driving forces behind what is presented onscreen at any given time. By all means ask if there is an aspect of my UI you are interested in that I did not cover!