Yes. I went and did it again. I changed my UI up drastically. Lately it is as though I love my UI for a while, and then suddenly one element ticks me off and it all changes. I’m starting to really miss the days when I only used one or two small mods to the default UI, but I’m after such a minimalistic approach that I just cannot go back to the default look anymore. Sad… isn’t it? And the best part, I’m wanting to change it again…

Anyway, I thought this might be a good time to give some screenshots of my UI’s evolution, so here we go in order of oldest to most recent starting with the first UI I put together that was not based on the stock UI (and a follow-up post will provide information on what I decide to do with my UI currently):

From July 2008

This layout served me quite well for a long time. My primary frustrations were with the haphazard placement of unit frames and the irritation from having buttons stretch all the way across the bottom of the window. This particular setup actually evolved some (while retaining the ugly factor), as shown here:

From September 2008

This one actually started to look better. Breaking myself from the long-time exposure to having the unit frames in the top left section of the screen started to really open my ideas on how to evolve my UI from this point.

From October 2008

From April 2009

And this is where I finally realized I needed to weed out a lot of the duplicated information I had taking up screen real estate. This is also where I started the drive to be even more minimalistic and actually be able to see the game’s graphics instead of just the information I needed to see per encounter.

From June and July 2009

The July revision is actually quite nice. Honestly, I could have left it alone and been fairly happy. I wanted to try to open up a little more screen space though, and decided to move a few things around. The result is the UI I am currently using (and am about to change):

Where will I take it from here? Absolutely no idea. I think I may play with state changes more to utilize fewer action bars, or perhaps just relocate the one to the right to not be obscured when I open my bags (for some reason I cannot use any bag addon, they simply irritate me and I have no idea why). Maybe I’ll completely revise it yet again and try to make the elements flow together better. Regardless, I’ll have another post coming in the next few weeks that shows the next iteration of my UI.

By now I’m sure the question of why my UI changes so much has crossed your minds. Well, it has a lot to do with the classes/roles I fill. I’ll end up with a UI setup I absolutely love for healing, but then it doesn’t work well for me tanking. Or I’ll love the minimalistic number of buttons I have on my Druid, only to find I’m short buttons on my Priest or Paladin. My goal is to have one UI setup that works across all of my characters, not to create individual interfaces per character. We’ll see if I get it right this time!

Just a quick link to the files and settings used to construct the UI featured in my previous UI Revisitation Results post.

The archive includes the version of each addon I am currently using and all of the associated settings. You’ll want to look at the folder structure and be certain to replace the names of the folders for account, server, and character with the appropriate information.

Files: WoW_Interface_Files.zip

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!

My user interface has seen so many revisions and tweaks it isn’t even remotely funny anymore. It has literally become a mini-game for me at this point. I want to redesign it again, but this time I want to get it to a point that I’m happy enough with to actually leave it alone.

This brings me to my post today. How do you deal with juggling UI’s among the different roles that can be filled, either via dual-specs or multiple characters? Do you use different sets of addons per character/spec, or do you find a set of addons that do what you need across the board?

When it comes to appearance do you try to find ways to blend all of your addons together? If so how do you accomplish an overall aesthetic that doesn’t have components that stick out like a lime-green, neon light in a darkroom?

What addons do you find you absolutely cannot live without?

Do you aim for minimalism in on-screen addons or do you not worry about being able to see the game graphics?

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These are my goals for this redesign of my UI (which I’ll post when I get it done):

• Minimalism – I like to have all of the information I need in a concise manner, and still be able to enjoy watching the game instead of seeing my screen cluttered with boxes.
• Aesthetically pleasing – one of my current complaints about my UI is how certain elements do not blend well with others.
• Cross-spec/character use – I want to have one UI layout that works for my druid and priest in all of the available roles. Even better if it fits perfectly with my rogue and death knight as well.
• Concise – I’ve grown to the point of using too many addons (in my opinion), and some of the information presented overlaps. It is time to clean that up significantly.

This is going to, most likely, be a massive undertaking. Wish me luck!

I never seem to leave my UI alone, though the overall look and feel has stayed relatively similar for a while now. This time I embarked upon a crusade to lower the number of addons I use, thus reducing the memory footprint required for everything to run smoothly. I also wanted to enhance the look of my UI in a slightly more unified and streamlined manner, with the goal of keeping all information I need easily accessible right up front and visible. This is my current iteration:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

The Visible Addons:

• Button Facade
• Buffalo
• Classtimers
• Decursive
• Dominos
• Gear Score
• Grid
• kg Panels
• Outfitter
• Parrot
• Pitbull
• Prat
• Sexymap
• TinyStats
• TipTac

The Not So Visible Addons:

• ActionBar Saver
• AlphaMap
• Atlas
• AtlasLoot Enhanced
• AuctionLite
• BankItems
• Bayi’s Extended Quest Log
• Clique
• Deadly Boss Mods
• Fast Disenchant
• Fishing Buddy
• MoneyWiz
• Omen
• RatingBuster
• Recount
• Talented
• Tradeskills HD

The UI In Action:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

The Major Components:

Dominos

I’ve used Bartender for a long time, and will actually probably go back to using it due to a couple of minor issues I’ve encountered with Dominos (namely the buggy appearance of the pet and vehicle action bars). Dominos caught my eye for its ease of configuration and the ability to modify the size and location of the “Roll” window easily. All in all, both offer the same basic functionality, with Dominos being easier to configure (though after spending so much time with Bartender it is tough to imagine it as difficult by any means).

Pitbull and Classtimers

Pitbull Death Knight Frame

In a lot of ways I prefer ag_UnitFrames still, but the key component of what caught my eye was the gorgeous way the Death Knight’s runes are displayed in Pitbull. Overall these two addons are practically identical, and both have the same general level of complexity in configuration. I’ll definitely stick with Pitbull since the effect is almost identical, but the runes appearance shown above is just so much nicer than the small, flat bars at the bottom of the unitframe in ag_UnitFrames.

I’ve tried multiple timers for class abilities, and in the end I always seem to come back to Classtimers. I like DoTimer a lot, but two main things continue to irk me when using the addon: 1) the bars are not as easily noticeable, and I find myself ignoring them more often than not, and 2) I do not like the inability to separate the bars in DoTimer. I like having the target and focus bars adjacent to the target and focus frames, just like I prefer to have the player timers in the bottom/middle area of the screen. I do miss the separate cooldown timer in DoTimer though, so I may be combining the two to achieve exactly what I want.

Grid and Decursive

There is some redundancy in running both of these addons, since I have grid configured to show me poisons and curses as well, and I could configure Clique to achieve the exact same functionality as what Decursive offers, but I find that this works better for my playstyle. I use mouseover macros when healing, and it is much easier to not bind anything other than buffs with Clique, and just use Decursive for cleansing.

TipTac

I love this addon immensely. I can reposition the tooltips anywhere, and at a glance I can get all the information I need on hover. It also is not intrusive, and blends with my UI quite well. One of the nice features of TipTac is the complete ability to customize what is seen and what is not.

Closing Thoughts:

I’m in a constant state of tweaking my UI, so I have no doubt this will change yet again. In a lot of ways it has become a bit of a sub-game I suppose. I do not really have a reason to modify it nearly as often as I do, I simply decide it is time to change things up a little and go from there. Either way, this is my current UI… enjoy!

I never seem to be happy with my UI. Every time I change it things get better, and then I find something else I despise about the way I have it set up. I definitely want to garner feedback on this one, with screenshots preferably, but these are my overall goals:

• Minimalisic – I like being able to see everything I possibly can.
• Pretty – I’m the type of player that will use certain gear because it looks better as well, so yes my UI has to look good.
• Light Resource Usage – This I need to clarify a little. I have 4GB of RAM on a Core 2 Duo machine. I’m not hurting on resources in the least, but if addon memory usage goes over 100 MB I’m not normally a happy person.
• Easily configurable/tweaked – I can overlook this one to a point, as long as it makes it worth my while (for example, I adore Grid and will go to great lengths to work with getting it setup how I want it).

My most recent setup looks like this most of the time:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

There are already two major things that I want to change with my current setup:

1. I need to setup Buffalo to start right above the mini menubar and grow upwards (I simply didn’t get that far last night).
2. I am still unhappy with the way the target/focus frames look when I have them up, which you can see in this screenshot:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

In my mind, X-Perl looks great for the player frame (and for the party frame if you want to show it), but the target frames just don’t look that great to me. I know it is the same look, and actually looks ok for the most part, but it doesn’t have the same clean look as the rest of my UI.

I’m open to a complete makeover in order to really achieve my goals. This is a list of what I currently use that affects appearance (I’ll add links as I get a chance):

• Grid (plus some Grid addons naturally)
• Bartender4
• Parrot
• Prat
• X-Perl
• Sexymap
• Buffalo2
• DoTimer
• CowTip
• Outfitter

I’ve looked into Pitbull and ag_Unitframes, and although I liked aspects of both I had one major issue: lack of integration with the Druid Mana Bar addon. X-Perl adds this bar in when I shapeshift into one of the feral forms, allowing me to have no “extra” floating bar cluttering my UI somewhere. This may have finally changed, but I haven’t looked in quite some time.

In the end, this setup works very well for my preferences. I would love to be completely happy with the UI, but honestly I think I’m enough of a perfectionist that I’ll never be completely happy with it. I am, however, looking for suggestions. If I could be happier with the target and focus frames I honestly don’t think I would have anything else to complain about… at least for a while.

Also, very special thanks to Kagrra of The Druid Team for pointing out that I am, most likely, the only fanatical member of the entire playerbase that actually wants to obliterate the annoyingly obnoxious party frame.

UPDATE: I decided to replace X-Perl with ag_UnitFrames again. The result does look better to me:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!