The Warlocks Den - WoW Warlock Discussions

Table of Contents

1.0 Who this guide is for
2.0 Macros
2.1 Basic Macros
2.2 Castsequence
2.3 Modifiers/Overloading Buttons
3.0 Addons
3.1 Actionbars
3.2 Boss Mods
3.3 Information Bars
3.4 Items/Mobs
3.5 Maps
3.6 Professions
3.7 Quests/Achievements
3.8 Unit Frames
3.9 Viewport
3.10 General Addons
3.11 Warlock Specific
4.0 Credits
4.1 Specific Sites

1.0 Who this guide is for
This guide is for people that are new to addons and macros but have experience in the game. I would not recommend starting fresh in the game with a slough of addons - you never know when an addon will be discontinued or have the functionality broken by blizzard.

2.0 Macros
Macros are small lengths of code, 255 characters max, written inside Blizzards interface using LUA - an uncompiled scripting language similar to Javascript and CScript etc. There is no way to 'proof' code through this interface, so fixing errors or undesired results can be difficult.

To access the macro interface you can type /macro in the chat box or choose Macro from the main menu.

You have the ability to assign an icon to a macro via the interface - these are shown for you and basically include all the spell icons in the game. There is one special icon that looks like a ? that will automatically assume the icon on the first action that the macro represents. I will touch on this again when we get to Castsequence.

When creating a macro, you can Shift+Click spells out of your spellbook. It will automatically insert the spell into the interface and append the rank of the spell, so if you want to downrank spells you can. If you use only use the spell name, it will automatically use the highest rank of the spell.

WoWWiki has some really good pages on making macros. Some of the examples used here come for these pages.
Making a macro - WoWWiki - Your guide to the World of Warcraft
Useful macros - WoWWiki - Your guide to the World of Warcraft

2.1 Basic Macros
Spells/Commands break down into 2 basic groups: Global Cool Down and No Global Cooldown. The important fact to remember is regardless of what you do, you only get to activate 1 GCD per button click. You cannot make a macro that you hit once and it does your whole rotation - though with multiple presses you can get close.

If you are interested in adding flavour text to a spell, this is an easy way to do it.
eg. One of the big things people do is tie abilities that modify spells to a macro so they are always 'powered up' spells. Thanks to Cormanthor I have a Warlock example:
eg.
2.2 Castsequence

Cormanthor and Shdwboxn wanted to point out the following macro. It is useful for activating your On Use trinket abilities and casting a specific spell. Since activating a trinket puts trinkets on cooldown, only one gets activated at a time. Activating both triggers an error message/sound, so there is code to disable/enabled the warnings.
eg. While it is technically not possible to make 1 button click cast multiple spells, you can come pretty close. Using /castsequence you can predefine a series of actions/spells to perform. Generally you will want to use the ? icon with this macro to give you an idea of what will be cast next.

eg. This is a basic Destro rotation. If you use the ? icon, the macro will at first look like the Curse of Elements icon. The first click will cast Curse of Elements, then the icon will change to Immolate. The second click will then cast Immolate and change the icon to Corruption. And so on. Important to remember is that it has no way to tell that a spell failed, and if a spell cannot be applied, the sequence will not progress until the spell can be applied. Once you reach the end of the sequence, it starts again from the start. You can also control the reset with conditions.

eg. This will cause the sequence to restart if you change target or hit the shift key

2.3 Modifiers/Overloading Buttons
At some point you may want to combine functions to a single toolbar slot. Mounts are a great example of this: casting Bronze Drake with a left click and your Dreadsteed with a right click.
eg. We can get a little more creative with this so we left click to get a mount, flying if possible, and dismount with a right click if we are not flying.
eg. And one step further, since we will likely have several mounts to choose from.
eg. There are other modifiers you can use to change the behaviour of the macro. Some other common ones in addition to button/nobutton, flyable, nomounted, noflying are mod:shift/mod:ctrl/mod:alt and combat/nocombat.
eg. P.S. Cormanthor has a great pet macro guide Here.

eg. Healthstone in combat, Conjured Mana Strudel left click and Grilled Bonescale right click out of combat.

Some of the basic overloaded macros I use are:
Left click Fear, Right click Howl of Terror:
Left click teleport, right click summon teleport:
Left click drain health, right click drain mana:
These are pretty basic. I do have a nice Focus/CC macro, but seeing as Suspiria did a great job explaining the concept, see their guide Here.

Shdwboxn suggested an addon to take care of CC if you don't want to get into macros: ControlFreak. It provides auditory alerts and a timer to let you know when your CC breaks.

3.0 Addons
Addons allow a more dramatic customization to the game. Everyone has a different play style and preference for interface, so there is no right or wrong collection of addons.

Addons are much larger versions of macros. They are still written in LUA code but do not suffer the 255 character limit. Addons have the potential to be much more powerful. They can be anywhere from a couple of files to several folders. Maintaining your addons can become quite a task come patch day though, so take some time to really understand where they need to go and how they work.

The addons themselves can most often be found on sites like Curse Gaming and WowInterface. There are many more sites out there, though these are the 'big 2'. I'm not going to get into the Downloading Tools they provide though it may be an option for you if you have difficulties keeping track of your addons.

Addons generally have 2 parts: Code and Data. The Code is what you end up downloading from the internet as a zip file. You need to extract the contents to the World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons folder. Once you have some addons in this folder you will see a new button on the Character Select screen, lower left corner. This allows you to enable/disable addons by account or character. Also, if the addon is 'Out of Date', it may still work if you check the Load out of Date Addons box. The second part of addons is the data. This information is stored in the World of Warcraft\WTF\Account\<USER>\SavedVariables folder. Information in this folder includes settings for the game, settings for addons, and data for addons if necessary. Generally you will not have to copy anything to this folder. On occasion you may be required to delete some files in this folder to 'reset' an addon.

Sometimes addons have a configuration GUI, sometimes they don't. If you are looking to configure an addon the first place to start is to type the name of the addon preceded by a / in the chat window (/<mod name>). If it has a GUI it will normally pop open a new window. If it doesn't there will be instructions in the chat log to help you through the commands. If the addon has been programmed to support it, there will be an option to configure the mod in the Main Menu under Options>Addons.

There are many MANY different addons out there - it is both pointless and impossible to cover them all. They are created by members of the community, and since Blizzard has declared that they cannot charge for their addons, free of charge and subsequently any warrantly. Authors are normally not associated with Blizzard in any way. There are no addons specifically approved by Blizzard and if you are having problems with the game the first thing Blizzard is likely to suggest is to delete your addons and wtf folder. Since they are created by volunteers, there is no official quality control, no guarantee of regular updates, and the author could choose to discontinue the project at any time.

Since we can't go through all the addons I will group the most common addon categories and give some suggestions of addons to try out.

3.1 Action Bars
Action bar mods change the layout and functionality of the action bars on the screen. Some allow you to move the standard game bars to a more convenient location, resize them, change the opacity etc.
Most Common Addons: Bartender, Dominos

3.2 Boss Mods
Boss Mods are important for any high level instance. They give you timers and audio/visual warnings for specific events and mob skills.
Most Common Addons: Deadly Boss Mods, Bigwigs

3.3 Information Bars
Information Bars are not like action bars in the sense they hold spells/actions. Instead they allow a place for Information Addons to dock with the screen. Commonly you will see information you want at a glance, with extended functionality in 1 or 2 additional clicks. Most of the major addons out there have ties to these information bars to make it easier to access. They all share the same basics: 1 or 2 thin bars that can be arranged at the top or bottom of the screen. They normally come bundled with things like a Cash display, Bag Space, Date/Time and other misc information.
Most Common Addons:TitanPanel, Fubar

3.4 Items/Mobs
There are several addons out there that act as an in game database of items and/or mobs - loot, crafting materials, and vendor specific items. They can be useful to find out what item drops from what creature or where. Some come pre-loaded with information and some collect information as you play.
Most Common Addons: AtlaslootEnhanced, MobInfo3


3.5 Maps
Map addons add content and functionality to the in game maps. 3.1 introduced instance maps, but before then the only way to view instance maps was through one of these mods. In addition to the maps, most include the ability to add notes to the map and coordinates so you can easily reference a position. Most come with data pre-loaded to provide locations of instance entrances and boss locations, and the ability to access any map anywhere - useful for looking at a dungeon before you decide to enter. There are a few addons out there that also allow you to change the position and behaviour of the minimap to fit in with your playstyle/ui better.
Most Common Addons: Cartographer, Mapster, Atlas
Minimap Specific: Sexymap, Chinchilla

3.6 Professions
There are many addons out there to make life easier on professions. This covers a fairly large category, so I will break down some individual addons.

Auctioneer: Gives the ability to track all auctions on the auction house and provides a pricing scale based on history. It adds information to the tooltip for auction pricing and rarity, as well as vendor buy/sell and availability. If you invest some time in this you can work the market and earn a lot of gold.

Gatherer: Collects data regarding the quantity and locations of resources (Herbs, Mining, Treasure). By default it does not come loaded with this information, but as you gather resources it will populate. Also has the functionality to share/learn from guildies using the addon.

AckisRecipeList: Preloaded database with sources for most/all of the recipes for all the professions. Generates a list of all the recipes you are missing and where you can obtain the recipe.

Mendeleev: Preloaded database lets you know what items are used for which profession.

3.7 Quest/Achievements
These addons change how the quest tracker functions and in some cases provides information on where to go to complete quests. Achievements are still relatively new to the game but there are some great addons out there to help coordinate their completion.
Most Common Addons: QuestHelper, OverAchiever

3.8 Unit Frames
These addons allow you to change how many of the unit frames look and behave (Party Member, Target, Target of Target etc). They have a lot of settings to adjust, so devote some time to these to get your interface looking how you want.
Most Common Addons: Pitbull, XPerl, Grid

3.9 Viewport
Addons to adjust what part of the screen is used for rendering. They also provide a means to add additional artwork to the screen or hide some of the default options. If you look in the forums for the Show Off Your UI thread, you will see some nice examples of this in action.
Most Common Addons: Sunn, Aperature, eePanels

3.10 General Addons
PallyPower: Allows the coordination of Pally Buffs throughout the raid. The Raid Leader is able to assign blessings to each of the paladins in the raid.

Decursive: Creates a collection of small coloured boxes that provide for cleanse/dispell/purify type spells on the party/raid instead of tracking down the spell and the target.

Healbot: Provides boxes representing party/raid members. Like Decursive except for healing.

LunarSphere: Creates a sphere on the screen with a radial style menu, the ability to add toolbars and programmable functionality to the provided buttons. Fairly advanced interface that needs a lot of configuration.

Quartz: Changes the cast bar and adds additional lists for buffs/debuffs on targets and players. Also includes an estimate of lag time so you can preload the next cast.

Omen Threat Meter: Estimates the amount of threat you are generating so you can either A) Keep tanking the target or B) Not pull threat off the tank. Can be configured to show as few/many members as you want.

Recount: Keeps track of the amount of damage done for the entire party/raid. Tracks the information by spell, has the ability to show graphs and real-time information, and has the ability to report the information to a specified window.

RaidBuffStatus: Useful for determining what buffs are available and who is missing what buff. Has a lot of logic built in to detect talent buffs, and has a button to test for boss or trash buffs, all configurable. Great tool for raid leaders or officers.

3.11 Warlock Specific
Necrosis LDC: Similar to LunarSphere in the sense everything is on a central sphere and there are menus arranged around it. Comes configured specifically for warlocks and has a menu for each of our spell categories (Pets, Curses, Spells etc).

ForteXorcist: Provides a series of graphical timers that track your dots and curses right down to each 'tick' of damage. Also tracks soulstones and estimates the number of shards for other warlocks in the party.

4.0 Credits
I have no idea where all this information specifically came from over the years, though a large majority of it came from WoWWiki and the Official WoW Forums. This is by no means complete and I don't think there will ever be a 'Final' version given how fast things change. I am looking for suggestions and additions/corrections to this guide. I have done my best to keep personal bias out of this though it is difficult given the subject. This is my first guide, so be gentle .

I need to thank Akasha for providing a great home for warlocks on the net, without which we would be homeless and even more clueless than our class lets on .

I also want to expressly thank all the authors out there that donate their time to making great addons. Its often a thankless job and they come under a lot of fire, but without them we'd be back to basics.

4.1 Specific Sites:
WoWWiki - World of Warcraft universe guide - WoWWiki
Curse Gaming - Curse Gaming - WoW Addons
WoWInterface - WoWInterface - Find World of Warcraft AddOns!
Warlocks Den - wowmb.net
WoW Forums - Official WoW Forums