coming back to wow, must have addons?

[mlin7728]

Have not played in a long time. Going to level a goblin shammy. What are some useful addons for a levelling player? Doesn't have to be class specific.

[Deleted]

For levelling, the blizzard UI mostly suffices for DPS characters since the introduction of the default UI quest helper.

[ComputerNerd]

Very little if anything could be considered essential while levelling, but I will describe what I would consider to be useful.

Atlasloot - for dungeon loot browsing, helps to plan gearing intent if levelling through the dungeon finder.
Some sort of debuff/cooldown timers - which exactly will depend on your preference or demands.
- OmniCC for simple timers on buttons/icons.
- NeedToKnow for simple bar based timers.
- TellMeWhen for simple icons and timers.
- ForteXorcist for the full works and a lot more than you need really.
- PowerAuras for graphical alerts, with the most powerful options, but the most effort needed.

A raid frame is an option for healing, though certainly at lower levels the blizzard default should suffice. Though there are several commonly used addons should you wish to delve straight into something that might evolve into later content.
- Grid, largely the unofficial standard by which many are compared to. Not the most user friendly, but potentially the most powerful.
- Grid2, a spin-off from grid, having most of the more basic functionality provided by extra plugins for grid already built-in.
- Vuhdo, a fairly recent addition taking some of the concepts from grid, but providing a more graphical approach to indicators.
- Healbot, seemingly a more user friendly option, but maybe less flexible than others.

[Sycobob]

Honestly, it really depends on your personal preferences and needs. I, for example, can't stand anything about the default UI, so my list of 'must haves' for an alt is my entire raid UI minus boss mods basically. If I were to pick my must haves based on usability I'd pick things that make playing easier or faster. Something like:

an all-in-one bag mod (OneBag3)
a unit frame mod (screw looking up in a corner. I prefer Pitbull)
something to handle class specific stuff (for you, a totem mod. Yata is perfect and the author is great at adding things if requested)
BindPad so I can bind stuff I don't really need to see
a profession mod (ATSW if it works)
OmniCC
a combat text addon (I like Parrot)
a cast bar addon if you don't want to have them built into unit frames (Quartz is passable)

I think that's what I'd use if I were forced to choose. Enjoy your shaman, enhancement is bloody awesome.

[danoob777]

Personally I pretty much and crutched into a bar mod and unit frames. I also would recommend Power Auras Classic, although some of it has been implimented it is still a very dynamic and configurable addon that you can set to do some very cool things.

Altoholic is pretty good if you have a few toons, though definitely not required.

What I use if it helps

Shadoweduf
Bartender
Altoholic
Auctioneer
Atlasloot
Quartz
Grid
Power Auras Classic

[halfbee]

"Must Have" addons is a subjective idea, based on personal preference. If you are going to use the default UI, then I would only suggest one: XToLevel. It gives you a ton more info for levelling, that the standard UI and XP bar do not. If you are going to Mod your UI then the others here have some really good suggestions. The other I would suggest is Moveanything. It lets you move/hide anything from the default UI. Welcome back

Addons I use:

Chinchilla minimap
Shaman Friend (perfect for monitoring Shaman procs/abilities)
Dominoes
ButtonFacade (w/various skins)
Satrina Buff Frames
Moveanything
XToLevel
SLDatatext (very good onscreen data addon)
Omen
DBM-Core
Prat 3.0
ArkInventory

[lawomous]

Maybe Recount so you can see what works and what doesn't work for you while you level.

[TotallyGenericName]

All you need is a boss mod (which comes into play much later in the game) unless you absolutely hate the default UI and/or it does not produce the kind of functionality you require to be personally satisfied with your gaming experience. Things like damage meters, gear score, auctioneer, bag add ons, and others are perfectly okay but it really depends on the user. For the record, just about all the mods listed thus far by the above posters are great and if that's your style then they will definitely serve their purpose well. For purely leveling, you don't really need anything anymore. Most of the more important add ons have been integrated into the default UI.

[mlin7728]

Thanks for the speedy reply guys. Also is curse still the place to get this stuff? I'm assuming it is safe.....? Also I recall curse having a mod that automatically updated your addon each time a new patch came out

[Phaesimvrotos]

This site is owned by Curse now :P The program you are referring to is curse client, there is a link at the top left of your screen. I'm using it actually and it's absolutely safe.

[Auralan]

Just as a heads up: PowerAuras isn't needed any longer. At least not at all while leveling, I'm not completely sure about it on max level. The thing is, Blizzard has added it's own version of it to the default game since the last big patch. No more endless messing around with settings, default works great.

Anyway, as others suggested already: ArkInventory is amazing.

[ant1pathy]

For leveling, all I'd say I NEED is some kind of unit frames mod (or just move the Blizzard ones to a better spot) and TourGuide with TomTom for waypoints. A bag mod would be really useful, and healing frames if you're doing dungeons, but not much is really required for leveling.

[Asmekiel]

There is no such thing as a "must have" addon, it all comes down to personal preferences.
But if I had to mention one addon, take an autorepair addon
How I hated those trillion times I was somewhere in the wilderness with only red gear because I forget to repair... again
and if you're going to be a healer, take Healbot too.

[Deleted]

If you are just leveling thats not so much deal...but you can make it your style with SexyMap , Bartender..
If you are ready for raiding you can get Deadky Boss Mods, you can get a raid frames..Recount,Gearscore etc...

[asomim]

I would suggest Arkinventory. You collect a lot of crap when levelling and keeping the bags organised is a bonus. Seperate area for vendor, quest items, gear etc.

[cyan421]

As a shaman I didn't use a lot of addons leveling up. I used tour guide, which is sorta unavailable now that Zygor owns it. But the addon/guides from www.wow-pro.com are being updated for Cataclysm.

As a healer I used to use only shadowed unit frames for my raid frame for all of WotLK, and it worked out well. When 4.0.1 broke it I used the default raid frames and they work just fine.

Now I've changed my tune and use tons of addons. I learned about how awesome a well set up Power Auras can be, and how much it can help you increase your dps, via Bones Epic power auras.

Before my current set up of The Ultimate Shaman UI, I tried Tukui, which is a complete overhaul of all the blizzard frames/backgrounds/menus. It was kinda nice, but there isn't much of an interface to tweak it, you kinda gotta know lua to do that. But, The Ultimate Shaman UI is amazing, and the guy who made it and updates it is a regular right here on mmo-champ. TUSUI was simple for a addon noob/computer noob like myself. I only made about 2 or 3 changes to the huge pack of addons in it.

[mööh]

I addons i use right now is
Omnicc
power auras
deadly(not needed)
move anything.
What i like about move anything is that you can still have (if you want) default UI hp bar and just move it to a place you want it to be. Omnicc is really nice for lvling...atleast i think so.

[Deleted]

As far as I'm concerned Curse isn't safe, get as much as possible elsewhere, also the new WoWinterface client is better than the non-subscriber curse client. I used an e-mail address for registration on the curse site that I rarely used, and then I started getting Blizzard scam e-mails ("you changed your account... please go to our fake site so we can steal it") on it even though it's clearly not the address I used to register for my actual account.

[Jonsse]

Here's few addons that I feel essential to my leveling experience.

Atlasloot -This is good in general, no reason not to have this addon. It's your in game encyclopedia for all items anywhere.

Baudbag (onebag/onebank) -Specially while leveling, that default bag ui can really confuse you. One big bag for everything. I like Baudbag more, it's prettier. Onebag has the same functionality.

Selljunk -This addon sells all grey items to vendors with one press of the mouse. An auto looter like myself can not level without this addon. (There are several different kinds. Names vary and outlook varies. They all do the same thing)

DrDamage -It's good to know the values of your attacks/spells/heals and you know which ones have the best dps and mana efficiency for the fastest leveling. (not available yet for 4.0, will be up by dec. 7 hopefully)

Shadowed Unitframes -My personal favorite. Shaman is a healer class so the default unit frames can be a pain, it's not meant for precision healing.

[Deleted]

_AS FEW AS POSSIBLE_
Thats my advice.

You will want to get 4 types of addons:
a) Interface
b) Raid Utility
c) Profession
d) Loot

a) Pitbull or Xperl. Alot out there, really doesnt matter. And an inventory interface addon. Arcinventory is powerful when configurated.
b) Grid, Recount, Deadlybossmods/Bigwigs (why recount? because you need to analize who is good and bad for certain encounters)
c) Auctioneer (suite with informant etc), maybe gatherer..
d) AtlasLootEnhanced, Lootfilter (for the lazy ones), where-buy-addon (dont know the addon but will tell you if an item is sold by NPCs good when looking into the AH and people scaming that stuff)

e) ShockAndAwe, shaman addon for CDs n stuff. Personally I use TotemTimers as it also projects important CDs for maxing out your dps (really good as an enhancer) and lets you bind any totem to any key with a reasonable interface (not like bizzard in a list). However, you dont need it as it only offers more personalisation options.