Power Auras - If you dont use it, you gimp yourself
After raiding and ending up doing the 33rd world LK25hc kill I decided its not worth the time.
Therefore I'am migrating back to my old realm TM to play rated bg's (and maybe arena).
This mean I wont support this thread personally for a few more months (untill Cata) but hopefully others will during that time as they done up to now as well.
Cheers everyone
If your question/request require me to make a complete trigger with pictures and exports you will find your answer at http://www.mmo-champion.com/interface-macros/ghadamon's-power-auras-examples/.
If it is just a general PA qustion that can be answered just via text I will answer in this thread.
Why a guide?
Most people in the warlock section would say I'm on a Power Auras (henceforth called PA) addict wich might be somewhat true. It is simply the best addon out there any category. Its most known usage is to keep track of buffs and debuffs in both PvE and PvP. The truth however is that it is much much powerfull than that once you learn it. Due to PA being so versatile it can easily make many of your addons obsolete thus saving not only RAM, CPU but time spent configuration and updating tons of addons. Some examples of what PA offers are:
- Buff tracking
- Debuff tracking
- DOT timers
- Cooldown for items
- Cooldown for abilities/spells
- Stances
- Rage, Runic Power, Combo Points
- Stealable, Purgeable spells
- Complex 2+ part triggers
- Actions usable
- Powerful layout features
- .. and much more.
The guide I've made in the warlock forum became appreciated and cover much of this already but I decided to do a complete guide walking you through all the important features and settings step by step. You will notice that I've skipped some but that is cos they are self-explanatory. It will take some time to compile this and I will post examples of different things once I've covered PA settings itself.
They will be gradually transferred into this thread.
The original thread being in the warlock forum is simply cos my main is a warlock on Balnazzar EU but PA in itself cover any class or spec.
I would also like moderators not to go crazy about me not using smaller pictures that are clickable to enlarge. It is simply not practical to follow a guide while having to click pictures back and forth whilst trying to not get lost in the describing texts. Thank you.
This guide will consist of 3 posts.
How to Make a Trigger Post [this one]
- The main window
- The main edit tab
- Timer edit tab
- Stacks edit tab
The Example Post [2]
This thread will consist of example triggers covering all major features, it will include:
- Combo Point triggers
- Druid Maim Trigger
- Keeping track of a debuff you cast
- Tracking a Trinket Proc or Selfbuff
- A Complex Trigger (Warlocks Demonic Circle)
- Triggers Using the Stacks Feature (Warlocks Molten Core)
- Usefull Selfbuff Triggers (Armor, Weapon Enchant, Flasks, Food Buff)
- A Simple Raidencounter Trigger (One of the most usefull PvE features of PA)
The Request Post [3]
This is where you can seek help about some problem you came across with making your trigger. However before you make a post do the following:
- Read the first post, the guide itself. Lazy requests will not be answered.
- Read the examples, just cos it might be an example for another class does not mean it cannot be easily converted for your class.
- Browse through the other requests to see if your problem been covered before.
- Use common sense.
PA and its different tabs
The main window
1. Character effects There are two sorts of triggers you can make, character and global. This simply mean that character made ones are bound to a specific character like my warlocks triggers are available to my warlock only and not my mage, shaman or druid. It is here you will make the triggers for different procs that your character might get among other things.
2. Global effects These are triggers that will be active regardless of what character you are playing for the moment. It is here you will add triggers that for example will announce that you are silenced or that your target just activated a spell reflect. This is also where PvE players will add specific boss abilities to make raiding go more smooth. Other usefull triggers made here is if you like to add a trigger to notify you that you are missing being under the effect of a flask or an elixir.
3. Import and Export Making triggers generally go fast, but nicking someone elses already made one is faster. This is where you import or export the raw textcode that PA uses for a trigger. Usually the only thing you need to edit from those are the coordinates of where the notification will pop up and if you like another font, icon etc. I decided not to post the raw code to my triggers to force readers to make them themselves, thus learning themselves PA.
1,2,3.. The picture is taken from my warlock and as you can see I marked the triggers with numbers. When making complex triggers (triggers built of two or more individual triggers) this is important. PA start to count from the upper left corner of your triggers to the lower right corner. I will show an example of a complex trigger with a warlock demonic portal trigger later on.
The Test button can be pressed during editing any of the upcoming tabs in order to simply see how the trigger will look so you dont have to get a mortal strike every time you want to see if the notification for such a trigger is working as you want it to.
The Main Edit Tab
For every setting there are 3 options. The yellow mark = must be true, the X = must NOT be true and a box unmarked = it doesn't matter, both will be true.
When pressing the New button in the main window to create a trigger this is where you will end up. To chose if to be a character or global trigger you simply mark which one you want before pressing New. All these settings are the default ones and I will start by mentioning the important ones.
1. Size This is a dragslider for how large you want the notification generated by the trigger to be.
2. Position X All triggers need to be given values to where they are to be displayed. They all consist of a X and Y value.
While editing this I suggest you also have the Test button enabled and you will easily see the result while you change the value.
3. Position Y Wonder what this one does..
4. Type of trigger As I mentioned before PA is very versatile and this box is one of the main reasons for it. Best is if you simply check them out yourself but to name a few there are Buff, Debuff, Spellcooldown, Weapon Enchant, Action Usable among other things. If you want to make a trigger that one of your trinkets procced then you would chose it being a Buff. If someone cast a silence on you then its obviously a debuff.
5. ? ? ? This is where you type in the name of the action that will activate the trigger. Will use Ashen Band of Endless Destruction as example, the proc that ring gives is named Frostforged Sage and thus it is what you will type as name of the trigger. You can check many names in one trigger by deviding them with a /. Can be usefull regarding weapon class enchants (DK, Rogue, Warlock, Shaman) and flasks and elixirs among other things.
6. Invert This is a frequently used option. Lets say I raid and always want to have a flask active. Then its no need to make a trigger that is showing that Im using one, its better to make the trigger announce when I dont. This is when you use Invert. It basicly means "To reverse the position, order".
7. In Combat Setting this to true, then the trigger will only activate if your character are in combat. This is helpfull to use on selfbuffs for example. No need for me too see that my warlock is missing Fel Armor if hes in Dalaran doing stuff.
8. In Party Setting this to true, then the trigger will only activate if your character is in a party.
9. Enemy Target This is another frequently used setting. Having it set to true will make the checked character be not you but whatever you have targeted. Very usefull in PvP.
10. Focus Same as above but it check any focustarget you might have.
11. Glow Mouseover for its description. I personally find the layout much more goodlooking if disabled.
12. WoW Textures Enable this if you want to pick one of PA's prefabricated icons for your announce.
13. Custom Textures Most often the setting Use own Texture will pick the proper icon for you but sometimes you need to use this setting to tell PA what icon it should display. You can type in its name but in some cases it wont work somehow and then you type in its SpellID. The SpellID can be found on wowhead. Lets say I want Life Tap to show. Im lvl80 so I got maxrank which is #8. Then att wowhead I found it at http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=57946 and its that url that tells me the SpellID, it is the didigts in the end of the URL, 57946. However most often typing in the name will work just fine but in case it just wont work type in its ID.
14. Use own Texture You will almost always use this. What it does is simply to grab the right icon for a trigger. Need to point out one thing about it. When you make a new trigger it wont know the proper icon untill it "happened" once. If you set this up to a trinketproc it will know what texture to use once it procced the first time after you made the trigger. When adding debuffs for encounters tho it is tricky cos you cannot see if it is working untill you do the fight and it happens. What I do is to chose a WoW Texture instead, test to see that it works. Then I enable this feature and after the first time it will stick.
15. Complex Triggers As mentioned before you can do complex triggers. Easily described its when you into a trigger bake in that in order to be true it must also get a true value from another trigger (both triggers must be fullfilled in order for it to show). In this box is where you edit the number of the other trigger as mentioned in the first pircture at 1,2,3.. . I will give a Demonic Circle example later on that use exactly this feature.
16. Cast by me This is a neat little setting. You might not be the only one putting a certain debuff on a target and if you want to be able to keep track when yours is up you need a way to distinguish you debuff from other players. If you enable this it will work towards your debuff only. If you want to know if a certain debuff in general is up and that you necessarily does not need to be the one putting it up you dont enable this. In that case the trigger will be shown as long as the debuff is up no matter who is the "owner" of it.
17. Resting Enabling this add a flag to the trigger than in order for it to be true you must be resting. You can of cos set it to X as well in which case it will only be true if you are NOT resting. I use this one on my well fed trigger shown later on.
18. Raid/party or self As party one but also being in a raid will set the trigger to true.
Timer Edit Tab
1. Show This is the on/off switch to enable a timer feature of your trigger.
2. Position X & Y The same feature as when you set your values for the announce itself. Its important however to match the coordinates to the announce itself since you most likely want the timer to be displayed within the trigger announce icon. Again have Test enabled while doing this to make it go quickly.
3. Size Juggle this in order to get the timerdigits to be displayed in a suitable size.
4. Show Hundredth Sometimes you might want a bit more accurate displayed 05:30s instead of 05 then you enable this.
5. Hide Leading Zeros A pure cosmetic feature. It looks better if it display 5 instead of 05 with the timer.
6. Use transperent textures Most often you want this enabled. PA sadly dont have a pick-color-feature for the timer but just the icons. The timer will be displayed in white color and that may cause a problem if the icon is white itself. In those rare cases when you have problem making out the digits cos of the background you disable this setting.
7. Timer Texture Could be named Timer Font. Another cosmetic feature.
8. Invert Aura When Time Below This is a usefull setting, in many cases you dont need to see the timer all the time the trigger is shown but rather "give me 5 seconds warning when its about to run out". This is when you set this slider to whatever ammount of seconds you like and the timer will only dislpay once the duration is this ammount or less.
Stacks Edit Tab
1. Show This is the on/off switch to enable a stack feature of your trigger.
2. Position X & Y The same feature as when you set your values for the announce itself. Its important however to match the coordinates to the announce itself since you most likely want the timer to be displayed within the trigger announce icon. Again have Test enabled while doing this to make it go quickly.
3. Size Juggle this in order to get the timerdigits to be displayed in a suitable size.
4. Use transperent textures Most often you want this enabled. PA sadly dont have a pick-color-feature for the timer but just the icons. The timer will be displayed in white color and that may cause a problem if the icon is white itself. In those rare cases when you have problem making out the digits cos of the background you disable this setting.
7. Stacks Texture Could be named Timer Font. Another cosmetic feature.
Thats about it
That is a walk through with the settings. I might have forgotten some stuff but as the ammount of HELP ME! replies arrive I will make sure to clear up nonobvious settings.
For you who get into trouble that some tabs wont show etc I think that you probably have recently upgraded and there been some heavy changes in PA lately. If that happens you should redo the trigger totally in you new PA version instead of bashing your head against the wall "Why is there no timer tab!".
Now it is time for examples to give you a hint of how badass this addon is as well as making it a bit more easy to learn
If you encounter problems just make a post and me or some other skilled PA users will help you out.
Ghadamon
Paparazzi Guild
Balnazzar EU