Is WeakAuras the best add-on ever written?

[Deleted]

Never tried WA or PA, but been using Needtoknow and Tellmewhen for years, which can do same things AFAIK. I think i can do everything i need with those, cba to change anymore in this point, though trading 2 addons to only 1 would be cool.

(okay, i admit; WA is mainstream pleb addon!11 so i can't use it omfg)

[Deleted]

For 99% of users TMW/WA probably does the same things.

If you are talking about WoW users, this is most likely correct. In case of WA users, I'd say it's more like 90%.

So yeah, only very small portion of players/users can utilize advanced WA features that can't be done with PAC/TMW/... It's not for everyone. But same can be said about heroic raiding, which is where those features really shine - quickly creating custom triggers and alerts and then sharing them with the whole raid with one click.

[Deleted]

If you are talking about WoW users, this is most likely correct. In case of WA users, I'd say it's more like 90%.

So yeah, only very small portion of players/users can utilize advanced WA features that can't be done with PAC/TMW/... It's not for everyone. But same can be said about heroic raiding, which is where those features really shine - quickly creating custom triggers and alerts and then sharing them with the whole raid with one click.

Oh custom triggers and alerts, you mean those I have plenty off in my TMW setup? I'm pretty sure my TMW setup is more advanced than most peoples WA. I'm still not convinced, you sure you aren't confusing TMW with NeedToKnow or something?

[Deleted]

I admit that I don't have subscription up since 5.1 so things might have changed a bit and I can't actually test it right now.

Are you saying that you can type raw Lua code in TMW config as well? I mean whole script snippets, not just things like unit ID, event ID, etc. Stuff like this: http://voximmortalis.com/wiki/WeakAuras_Snippets

Another great thread: http://www.voximmortalis.com/threads...utoring-Thread

[Bombino]

Indispensable for me personally

Same for me

[Deleted]

I can add that I more created the thread just to appreciate WA, more-so than claim it was the 'best add-on ever' (unreasonable claim about any single mod).

I just love tinkering with WA though, so much fun to get an idea and then figure out how to execute it. It probably isn't the most user friendly add-on out there though if anything negative has to be said about it. If someone is really add-on incapable and has no patience I can see a lot of frustration happening.

[Deleted]

I admit that I don't have subscription up since 5.1 so things might have changed a bit and I can't actually test it right now.

Are you saying that you can type raw Lua code in TMW config as well? I mean whole script snippets, not just things like unit ID, event ID, etc. Stuff like this: http://voximmortalis.com/wiki/WeakAuras_Snippets

Another great thread: http://www.voximmortalis.com/threads...utoring-Thread

There is some LUA functionality but I don't know how extensive it is because pretty much all of those snippets are done without LUA knowledge in TMW.

Those DBM/BigWigs skeletons they are talking about on the last pages of that thread I have no idea about, probably not.

[mjolnrik]

TMW stronk.

The only thing that I know of as of now that it can't really do is the heavy textual auras that WA can.

Tmw is much easier to set up but it has its limitations. Weakauras has alot more customization

[Deleted]

because pretty much all of those snippets are done without LUA knowledge in TMW.

Exactly. Those examples from the wiki page are meant to be simple so they are easily understood. Other addons such as TMW have pretty much all those basic features build-in. But once you learn how to write those simple generic snippets, you can also start creating your own that are specific to your playstyle, certain boss encounter, your raid group tactics, etc.

Not that WA doesn't have build-in features at all, it sure does. But it's database probably isn't as comprehensive as TMW's or PAC's - it's by design, because whatever isn't there in those drop-down menus, you can simply code yourself.

As I implied before, from this point of view WA falls more into the "raid mods" category rather than "cooldown/event/buff tracking".


Moving away from the super-nerd stuff, one feature that I also used a lot were dynamic groups. I.e. a group of let's say 20 buff-tracking bars, but they change positions depending on how many of them is actually active. Not saying that other mods can't do this, just that I liked this visual feature of WA very much.

[Resike]

• Some people say WA does everything PAC does (true, because you could write PAC as a Weak Aura - but you shouldn't. A better statement is PAC does <X> easier than WA, which may be true depending on what <X> is)

Ahahahahah.

Sorry i couldn't pass on this.

[Bisso]

Used PowerAura for some time, I had basic setup, nothing really complex, some cooldowns, some reminders for Aspect of Pack while in a raid, things like that. But every time I wanted to do one more. Placement, setup and the whole processed felt clunky, didn't personally liked it. Then I used Weakaura, and I was able to do pretty much all I wanted without too much trouble. The positioning of icons, grouping, testing, felt much more intuitive and simple. Some features I used which I couldn't even find in PowerAura.

So personally, my experience was better on WeakAura, in the end, it might just be a question of personal experience.

As for the topic. The idea of this addon, which basicly is the same as PowerAura, is indeed one of the best if not the best add-on in WoW. People saying it's useless and just adds some cute factor to information you can have already with Blizzard UI basicly don't understand how powerful these addon can be. The import feature is so useful when you want to quickly get a setup going.

A good example would be a Bloodshield Tracker for DK or Stagger tracker for Brewmasters.

[Deleted]

Ahahahahah.

Sorry i couldn't pass on this.

He's not kidding - you could.

[Kaitain]

Yes, it is.

[Count Zero]

I have no interest in convincing you to switch. If you opt for a less powerful or less performant addon but it does all of the things you want it to do then that's your business.

This is exactly what I meant -- I see people referring to WA as more powerful/robust/etc, but then that's all they say. That it does things PA can't. What things ? I watched that video (someone linked it earlier in the thread), and the cpu use thing does concern me (although I have to be fair and say that video-maker seemed pre-biased in favor of WA), enough for me to consider conducting my own test.

But, again, I've seen people reference over and over that WA is more powerful. It is true that PA does everything I want of it, but just like when I switched from using no such mod to using PA, I understand that with more options I may discover more needs. But, like I said in my previous post -- I just want more information before I make the time investment. If there are others who could spend a few seconds of their day to list these, or just a few of these, ways in which WA is indeed more robust, that would help me make my decision, and perhaps in the future I could help others make similar decisions.

[Alvito]

I do enjoy seeing people with their lists of UI add ons and other displays when weak auras would take care of all the stuff they are running half or dozen or more add ons to do. Once you understand how to make your own string there really isn't much that weak auras can't do for you.

[Snaige]

[*] An aura that tracks your durability and automatically repairs if you are under 80% or that tracks your durability in combat and alerts you to "OMG you're tanking with a broken shield" or "you failed at hunter class call: swap your weapon".

That sounds interesting actually, how do you set it up to repair your items for you? I thought it was just an addon that displays stuff on the screen, but doesn't really do any actions with items or gear like repairing?

[Resike]

He's not kidding - you could.

You realize then is a limited number of variables you can store in a single function.
Also there is a limit how long scripts can your addon run.

[wickedbastard]

I looked again and don't even see that automatic icon thingie in the display tab and by default it shows a simple sun icon. This is what I call not user friendly...

Imagine you are at the office at your desk and you are looking for a contract template. In power auras its on your desk, in weak auras you have to browse through some drawers to look for it. And since after doing all the required steps, as you are saying, it should display the riptide icon but it shows the sun, then its even worse - imagine that contract template you were looking at the office is in a box labeled ''shoes''.

This is, of course, just my personal opinion and personal experience. I am perfectly happy using power auras where I can complete all the required actions in one addon tab and no options are sneakily hidden I love my power auras and I am very glad that there are some fans working on the project because when the original author tried updating it to mop, he made a weak auras copy <.<

Amen.. Pretty much

[aggixx]

You realize then is a limited number of variables you can store in a single function.
Also there is a limit how long scripts can your addon run.

But there isn't a limit to how many triggers or auras you could use to comprise the addon.

[Resike]

But there isn't a limit to how many triggers or auras you could use to comprise the addon.

Of course there is. It's limited by your memory.
Anyway i don't think you can call a custom function with an another custom function.