~11 MIN
1. Introduction
For years, people on forums have debated and discussed how some players have cluttered, confusing interfaces. In this guide, we’ll try to create a “clean” and pleasant interface, using my own setup as an example. I’ll show you how it’s done, and you can easily adapt it to your needs. I’ll explain how to make the interface as clear as possible, using a minimal number of add-ons. First, let me show you my interface (yes, everything is small because my monitor is small, and I have small icons because I have great vision! Of course, you can make everything bigger!).
My interface:
1. Mentioning the Default Interface and Its Capabilities (Dragonflight UI)
Blizzard has significantly improved the default interface in the Dragonflight expansion, and many players can set up a convenient UI without using add-ons. Here’s how to make the most of the standard interface features:
– Modifying standard UI elements: In the “Interface Editor” section, players can drag and drop elements, resize them, and save multiple profiles. This is useful for those who switch between different roles (tank, healer, DPS).
– Saving profiles: You can create different UI setups for PvE, PvP, or raids. For example, minimize the amount of visible information in the open world, and activate additional elements for arenas or raids.
Tip: If you don’t want to use add-ons, you can still create a clean and functional interface using the standard UI editor.
2. Integration of Macros and Keybinds
Macros and keybinds are key to optimizing the interface and increasing efficiency. Here are some ways to use them correctly:
– Macros to speed up actions: You can combine multiple actions into one macro to save space on your action bar and speed up commands. For example:
– A macro to use a trinket along with burst abilities.
– Macros for using a single button for two abilities (e.g., using one button to target an ally or enemy based on conditions).
Example:
“`
/cast [@mouseover,exists] Healing Touch; Regrowth
“`
This macro casts Healing Touch on the mouseover target (if it exists) or Regrowth on yourself.
– Keybinds for quick ability use: Setting up keybinds for frequently used abilities helps you react faster in combat. For this:
– Assign important abilities to keys that are easy to press without having to stretch your hand.
– Use mouse keybinds for additional actions, like using trinkets or racial abilities.
Tip: Make sure your keybinds are intuitive and arranged to minimize reaction time for key moments in the game.
3. Highlighting Casts of Allies and Enemies
Although the guide mentions sArena for tracking enemy casts, it’s worth adding the importance of tracking ally casts, especially for healers:
– Add-on Quartz: This advanced cast timer shows casts with latency taken into account, which helps control your spells. Quartz can also track ally casts, useful for healers, especially in raids and PvP. It allows you to:
– See the remaining time on a cast, accounting for lag.
– Customize cast bars for different targets (allies, enemies, yourself).
– Tip for Healers: Tracking ally casts helps you time abilities like Interrupts or Dispels to protect your team.
4. Camera and Minimap Setup Recommendations
Proper camera and minimap settings can significantly improve orientation during combat:
– Camera settings: You can increase the camera distance using console commands:
“`
/console cameraDistanceMaxZoomFactor 2.6
“`
This will allow you to see more space around you, which is especially important in PvP and raids where you need to monitor a large area.
– Minimap: The minimap often takes up a lot of screen space. Move it to a corner and reduce its size to avoid distractions. You can also use add-ons to change its appearance and placement, like SexyMap.
Tip: Minimize unnecessary elements on the screen, but keep important functions, like the minimap or quest tracking, accessible.
2. Interface
Why a Proper Interface Matters
A well-organized interface is crucial for achieving productive results during arena matches. It’s important to understand what exactly you need from your interface. Some players prefer to play without add-ons altogether—especially those who participate professionally in World of Warcraft tournaments, where using modifications is often prohibited. Others, however, clutter their screen with add-ons but manage to use them successfully. Personally, I prefer a middle-ground approach.
My Evolution of Interface Use
To be honest, throughout my experience playing in the arena, I’ve gone through different phases. Initially, I played with the standard interface. As I got more familiar with add-ons, I cluttered my screen more and more with both necessary and unnecessary modifications. Eventually, I came to a simple conclusion: add-ons are only needed where you truly can’t manage without them.
Key Principles for a Clean Interface
Moreover, it’s crucial to ensure that the placement of your add-ons on the screen is optimal. They should be easy to access visually and provide the necessary information. Below, I’ll share the list of add-ons I personally use. This list is not a strict guide but rather a recommendation for you to explore and decide which ones are truly necessary for you.
Minimalistic Interface Setup
- Simplicity First: Keep your interface as simple as possible by removing unnecessary elements. This will help you focus on key information during the game.
- Effective Placement: Make sure essential interface components are within your visual field and easily accessible. For example, your health and mana bars should be prominent, while auxiliary panels can be placed at the edges of your screen.
- Addon Choices: Only use add-ons where absolutely necessary. Consider how each one contributes to your gameplay and remove those that don’t serve an essential purpose.
When it comes to organizing abilities on your action bars, this is also an essential part of the interface. My simple recommendation is to try to group abilities into categories. Now, I will show you an example of how I have done this myself.
I’ve divided my abilities into three groups:
Group 1: Essential Abilities
This group contains all my ultimate abilities. It’s crucial to keep these abilities in the center of the screen, as my focus naturally falls there. If your focus tends to fall elsewhere, make sure to position these abilities in a place that’s convenient for you. The goal is to ensure your most important abilities are always easily accessible and visible.
Group 2: Trinkets, Racial Abilities, and Dispel
In this group, I keep all my trinkets, racial abilities, and dispel abilities. It’s important for me to have everything in one place so that I can easily monitor cooldowns without forgetting or missing any details. Keeping these abilities grouped together makes it easier to manage their use effectively.
Group 3: Frequently Used Abilities (Spam Abilities)
This group includes abilities that I use most often (or “spam”). For example, on button “1” I have Lifebloom. I use a macro to change the icon of Lifebloom to a spell with a cooldown because I don’t need to see the actual Lifebloom icon; instead, I prefer an icon that visually indicates a cooldown. On button “2” I have Rejuvenation (using the same logic for the icon), and on button “3” I have Regrowth. Above these buttons, I also have abilities that heal, plus other useful abilities such as Vortex, Druid’s Leap, and so on.
By organizing your abilities in this way, you can optimize your gameplay by having everything you need readily accessible, reducing the risk of missing a key moment or forgetting an ability. Adjust the positioning according to your natural field of view and preferences to make the interface work best for you.
This is how I built my interface. My interface is the result of long trials and errors. I’ve had different interfaces throughout my career and tried to create the cleanest one. You can take this guide as a template and do the same for yourself, but I don’t recommend copying it 1:1 because it might work 100% for some, while for others, it may not suit them at all. Don’t be afraid to experiment and change things! It’s better to lose 20, 30, 50, or 100 arenas but eventually come to your perfect interface, even if you’ve been using your old one for years!
3. Must to have Addons
- sArena or Gladius is an addon for World of Warcraft designed to enhance the arena interface in PvP. It allows you to track opponents’ trinkets and spell casts, providing improved enemy frames that display crucial information such as health and active abilities. sArena helps players respond quickly to enemy actions and make more informed decisions, making it an essential tool for those aiming to improve their performance in arenas. The addon is highly customizable and integrates seamlessly with other addons for maximum control during combat.
Let’s Talk About Spell Casts
sArena tracks enemy spell casts in real-time, allowing you to anticipate certain actions, such as powerful offensive or defensive abilities. This gives you the opportunity to time your own interrupts and other counter-abilities more effectively. By having better visibility of your opponents’ moves, you can react faster and make more strategic decisions during arena battles.
2. BigDebuffs – helps highlight important debuffs and crowd control effects on the raid frame, making them easier to recognize and react to promptly. It’s especially useful for PvP battles to quickly spot stuns, polymorphs, and other negative effects.
3. WeakAuras – a multifunctional addon that lets you create custom visual and audio alerts for important abilities and events. WeakAuras can be configured to track any helpful and harmful effects, buffs, debuffs, and cooldowns, making it indispensable in PvP.
4. OmniBar – an addon that displays cooldowns of important enemy abilities. It allows you to easily track when an opponent can use dangerous abilities again, helping to make more informed decisions in PvP.
5. GladiatorLossa – an audio-based addon specifically designed for PvP in World of Warcraft. It provides voice alerts for enemy abilities and actions, such as cooldowns, interrupts, and crowd control, allowing you to react more quickly and effectively. This addon is especially useful for players who rely on auditory cues and want to improve their situational awareness in fast-paced PvP environments.
6. Doom Cooldown Pulse is an addon for World of Warcraft that provides visual and audio alerts when your abilities and items come off cooldown. When a spell or item is ready to be used again, a “pulse” animation appears in the center of the screen, making it easy to notice its availability immediately. The addon offers flexible customization options, allowing you to adjust the size, position, transparency, and type of alerts to suit your preferences. Doom_Cooldown Pulse helps you react quickly and use abilities efficiently in both PvP and PvE, enhancing overall performance.
7. BuffOverlay is an addon for World of Warcraft designed to enhance the visibility and management of buffs and debuffs on your character. It provides a clear overlay display that shows important buffs, debuffs, and their remaining durations directly on your character or other specified areas of your screen, making it easier to track and respond to critical status effects during gameplay.
| Addon | Description |
|---|---|
| sArena | Enhances arena interface by tracking opponent trinkets, spell casts, health, and active abilities. |
| BigDebuffs | Highlights important debuffs and crowd control effects on raid frames for quicker recognition. |
| WeakAuras | Creates custom visual and audio alerts for buffs, debuffs, and cooldowns. |
| OmniBar | Displays cooldowns of important enemy abilities for better decision-making. |
| GladiatorLossa | Provides voice alerts for enemy abilities and actions, helping react faster in PvP. |
| Doom Cooldown Pulse | Gives visual and audio alerts when abilities and items come off cooldown, helping to react quickly. |
| BuffOverlay | Displays buffs and debuffs as an overlay on screen, making it easier to track their durations. |
4. Conclusion
Creating a clean and efficient interface in World of Warcraft is a topic that has sparked debate for years, with players often divided between cluttered, addon-heavy setups and minimalist, default UIs. In this guide, I aim to help you build a “clean” and visually pleasing interface, using my own as an example.
While Blizzard has made great strides in improving the standard interface (like the customizable UI introduced in Dragonflight after nearly 20 years), addons are still essential for many aspects of the game. Below, I provide a list of the addons I personally use. This list is not a strict recommendation but rather a suggestion to explore each addon and decide for yourself if it’s necessary for your gameplay style.
In the end, achieving the perfect interface is a personal journey, one that balances your unique needs with the tools available.
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