Coming back to WoW after three years, where to start?
Friday, January 18th, 2008 - 3:58pm
Since I got my new MBP the other day and since WoW runs on it natively, I am going to start playing again. I have not played WoW since late 2004/early 2005. I have a level 21 rogue from the old days and I want to continue with it.
I am just looking for some good UI mods, so I don't have to open every bag individually and things that make the game easier. So, if anyone has any tips they would be most appreciated.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Bag Mods - vBagnon
Make your Life Easier: Lightheaded and Cartographer
More Data that you'll ever need: FuBar
wordsmythe wrote:
Podunk on Jessica Alba wrote:
There was actually a pretty good mod thread a week or two ago: http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/36801
All kinds of good pointers there.
Other than that, as a person who just started playing the game for the first time a few weeks ago, I might suggest actually starting a character fresh from the start. Recent patches have made the experience curve very soft (you'll probably hit 10 in one sitting, and 20 in after about a week of playing) and my understanding is that the content has changed significantly.
Speaking of content, if you haven't already done so you should go buy Burning Crusade. I was able to get both the core game and the expansion packaged together for like $40, so the expansion alone ought to be available super cheap. This will give you two extra options for your character's race, plus the general opinion seems to be that the starting areas for the new races have much more interesting content than the old areas did.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Halo Stats
I'm rather tempted to come back myself, as I have no other game really pulling my attention.
Bah.
Unfortunately, if I slash my wrist with my lightsaber it cauterizes instantly. - PurEvil on emo Star Wars plots.
I'd also like to throw in a pitch for Team Green as they have done a great job of running lower level instances. They have taken it upon themselves to run as a group. I am willing as always to help new and returning players get on their feet. Let me know how I can help if you choose to join or rejoin.
Tundra= Grinders (main), Grindars (paly alt), also work with Shanker/Reap.
Welcome back to the WoWorld ... enjoy yourself. FuGarbage is my favorite. It tosses all my gray trash to the vendor ... sorta cleans out my bags for me. YAY!
WOW: GWJ Alliance on Blackhand (BHA)
Damn, everyone's coming back.
I recently returned after a long hiatus and man a lot has changed. Get ready for a lot of chatter on the guild channel that is completely foreign. 
[guilchat:] Looking for an HG to run XYZ in a 4 man premade to arena whatchamacallit!
That mod threadn Zero linked to is awesome.
I'll pitch in here.
I love the Ace2 library of add-ons. These include such notables as Fubar (and all its complimentaries), BigWigs (boss mod), ag_Unitframes (group/raid frrames), Decursive (debuffing), ArkInventory (bank/bag management), Cartographer (maps, node tracking for gathering, notes, and more), AtlasLoot (mob drops and more), simpleminimap, Omen (a must have, really), and more!
Beyond Ace2, here are some I employ:
Auctioneer - The best Auction Hall data tracker and interface around.
Lightheaded - With TomTom, makes getting up to speed on quests easy.. maybe too easy.
EquipCompare - How does what you are looking at compare to what you are wearing? This shows them side by side.
HealBot - Valuable tool for healers, especially in conjunction with others using it.
Trinity - There are a bunch of good button/bar configure AddOns out there. Trinity is the one I use now. Bongos, Bartender, Perl, and XPerl are all good, too.
I would suggest taking it slow and putting things in only a few at a time, though, unless you know what you are doing with AddOns.
At any rate, those are a good sample of what I use myself.
4E D&D Campaign: Valley of Shrouds
Steam Community: ShadeRaven
My mods are pretty simple BigWigs, AtlasLoot, CoolDownCount (a must for rogues at high level, takes all the guess work out of timing stuns/interrupts), Fishing Buddy, Omen, something that keeps track of drop rates and I think a couple more that I really don't pay attention too. The only three mods I would be lost without are BigWigs, Omen and my CD counter. I use standard bars and hotkeys (my hotkeys are perfect for me and yes every single one of my most used roguey talents are hot keyed) and really prefer to keep my screen as uncluttered as possible.
I know quite a few folks who don't use any mods except Omen (and Vent of course) and are perfectly happy. If you plan on playing on multiple computers, keep your mod list simple and don't change up dependent on machine.
*Bandolique (70 Combat Rogue)
*Amara (70 Fire Mage)
*Zeus the Good Luck Dog making the Lords of Kara/SSC/TK cry whenever he is around
'lique is 100% right, actually. I know very successful people who use no AddOns. Even the much loved Omen isn't a necessity if you have a very good feel for threat and how it applies to your character.
Ironically, the reason I went to AddOns myself was to clean up screen clutter. Trinity/ag_unitframes allowed me to shrink down, move aside, buttons and groups/raids. simpleminimap allowed me to move/shrink the mini-map. Fubar was an easy reference bar that let me keep track of vital info or for quick access.
Eventually, I added Lightheaded because it's so darned nice to have in-game quest references, BigWigs because having Boss bars/info is nice at 70, Auctioneer so I don't have to ask others (as much) what items are worth, and EquipCompare because I don't like have to mouse back and forth between items to see which is better.
That said, Aesildur's clean, low-profile screen became much less so with the advent of 25-mans and healing. The need to monitor so many people, be able to react quickly to any given situation (whether with quick support, debuffing, or healing), and to have them all in a tight area so it takes only a modest mouse twitch & single click/button to handle anything is where minimizing stopped.
Anyone curious can see my current screen set-up here.
Yes, I use 120 buttons.
F1-F10 is assigned to macros. Nothing I need requires shift, alt, or ctrl to be pressed. No, it's not for everyone (or maybe anyone else beside me). 
But I know some of us are UI junkies and like to share set-ups.
4E D&D Campaign: Valley of Shrouds
Steam Community: ShadeRaven
I use bartender3, auctioneer, and omen.. thats it really. CT mod is on my computer that helps raids
Playing WoW as: Vilius (70 NE Druid)
What server are most of the goodjers on now? Did we abandon the old server?
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
BlackHand Alliance.
I don't know if I qualify as "successful," however I've gotten by just fine with CTmod for a few years now. Granted, I was using Ace2 and some of the Fubar mods for a while - and all was good....until they broke and I couldn't get them working again after a complete reinstall of Ace2.
I like the ideas behind a lot of the mods I see people using, I just don't have to time to be messing with them as playtime is already tight enough...
WB Ulairi!
"There's too much blood in my caffeine system..."
BHA - Cuanos/Crowlie/Kasparov
I used CT and DeadlyBossMods until about a month ago when they started going all wonky. So I dumped both for BigWigs which seems to be much more accurate. Oh one other mod I use is Titan Panel simply because I like having money, durability, bag space, coords and my clock all in a nice neat bar along the top. I did recently install 2 different damage meters to see if I was putting out what I need to be for end-game raiding, but those aren't needed until then and can be funny (as in grandma talking to a stuffed cat funny, not cat running into sliding glass door funny).
The number of mods you use really does depend on your class, your play style and your goals. Raid healers tend to be mod heavy which makes sense as they are keeping track of 9-24 other people. Tanks not as much which again makes sense as they really just need to have lots of hate and stay alive. DPS folks vary on the number of mods they use and its a matter of personal taste. And of course if there is something you want to do at the mere push of a button there is probably a mod out there for it
*Bandolique (70 Combat Rogue)
*Amara (70 Fire Mage)
*Zeus the Good Luck Dog making the Lords of Kara/SSC/TK cry whenever he is around
Before I commence the Happy Dance of Joy, are you saying that BigWigs does the job of CT (to include CT_Raid) and DBM?
That which does not kill you, still hurts like Hell. - Anonymous Soldier
None of us is as dumb as ALL of us. - Anonymous Staff Officer
Veni, Vici, Ridebam, Discedebam - "I came, I saw, I laughed, I left"
I would stay away from 3rd party mods anymore. I've heard too many stories recently of jacked passwords and empty accounts from people who seem pretty careful and vigilant about that kind of thing.
Oh, and don't buy gold. The people who jack your passwords are the people you're supporting when you buy gold.
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
Troll I disabled DBM and CT_Raid and still get all my nice little "Yo Idiot, you are to close" and "Flame Wreath Do Not Move DipS*&t" warnings. And bonus, I don't have to worry about the count being off (DBM is about 3-5 seconds behind the boss).
And as nsmike said, don't buy gold (ask your wife for her's
) and ask in guild how to limit your risk of keyloggers.
*Bandolique (70 Combat Rogue)
*Amara (70 Fire Mage)
*Zeus the Good Luck Dog making the Lords of Kara/SSC/TK cry whenever he is around
As far as the AddOns go.. just make sure you don't get anything that uses an executable. I haven't heard of any cases of account hacks or keylogging from AddOns from Ace or WowInterface involving the simple download and manual install the folders into the AddOn directory.
Again, though, there's nothing wrong with either playing without them or with playing it totally safe. I can just comment from my own experience. I enjoy the ones I use and when I try playing without them, I find myself missing them tremendously.
4E D&D Campaign: Valley of Shrouds
Steam Community: ShadeRaven
Why does anyone use equipcompare? If you hold down shift while looking at an item it does the same thing.
The Gaming Chronicles
PSN ID: Harbinger01
Steam ID: [GWJ] CrashedHardrive
Elysium wrote:
Because equipcompare does it better.
wordsmythe wrote:
Podunk on Jessica Alba wrote:
Its not a UI, but if you play Horde, I would consider getting Joanna's Guide.
I went from 20 to 60 the fastest I've ever done it by following the guide. It takes all the research time and pre planning out of leveling so you are efficient with your time.
Wow really? It's such a simple function that I figured there really wasnt much to improve on.
The Gaming Chronicles
PSN ID: Harbinger01
Steam ID: [GWJ] CrashedHardrive
Elysium wrote:
Let me know when the blizzard UI tells me exactly what I'm gaining and losing without having to equip a piece of gear.
wordsmythe wrote:
Podunk on Jessica Alba wrote: