WoW's 9th expansion Dragonflight brought with it an overhaul to the game's default UI. This UI overhaul made the default UI much better and somewhat usable with minimal adjustments needed, however, it's still very much a work in progress for Blizzard. After more than 15 years of the default UI lacking, many players are too used to all the fancy bells and whistles of their UI addons to just give them up.
Whether you're a veteran player looking for something different or a new player eager to see what these UI addons are all about, you've come to the right place.
When it comes to UI addons in WoW, there are none more iconic than ElvUI. Watch any worlds first kill in the last 10 to 15 years and there's a very good chance the player is using ElvUI. Unlike the rest of the addons on this list, ElvUI is a complete UI overhaul. It replaces every single UI frame in the game.
ElvUI is highly customizable and it can be easy to spend hours upon hours tweaking every little setting to get it just right for you. That's what is amazing about all of the addons on this list and ElvUI especially. You can customize it to such an extent that it perfectly fits each and every one of your needs. You could have a million players using ElvUI and none of their UIs looking similar. There's no right or wrong way to use it; just set it up in the way that works for you.
Of course, if you don't want to be overwhelmed by the insane amount of settings options, you can always go to Wago.io and browse through the uploaded profiles of other players until you find one you like. After that, you can just import it into your game with a few simple clicks.
When it comes to addons that can impact your ability to play well, perhaps none have a greater impact than WeakAuras. Making your own comprehensive WA is hard and almost everony just goes onto wago.io to import the ones they need. What makes weakauras so powerful is its ability to track things that your regular action bars cannot. This includes passive abilities that proc or stack and various other class elements.
Weak auras can also be made to track most dungeon/raid mechanic timers, give players assignments for mechanics that require it, and simplify the entire process of playing the game. Making good use of weakauras is critical to playing well; they allow you to focus less on paying attention to every pixel on screen and more on optimizing your moment-to-moment gameplay on your spec.
VuhDo is a raid frames addon. It allows you to replace the limited Blizzard raid frames with ones that are much more customizable, both in terms of appearance and functionality. The main draw that VuhDo has for many players is its one click functionality for casting spells. For many healers, this is the most optimal and enjoyable way to play. You essentially just set up mouseover casting directly in the addon as opposed to using macros. IcyVeins has a good guide on getting setup and good to go with VuhDo which you can access here.
Another raid frames addon, Cell is one that offers great customization for displaying different key debuffs throughout the raid, tracking important buffs on players, battle res timers, and various other things. It's easy to customize with lots of functionality. While VuhDo is focused more towards healers, Cell is just a good and clean looking raid/party frame addon that is equally great for players of any role.
One of the most important aspects of your WoW gameplay that many new players never consider, is the ability to clearly see which enemies are closest to dying, what enemy threat levels are like, which enemies are casting what spells, and the ability to easily click and target a specific mob in a pinch when you can't rely on tab targeting. This is where nameplate addons come into play and there is no better nameplate addon than Plater. Plater Nameplates boasts insane levels of customization and just like ElvUI, if you don't feel like doing it yourself or if you get overwhelmed by the options, you can just go to wago.io and import other peoples profiles.
Bartender4 was much more useful in the pre-Dragonflight days but it's stil a great addon worth using today if you want a simple action bars addon. Bartender4 allows you to customize every action bar and do stuff like hide the Blizzard art bar, UI buttons (character panel, help button, etc.), and set the bars to only show when the cursor is hovered over them. It also works with the addon Masque which can be used to further customize the aesthetic of your action bars.
Having a UI that you think looks good and has all the beneficial gameplay bonuses you need, is important to optimizing your gameplay in World of Warcraft. These six addons can help you make the UI of your dreams and take your gameplay to the next level.
BEN FITZSIMMONS
