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10-30-09, 03:59 AM   #5
Zyonin
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Join Date: May 2006
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Caution, semi long post!

Likely your best bet is to build your own UI. In the long, building your own UI is the best solution as you have a UI tailored just for you!

First of all, ask yourself, you want minimal or fancy? Then, lots of info or just a bit? Artwork or simple? Don't worry about memory unless you have an ancient system. Don't use Dalaran as an metric of lagginess or performance as almost everyone (including those with a real beast of a system) has issues with Dalaran.

For a DK, target Unit Frames, Rune Display, CD Display, Spell timers, Proc Alert, and Action Bars

Unit Frames: In my opinion, simple Unit Frames are the best. oUF with the oUF_Niyava layout is a good simple unit frames. Other excellent options included Shadow Unit Frames and Stuf (though Stuf "out of the box" is a bit overpowering, you will want to clear tweak to taste).

Rune Display: Having a good rune display is critical to see what Runes are going to pop up next and when Death Runes are going proc. Many UF mods include a simple bar based Rune Display. Other choices include a "Guitar Hero" style of Rune Display (Runes slide/acroos down the screen until their CD is finished). My personal favorite is Deathknight.info Runes (found over at Curse), however I am a bit biased since the DKI community (of which I am a member) put it together.

CD Display: DKs (like most classes) need to know when CDs are about to finish. There are numerous mods for this job, my favorite is Forte Xorcist. I don't reccomend the use of OmniCC for DKs are you have many numbers on your action bars when Runes are CDs. It can be a bit overwhelming.

Spell Timer: For diseases. Since many of your abilities grant bonus damage if Frost Fever or Blood Plague is active on your target, it's important to know when to reapply those diseases. A Spell Timer will time those diseases along with your crowd control and other "spells". I love the timer function of Forte Xorcist for this job, however ClassTimers, DKI Diseases and other timers work nicely too.

Proc alert: For displaying when procs like Killing Machine, Rime, Desecration, Blade Barrier, etc are active. Knowing when a proc is active can mean the difference between living and dying (Blade Barrier) or destroying your opponent (procs that guarantee [i]X[/] ability will crit). I love PowerAuras for this job. It takes some time to set up, however it's one of my stalwarts.

Action Bars: Many DKs can get by with the default Action Bars, however some DKs want their bars to change depending on what presence they are in. Myself, I just like to hide unnecessary bars until I need them. Action Bar mods will generally allow for the above and more. In addition many Action Bar mods will allow for easy keybinding of abilities (Blizzard's keybind menu stinks in comparison). My personal favorite is Macaroon! however Dominos is a very close second.


In building your UI, take a sheet of paper and mock up where you want your elements. Most players I know (including myself) prefer to move their Unit Frames into the bottom third of their screen near the action bars. This keeps the UFs close the action so they don't have glance into the corners.

In general keep combat oriented mods (such as Unit Frames, proc alerts and spell timers) close to each other and non combat oriented mods in the corner/top of the screen (to keep them from interfering with boss killing or ganking).

Anyway, that is my two Eurocent's worth.
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