IceShadow's recommended WoW addons
One question that comes up frequently is what addons are recommended for use in World of Warcraft. I will give my advice here.
First, what are addons? Addons are programs that modify the user interface in World of Warcraft (WoW), using a Blizzard-approved scripting language. They are NOT a breach of the terms of service for WoW, and as long as you use the correct method of installing addons, you know that you're not running afoul of any requirements that Blizzard sets forth. If they don't want an addon to do something, they'll simply remove the ability of the scripting language to do it (and this has happened several times in the patches for WoW).
To install an addon, you should ALWAYS download a .zip, .rar, or some other compression format. NEVER install an addon from a .exe, unless you are CERTAIN of its source (and even then, it's iffy). Executable files can have hidden keyloggers and other nasty software piggybacked on the install, and it's not safe to install from them. To actually install the addon, just unzip the file into your World of Warcraft\interface\addons\ directory. You should now see a little red button that says "Addons" in the lower-left hand corner of the character selection screen. NOTE: After a patch, addons will often still work, but Blizzard has them disabled by default. To re-enable them, you must check the "use outdated addons" checkbox on this screen.
The addons I use, as well as my reasons for using them, are as follows:
Guild Event Manager (homepage, Curse-Gaming link): An addon that does in-game scheduling of events such as instance runs and raids, and allows people to sign up for them. This is EXTREMELY beneficial to any attempt to organize guild events. It's rather buggy and can have some strange effects (since it's done peer-to-peer instead of on a dedicated server), but it's better than the alternatives we've tried to use.
CT_Mods (homepage): CT has an entire mod package that you can pick and choose from. I highly recommend CT_RaidAssist (gives you a bunch of notification/UI changes to your raid windows, and also has a one-button debuff removal), CT_RABossMods (more notifications for use during boss fights), CT_MailMod (gives you a mass-mail tab on your mail window as well as a mass-pickup button for your inbound mail), CT_QuestLevels (adds a level to each quest that the game bases the quest difficulty from), and more.
Auctioneer (homepage): An addon that scans the auction hall (you have to do this manually, and it takes about 10 minutes or so to do) and stores the pricing. If you scan often enough (daily or so is best), it will recommend pricing to you for auctions based on current auction hall trends. INVALUABLE for someone who sells a lot of things on the AH and wants to do it quickly but at a price they will actually sell.
Gatherer (homepage): An addon that stores the location of each node you mine/herb collect/treasure pickup/fish/other nodes, and displays them on the minimap and zone map. Great for miners and herbalists to have, as these things respawn in the same locations.
MobInfo-2 (Curse-Gaming link): An addon that shows a lot of information about enemies you fight, including their estimated HP (based on damage done to them and their current health %), and stores what all they drop.
Atlas (homepage): An addon that gives you maps of all the instances in the games, as well as boss and event locations.
AtlasLoot (Curse-Gaming link): Adds boss loot tables to Atlas.
AtlasQuest (Curse-Gaming link): Adds quest info for each dungeon to Atlas (not always complete).
Nurfed DKP (Curse-Gaming link): Shows DKP totals in-game (for raiding).
Raid Attendance (Curse-Gaming link): Gives you a cut-and-paste-able box of everyone currently in your raid (for raiding).
CensusPlus (homepage): An addon that will do a /who on the entire server, broken down by levels so as to get everyone (takes 4-5 minutes, usually) and stores the information. It graphically displays it, and you can see how many of each level, race, and guild affiliation are on your server (given enough time to build a good database). You can also upload the information stored to the database at the website, and thus browse other people's information on the website.
Outfitter (Curse-Gaming link): An addon that allows you to set up different gear sets, both whole sets and accessories. Allows for quickly switching between gear between fights, such as to switch into fire resist gear and back. It also allows you to set up sets for specific occasions, such as sets for when you mount (carrot-on-a-stick, spur boots, riding enchant gloves), changing stances as a warrior, when you enter or leave battlegrounds, equipping your Argent Dawn commission in the Plaguelands, etc. VERY handy.
Titan Panel (Curse-Gaming link): An addon that adds configurable, modifiable bars at the top and/or bottom of your screen. Has a lot of other addons that hook into it.
Titan Roll (Curse-Gaming link): Adds a roll tracker to your Titan Panel.
(more to come)
