Lethal Shots

There has been a little bit of a discussion going around the blogs lately about addons. Matt at World of Matticus and Vonya at The Egotistical Priest both wrote posts about how relying on addons essentially makes you a bad healer. Naturally this set off quite a reaction, and both Aurik at /hug and Lassirra at The Hunter’s Mark (who has a healer alt) both wrote a rebuttal. I suggest that you read all four articles, as they all present some very good points.

Now I don’t play a healer, so it is hard for me to really form an opinion on the topic. It did however get me to thinking about addons that I have come to rely on, both Hunter specific and general purpose addons.

• RatingsBuster – This is a great addon for helping select gear, especially when you are unsure of what stat does what for a class (a problem you run into when you mess with alts). I could probably live without it, but it would mean a lot more questioning of guild mates when trying to gear an alt.
• Auctioneer – Again, a great addon that has helped my financially in game. Many players who who claim greatness in the AH don’t like it, but I highly doubt I could do as well without it. I have come to consider it essential, but it wouldn’t be game-breaking if I had to go without it.
• Gatherer & Routes – These two fall into the same class as Auctioneer. I can gather materials without them, but using the two has greatly streamlined the process, allowing me to spend less time farming and more time having fun.
• Heatsink – Now this one I don’t know if I could go without. It’s terribly inefficient to look at my action bars to track cooldowns. I’m sure I could play without it, but there would be several abilities that would get used late.
• KHunterTimers – This is another one I would hate to see go. It puts so much information available at a glance in a single place that I think I would be lost without it.
• Quartz – I can get along with the default casting bar. It is all the other stuff that Quartz does that makes it invaluable. Target debuff tracker, casting bars for target and focus, swing timer. All great informatin to have. Would be tough to go without.
• Unit Frames (XPerl, Pitbull, ect.) – Lets just say that I find the default unit frames lacking. Target of target, pet target, focus target, and a large enough pet frame to read are all reasons why I use an addon for this.

Now these are really the only addons that I consider essential. I use a lot more, but they are more for convenience reasons. Could I play without these addons? Sure. I did it for the first 40 or so levels on Santyn before I knew about addons. Would I want to do it again? No.

I tend to agree with Lassirra and Aurik on the stance of addons. They are there to make your play time more efficient. Sure you can go without them, but you will need some time to adjust. Granted as a DPS player I would need less time for adjustment than a healer.

Using addons does not make you a worse player, it simply makes you a player in control of your experience.

As always, thoughts and comments below.