Thursday, July 23, 2009

GIMP Guide Released!


My GIMP guide has finally been released!

For those who don't know, GIMP is an image editing program similar to Photoshop. It is, however, free. Many writers on WoW-Pro want to create nifty graphics and maps, but GIMP is not the most user-friendly of programs. I made this guide with the intention of helping those users improve their guides. In the process I got a lot better at using the features myself.

The guide is still very basic, which was the intention. I am certainly no expert at using GIMP. I am hoping it will grow as more experienced people add tips of their own, but for now it is useful to new guide writers.

Check it out and I hope you enjoy it!

Look forward to the first installement of my retro raiding guide by the end of the month!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

New Addon Version!

After a lot of hard work over the past few months by several diligent WoW-Pro contributers (myself included), a new version of the addon is being released!

Here's the lowdown:

Alliance
  • NEW: Jame's Alliance Death Knight Leveling Guide
  • REVAMP: Maw's Human Leveling Guide (1-12)
  • REVAMP: Snowflake's Draenei Leveling Guide (1-12)
  • REVAMP: Boston's Gnome/Dwarf Leveling Guide (1-12)
  • REVAMP: Sven's Bloodmyst Leveling Guide (12-20)
  • REVAMP: Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide - Hellfire Peninsula
  • REVAMP: Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide - Zangarmarsh
  • REVAMP: Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide - Howling Fjord
  • REVAMP: Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide - Grizzly Hills
Horde
  • REVAMP: Snowflake's Bloodelf Leveling Guide (1-12)
  • REVAMP: Hosho's Barrens Leveling Guide (12-20)
  • REVAMP: Jame's Horde Leveling Guide (31-41)
  • REVAMP: Jame's Horde Leveling Guide - Borean Tundra
  • REVAMP: Jame's Horde Leveling Guide - Dragonblight
  • FIX: Fixed the Aldor/Scryer mistake in the Terokkar guide
If you have trouble downloading the new version, be sure to clear your browser cache (I had that problem for a while).

Here's the link to the main info page for the addon, which is also where you can download it!

Monday, July 6, 2009

My UI, Part 1

Hi folks!

Have a bit of a content dry spell, so I thought I'd go over some of the addons I use. Most of these are useful for all classes and roles, but some are specific to healers or to classes I play. I'll note when this is the case.

Arkinventory
Download from: Curse.com, WoWInterface.com

This is one of the most valuable addons I have. Arkinventory is a bag addon which displays all of your bags in one big inventory screen. But it does a heck of a lot more than that too. Other features include:
  • Automatic and completely customizable sorting to keep your inventory neat and organized
  • Can be applied to bank and guild bank if you choose.
  • Memory of bank and guild bank while away from them
  • Memory of alternate characters' bags, banks, and guild bank
I can't recommend this addon enough, it's one of the few that I just don't think I could play without.

Auctioneer
Download from: Curse.com, WoWInterface.com

Auctioneer is pretty well known, so I'm not going to go into details here. This addon is essential if you want to m
ake money using the auction house, even if it's just to sell stuff you find. A quick 2 minute scan once a week keep your database updated so you know the market price for any item you might find, and know how much to sell it for. For those who want the more advanced functionality, this suite of addons allows you to be a predator on the auction house, finding deals and selling them for awesome profit.

AutoProfit
Download from: WoWInterface.com

AutoProfit is a very small, lightweight, unobtrusive addon that just makes your life easier. It allows you to sell all the gray items in your inventory with the click of one button, or better yet, automatically when you talk to a vendor. It also allows for exception rules, for the jungle hats and pimp canes you want to save!

BigWigs
Download from: Curse.com, WoWInterface.com
Alternatives: Deadly Boss Mods

BigWigs is one of two mainstream "boss mods" - mods that warn you about important events in boss fights or time enemy abilities. These mods are vital for any raid leader, and even for the raiders themselves. I prefer Bigwigs to DBM, simply because it's been overall more accurate and less buggy for me, but there isn't a big difference. A note from a healer's perspective though: Sometimes all those bars on the screen conflict with my HoT timers. I usually take BigWigs to task and only keep the most vital timers up.

Cartographer
Download from: Curse.com, WoWInterface.com
Alternatives: Atlas

Cartographer is a very heavy, large, map addon. It has maps for all zones and instances in the game, even those which Blizzard does not provide maps for. It supports sharing of guild member positions if those members also have Cartographer, and is pretty customizable.

Chinchilla
Download from: Curse.com, WoWInterface.com
Alternatives: Sexymap, SimpleMinimap

Chinchilla is a mini map addon that allows the mini map to be moved and customized. I used to use Simplminimap, but as far as I know it is no longer being updated. I tried Sexymap, but it was too extravagant for me. So far I have been very satisfied with Chinchilla - it does what it needs to do, and does it simply and well.

ClassTimer
Download from: Curse.com, WoWInterface.com

It took me a long time to find an addon that did exactly this, and not more or less. ClassTimer is exactly what I was looking for as a tree healer. It provides big bars showing how much longer your buffs have on them, is pretty customizable, and has the ability to track buffs on you, your target, your focus, or even all of them on one bar.

Unfortunately there are some serious problems with this addon at the moment that have me searching for an alternative. First, the all in one bar is very glitchy and often the buffs just don't show up. Second, as of patch 3.1, the buffs that other people put on the target ALSO show up. So I see the Lifebloom of every tree in the raid, not just my own, and no distinction between them. This really kills the usefulness of the addon. If anyone knows of a good replacement, please let me know!



That's it for addons for now. I'll do more posts like this in the future, if it seems people like them!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Tree Guide Update Again!

Hey trees!

Well, I was reading through my tree guide and I realized that while I had updated the new gear and items, the strategies were sadly out of date. I have revised the entire guide and it should be much more accurate now. Enjoy!