Combat Addon Reform in Midnight
This decision has led to mixed reviews, as a healthy portion of the playerbase is concerned about the customization options that will become available in the base game, compared to what addons have been offering for over 20 years now!
This change in philosophy has led some to consider: could this change affect WoW Classic?
Combat Addons in WoW
Many of the most popular combat addons that won't be functional in Midnight have been around for the majority of WoW's existence. Eventually, new addons would arise, such as Details, Bigwigs, Plater, and Threatplates, which have given players the option to customize their personal gaming experience.
Plater addon (left) vs Blizzard's upcoming in-game Nameplate display (right)
As raid encounters grew more challenging over time, addons such as Weak Auras became a staple of competitive raiding.
Does Classic Need Reform?
Part of the reason for these upcoming changes in Midnight is that raid mechanics have become more intense over time, as a result of developers creating content to account for these addons. With this in mind, would it make sense for Blizzard to implement similar changes for Classic?
Mists of Pandaria Default UI (left) vs UI with several Addons & Weak Auras (right)
First, we have to acknowledge that several versions of Classic already exist, such as Mists of Pandaria or Anniversary Servers, which will soon move on to The Burning Crusade. While both of these games are on Blizzard's "Classic" client, they play completely differently. But could either of these games benefit from Midnight's upcoming addon change?
Bigwigs' Boss Addon in Mists of Pandaria Classic (left) & Midnight's new built-in Boss Mod system (right)
One reason that players choose Classic over Retail is how the game looks and feels, really capturing the nostalgia factor. If Blizzard chooses to implement built-in UI elements, would this affect the look and feel of Classic? Some examples of how Blizzard has already added a few changes from Retail include the Modern Guild UI and Options Menu.
Classic Anniversary UI with a few addons (left) compared to The War Within UI with only one visible addon (right)
A very popular Weak Aura raid pack that's been around since Wrath of the Lich King Classic has been Fojji's Raid Packs. These raid packs come with extremely detailed timers, reminders, icons, and alerts that not only fully replace addons like Bigwigs and Deadly Boss Mods, but are also customizable for specific raid teams to allow the Weak Aura to call out when players need to do a mechanic.
An example of MoP Classic UI with several combat addons
WoW Classic Content Creator, Joardee, also has raid assignment sheets that can be ported into Fojji's weak auras to display specific names and callouts for raid teams. When you pair both of these together, it provides a strong advantage over teams that do not use this level of coordination. However, are these Weak Auras necessary to play the game and defeat the encounters? Not exactly, but should we progress into Warlords of Draenor and maybe even further, that answer could change.
Heroic Sha of Fear Encounter from MoP Classic (left) and Mythic Dimensius Encounter from The War Within (right)
As you can see above, the current end boss of The War Within, Dimensius, has significantly more going on than the current end boss of Mists of Pandaria, Sha of Fear. Although the Weak Auras and Addons from the latter really trivialize the encounter, by no means are all of them necessary to defeat the boss. A player could defeat the encounter with only a boss mod addon like Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs, and a very coordinated raid leader. However, the same cannot be said for the former, where not only do these extensions greatly help, but they are a non-negotiable.
The Future of Combat Addons in Classic
As speculation continues about the future of Classic, could Blizzard decide to include a version of these new built-in combat addons? A built-in boss mod addon like Deadly Boss Mods or Bigwigs might not be in the spirit of Classic, as one thing players enjoyed from Season of Discovery was, in fact, that discovery aspect.
The guild <none of the above> during the world first clear of SoD's Gnomeregan
Participating in a new dungeon or raid loses a lot of excitement when the game tells you what the boss mechanic is and how to interact with it. The first kill of Mekgineer Thermaplug in the level 40 Gnomeregan Raid in SoD took over an hour simply because the guild <none of the above> didn't know that they could kick his poison volley ability. Moments like that disappear when the default UI gives the answers away.
An example of player-created Addon bloat from r/classicwow
Players had to learn the boss mechanics through a series of experimentation. Although addons like the ones mentioned earlier will eventually display this information to the players, that first time playthrough of learning through community interaction is truly the spirit of classic, and built-in boss mods would potentially counter that.
Would you like to see native combat addons as an option in WoW Classic? Let us know your opinions in the comments!
