Blizzard Explains Recent Changes to Nameplates & Raid Frames

After this week's scheduled maintenance, players were somewhat surprised to find that the new Nameplates and other UI features from the PTR made their way into the live game. In addition to explaining that these changes were made to keep up with the modern code, Blizzard also presents options that players can use to further customize Nameplates and Raid Frames.

New Nameplate Options on the PTR

Hello,

This week, we updated Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary from patch 2.5.5 to patch 2.5.6. Although this patch was almost entirely to support critical service systems, it also included changes to nameplates and raid frames. We’d like to tell you about these changes, highlight options you have to edit some of the user interface (UI), and look forward to patch 1.15.9 coming to WoW Classic soon.

UI Using Shared Code

All versions of WoW Classic share code with modern World of Warcraft. The games gain significant benefits from this, including the support of modern hardware, additional options for graphics and accessibility, widescreen support, and the ability to integrate with Battle.net services in the first place.

This shared code also allows the introduction of UI elements to fill gaps in the original World of Warcraft UI. For instance, the original Burning Crusade only supported the “drag out” raid group UI from the Raid Frame. With the release of WoW Classic in 2019, the game included an additional option to use raid frames from modern World of Warcraft. This means that WoW Classic launched in 2019 with Battle for Azeroth’s raid frames, and then with patch 2.5.5, Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary utilized frames from The War Within. With patch 2.5.6, the game’s raid frame option has aligned with updates to modern World of Warcraft, now matching the offering from Midnight.

Modifications Using Chat Commands

Since we released patch 2.5.6, we’ve been listening to community feedback, and we recognize that players are looking for ways to modify their nameplates and raid frames that were updated. In addition to the settings that exist in the Options menu, players can use the following chat commands for further customization:

Nameplate Class Color (Enemy Units):

/script C_CVar.SetCVar("nameplateShowClassColor", 1);

Nameplate Class Color (Friendly Units):

/script C_CVar.SetCVar("nameplateShowFriendlyClassColor", 1);

Disabling Raid Frame Dispel Highlights:

/script C_CVar.SetCVar("raidFramesDispelIndicatorOverlay", 0);

We’re currently working on surfacing these settings in the Options menu itself, so that players will have access to them there, in addition to the option to use chat commands. We expect to implement this next week.