Built-in threat meter coming in future patch
by Eliah Hecht 
Feb 27th 2008 at 3:00PM
As time moves forward, so does WoW's built-in interface. Last patch we got some big additions in voice chat and guild banks (alright, that's not quite interface, but it's not quite gameplay either), as well as cursors and tracking for various types of objects and NPCs. There's not much in terms of interface news in patch 2.4, but Nethaera has just confirmed that a future patch will bring a big new feature: threat meters. (We first heard about this back at Blizzcon.)Required by many raid groups, two big threat meter add-ons have been available for a while: KLHThreatMeter (a.k.a. KTM) and Omen Threat Meter. They both work very well (and Omen's new version is going to have some shiny new features), but they share a flaw: they don't have direct access to the game's threat info, relying instead on databases of clever deductions and discoveries painstakingly built up over months. This means whenever a new patch comes out, the developers have to figure out what, if anything, has changed in terms of threat numbers, and how much. Presumably, Blizzard's threat meter will have direct access to the numbers. And hopefully when the threat meter is added to the game there will me methods added to the API for accessing the numbers, so KTM and Omen can become even better alongside the new official meter.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kadaan Feb 27th 2008 3:09PM
Blizzard really likes to shy away from the full-featured mods when they add it to the base UI (like their raid windows, extra hotbars, 5-limit quest tracker, the new totem timers, etc.) I'd bet it won't be like Omen and show a list of raid-wide threat with hard numbers but instead either percents, or only your threat vs current tank's threat. It might even be just a screen flash when you're close to pulling aggro.
Having bars with names/absolute threat/tps/e-tps/etc seems like a bit "too much" information for a default UI, so I'm not expecting much in the way of presentation. What I _am_ hoping for is exact threat numbers for mods to utilize.
Hokuto Feb 27th 2008 3:14PM
Honestly, seems like you're hoping it'll suck.
I'd love to get rid of Omen for something better, because Omen is already awesome.
Doffencrag Feb 27th 2008 3:23PM
It seems that every time potentially good news is posted here or in the official forums, there is a lot of QQ and complaints posted in reply. I am not exactly a Blizz "fanboi", but I am always willing to give them a chance before airing negative remarks.
That said, I have to agree with Kadaan in that I gotta wonder how they would make threat meters accessible. It seems that WoW's default interface tries to cater to the lowest common denominator (don't get me wrong - it's good for the game since it's easier for new players to pick up). I tend to see threat meters as a couple levels above "beginner", so I wonder if it'll be an advanced function that you'll have to manually activate.
It would be good to have a built-in one, of course. I love Omen, but it's a pain to update it every couple of days.
Adam Feb 27th 2008 3:23PM
Even if it gives limited information, as long as it's hooked into the API, mods like Omen could become so that they deduce the other information guilds need.
For example, if it only gives exact numbers, it wouldn't be hard to look at how quickly those numbers are changing and deduce TPS, and look at how those numbers relate to each other and calculate the percentages.
Kadaan Feb 27th 2008 4:55PM
I'm not hoping it'll suck. I'm just thinking the default UI implementation will be a stripped down version of what we currently have with Omen. What I _do_ believe is that it will have an internal system akin to Threat1.0 so Omen can still sit on-top without needing constant tweaks to the internal numbers. That's the only reason why "Omen" is updated so much, because the internal Threat1.0 calculations are always being tweaked.
Casual players don't need meters. They need something to broadcast threat to people who do need them in their group. They need a simple "you're close to pulling off the tank, better hold back for a few seconds" message. That is what I believe/hope Blizzard's implementation will be.
Solex Feb 28th 2008 11:04AM
@5
I never really bought into the whole "casual" thing and your post is why, apologies if it sounds like a personal attack because it's not meant to be in this case I'll using "you" for the average casual player. You're saying you don't want hard numbers you just want a cute little message to pop up in huge font to tell you "Excuse me you should back up please you're going to gain aggro... if you don't mind please." So because you don't want to have numbers on your screen and have the most basic spoon fed experience possible those who do raid need to suffer for not having the specifics they sometimes require?
Really in my not so humble opinion, casuals should probably just stay quiet and go run a couple heroics to get their free bt gear, instead of complaining about why they can't go 2 man BT or MH in 20 minutes for phat lewts. I mean playing 2 hours a week, why shouldn't you have the absolute best gear in the game?
bluesky_v2.01 Feb 27th 2008 3:12PM
Brilliant, finally a thread meter we can trust.
hoeding Feb 27th 2008 3:14PM
hot.
Milktub Feb 27th 2008 3:25PM
I like it. No more "I don't know how to install an addon" or "I don't trust addon site" excuses for people to pull out.
Thyhammerr Feb 27th 2008 4:45PM
Exactly.. an in game threat meter would be really nice.. As a DPSer, i want a threat meter that i can trust to push those few extra % of dps above tank's 100% =)
Netherscourge Feb 27th 2008 3:28PM
It's pretty sad that a game, in which ALL of the PvE content is built around Threat and Aggro Management, has NO built-in Threat or Aggro UI tool.
So many unecessary wipes and deaths and drama has resulted over the years in this game as a direct result of not being able to figure out how close or far away we are from pulling aggro from the tanks.
All I can say is - It's ABOUT TIME.
wyrd Feb 27th 2008 8:02PM
Was there ever a MMO before that even allowed threat meters? Most mmos probably had pretty similar threat type aggro systems, but to my knowledge, this is the first to actually allow you to see those numbers in any way.
Zhalseran Feb 27th 2008 3:30PM
I look forward to the release of a threat meter with 100% accurate information (assumedly), but I believe that it wouldn't be outlandish to say it is likely to be a bit different than what we have come to see as a threat meter. Built in threat meters have a lot of contention and so I don't think a full-on list of precise figures is likely.
Also in the past Blizzard has integrated the concept of numerous addons into their base UI, and off the top of my head I can't think of a single one that was actually as good as or better than the addon it was based off of. We all still use raid frames and scrlling combat text, not to mention vent.
Kuroyume Feb 27th 2008 3:36PM
I agree that it wont be as good as omen, but if they give addons access to the same numbers, Omen will become even better.... hopefully even track multiple mobs with the same name
BillDoor Feb 27th 2008 3:42PM
Same-name mob tracking is coming to Omen after the 2.4 patch hits. The new combat log makes it possible.
Khanmora Feb 27th 2008 4:22PM
The real treat would be hard threat numbers. Right now the addon developers have to estimate numbers based on behavior instead of having access to the actual functions.
If a base threat meter opened that process up a bit we would have a much more accurate picture especially for things like FD, Fade, Shrouding Pots, etc.
Chuddy Feb 27th 2008 3:40PM
It could look ugly, be unmoveable or have advertisements and I wouldnt care. I cannot count how many times i've done dungeons in BC content with a full group and I'm the only one with a threat meter. It's such a pain. Unless I'm playing a toon with a good threat wipe I always have to wait to start doing damage. Seriously. It's not hard to just install ktm.
and It's always people from those silly sounding guilds. Vae Victus, Victus honor, Victus Schmictus, Legion of destiny...HAVE TABARD AND VENT (but no ktm).
Matt Feb 27th 2008 3:44PM
im guessing they will do something similar to valve when they took on CS as a in house name rather than a mod.
im guessing they will do something like an omen type frame that you can move, but the reason they havent implemented yet is because they are going to give every mob in the instance a character ID so that way you can track threat on multiple targets with the same night...a good example would be the multiple mobs in karahzan!! hope for it soon!
Nick S Feb 27th 2008 3:45PM
whenever i get into a group where i'm the only one with a threat meter, i give it one wipe and then bail.
i don't know how anyone does heroics (or even normal 5-mans, depending on gear) without it.
Eliah Hecht Feb 27th 2008 3:47PM
I've done every 5-man, normal and heroic, in the game, without threat meters (I do have one installed, but usually keep it turned off). This is as a healer, so it may vary by role, but I'm pretty sure the rest of my groupmates usually didn't have a threat meter either. IMO, they're only really necessary for raiding, and not even there if you're in a group that works well together.
That said, they are nice to have.