Addon Spotlight: Quartz
by Sean Forsgren 
Mar 21st 2008 at 3:30PM
If you check out any of the major addon sites, you will more than likely find an older version, one that still functions, so it might suit your needs. If you want the most recent version, the WoW Ace Files site has the continuously updated version.
To open the configuration window for Quartz, use the following slash command:
/quartz
This will open up the options interface, where you can change the cast bars to your liking. One feature I found nice was the Merge Tradeskill option, which will take multiple casts of the same tradeskill and puts them into one cast bar, with a countdown timer. I like to know how much time I have to run and grab a beer when creating what seems like a thousand bandages.This addon also creates new cast bars for your target and focus, as well as showing buffs and debuffs, with timers. Configured correctly, this can keep a lot of important information in a small area.
Quartz will also work with FlightMap, FuBar-ToFu or InFlight to show a visual timer when flying in game. Once again, it's great to have a visual cue for that next brew. It also adds some cast bars for some other events, like arena game starts and party invites.
Casting bars are recolored if your target moves out of range, if you are interrupted and adds a latency bar to help you time your next spell or action. The swing timer is nice, mostly when I'm trying to time a well-placed Crusader Strikes between swings of my Hatebringer. (I love it just for its name.)
Quartz does not do anything that I would consider absolutely vital to my own game play, but it brings some great features that I find visually appealing and useful. Some people swear by it, or something similar, so take this one out to the range and run some rounds through it. Dismissed!
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Domani Mar 21st 2008 4:43PM
I love Quartz, as a mage is gives me the frostbolt/icelance combo on a frozen target EVERY time. I never miss it. Its ideal for any frost mage.
Xylarr Mar 21st 2008 5:23PM
I only realised how badly I relied on this as a mage when I loaded up the PTR. I hadn't installed any addons for that, and it had the default cast bar. I don't know about the rest of the world, but down here at the bottom of the world in Australia, we have to deal with latency all the time. As the other poster said, as a frost mage, I get a double db/il on frozen targets every time. The other useful thing is when you are frostbolting a target and you need to time a frost nova, turn and run as the mob approaches - you don't want to interrupt the last frost bolt when you start moving.
Sanol Mar 21st 2008 4:49PM
very helpfull for a hunter, makes it a lot easier to put my steadyshots between mij auto shots :D
Nelson Mar 21st 2008 5:16PM
Quartz has two absolutely vital features.
One, it will estimate server lag. The little red bar at the end of your cast bar. You can safely queue up a second spell when the lag is there. No big deal for the usual 80ms lag, but if your grandmother is downloading porn and you have 400ms of lag it can help.
Two, it can display a casting bar (well, spark) for the Global Cooldown. A lot of classes are GCD limited and having this visible is a big help.
Eternalpayn Mar 21st 2008 5:20PM
Are there any features for a non-caster who, whether making 1 stack of bandages, or 20 stacks, just decides to start crafting them whenever he has to go AFK for 15 minutes or half an hour? Because that's basically me, xD!
Nick S Mar 21st 2008 5:36PM
it's nice for trade professions, yeah. it'll show you a complete time-to-make-stack bar.
but for mages and other casters, it's not nice - it's *required*. quartz can increase your cast speed as a mage by (for example, with frost) (latency/2.5sec*100)%. it's like having spell haste gear that scales with your latency! :-P
seriously, though, if you're playing without this or something like it, join the revolution before you next launch WoW and enjoy much faster casting. i'm sure raiders already have it, but questing and pvp benefits from it just as much, if not more (shatter w/quartz >>> shatter w/o)
npm Mar 22nd 2008 8:58PM
I like the GCD bar of quartz very much. Great for a Resto druid!
Revanal Mar 23rd 2008 12:00PM
I too swear by Quartz, but as a Ret pally. Not only do I get off my Crusader Strikes nicely, but I NEVER miss a potential proc of SoC or SoRight EVER anymore.
Ray Mar 21st 2008 6:31PM
You guys can just spam your cast button once you near where your latency generally is from the end of a regular cast bar and it works just as well as Quartz
The real advantage to Quartz is when you're in a low DPS or HPS situation and don't want to spam the frostbolt/ice lance/flash of light/etc button to ensure that you get it off
They removed the need to have a /stopspellcasting ahead of your next cast a while back, so having an addon like Quartz no longer actually affects your DPS
Nick S Mar 22nd 2008 3:09AM
i have to disagree. if your latency is 80, that's true, but my latency runs between 110 and 600, depending on how full Smolderthorn is. there are moments when my frostbolts appear to have stopped casting, but quartz keeps me right on track. a second later, two frostbolts pop out of my character and my dps stays snappy.
the change to stopcasting definitely did make quartz less necessary, though.
Apoc Mar 21st 2008 6:36PM
I've been using this for a few months now on my lock and I must say I have come to rely on it. Amazing addon, so great I even ranted about it on my guild forum.
Eternalpayn Mar 21st 2008 7:00PM
Just so you know, ranting is negative. If you like the add-on, you were raving. That's the positive version of a rant. (Not trying to be mean about it, just help a fellow poster out a bit. :))
Apoc Mar 21st 2008 10:56PM
Oh well now you're just splittin hairs... lol
I consider a rant to be anything where I just go on and on about something in particular, feeling strongly one way or another about it.
Crashandburn Mar 21st 2008 7:14PM
This addon makes life so much easier for my rogue on the Aran fight, with ArcHud showing health, energy and combo points, ClassTimers tracking SnD and this showing what he's casting so I can kick the fireball nice and clear right in the middle of the screen.
This is one of the few addons that I would recommend to all our guild members,
draeth Mar 21st 2008 7:27PM
As a MS warrior I absolutely love quartz, I time my slams perfectly between sings and mortal strikes, i really saw a huge increase in dps as a am no longer waiting on the very unreliable swing animation of my warrior.
draeth Mar 21st 2008 7:28PM
God my grammar is horrible.
Rahan Mar 21st 2008 7:55PM
"Quartz does not do anything that I would consider absolutely vital to my own game play"
heh... i'm arms dps so I need it for my swing timer
csarcops Mar 21st 2008 9:19PM
As a hunter who deals with considerable lag sometimes, I love this addon; it's extremely helpful in timing my shot rotations so I don't waste ammo.
JessPachWay Mar 22nd 2008 7:11AM
quartz is absolutely vital for my resto shaman: I have my mob target's casting bar appear absolutely gigantic on my screen. If I see it, I hit rank 1 earth shock and interrupt the spell. I think of it as preemptive healing.
daniel Mar 22nd 2008 8:42AM
once you go quartz, you never go back!