Huntsman's Lodge
has a terrific set of tips for running
Power Auras as a hunter. I'm not running this addon (yet) on my hunter, but apparently it's pretty old news --
our old friend BRK had some ideas on how to use it a while back. But HL goes even farther, and I like a lot of his ideas, like a star that lights up when
Dragonhawk isn't turned on -- I'll admit I make that mistake from time to time -- and warnings for "special circumstance" spells like
Lock and Load and
Kill Shot.
You can mix and match them all to fit your own gameplay as well, so maybe use some from HL's list and throw in one or two from BRK's old setup. And even if you're not a hunter,
the addon is helpful for any class that needs a heads up on buffs and debuffs coming their way. We hunters can get all the help we need though -- HL's list is a great resource for using the addon with our class.
Tags: addons, brk, dragonhawk, hunters, hunters-mark, huntsmans-lodge, kill-shot, layout, lock-and-load, power-auras, situation-specific, tips, useful
Filed under: Hunter, Tips, Tricks, Add-Ons
Nov 19th 2009 at 2:00PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Netherscourge Nov 19th 2009 2:07PM
I don't see how this UI helps at all. It looks like some sort of old-school console action game health meter, only there's tons of other stuff being monitored on it and it's an image rather then raw data.
I guess if you can memorize what represents what, you can use it - but it seems like a big complicated mess to me.
BigB Nov 19th 2009 2:13PM
Not all graphics are on screen at once, so its not as messy as it looks.
And yeah you have to memorize what the pics mean, but you have to memorize where most your spells are anyway.
I find it infinitely useful on many classes for those spells that are situational or only active after certain events.
Knob Nov 19th 2009 3:57PM
Seriously, why wouldn't you just use the icons of the spells/procs themselves instead of all the patterns? Yes, Powerauras has that option as well.
Zach Nov 19th 2009 5:35PM
So I decided to finally download this addon and try it out. Only problem is: it's showing up as out of date in my Addons, but my Curse Client doesn't have an update for it. What should I do? :(
Bear Nov 19th 2009 7:10PM
Click "Load out of date AddOns," duh.
Knyle2 Nov 20th 2009 6:45AM
Anyone who uses power auras might want to save themselves alot of time and trouble and memory usage and just use surge track.
http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/surgetrack.aspx
It is certainly worth a look.
Dan Nov 22nd 2009 11:35PM
Seriously power auras is infinitely useful. Have a wonderful setup on my shaman courtesy of "suicidalkatt" who put together "theultimateshaman UI" package.
One important thing I added to it which is helpful to any spell caster is a big warning with a sounds effect to warn if a target has "spell reflect" up. Simple to setup and very very handy when your about to pound a massive lava burst on a target.
Overall it makes tracking buffs and debuffs on yourself and targets a lot easier as it's often pretty difficult to glance through the tons of buffs that can be active during raids/pvp. Can take a lot of time to set up but totally worth it and I enjoy wow a lot more with it.
Blacksheep Nov 19th 2009 2:13PM
All these add ons that pop up in the middle of your screen telling you "what you are doing" drive me nuts. Deadly Boss Mods is enough for me, these things always prove more distracting to me than helpful. I have several addons, most are raid oriented, DBM, Omen, recount a few are organizational, like the addon that shifts traps/aspects to a nice little toolbar or cartographer, but other than that, I run with the vanilla interface. Less clutter and it's never hindered my DPS.
PeeWee Nov 19th 2009 4:04PM
This really isn't any different from DBM sploshing your screen with different warnings. DBM fills your screen with flashing bars, this lights up auras around your character.
Dreyja Nov 19th 2009 4:22PM
Some of us benifit from a visual tool to help out w/ timing. Other people are more linear or just get around it other ways. It's just a tool like any other. :)
Damntheman Nov 19th 2009 4:44PM
"it's never hindered my DPS"
I love that line; I hear it all the time from guildies who can't figure out why I trounce them on the meters. Make any excuse you like, this is like trying to defend keyboard turning. Information=power. Maybe you can patchwerk for 95% of max dps, but throw in some complications and the gap will only grow.
miggedymike Nov 19th 2009 2:20PM
PowerAuras can be helpful and it is nice because it is cusomizable to how you play. My personal preference is to use it as a reminder of when lock n load, explosive shot, and when black arrow needs to be re-applied. However instead of using huge graphics, i use three pulsing lights at the bottom of my character. Does it turn combat into a console 'hit the b button now' type game? Yes. Does it improve my dps? Yes. Some people may find it useful and others will find it cumbersome. I say play it the way you like it, Baby!
www.cheezeberger.blogspot.com
perderedeus Nov 19th 2009 2:21PM
That's.. a lot of Auras.
I use Power Auras, but I do so frugally. One aura for Kill Shot availability with an associated sound effect, one aura for Lock and Load being active with associated sound effect, and an aura that shows if I have Dragonhawk off.
I do like the Hunter's Mark icon, though. I'm seldom in a situation where a mark is not applied (either by myself or another hunter) but there ARE times.....
Suppressor Nov 19th 2009 2:36PM
Another one I use is to have an icon flash when I have Aspect of the Pack on. This way, the raid usually don't have to remind me to turn it off.
humperdinck Nov 19th 2009 2:38PM
It looks like an Ed Hardy shirt threw up on WoW.
Gridneo Nov 19th 2009 2:51PM
People who don't run Proc mods, DoT timer type stuff, or have some visual to let them know something is going off, probably aren't going to be your best DPS. Some people act like Vanilla UI is the most amazing thing ever. I've modded since Day 1, so I can't even remember what the vanilla interface looks like.
I play several DPS/Healing classes, but I don't use Power Auras. I'm thinking about it now though. My Hunter is my next project...I mea sure, I can see an Eclipse proc over my Boomkin's head, but there's other stuff I'd like to look into. Knowing when Owlkin Frenzy or Omen is up is crucial. SCT Custom events do that for me now. Should be interesting.
Rugus Nov 19th 2009 3:07PM
"Fatal error: Out of memory"
Wow.com article strikes back.
Once again.
Knob Nov 19th 2009 3:58PM
That must be one seriously wooden comp you're using if it runs out of memory by using mods.
Mugutu Nov 19th 2009 3:44PM
Power Auras has to be one of the best addons taht can be made useful by everyone, and definitely a major help in seeing procs instead of staring at the top right of my screen for a small square box. I play a mage, and I have it set to monitor Missile Barrage, stacks of Arcane Blast, trinket timers and procs, Clearcasting, Hot Streak...literally everything is shown on my screen, exactly where I want it to be shown. Same goes for my DK - trinket procs, Rune Strike availability, and a Horn of Winter timer are all there.
I don't get why people seem to think the standard UI is so much better when it simply doesn't give you all this information in such a customizable way.
nieboh Nov 22nd 2009 2:24PM
Finally! I'm guessing Power Auras was originally made for hunters by hunters or whatever, but it can be used by ANYONE. You don't have to be a hunter to benefit from this addon.
I, too, play a mage and use it to show me when I have living bomb on my target with a timer to see how long before it blows. I use it to show my hot streak procs, and again a timer to see how much time I have left to use it. I also use a big yellow exclamation point over my head when I need to spell steal a buff off my focus target (situational use, but very nice for Lord Jaraxxus and Iron Council).
I also play a pally and have a triple-ring aura deal going when I have Divine Shield, Sacred Shield, and Divine Plea going. I also use a great big annoying aura that comes up when my seal goes away.
Sure, you don't have to use this. But for information that is important _to me_, it beats the heck out of visually scanning through 30+ buffs or debuffs to find the ones I need (or worse, to see if the ones I need are missing).