Addon Spotlight: Addons for clickers
by Mathew McCurley 
Sep 9th 2010 at 1:00PM
Addon Spotlight strives to educate and empower, bringing you tips and tools to enrich your World of Warcraft experience. Playstyles are as varied as the addons that support them, and as a comprehensive writer, I try to cover everyone's specific setups. One playstyle that is a bit of a foreign concept to me is mouse clicking. Clickers are often derided and ridiculed for their point-and-click interaction with the user interface. Sometimes, you will be watching that YouTube video of a heroic kill, and the cursor is flying around the screen a lot more than you are used to. You've found the elusive clicker.
Now, I'm not a clicker. Like I said before, I never really understood the clicker lifestyle. I've known two clickers in my life, and they couldn't be more different in playstyle; one was fast and furious with ability activation, and the other was the worst hunter I have even known. Addon Spotlight is a neutral, happy and fair ground. I'll give my opinions, sure, but helping people is the true goal. So, clickers, this spotlight is for you. We are here to help you during your point-and-click adventure. Never say I didn't do anything for you!
Tongue-in-cheek clicker comments aside, some people truly need to use a mouse when playing World of Warcraft. In particular, I know at least two people who do not have total motion control over some of their fingers because of injuries sustained while fighting in Iraq and injured in a workshop, respectively. These people have limited motion in their right hands -- enough to use a mouse and click, but not enough to have the range of motion to press multiple buttons with all of their fingers. Let's see if we can help these players out.
Where hydrogen is built into Healium
One of the hardest roles to fulfill as a clicker is healing. Compact setups and Grid/Healbot/whatever can alleviate some of the stress, but the fact remains that two clicks have to do the job of one click and a button press, or potentially just one click. Let's make healing for you clickers a little bit easier. Enter Healium, a healing addon that might not have been created with clickers in mind, but certainly does the job.
Essentially, Healium is a combination unit frames, action bar and healing addon that adds your heal spells next to each party or raid member's unit frame. Clicking on a heal will cast that heal on that specific person. Simple, single clicks for healers who insist on using the mouse. It couldn't be easier.
The bars are all customizable and sizable, which will be a huge boon for larger raids where things could get a bit cluttered. Healium also has the ability to track debuffs and HoTs, adding more functionality to this solid setup. One of Healium's selling points is that people who do have to click for whatever reason can forego the macro and modifier (Ctrl, Alt) button combos that make up so many other healing interfaces.
For your viewing pleasure, here is a video demonstrating Healium:
Healium does its job well, reducing the distance between target and heal. Check it out if it sounds like a solution to that type of distance problem for you.
Download Healium at [Curse].
More like Clique-r, am i rite?
Clique is one of those addons that has become ubiquitous in the WoW community -- it is light, massively helpful and customizable, turning your clicks into complex button presses. For clickers, Clique can make a world of difference with reaction times for healing, taunting and other abilities.
I've talked about Clique before but only in the healing space. Clique is so much more than just a healing addon complement. Clique is a complex button binder that allows you assign abilities, buttons and macros to your mouse clicks. More abilities can be bound using modifier keys like Alt and Ctrl with your clicks.
Clique is one of those addons I wish Blizzard would develop into their own stock user interface, much like how a simple Power Auras setup is coming in Cataclysm (more on that soon). The functionality of Clique blows my mind, and I know it can be done now in the default UI with some finagling and tricks, but a simple interface pane would be wonderful.
Download Clique at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Speedy Actions
One of the biggest counterpoints to the clicker playstyle is that reaction times for clickers are lower than that of button pressers, since the time a clicker takes to get to the ability and then use that ability is lengthened by the pointer travel. One way to make actions happen faster in WoW is an addon like Speedy Actions from Shadowed. By default, WoW activates an ability that you click on after you release your mouse click. Speedy Actions changes this behavior by activating an ability, button or skill when the mouse is pressed down, rather than on release. You'll be surprised how much this makes a difference when clicking on abilities.
Speedy Actions can hopefully give you a better responsiveness and quicker actions when using the mouse. The addon is simple and works, two trademarks of Shadowed's excellent addons. Use the commands /sa, /speedyactions or /speedyaction to see Speedy Actions configuration.
Download Speedy Actions at [Curse] or [WoWInterface].
Twitter suggestion: G13 and G15 keyboard
Do you like inane banter, making fun of Mike Sacco, terrible stick figure drawings and pictures of my cats? You should follow me on Twitter at @gomatgo. I talk about Addon Spotlight and WoW there, too! Twitter follower @skisulli reminded me of an awesome clicker resource -- the Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard or the G15 keyboard. I am a G15 user myself and cannot recommend it more, if not just for the little screen that tells me when I get whispers in WoW, even when I am alt-tabbed out of the game. Rock on, Logitech.
Buy a G13 or G15 keyboard at Best Buy, Newegg or your local electronics store.
So, there you have it, clickers. Hopefully these addons can improve your game, help you with reaction times and give you the help you need if you're just one of those people who doesn't want to deal with complicated button combinations. See you all next week!
Addons are what we do on Addon Spotlight. If you're new to mods, Addons 101 will walk you through the basics; see what other players are doing at Reader UI of the Week. If there's a mod you think Addon Spotlight should take a look at, email mat@wow.com.Filed under: Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Josin Sep 9th 2010 1:08PM
I've sent this article along to several clickers I know.
Josin Sep 9th 2010 9:13PM
I get my fashions from the Fashionable Gnome, you silly spammer!
http://tagalongfashion.blogspot.com
(/crosses fingers that linking it here doesn't kill my bandwidth for the month like last time.)
Mike Sep 9th 2010 1:13PM
I'm a clicker when it comes to healing, using Healbot alongside Shift/Alt/Control modifiers exclusively. When DPSing, I'm a keyboard user, when tanking I have a hybrid keyboard+mouseover setup.
Homeschool Sep 9th 2010 1:28PM
@Mike I'm just about the same - I use the keyboard for moving and a few general hotkeys, but all my actions are occurring in Healbot, as a healer. When I go DPS, I use the mouse for targetting and motion, but all my actions are happening on the keyboard.
Then, I started soloing all content, and discovered that there's a whole RANGE of alternative options there. On some fights, I strafe-LoS to avoid attacks, while hitting abilities with my mouse - the delay in the click is unimportant, since I'm simply maintaining insta-cast DoTs, and have more leeway in time. On other fights, it's better to use both hands on the keyboard, since you can do some pretty complex motion patterns when you have a whole dedicated hand-and-a-half.
Healium is a really interesting find, though; and for anyone with reduced ability to use their hands, I can only imagine it's a lifesaver.
Wrath Sep 9th 2010 3:26PM
I too am a healbot clicker and I actually can't imagine any faster way to use a variety of heals.
2 button presses - 1 to target the person, 1 to cast the spell, vs clicking on the frame
I suppose i could make shift f1 heal the first person, and shift f2 heal the second person, or re-map my party/raid member targeting to easier to reach keys (but how would that work in a 25 man raid? Or a 40 man AV, or 2x 40man groups in WG?
I'm not trying to defend clickers per say... I mean, I suppose I am, I do it, it seems to work. More what I'm getting at is how do you heal 25 people rapidly, quickly, and responsively... without clicking? Because I don't even have the foggiest clue how I'd begin to approach that dilemna
Healbot is a single click with keyboard modifers and my mouse movement time is negligible and simple... I'm fairly sure, much faster than my brain could figure out "oh yea that mage is the 4th party member so i should hit f4 and then my heal spell"
So what am I missing?
Meatwadz Sep 9th 2010 3:51PM
How can you possibly get any faster than healbot? I am certain it is the absolute fastest setup regardless of playstyle. One click, healed. As a druid, I am able to keep an entire 10m raid hotted with maximum efficiency by doing nothing but clicking and using wsad/qe for movement.
But for dps and tanking I am all keybound, of course.
PictoKong Sep 9th 2010 5:51PM
Using Vuhdo on my druid with this kind of setup:
L: Left click
R: right click
L: target
R: rejuv
Shift-L: Regrowth
Shift-R: Nourish
Ctrl-L: Wildgrowth
Ctrl-R: Lifebloom
Alt-L: NS+ HT macro
Alt-R: Swiftmend
As you can see, i got all spells covered (apart from tranquility, Brez and other cooldowns)
Also, can you really heal without a clique-like setup?
Rakah Sep 9th 2010 6:22PM
mousover macros and raid frame accomplish much the same.
ColbyWolf Sep 9th 2010 6:34PM
I agree with wrath.
People frown upon the idea of clicking on things... saying that EVERYTHING should be bound to keys on the keyboard, that touching the mouse (for anything but turning) is Bad and Wrong and Doing That makes you a Bad Player....
but.. how are you supposed to keep 25 people up without clicking on them?
I think this is more a problem with the implied definition of clicker then anything else. Because I think the healbot one-click is as hast as you can get already... and that clicker refers to the people who click a name, click the heal, click a name, click a heal.. etc.
But... .... I'm just not sure.
--Colby (who clicks a name, and pokes the 1 key, personally)
Daeolt Sep 9th 2010 7:38PM
Exactly the same. When I'm tanking its a mix. Dps, keyboard. Healing, mix. PvP, mix (more clicking).
And I've seen all of ICC (some heroics) and have hit 2.2k rating in 3s. Just gotta do it right.
ladygamertn Sep 9th 2010 10:15PM
I'm a clicker because I can't remember what the keys do. Probably age and the meds I take for chronic conditions. I simply cannot remember what alt+ anything does versus shift+ something else. I have given up on healing because of my slow clicking. Maybe this will help... worth a try.
kaosgrace Sep 14th 2010 10:11AM
"Also, can you really heal without a clique-like setup?"
Yes. I use mouseovers. I don't have good use of the outer two fingers in my left hand (another disabled vet), and I can't mouse-move while mouse-targeting for heals, so I can't hit Ctrl/Alt/Shift modifiers while moving. So in order to be able to heal while moving I have my forward/back movement keys bound to E and D and my instant spells set up as mouseover macros bound to the surrounding letter keys.
I do use the thumb buttons on my mouse, without modifiers, for two spells per character. So I do like Clique. But it's only a minor convenience - in theory I could keybind those spells too, although I'm kind of running out of keys.
I do wish Clique would add functionality for binding spells to mousewheel scroll up/down (like VuhDo) - that would double the number of binds I could have on my mouse. Of course it wouldn't make a dent in my priest's keyboard use, but my shaman would be almost entirely mouse-based, and my druid would be more than half mouse. If VuhDo binds worked on my X-Perl target/player/focus windows I'd just use that, but...only Clique seems to work on all frames, and it doesn't do wheel :(
ToyChristopher Sep 9th 2010 1:15PM
Clique isn't exactly the same as clicking abilities on your action bars but whatever.
MysticalOS Sep 9th 2010 1:20PM
"By default, WoW activates an ability that you click on after you release your mouse click"
Actually this applies to ALL actions even keybindings, has nothing to do with mouse. The wowui will be just as delayed from a fat finger getting off the key slowly, the ability does not fire instantly from keybind, it fires after keybind release. Speedy actions is just as good for keybinding users. I actually speed up blink and rocket boots usage with speedy actions cause those binds were on my thumb and i'd lose easily .5 to a full s econd cause my thumb is fat and was slow to release.
erknost Sep 9th 2010 3:09PM
Bartender has this exact same application that you can turn on and off, so you can cast the spell at pressing and not at releasing. I have try Speedy Actions and its awe, but why do I need another addon if one of my core UI addons has exactly the same function?
Troela Sep 14th 2010 9:25AM
Where is that feature in Bartender? I couldn't find it :(
Kharoz Sep 9th 2010 1:24PM
Very strange article in contrast to your others which I have enjoyed...
First of all, to say that you only know two clickers has to be a misunderstanding or your cant know any amount of healers. Secondly, to say that the hardest role to pull off as a clicker is healing? How on earth did you reach that conclusion?
True that DPS and Tanking would be horrid as a clicker but as a healer? I play a paladin going between all three specs when I need to and while I tank with buttons, dps with buttons I heal with a single click.
I have played this game for a while, raided for just about the same amount of time and I know at least 50 healers (post and present) and 90% of them use the same setup. You move your mouse and click, once. Grid + Clique, nuff said!
Buttonmashing serves its purpose for cooldowns, judgements etc but I would not like to go to the length of actually selecting a target (means I can't target something else, like the boss), then pushing a button, to cast a heal.
Bradley Sep 9th 2010 1:32PM
I think he means Clicker as someone who clicks buttons on the action bars. Everyone has to click on unit frames, mobs, nodes, and such to target (well, outside of some insane tabbing).
Moo Sep 9th 2010 1:35PM
Yes, I found the article somewhat odd too. I'm a Healbot guy myself, but it's the same concept: no targeting, 1 click healing, CDs and judgments by way of buttonmashing. I have no idea if it's optimal, but it has worked very well for me. And nearly all healers I know (not just other pallies) use a similar set up.
That Healium add-on looks kind of slick, but using something like Healbot where you can shift from one heal to the other just by way of using a different mouse button or keyboard modifier seems more efficient than moving the cursor between heal icons. Haven't tried it tho...
Mathew Sep 9th 2010 1:36PM
I have always known the term "clicker" to mean someone who uses the mouse point to click abilities on their action bars.