3 makeover suggestions for WoW's default UI
by Mathew McCurley 
Jan 14th 2011 at 1:00PM
However, there are still improvements that could be made, most of them in areas that just haven't been updated in a good long while. I've got a list of three pieces of the UI that I believe could use a makeover.
Battlegrounds
Everything about battlegrounds has been changing for the better lately, with the absolutely awesome Battle for Gilneas (Nordenwatch 2.0) and Twin Peaks. For some reason, however, we are still left with the old, original battleground menu, complete with scroll bar. I am under the impression that scroll bars are nasty design, mostly because I do not have all the options present in front of me without having to do a little digging for information.
What can be done? One of the ways that I think the battleground selection menu could be improved would be to make it a little bit more like the archaeology menu, in which each battleground has an icon in addition to a plain text name. You could keep the window the same size but use icons for the battlegrounds, which open into the bottom window area to display the story, lore, and mechanics of that specific battleground.
Inventory
The bag inventory has been one of the mainstays of World of Warcraft since the beginning and hasn't changed much at all in the course of the game's life. Inventory in general is a hard nut to crack, and Blizzard has done a pretty darn good job with its inventory system. For a long time (and it is hard for me to confess), I never used a bag mod because I could easily arrange my items bag by bag on my own, never letting an addon do the work for me.
Right now, the inventory system that comes default in WoW is satisfactory. It gets the job done, but addons have been bringing some much needed customization to the party.
What can be done? One of the biggest concerns that I have when using the default inventory in WoW is that quest items are sometimes hard to find. ArkInventory, my addon of choice right now for inventory management, allows me to create a bag that places all of my quest items into it. I think the WoW inventory system would benefit greatly from a bag for quest items only, much like how Warhammer Online kept your quest items in a separate place. Not only does this cut down on clutter in your main inventory, but it allows players a little wiggle room when accepting or completing quests with a full or near full inventory. I know that I have had to drop things from my bag when picking up quest items because I forgot to sell.
The second thing that I wish the default inventory system had is an auto-combine feature -- one little button that could be pressed to auto-combine disparate items into stacks. Sometimes I have lost a ton of inventory space because I had no idea some items could be combined because they were hanging around in different bags. Auto-combine would be real nice and probably an easy addition.
Something that has always bugged me about the default player frames is the thinness of the health and mana bars in relation to how important they are as well as the size of the unit frame. Addons solve this problem, of course, but a lot of players love the Warcraft look of the default player and unit frames. I have to agree -- I still think the art is classic, and I used the defaults for a long, long time. However, having the actual plain text number on those thin bars always frustrated me, and in these days of mana conservation and watching those meters even more carefully, things might need to be thickened up.
What can be done? Give players a few options for their user frames. Maybe offer a default, then add in a thicker health/mana bar version for players with less-than-perfect eyesight or who just like a more manageable health bar. I know that Blizzard can purposefully leave out a lot of options due to the prolific number of addons out there that serve this purpose, but the default player and unit frames have always been a sore spot for me.
What do you think is ready for an overhaul on the default WoW interface? Every expansion has granted us some awesome new features for what many consider the best and most flexible user interface in MMO gaming now. I always look forward to new interface additions.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Add-Ons
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
JaimeRavenholdt Jan 14th 2011 1:05PM
Make key binding easier, a la something like Bartender.
jasonkidd1234 Jan 14th 2011 1:13PM
Yeah, right now redoing keybinds is kind of a hassle. If it was easier to do, we might have less clickers.
Malia Jan 14th 2011 1:44PM
I use a simple addon called Bind Pad for making keybinds - its quick and easy to use. You can make a keybind for items, macros, spells....pretty much anything. It also labels the icons with the keybind key, so less memorizing.
http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/bind-pad.aspx
Snappy Jan 14th 2011 1:47PM
BindPad is my keybind interface of choice. Its ease of use just blows everything else out of the water.
Lee Weaver Jan 14th 2011 1:52PM
the game is designed to be played with a mouse. keybinding and using key binds sucks. and is a pain to remember all the keystrokes.
skodnoise Jan 14th 2011 2:47PM
@Lee
LOLWHAT??
I'm completely boggled that anybody who plays enough to read this website would be a dedicated clicker (outside of healers).
Tap Jan 14th 2011 7:27PM
I think that Domino's way of binding keys to your bars rocks.
Lee Weaver Jan 14th 2011 3:15PM
On my main server alone i have all 10 slots full 1 of each class. 2 at 85 Boomkin and Mage, a DK at 82, Warrior at 70, Cowadin at 43, hunter at 32, Priest at 42, Sharman at 41, Rogue 47, Warlock 44. As far as their roles go the Boomkin is self explanatory. After that if they can tank they do. After that if they can heal they do else they DPS
This is not counting DK's i roll on friends servers to play with them. There is no way i could remember that many key binds, what are we talking about? At least 20 per class, times 10 classes that i actively play. So you are talking 200 unique key binds. This isn’t even taking into account dual specs if you go there you can increase that number by about %50. Nope not gonna do it, Wouldn’t be prudent, not at this juncture. Besides my left hand is retarded it can barely handle qweasdx.
So yes I read this site avidly, and am amazed by all the people that claim to be avid players and say they key bind everything. It boggles my mind to think of doing such a thing.
wow Jan 14th 2011 3:36PM
@lee amirite in saying you stand in bad a lot?
tinkerman79 Jan 14th 2011 4:02PM
@Lee - I have a similar stable of alts like you - 6 80s, 2 85s and 2 low teens on the same server. Although the 200 combos you talk about may all be different abilities, they all fit within 9-10 types. Below is how I like to assign these abilities, so I don;t have to remember each and every one of them. It may seem complicated at first, but after the first 2-3 toons, its not hard. Of course, this is what works for me so, your mileage may vary.
Resource builders/Primary DoTs (key:q) - Sinister strike, crusader strike, Lacerate, Corruption etc.
Secondary DoTs/debuffs/nukes (key: e) - Curse of Agony, Insect Swarm, Lightning bolt etc.
Long Debuffs (key:r) - Fearie Fire, Demo roar, etc.
Primary Nukes/Resource Dumps (keys: f) - Lava Blast, Pyroblast, SnD, etc.
Situational Nukes (key: shift-c) - Execute, etc.
AoE (key: c) - Blizzard, Earthquake, etc.
Interrupts (key: g) - Wind Shear, Strangulate, Counterspell, etc.
Utility (key: t) - Purge, Spell Steal, etc.
Replenishment (key:1): Innervate, Divine Plea, etc.
Short CDs (key: 2): Barkskin, Guardian of Ancient Kings, etc.
Long CDs (key: 3): Bloodlust, Lay on Hands, etc.
Situational ability (key:4): Battle Rez, etc.
And the most important: Mount (key 5).
Massdps88 Jan 14th 2011 4:14PM
@wow
One method isn't inheritly better than the other. Some people are less coordinated at a keyboard than others, some have slower reaction time with a mouse. When you have the length of a global cooldown to move the pointer, then, yeah, its faster to key mash (at least for most people). When you have a 2 second (or longer) cast to do so, frantically clicking or mashing isn't going to make much of a difference. If you're easily confused with one method versus the other though, THEN it can make a difference to favor one method or another.
Jason Jan 14th 2011 4:18PM
I feel you lee, I barely use key binds as well. I do when I heal becuase it is jsut easier, but when I dps, I click the UI. I am never in the fire, I do competitive DPS (as shadow) and normally save the healer with a few choice heals or dispells. Just because you push buttons doesn't mean that we have to... get over yourselves.
Letharginator Jan 14th 2011 4:20PM
@Lee
Every time you go to click a spell, you don't have to hunt for it right? You remember where it is by instinct. Use that same principle to bind your keys.
Since I strafe with my mouse, first thing I rebind is always q and e, and they're always bound to the right most spells on my action bar.
Using rules like that, even if I can't remember every keybind, the moment I see the spell's position on screen I know what the keybind is. Four easy to reach keys and a modifier can make you a million times faster
Saeadame Jan 14th 2011 4:22PM
Hm, well my first character leveled as a healer and has been a healer for its entire existence, so I've had some trouble switching to keybindings - not because they're hard to remember, but because it's hard to remember to use them, I'm so used to just using different click combinations on health bars. I need like a watcher or something that slaps my hands whenever I go to click my action bar /sigh.
Lee Weaver Jan 14th 2011 4:59PM
Healing is easy for clickers. HEALBOT
Lee Weaver Jan 14th 2011 5:01PM
and I have an entire second ( at least ) for GCD to move my mouse along the bottom of the screen form button to button it's not like i have to move my mouse all over the screen
windstalker668 Jan 15th 2011 11:53AM
@Lee
I am also perplexed by keybinds. I move with the keyboard, but am not a keyboard turner, I use the mouse for moving a lot too.Best investment I ever made was the Razer Nage, the thing is incredible. I bound 12 keys right at my thumb and then another 12 when I combined them with shift. I have 24 actions at my thumb at any time and my UI is exactly the same for every character.
This is how I like to play, people like me and Lee just don't like to keybind, it is awkward and hard for us to get used to it. Mouse play is completely valid and possible, like Lee said the GCD keeps it possible.
Zephrian Jan 14th 2011 1:06PM
Let us rearrange the order of our characters on the menu screen!
SunGod228 Jan 14th 2011 1:36PM
I really could use like 4 or 5 more stars so i can up-vote this more.
Nopunin10did Jan 14th 2011 1:44PM
The only reason I can come up with that would explain the fact that Blizz hasn't done this yet is as follows...
Each character probably has a unique numerical ID, something assigned to it by each realm's character database. This number will typically be higher for characters that were created later than earlier. Each character entry in the database has a finite amount of data associated with it; there are probably other tables entirely that handle the ever-expanding records of quests, items, etc.
I imagine that the data available at the character select screen (rather than after your character is loaded) is deliberately limited. Allowing you to set an order for your characters would mean adding one additional integer (or byte) to that information.
Not a whole lot of data... but providing it would still mean a schema change to a database Blizz probably prefers not to touch.
The alternative solution, of course, would be to have a client-side defined order. Save it to a local file... and you'd just have to reorder your characters on each computer you use to access WoW. I'm a tad surprised they haven't taken this route yet, but they might be anticipating the annoying cries of those who keep complaining that the order isn't preserved when they reinstall :-P