Each week, WoW Insider brings you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which focuses on the backbone of the WoW gameplay experience: the user interface. Everything from bags to bars, buttons to DPS meters and beyond -- your addons folder will never be the same. This week, reforge with ease.

Ah, reforging. Sometimes, reforging is the bane of my existence. Other times, this new gear customization shoots rainbows into my brain and shows me visions of other worldly delights. I hold a potentially popular belief: reforging is one of the best, if not the best, new features in Cataclysm. Either put down your pitchforks or raise your glasses higher in toast to me, whichever you feel necessary. Gone are the days of missing out on an upgrade because it doesn't have the perfect stats -- just make a new piece of gear that is almost there in terms of quality, and you're set.

The problem with reforging, though, is the trial-and-error aspect for many classes. Sometimes it would be nice to just know what you need to reforge or even what pieces of gear you could tweak just a little bit to squeeze a little more performance out of. An addon that could help out with reforging would be pretty sweet, huh? You know it.

Reforgenator has been out for a while, and many people can already attest to its helpfulness and ease of use. However, I know there are many of you out there who just don't know about its power. Let's talk Reforgenator.

What is reforging, anyway?

Reforging is a new system in Cataclysm that allows you to take a piece of gear, pay a small fee equal to what the item would sell for, and change one of the secondary stats on the item to a new stat of your choice. Secondary stats include hit, mastery, dodge, parry, critical strike, and haste. Primary stats like strength, agility, and others cannot be changed. Reforging has made it possible to upgrade your gear and adjust your ratings without having to wait for the perfect piece to drop.

Reforgenator can help

While reforging is immensely helpful, it can also be a bit daunting when you are just starting out and figuring out what stats are best for your class and spec, as well as what to remove from gear in order to add to another stat. Protection warriors use a completely different setup for reforging opposed to, say, a feral druid. What if you're playing a brand new class and spec combination and have no idea what to do?

Reforgenator creates a priority list of reforging with stats and different caps that you would like to hit. It even allows you to customize your own preferences. Each spec and class has its own built-in preset reforging profile. For you advanced users, there are a ton of options for setting up your own models for Reforgenator to follow, down to the weight of each stat and complicated rules to change the way the addon thinks.

Basic users can just use the addon as is, typing in /reforgenator to pull up the window. As an added bonus, the help window under the Interface pane treats you to an awesome, simple explanation of the different caps and soft caps that many players need to reach.

Three drop-downs

Reforgenator has three main drop-down menus you will be concerning yourself with. The first drop-down allows you to select your spec. This sets up the rule set Reforgenator will follow. The second drop-down toggles between "consider reforging anything" or "leave reforged items alone." The first option will suggest new reforging on all gear, whether it is reforged already or not. The second option omits items already reforged.

The final dropdown is probably my favorite and tells Reforgenator to apply a rule set for 5-man heroic dungeons or for raiding. The caps and soft caps needed for each can sometimes be different, and keeping track of them is not too much fun. It's easier now than it used to be, but it is still nice to have this feature built in. The suggestions Reforgenator makes will reflect 5-man or raiding, depending on the option selected.

You're all set

Once your options are set, you can take a look at what Reforgenator suggests by glancing at the window below. Hovering over the equipment will give you its tooltip, and clicking on the item allows you to drag it over to the reforging window. Make the changes Reforgenator suggests and you're all set.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of addons that not only suggest some excellent information from the community but keep me from having to exit the game itself for that information. There is a lot that can be said about scouring the internet for the answers to fairly basic questions, and I know the fun and pain of navigating through it -- actively looking for information in many ways makes you more invested in it. However, there are times when that information is better served to me quickly, like when I am trying out a new spec.

While Blizzard has smartly chosen to remove the nebulous and nefarious caps and soft caps from the ether and put them in the actual character pane, reforging and the secondary stats still require a bit of research to squeeze every ounce of power and usefulness out of. Hopefully Reforgenator can help out those without those resources on hand.

Download Reforgenator at [Curse].

Addon mailbag tiiiiiime ...

Mat,

You keep talking about ButtonFacade as your favorite addon of all time, but I just don't understand why. All it does is change what the buttons can look like. Why is this your favorite addon of all time?

Thanks,

Jesmez

Thanks for the email, Jesmez. People either think that I'm being sarcastic when I say that ButtonFacade is my favorite addon of all time, or they don't understand why because it is such a simple addon. Maybe I should make my reasoning clear and show that I am not being sarcastic in the least.

ButtonFacade does something to your action buttons that make it possible to fit them in any and every UI setup. Not only is it incredibly useful, but it just works. Every time. Also, it's simple to set up and add to. ButtonFacade is like the bread on my interface sandwich -- it holds everything together and tastes great in its simplicity. There's nothing I like better than useful simplicity.

So, yeah. ButtonFacade is my favorite addon of all time. SLDataText is creeping up to the #2 spot. Maybe one of these days, I'll throw together my top 5 favorite addons of all time, if people want to see it. Good times.

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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@wowinsider.com.

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Tags: add-on, add-on-configuration, add-on-guide, addon-configuration, addon-guide, addons, featured, guide, reforge, reforged, reforgenator, regforging, wow-add-on, wow-add-on-guide, wow-add-ons, wow-addon-guide, wow-addons, wow-guide

Filed under: Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight