Shifting Perspectives: Amazing addons for feral cat DPS
by Chase Hasbrouck 
Mar 7th 2011 at 9:00AM
Over the last few weeks, we've covered how to properly gear your cat for raiding in a Cataclysmic world. Unfortunately, all the gear in the world won't help you if you can't establish a good rotation. Today's column looks at some addons that will help you maximize your performance.
Custom buff/debuff trackers
Let's face it: The default UI is pretty horrible for tracking buffs and debuffs. The interface has vastly improved over time, but it still uses an icon-based scheme, and it appears in the top corner of your display, drawing your attention away from the action. As the feral rotation is very dependent on maintaining a self-buff and enemy debuffs, having a good way to track this information is important.
Need to Know Need to Know is the buff/debuff tracker that I currently use. It's not quite as plug-and-play for ferals as the other two trackers here, but the open design makes it usable for any class. Great if you have lots of alts.
It's very simple to configure everything, as it's all right-click menus; you'll only need to enter the interface screen once to configure how many bars/bargroups you want. After that, simply right-click the bar to set the buff/debuff to track, color, blink, time settings, and many more. It tracks Rip increases via Shred glyph and can track multiple spells per bar (ie. Mangle [Cat] or Mangle [Bear]) and trinket CDs. It can be set up to display a different group of bars for dual specs.
Cat's Eye Cat's Eye is a very intuitive and easy-to-use tracker. Across the top, you have a easy-to-understand combo point display and current attack power representation. Underneath, you have a nicely formatted window, with icons and color-coded bars. By default, green represents an active buff/debuff, blue represents a missing buff/debuff or ability waiting to be used, and red (not shown here) represents an ability not ready to be used (low on energy, on cooldown, not enough CPs, etc.)
The colors are all adjustable, as is frame size, bar order, etc. There is even an icon for the Omen of Clarity proc, which shows up as a white bubble next to the CP display. The horizontal bars represent player and target health, respectively. This is a great minimalistic solution for those who don't want to do a lot of configuring.
BadKitty BadKitty's been around for a while. It was broken for quite some time post-Cataclysm, but it seems to be up and running again. It's divided up into two freely movable modules: Bars, which displays the typical bar list, and Warnings, which replicate the information in icon format. All the bars and warnings can be reordered/shown/hidden, as well as colors/fonts customized to suit. The author is working on re-adding bear support and other features.
There are tons of other buff/debuff/cooldown monitor addons, many of which are excellent. (I personally use Raven for tracking all non-rotation based buffs/debuffs.) If you prefer one of those, feel free to recommend it in the comments! I've tried to highlight feral-specific ones, as well as my current setup.
Rotation addons Rotation mods step the assistance up a notch; instead of just providing information, they interpret it for you. (Note that when I say "rotation," that's shorthand for "priority list." Fixed rotations went out a while ago.) These addons tell you, typically via an icon display, which skill you should use next based on a predefined priority list. These priority lists are dynamically updated, presenting you with an icon that represents the "best" skill to use at that time. The logic for these mods can get very complex and can include factors such as your current energy/mana/focus/RP, time left on buffs/debuffs/cooldowns, enemy health, and many others.
Now, many players consider these type of addons cheating and frown on their use. To Blizzard, as long as the mod doesn't press the button for you (or just create one button that you can spam-click), it's acceptable. There was an excellent WoW Insider post on this issue when Facemauler (one of the first rotation addons for feral druids) came out, so take a look there for a more in-depth look at the pros and cons. Honestly, these types of mods are much less needed for feral than they used to be, due to the simplification of the feral rotation. However, for new players or players RLWK (raid leading while kitty), it's an excellent helper.
One caveat: These helpers are only as good as the logic that powers them. The best addons are ones that use a easily editable script or programming language; those with hardcoded logic are quickly rendered useless if the author stops development. (FeralbyNight, you will be missed.) Also, realize that the logic of these addons is written with the aim of maximizing single-target DPS, with no interruptions. Since almost every raid encounter has multiple targets or DPS interruptions, blindly following the suggestions is not optimal.
Okay, enough fine print. Let's take a look. The addon rotation mod depicted above is called Ovale. At its core, it's a pretty simple concept; push the button that corresponds with the picture. However, several talented scriptwriters (most notably Leafkiller, but many have contributed) have improved the default scripting logic significantly, to the point that the addon now displays two suggestions: one box for the ability to perform next, and one box for the ability after that. More than anything else, this little tweak helps people new to the feral rotation start to understand when and how to use abilities. For the advanced feral, it supports all the latest theorycrafting -- most notably, finding good times to run out of melee to re-proc Stampede.
Installation is pretty simple. Download the Ovale addon as you would any other, and start WoW. The display will look similar to the above (the default scripting logic for ferals is pretty decent). To get the latest custom script, simply visit this thread on my website, copy the newest script from the first post, and paste it over the default Ovale script.
Now, if Ovale doesn't quite do it for you, some other rotation mods include SpellFlash and Phlebotomiser, though I don't have any experience with their recommendations.
Others No post about feral addons would be complete without discussing the excellent addon Hear Kitty. The premise is very simple: It plays an ascending sequence of tones as you gain CPs and a quick note series when you use a finisher. It doesn't sound like much, but I've found that hearing the tones contributes greatly to my enjoyment when DPSing. Of course, you'll always know how many CPs you have without looking. I don't know why I love it, but I do. Check it out at least once.
Finally, I love my combination of VuhDo (raid frames) and RaidBuffStatus (death warnings, among other things). RBS plays an audio tone when a raid member dies and a special tone when a tank/healer dies. As soon as I hear that tone, I make a quick brez decision in my head, and if the answer is yes, simply left-click the character's bar on VuhDo, conveniently marked RIP, to instantly begin casting Rebirth. If the player is out of range, VuhDo dims the character's bar and overlays an arrow with direction/distance information, enabling me to get in range ASAP. This combo has increased my brez speed to the point where I've usually rezzed the tank/tank healer before my raid leader calls for it, and it has turned several wipes into kills.
There are many more addons I could list (Raeli's Spell Announcer is my latest fav, now that Skull Bash interrupts show up), but I'll stop here. Do you have a favorite addon for feral? Post it in the comments!
What race should you choose for your druid? What happened to Tree of Life? How can you get started as a bear or cat in Cataclysm? Shifting Perspectives has the answers!
Filed under: Druid, (Druid) Shifting Perspectives
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Knob Mar 7th 2011 9:05AM
If the addons are amazing, do they taste like raisins?
Derrek Mar 8th 2011 3:01PM
No.
They taste like amazing raisins.
Bouncing Gnome Mar 7th 2011 9:17AM
As a semi-related question:
I use a combination of Utopia and SatrinaBuffFrames for my buffs an debuffs, and the debuffs on the mob. It used to be set up so that if a buff (on me) appeared on Utopia then it wouldn't appear on SBF, so that the ones that did appear were far fewer and all important.
But SBF seems to have suddenly stopped being able to do this. I'm no longer able to selectively turn off individual common buffs. Is this likely to be fixed soon, and if not is there a different addon out there that could do as a replacement?
Sargio Mar 7th 2011 9:33AM
An addon that I cannot live with out is DroodFocus. Perfect for seeing everything you need to know about your Kitty.
Lish Mar 7th 2011 9:34AM
I was also going to recommend DroodFocus. I can't be a happy kitty without it.
fabio__vx Mar 7th 2011 9:42AM
i almost cant tell anything from that UI though D;
calei Mar 7th 2011 9:42AM
DroodFocus addon:
Don't forget DroodFocus. Possibly the best feral addon ever. Designed for ferals, and very customizable. A high quality addon worthy of mention.
mmays Mar 7th 2011 9:43AM
Droodfocus is a perfect addon for Ferals, easy to setup and easy to customize. There are some great youtube videos out there that show the potential of this addon. It has many features and can tell you just about everything you need to know for your feral. I will not raid without it.
Puntable Mar 7th 2011 10:27AM
SexyCooldown was suggested by "Addon Spotlight" a long time ago, and I still use it for my Druid and Rogue. It's not being updated, but it still works.
I have to comment on the screenshot above. I bet that cat dies in the fire a lot. Why would you position any UI elements to cover the ground where you are standing?
Bouncing Gnome Mar 7th 2011 11:05AM
My old UI (ditched about six months back) had Dominoes action-bars in an ark around the top and right of my character, so I could see the global cooldown, and select convenient emergency buttons. This has been replaced with me putting VuhDo there.
Reason: eyesight. I can't easily see buttons at the edges and bottom of my screen without moving my eyes towards them. I blame it on getting a super-sized screen!
Eregos ftw! Mar 7th 2011 10:33AM
InlineAuras.
'Nuff said.
Nathanyel Mar 7th 2011 11:17AM
Exactly. I used it before 4.0 already, but when that patch broke BadKitty, I switched to this addon completely, since it can display everything except the Shred counter. Highly customizable, e.g. I made it highlight Shred when OoC procs, I changed Mangle to display the 4T11 buff, and I know the developer is working on better item integration (mostly trinkets with procs)
Pantyraider Mar 7th 2011 10:38AM
Needs more minimap buttons
jmerrow Mar 7th 2011 11:07AM
I use Raven also. It is very configurable, and supports more than bars for buffs and debuffs. I wrote notifications that support my feral cat rotation, so that a bar comes up telling me the next ability to use. The illustration of Raven in your article shows everything as bars, but I like Raven icons better for some things (like long-term buffs) since they reduce my screen clutter. I also use "ready" icons to show some of my abilities that are on longer cooldowns --the icons can pulse when the ability is available again.
Rollo Mar 7th 2011 11:28AM
ChronoBars is very similar to NeedToKnow, but you can rearrange the order of your bars and copy bars from character to character (and spec to spec) making it MUCH more user friendly.
Raven looks interesting. I'll try it.
Jorges Mar 7th 2011 11:34AM
NeedToKnow + Hear Kitty = All you ever need to track buffs/debuffs and combo points. Mix them with MSBT and you're golden.
NeedToKnow works with any class and Hear Kitty works with any class that uses some kind of combo point system. Perfect for me because I have lots of alts, including a rogue and a paladin.
I was a loyal follower of BadKitty but when it got broken I tried NeedToKnow, and never got back.
Mike Mar 7th 2011 11:43AM
The main feral druid I use is TellMeWhen with OmniCC. It just displays the spell icon anywhere I want on the screen whenever I apply a debuff to a target or buff to myself, showing the duration. It also makes Icons for tiger's fury and berserk show up when I enter combat, and when I use either of those abilities the icon goes away and doesn't pop back up until the ability is usable.
Right now I have it tracking Rip, Rake, Mangle, Savage Roar and Icons for when TF and Berserk are usable. Might add feral charge but I dunno. It used to give me an OCC icon was well but the new spell indicator thing did away with that.
radda Mar 7th 2011 12:03PM
Yeah, Hear Kitty is just plain awesome. DUH! DUH! DUHDUH! DUH! DO DE DO!
I prefer Drood Focus for my buff/debuff/CP count tracking. It does cooldowns, shoves energy in your face, has a threat meter, and even has little indicators of where your energy needs to be for Shred/Rip/Rake. It plays sounds when leaving combat and has some stupid blood splatter thing on the screen, but you can turn those off.
It also has cooldown indicators that work on any class, so you can just leave it on when you're on an alt.
Koleckai Mar 7th 2011 1:23PM
Nothing about regaining limited root breaking in feral form in 4.1? Being able to break roots with Dash and Stampeding Roar is good news. Not the full immunity we had before but better than nothing. Have the WoWInsider editors tested this on the PTR?
How about something on the impact of 4.1 and how it affects both bears and cats?
Nounbeast Mar 7th 2011 2:26PM
Chiming in with the others recommending DroodFocus. It was an excellent solution for me until I realized I'm the kind of person who has a hard time looking away from the action to glance at a display (otherwise I'd be all about Cat's Eye right now!), soooo...
TidyPlates helps me see combo points and debuffs on a mob attached directly to their healthbar, which works easiest for me. You can also see the debuffs ticking away on enemies which are not targeted (although this might be slightly buggy--sometimes it does this, sometimes it does not), and the tug-o-threat bar replaces my need for Omen!
ForteXorcist is my other claim to fame, used only for the sliding cooldown bar in my case--it sits down next to my action buttons and helps me keep track of when Berserk, Tiger's Fury and any on-use tinkets are ready to be used. This is great for my play-style because the visual effect of the cooldowns sliding along the bar lets me see what's going on in the corner of my eye. (Or bottom of my eye, but that sounds pretty weird.)