I understand Blizzard wants to reduce reliance on addons by improving the base UI. In theory, that’s great. The addon arms race—especially with WeakAuras—has affected encounter design, player performance expectations, and accessibility. So a thoughtful redesign of the base UI could absolutely benefit the community.
But if the Cooldown Manager is our first example of this shift, I’m concerned.
This new feature does nothing more than cluster cooldown icons into one space. It lacks the deep customization that addons offer and makes a critical accessibility assumption: that visual tracking is the best (or only) way to monitor cooldowns.
For me—and many others—it isn’t.
I rely on audio cues to know when abilities are ready or when DoTs need refreshing within tight timing windows. Addons like WeakAuras allow me to configure exactly that. Without sound-based feedback, the game becomes harder to play well, and frankly, less fun. The Cooldown Manager doesn’t offer audio support, nor the flexibility to meet unique player needs.
Blizzard has stated they won’t disable addon functionality until they’re confident in their replacements. That’s good—but confidence has to be earned from players too. If Blizzard truly wants us to get behind their UI overhaul efforts, they need to show that they not only understand why players use addons—but that they can deliver equally flexible, accessible, and functional alternatives.
Right now, this ain’t it.
Please do better.