Recommended add-ons for returning player

Guides Returning Player Help & Discussions
1

Hello, I played in open beta, launch, and all the way up until after Wraith. Just coming back after what 10 + years. Everything online seems to be outdated with recommendations of addons for new players. I was wondering if anyone could help out and drop some “must-have” add-ons for new/returning players? Thanks.

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They’ve made a lot of improvements to the UI since Wrath, and a lot more is customizable now just in the default UI. (Check out the Edit Mode button from the main menu!) So, I’d probably run light on addons until you’ve played a bit and find actual stuff you’d want to change.

Here are some of the big addons to look at:

  • If you want to fully replace your UI, then ElvUI is popular. (It’s not my cup of tea, but many people love it.)

  • For Boss Encounter Timers, Deadly Boss Mods and BigWigs are the two main options. GTFO can also be useful to help you not stand in fire.

  • WeakAuras is an incredibly powerful addon. (It’s in the same vein as Power Auras which you might have used back then.) If you look at someone’s UI and see a nice HUD in the center with timers and trackers, it’s probably WeakAuras. Wago.io has a huge library of premade auras for Weakauras, so in many cases, you don’t even have to do the work of making them. (Be aware that due to the power of the addon, you should be careful to not import any auras from untrusted sources — such as some rando in trade chat. Some scams have occurred in the past.)

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All the Things is great if you are a collector.
Gathermate if you are a gatherer.

4

Also came back not that long ago after a long time, I have discovered that

  1. Bagnon is a must to get rid of the crazy idea they had of making it so items do not enter into your bag in order.
  2. All The Things aids greatly in finding everything in each zone from items to spawns, key drops, achievements and coupled with
  3. TomCat its near perfection.
  4. Gathermate2 if you gather/craft
    5.SilverDragon aids greatly in finding elites that have spawned in open world.
  5. BetterFishing makes Fishing a breeze.

That should get you started.