Hello World of Warcraft UI and Addon Team,
I understand and support the reasoning behind restricting combat-log information that can allow addons to analyze encounters, track other players, automate decision-making, or provide an unintended competitive advantage.
I am writing to request something much narrower: a safe, player-only damage event that addons could use for custom floating combat text.
I would like to create an addon that replaces WoW’s standard white and yellow damage numbers with highly stylized, JRPG-inspired combat text. For example, direct attacks could produce numbers that launch from the enemy, fall, and bounce; Fire damage could produce small ember effects; Poison ticks could appear as bubbles; Frost damage could shatter; and Curse or Shadow damage could drift away with subtle skull or wisp effects.
The purpose would be entirely visual and informational. It would help a player understand which of their own spells produced each number during a fast sequence of attacks, while making combat feel more expressive and satisfying.
The addon would not need:
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Damage from other players
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Other players’ casts, cooldowns, buffs, or debuffs
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Encounter-mechanic information
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Predictions or rotation recommendations
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Aggregate raid or party analysis
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The ability to make protected gameplay decisions
It would only need information about damage caused by the local player, such as:
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The target or target GUID
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The player’s spell ID
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The final damage amount
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Whether the damage was a critical hit
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Whether it was direct or periodic damage
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The damage school
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Absorbed, resisted, or overkill values only if those are considered safe
Conceptually, something as limited as the following would be enough:
PLAYER_DAMAGE_EVENT(targetGUID, spellID, amount, critical, periodic, school)
This information could potentially be restricted so that it:
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Reports only damage caused by the local player
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Cannot report damage from party or raid members
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Cannot expose hidden enemy information
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Cannot be used as an input for protected actions
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Exists specifically for visual combat feedback
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Is disabled or further limited wherever Blizzard believes it could create a competitive issue
I recognize that even personal combat information may have implications I have not considered. I am not asking for the previous unrestricted combat log to be restored. I am asking whether Blizzard could provide a deliberately narrow and sanitized feed intended specifically for personal combat-text customization.
World of Warcraft stylizes nearly every part of class fantasy exceptionally well, from spell animations and sounds to armor, environments, and interface art. Floating damage numbers are one of the few major pieces of combat presentation that players still have very little ability to personalize. A safe API for player-only damage feedback could allow addon developers to improve that presentation without recreating the encounter-analysis problems these restrictions were designed to prevent.
Thank you for considering the request and for continuing to communicate with the addon-development community.
Sincerely,
A World of Warcraft player and aspiring addon developer