Creating
an awesome looking
U.I. is something that I enjoy doing and while I usually create my own
to suit my various characters by combing a series of individual mods
this is not the only option for WoW players. Along with individual mods
are package mods that are basically a pile of individual mods thrown
together to create a complete user interface. This basically means, if
the creator does things right, the player has the ability to get an
amazing looking U.I. with one simple download.

As with most things, nothing is
ever quite that simple, and some U.I. packages are downright awful
(much like some in game gear) and more often than not you will find
yourself uninstalling the mess disgusted with the whole ordeal. But
from time to time the player will find a U.I. package that is truly a
diamond in the rough that will be sure to make other players green with
envy. Below you will find five of the diamonds I have personally
encountered in my adventures to hopefully help you, in the spirit of
Patch 4.3, transmogrify your U.I.:

TukUI Review

I saw TukUI mentioned in a WoW
forum somewhere and decided to try
it out and ended up rather liking it more than I expected. Being the
first package U.I. I had tried out in awhile I’ll admit my
expectations were pretty low and I while I waited for the game to load
up I truly expected to be disappointed. Instead I was pleasantly
surprised.

Useable by tanks, healers, and
DPS classes this U.I has a simple set up complete with a basic in game
tutorial. You can literally install this U.I. and instantly begin using
it with none of the usual hassle. Installation is mostly character
specific, with only a few options being account wide. This means that
each of your individual characters will be treated to their very own
unique version of this U.I. While you might expect that this would make
this mod bulky, it is instead lightweight and will most likely run well
even on the most ancient of computers.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/184007"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 600px; height: 338px;"
alt="TukUI Screenshot"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/184007">

TukUI is simple to the
extreme, but doesn't lack functionality.

TukUI is fully customizable
based on the level of the user's skill, making it a great U.I. for new
and old players alike. Quickly removing clutter from the screen, Tuk adds a
simple square look to action bars, the mini map, character portraits, and
almost everything else on your screen (if you have a phobia of squares,
this probably is not the add-on for you.). Buffs and Debuffs can appear
on the top left or right side of the user’s screen with the
mini map positioned in the right. All other important information
including character health, mana, experience, latency, and the like can
be found at the bottom of the screen.

Action bars can be found in the
center of the bottom of the screen as well as the center of the right
side. TukUI has some special, yet simple perks such as a color-changing
mini-map border to indicate if the user has mail. The best part of the
package is probably its ability to be edited by those who are familiar
with LUA coding opening the door to endless possibilities. For those
that are not comfortable with this type of editing, because of its
popularity TukUI now offers a configuration mod (downloaded
separately) that allows the user to edit the mod in-game without any of
the messy code.

Overall I enjoyed using TukUI
and would recommend it for any user who is going for functionality
combined with simplicity.

Download
TukUI at [ href="http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/tukui.aspx"
target="_blank">curse.com].

nUI Review

Created by spiel2001, nUI is
everything I typically try to stay away from in a U.I. of any sort, but
understanding that some players enjoy a different sort of look than I
do, I decided to install it and check it out. nUI is bold, in your
face, and will transform your screen into something unrecognizable from
the standard Blizzard interface.

Loaded with cool goodies and
more information than any one user can process this U.I. leaves nothing
out. A black bar is placed at the bottom of the user’s screen
containing things such as chat, mini-map, action bars, health and mana,
target, and my absolute favorite, a full map of the zone. Just above this
on the left are the player’s buffs and debuffs with the
player’s bags found on the right. Moving to the top of the
screen the player will find their
menu, and performance stats.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/184006"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 600px; height: 338px;"
alt="nUI Screenshot"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/184006">

nUI is perfect for those who
don't mind sacrificing some screen space for a wealth of information.

The main attraction, however, is
the magnificent HUD found directly in the center of the screen. The
player can change this HUD to show a variety of stats of the player
and/or the player's target. This feature should especially appeal to
players who love to have vital information in an easy to view location.
For those of you considering downloading this mod please note that
because of the massive amounts of information provided this add-on
draws anywhere from 6 to 12MB of memory which can be quite a drain on
some computers.

While this add-on certainly
wasn’t for me thanks to the large area of screen it takes up,
it will appeal to players who like a little more substance on their
screen and don’t mind sacrificing their view for some cool
features.

Download
nUI at [ href="http://wow.curse.com/downloads/wow-addons/details/nui.aspx"
target="_blank">curse.com].

LUI Review

LUI is possibly one of the best
looking U.I packages I have seen in a long time, and after trying it
out I even decided to keep it as my very own to love and
squeeze until eventually its eyes pop out. LUI is clean, simple, and
best of all works as soon as it is installed. Making use of Omen,
Recount, and Grid, LUI gives the player what I consider to be the full
add-on experience.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/184005"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 600px; height: 338px;"
alt="LUI Screenshot"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/184005">

LUI is functional, easy to
use, and has tons of visual appeal.

Players will find information
regarding their latency, combat info, bag space, and other important
tidbits including their user menu placed in a neat bar found the top-most portion of the screen. Buffs are located on the left directly
beneath this bar while the mini map resides on the right. On the bottom
players will find another custom interface to hold their main action
bars, character health and mana, chat, and raid frames. Another set of
bars in a retractable menu is also available on the right side of the
screen and yet another set can be turned on for the left.

LUI is good looking, easy to
use, and I guarantee if you try it you are very likely to fall in love
with it. If you are willing to download just one U.I.
package…make this the one.

Download
LUI at [ href="http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info14130-LUIv3.html"
target="_blank">wow interface.com].

ShestakUI

ShestakUI is exactly what
creator Shestak claims it to be, “a modular, lightweight,
all-in-one overhaul for the World of Warcraft interface.”.
With no frills about it Shestak manages to take the frumpy looking
Blizzard U.I., clean it up, yet still manage to look like something
that could have possibly come right out of the game box.

Users will find that all the
most important information is centered in the player’s view
near the bottom center of the screen with the action bars, mini map and
other less used information such as latency, experience, and time and
date being moved to the far bottom left of the screen. ShestakUI is
truly the dream of U.I. minimalists
everywhere.

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/184064"> style="border: 0px solid ; width: 600px; height: 338px;"
alt="ShestakUI Screenshot"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/184064">

ShestakUI...for the simple at
heart.

Don’t think that
simple means that Shestak is lacking options. While not as numerous as
other U.I.s out there Shestak allows enough adjustments to
be made to allow the player to create a special in game experience that
can be tailored to each individual character. The icing on the cake?
ShetakUI self installs and there is no tweaking needed to be able to
jump in and play.

Download
ShestakUI at [ href="http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info19033-ShestakUI.html"
target="_blank">wowinterface.com].

Have an excellent U.I. package
you would like to share with me? Or would you like to share your
experiences with one of the packages mentioned above? Feel free to do
so in the comment section below!