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AddOns can be a tough nut to
crack for many MMOGs. Not only are there
typically numerous iterations on the same concept to choose from, but
it can also be a lengthy process to figure out whether or not one
version is necessarily better than the other without a fair amount of
trial and error. So much of the addon world is based on personal
playstyle that picking one as the best
is nearly
impossible.

Now certainly there are some
addons that are generally considered to be
better than others based on things such as having an author or team
that's dedicated to updating their creation. Other factors to
consider are things like how customizable the addon is by the end user,
or if it's bundled into a package full of non-essentials that
you'll never end up wanting or needing.

Some players might prefer
addons that allow you to customize everything
from the look and feel of the UI right down to altering its base
functionality. Others just want a few simple options and would rather
not get overwhelmed by installing a complicated beast of UI elements
that each need to be updated or tweaked with every
minor patch to hit
the live servers. Still others just want to add in pictures of their My
Little Pony collection, but those people tend to need the kind of help
that falls a bit beyond the functionality that addons typically
provide.

Considering that href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom">Runes
of Magic
is less than a year old it's
impressive that there are already some 300 plus addons available for
the game. To help save you some of the trouble of weeding through so
many options to pick out the handful of gems, Ten Ton Hammer has done
some of the legwork for you. We've put together a list of our
top picks to get you started on your way towards UI nirvana in RoM.

While each of the projects
listed below are functional
and current with the most recent build of the game at the time of this
writing, be aware that addon projects are often abandoned with little
or no
warning. Also, be sure to follow the author's installation
instructions for the best results, and always check for updates
whenever a sizable patch hits the live servers to keep the game running
smoothly.

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StatRating

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78344" target="_blank"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" alt="StatRating"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/78344">

The best addons will often make
the life of the player easier while
remaining somewhat transparent. In other words, they provide an
excellent benefit without adding tons of crazy charts, graphs and
pictures of unicorns all over the screen so that you can focus on
actually playing the game rather than looking at a custom Excel
spreadsheet that so many of the larger addon packages devolve into.

Case in point: StatRating. This
little gem essentially takes the core
stats shown on an item's tooltip and adds details on the
attribute benefits you gain from it. You can also opt to compare
attribute gains (or losses) between new items and those you currently
have equipped. This may sound somewhat familiar for those of you who
have grown accustomed to the same type of functionality in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of
Warcraft,
though StatRating one-ups the WoW UI by automatically showing
you the added info such as the gains to Magical Damage or Mana Points
by increasing your Intelligence by X amount.

• Pros:
  Easy to set up and
  use, players can pick and choose which stats they want to have appear
  on tooltips.




• Cons:
  While StatRating has
  an English version, many of the update notes can be a bit difficult to
  understand due to the sometimes wonky translations.




• Where to Get it:
  Details and
  downloads for StatRating can be found href="http://rom.curse.com/downloads/rom-addons/details/statrating.aspx">here.

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Inventory Viewer

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78343" target="_blank"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" alt="Inventory Viewer"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/78343">

If you're anything like me, you
horde giant piles of stuff on
each of your characters and eventually hit a point where you have a
hard time keeping track of which character has which stuff. What
follows is the joyous process of logging each character in and out
until you discover which one has that awesome +10 Dirty Hair Monster
Basher of Doom you're looking for.

Along comes Inventory Viewer to
save the day and give you an excellent
tool which allows you to see what each of your characters has stuffed
into their inventories and even their storage space, and all in one
handy interface. A must have for all of you nutty players out there
that like to keep track of all of your in-game spoils before they reach
their expiration date and become spoiled. Download it, install it, love
it. Trust me, your House Fairy will thank you for it.

• Pros:
  Easy instillation, can
  display information across multiple characters or accounts.




• Cons:
  As an organizational
  tool, don't expect Inventory Viewer to radically alter the
  way you interact with the game during combat. While the latest
  build is generally stable, some users have reported bugs in certain
  instances such as owning two of the exact same container within a
  single character's house.




• Where to get it:
  Details and
  downloads for Inventory Viewer can be found href="http://rom.curseforge.com/addons/goochiv/">here.

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Healbot

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78342" target="_blank"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" alt="Healbot"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/78342">

Let's face it, people who enjoy
playing healers in
MMOGs have an unnatural obsession with seeing little colored bars move
back and forth. Their goal: keep the colored bars pushed towards the
right side while the game's AI does its best to shove them to
the left as quickly as possible. But don't let my inability
to comprehend the inner workings of the healer's psyche fool
you. Healing is an intense job and more often than not
requires more skill and coordination to do properly than just about any
other role in groups.

Healbot attempts to make the
life of a healer a little bit
easier. By adding in some more details on party member's
health bars and providing you with a set of hotkeys that will cast
heals on specific party members, this simple addon can take the
daunting task of healing and make it much more manageable.

• Pros:
  Slick at-a-glace
  interface elements and handy hotkey additions




• Cons:
  Stops short of adding
  any auto-cast features, but then again, if you need an addon to go that
  far for you then why are you playing a healer in an MMOG in the first
  place?




• Where to get it:
  Details and
  downloads for Healbot can be found href="http://rom.curseforge.com/addons/healbot/">here.

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pbInfo

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78345" target="_blank"> style="width: 200px; float: right;" alt="pbInfo"
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/78345">

Last but certainly not least we
have an addon that takes things in the
opposite direction of those listed above by bundling a number of
different functions into a single package. Some of the main features of
pbInfo include: ThreatMeter, QuestTracker, BloodBars, ChatLog,
ChatFrame and CastingBar, with additional tooltip info thrown into the
mix as well. Many of the included tools will build upon or improve the
base functionality of specific UI elements. For example BloodBars (have
to love that name) will add in actual HP amounts on health bars. Other
elements such as ThreatMeter will provide the ever essential threat
ranking in groups by listing threat levels from highest to lowest.

• Pros:
  Seamlessly integrates
  with the native UI, windows can be moved and set to allow
  click through, allows the end user a high degree
  of control over which elements to make active




• Cons:
  Bundled addon packages
  tend to be the most difficult to maintain by both the author and end
  user as each major patch can require a fair amount of updating to
  resolve new bugs that crop up.




• Where to get it:
  Details and
  downloads for pbInfo can be found href="http://rom.curseforge.com/addons/pbinfo/">here.

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Stay tuned for the next episode
of Ten Ton Hammer's magical
Runes of Magic UI extravaganza, in which we'll be diving
headfirst into the wacky world of macros. Because really, playing an
MMOG with its native hotkey configuration is so
2008.

If you're new to Runes
of Magic and looking to get a
handle
on the basics, then be sure to check out our href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/classes">class
guides portal which
provides an introductory look at each of the 8 available classes as
well as some excellent guides to help you get started on the process of
picking which secondary class is best for you!