Add-ons or mods as they are sometimes referred (short for modifications) are small programs created by your fellow players to enhance your
gaming experience in some way or another. Anyone can make them if they have enough time, patience, and perhaps just a tiny bit of skill. The challenge is creating something that will catch on, something that other players will actually take the time to download, and perhaps most importantly, will make a useful addition to game.
To do this you need to have a good grasp on what the World of Warcraft community is looking for in an add-on. But that is only the first hurdle. Even if you create a hot new add on, you must be ready to update and change it to continue to meet the ever-evolving demands of your fellow players. Not to mention the constant competition you will find from other similar add-ons that will undoubtedly be released in an attempt to steal your add-on’s place in the sun.
Thanks to all the factors mentioned above, and many more, add-ons ebb and flow like the tides. What is hot, new, and fresh now, may not be a week, or even a few days from now. So keeping yourself up to date on what add-ons are the “must haves” of the moment can be difficult. Below you will find five currently hot add-ons and their not-so-hot counterparts.
![]()
style="width: 129px; height: 55px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101108">Deadly
Boss Mods
![]()
style="width: 130px; height: 59px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101109"> Bigwigs
Bossmods
style="padding: 5px; width: 240px; float: right;">Deadly Boss Mods and BigWigs have been the two main contenders in the boss mod market for time untold. While Deadly Boss Mods had a good run when it was first released, BigWigs was able to pull into the lead. However, instead of letting the mod die out the creator of Deadly Boss Mods fought back with improvements that brought Deadly on par with BigWigs. Since then the two have waged a battle that it seemed neither could win.
Because of this stalemate the boss mod you chose to download as your own was left solely up to the player, or your guild’s preference. With the introduction of Patch 4.2 though, things have changed. While both boss mods are still usable and both are still excellent add-ons, it seems that Deadly Boss Mods has finally managed to gain an undeniable lead. According to the many players we've talked to, Deadly Boss Mods now offers
clearer, more concise boss notifications proving a better, and easier playing experience making Deadly Boss Mods the clear winner and
“hot” mod in this competition. At least for now.
![]()
style="width: 129px; height: 55px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101108">Omen
Threat
Meter
![]()
style="width: 130px; height: 59px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101109">
KLH Threat
Meter
style="padding: 5px; width: 250px; float: right;">Ah the memories. KLH was the first threat meter I ever used. Before the days of Blizzard’s in-game threat meter and when I still played on my
“home” server KLH was there fulfilling all my threat meter needs. Then Omen hit the scene. It was big, bad, easy to use, not
to mention more accurate, and chock full of options I had never even dreamed of. The rest is history. KLH never quite made a comeback and
seemingly faded into the background, forgotten by most. And while I’m sure there are still some die hard fans that may use KHL
out there somewhere, Omen is without a doubt where its at in the world of threat meters.
![]()
style="width: 129px; height: 55px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101108">Recount
![]()
style="width: 130px; height: 59px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101109">
SWStats
style="padding: 5px; width: 250px; float: right;">Much like the case mentioned above, SWStats was the first “big” damage meter widely used by WoW players everywhere (or at least every single WoW player I had ever talked to). It was awesome; I mean who doesn’t want to see the amazing damage or healing they are
doing? Sadly though SW would soon be going the way of KLH Threat Meter and going to that big add-on retirement home in the sky. The reason for
this was the introduction of a brand new damage meter known as Recount.
Recount not only gave a more accurate reading, but was significantly easier to use with many more options to choose from. To top this off
the makers of Recount continuously strove to make the add-on better, the most notable addition in my opinion being the ability to track the
amount of healing a Priest shield provided. Ultimately, poor KLH proved to be the not-so-hot add-on in this competition.
![]()
style="width: 129px; height: 55px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101108">Playerscore
![]()
style="width: 130px; height: 59px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101109">
Elitist Group
PlayerScore was previously the mod known as GearScore. When first created Gearscore’s basic function was to regurgitate a number based on a players gear and spew it forth to other players and from there you were to base your choice on how “good” a player was. Now we all know that knowing a players gear score is useful, however it is severely limited. So why did I give it the “Hot” ranking above? Let
me explain...
The new and improved GearScore, now known as PlayerScore, has been vastly improved. Not only can PlayerScore now perform the same
functions as Elitist Group by allowing other players to view a fellow player's complete raiding history, equipment layout, and what stats they
are gearing for, but the real icing on the cake comes in the form of player ratings. Here players can “rate” other players
based on their performance. A quick check here by a raid leader can easily prevent your raid from going sour. This is why in this battle
PlayerScore has earned my “Hot” rating.
![]()
style="width: 129px; height: 55px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101108">Grid
+ Clique
![]()
style="width: 130px; height: 59px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/101109">
Healbot
The ultimate challenge, Healbot vs. Grid combined with Clique. Both have their followers and both sides will defend their choices to the death. So why does Grid combined with Clique win in my book? It is true that Healbot is easy to use, and can allow a player to heal effectively. But the fact of the matter is Healbot is not all its cracked up to be. Healbot is set up so that it automatically chooses a spell, taking the decision
making totally out of the healer's hands. All a player has to do is
click and presto, Healbot will sort out the rest. To me this takes all
the thinking out of the game and therefore the fun, not to mention we
all know that relying on a computer instead of human instinct for answers
is not always the best choice.
This is why I have to give the “Hot” rating to Grid and Clique, while more difficult to set up the thinking is placed solely in the player's hands. Decisions are made based on hard earned experience that allow the player to decide when to use certain abilities and when to break from
tradition. Allowing a mod to play the game for me is just not my cup of tea.
Add-ons come in all shapes and sizes and there is something out there for everyone if you look hard enough. And some add-ons work better for some players than others. This means that even if your add-on of choice got a “Not” rating above remember, your own experiences and preferences may be vastly different so no matter what go with your gut and play with the add-ons you love!
Care to share your hot (or not so hot) add-ons? Let us know in the comments below!
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