In Defense of Action Bars
So, there hasn’t really been a lot for me to write about in terms of good UI’s, so I’m going to turn to a much less popular feature and beat everyone over the head with my thoughts on UI layout and customization. I’d like to start with action bars, since they’re typically the first thing to go in any UI, and I think they have a lot of value which is replicated in other addons where it’s truly not necessary. This is a picture of one of my action bars, using the mod Dominos by Tuller, the Caith skin with Button Facade by jjSheets, OmniCC by Tuller, and RedRange by Iriel (although RedRange is not displayed in the image).
I thought I’d go through this systematically, explaining why ABs are generally superior to their alternatives, with unique reasons why they are preferable.
The Basics
The basic reason to keep your ABs visible is to answer one question: “x skill, can I use it?” Some people may say that you should keep ABs visible to click, which I think is pretty much a load, but some people do that. Because I view clicking as less than optimal, and I’m trying to min-max my UI, I won’t address that issue any further than I already have.
There are several factors that influence if a skill can be used: conditional usage (i.e. overpower, execute, hammer of wrath), power requirements (the rage/mana/energy needed to use the skill), range limitations, and cooldowns. Because spell/skill usage is the cornerstone of the game, knowing when you can or cannot use a skill is absolutely important. I want to go through each one of these and talk about alternatives to the action bar, and why I think the action bar solution is superior. But first, let me tip my hand a little.
While each individual solution to skill conditionals may be “superior” in a vacuum, they are by no means superior in the aggregate. In other words, Action Bars are better at displaying all conditions for usability than the four alternatives combined. While it’s seductive to use the alternatives as your only means of information display, the total venture will be a net-loss for your playability. This comes with a caveat, which I will address at the end (I should really do teasers for television, what with my ability to tell you what I’m going to say without saying it!)
Conditional 1: Power
This is the most common of the four conditionals, especially if you’re playing a non-mana using class. If you don’t have the adequate rage/energy/mana, you cannot use the skill even if the other conditions are met. In the image I posted above, power is indicated by lightness of the icon – if the icon is dark, I cannot use the ability. The alternative display method is obviously your unitframes. At first glance, the unitframes are an attractive option for displaying power conditions, because you’re almost always looking at your unitframes during combat. However, they come with a significant drawback: they don’t actually tell you if you can use the skill, they simply give you the first piece of information you need to figure that out.
Now, this drawback is not nearly as bad as I make it out to be. Obviously any caster is going to be able to approximate the amount of mana needed to cast a spell, and the ONLY scenario that they would need the action bar for power-checking is in low mana situations. Rogues are also in a similar position, because energy gains are static outside of the occasional combat potency proc. Warriors, on the other hand, are a completely different story. Because warriors gain rage at a variable rate, depending on damage out and damage in, and are constantly draining their rage bar to near-zero, the icons are a much better “quick” reference than having to display rage numbers and dissect their meaning.
Conditional 2: Range
The case for range-checking on action bars is much easier than power, because spells have different ranges. PitBull’s range checking is great if you’re only casting one spell with a static range, but not if you want to cast multiple spells with a differing ranges. For example, on Aran an Elemental shaman would want to use their shock range as the deciding factor for range, while on Prince they would want to use lightning bolt at max range. Obviously the nuances in range can only be achieved by the AB, which can tell you the range on both.
Conditional 3: Conditions!
The alternative to condition notification is probably scrolling combat text. Since I’ve raided as a warrior more than anything else, I can attest to the level of annoyance at seeing “EXECUTE NOW” flash across my screen in the largest and redest letters imaginable. This method is fine for something like execute, because once you can use it one time you can continue to use it all the time. Revenge and overpower, on the other hand, require a constant monitoring for mob dodge. Of course you can see the same message over and over again, but the solution of icon highlighting on the action bars seems significantly more elegant.
Conditional 4: Cooldowns
Cooldown bars are stupid. There, I said it. Cooldown Buttons are even stupider. Action bars are always the better option here. First, they display the global cooldown, which is very very important for spammy classes like rogues. Second, you don’t have to play the “search the giant list for the one cooldown I need, only to find that it’s not there, but maybe you missed it” game. If rebirth is always 3rd over on AB, then you only look at the 3rd button and know immediately a) if it’s ready or b) how long you have to wait until it is. It also shows interrupts without spamming every skill you have in some ridiculous bar list.
lol, wut?
The point isn’t that conditionals on ABs are better than MSBT conditional announcements, because that ignores the added functionality of having everything you want to know about skill usage located in one place. That’s the key difference between having an awfully cluttered UI and one that gives the information you want succinctly and in an aggregate fashion. Just think about it: there is one determination you want to make – “can I use this skill?!” Does it make sense to look at 15 different places on your screen to determine that information? Hell no! It makes sense to look at once place on your screen and be done with it.
