WoW Forever addons: what still works, and what doesn't
WoW Forever runs on the modern engine, so addons can't read combat in real time. What still works, what changed, and what a guild should install before launch.
In this post
Addons work in WoW Forever, but in combat they see far less than in Classic. Forever runs on the modern (retail) engine, so addons can’t read the combat log during play, and health, power, auras and threat are hidden from them in combat. Loot messages, boss start and end signals, chat, names and death state still work, and the game still writes the combat log file for tools to read afterwards.
Works
- Loot messages. Who won what is still in chat, so loot trackers can record it.
- Encounter start and end signals. The game says when a boss pull starts and how it ends.
- XP and honor messages. Levelling and PvP trackers still have something to count.
- Addon messages. Addons can still talk to each other across the group.
- Names and death state. Who is in the group, and who died.
- Anything out of combat. Bags, maps, quest helpers, auction tools and interface layouts.
Changed
- Damage and healing meters. They can’t read the combat log live, so the numbers come from the combat log file after the fight, not from an addon during it.
- Boss mods. They lean on the encounter signals instead of reading every spell in the log. Deadly Boss Mods has said Forever has the same structure as Midnight.
- Combat logging. Still there as a file. Type
/combatlogand the game writes it for tools to read after play.
Doesn’t work
- Reading the combat log in real time. Not available to addons at all.
- Health, power, auras and threat in combat. Hidden from addons until combat ends.
- Classic-style in-game grading. Anything that scored players live from the log can’t run inside the game.
Does WoW Forever have addons?
Yes. WoW Forever loads addons from its own AddOns folder, like every other WoW client. What changes is what those addons are allowed to see once a fight starts.
Forever is Blizzard’s new version of the classic game, with its own zones, dungeons and the Skyborne race (see Wowhead’s overview of Forever’s features). Under the hood it runs on the modern game engine, not the Classic one. Addons follow that engine’s rules, and those rules are much stricter about combat.
We tested this on the beta from 17 September to 21 October, with our own addons running on it every evening. Everything below comes from that testing.
What can addons see in and out of combat?
Out of combat, addons see almost everything. In combat, they lose health, power, auras, threat and the live combat log, but keep loot, encounter signals, chat, names and death state.
The pattern is simple once you see it. Anything that tells an addon how a fight is going, second by second, is closed off. Anything that tells it what happened, a boss was pulled, a boss died, an item dropped, someone died, is still open.
Do damage meters work in WoW Forever?
Not as in-game addons the way they did in Classic. A meter needs to read every hit as it happens, and Forever doesn’t let addons read the combat log during play.
The game still writes the combat log to a file. Type /combatlog before a pull
and WoW records the fight to WoWCombatLog.txt in your game’s Logs folder. Tools
outside the game can read that file after you play. If your guild uses a log
site, check that it supports Forever before the first raid night, and agree who
turns logging on.
This matters less during levelling than it will on 9 December, when Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair open (per Wowhead’s raid overview). Settle your logging habit in dungeons, where a missed log costs nothing.
Will boss mods work in WoW Forever?
Deadly Boss Mods has said Forever uses the same structure as Midnight, the retail expansion. Boss mods on the modern engine work from the encounter signals the game gives them rather than from reading the whole combat log.
What each boss mod will do for Forever’s raids is for its authors to announce. The raid bosses themselves aren’t announced yet. Expect boss mod updates close to raid launch, and make “update your addons” part of the first raid night’s checklist.
Which addons should a guild agree on before launch?
Agree on three things: a boss mod, who logs combat, and how loot and attendance get recorded. Everything else, bags, maps and unit frames, is personal taste.
| What | Why it matters to the guild | When to sort it |
|---|---|---|
| A boss mod | Everyone hears the same warnings | Before the first raid, 9 December |
| Combat logging | Someone has to write the file | First guild dungeon night |
| Loot and attendance | The record of who was there and who got what | Launch week |
| Class addons | Personal, but check them on the first night | First week at 60 |
New classes and talents change what class addons need to track. Forever gives every class new skills and talents (Wowhead’s class guides), so a class addon from another version may show the wrong spells until it’s updated.
Which addons are unaffected?
Anything that works out of combat: bags, maps, quest helpers, auction tools and mail addons. These read the game when you’re not fighting, which Forever still allows. Forever has a newer auction house than the Classic clients, so auction addons built for Classic may need an update before they read it correctly.
Interface addons, such as unit frames and action bars, still load, but in combat they show what the game allows them to show. If your frames look empty during a pull, that’s the engine, not a broken install.
When should we install and update addons?
The weekend before 4 November, then again on launch day. The beta closes on 23 October, so whatever you tested there will be updated before launch. Launch evening is the worst time to find out an addon is broken.
Two habits save a lot of trouble on launch night:
- Quit the game completely after installing.
/reloadwon’t load a new addon, only a full restart will. - Turn off anything that errors. One broken addon can flood the screen with errors. Disable it from the AddOns button on the character screen, and check for an update the next day.
Blizzard’s dates for the next few months are on Wowhead’s Forever roadmap. Each content update is a moment to check your addons again.
What does the GuildPro addon record on Forever?
Boss pulls, kills, wipes, loot and who was in the raid at each pull. It reads those from the game’s encounter start and end signals and loot messages, which Forever still allows.
On Forever, the GuildPro addon records boss pulls from encounter signals and loot as on other versions. The PvP and world addons keep your records of kills, honor, mobs and distance. Because addons can’t read the combat log, the addon’s live event stream readout is hidden on Forever on purpose, and grading is worked out by the companion app from your combat log file after you play. What’s different in Forever has the details, and the free app at /download installs everything into the Forever client for you.
Setting it up takes a few minutes. Our guide to installing GuildPro for WoW Forever walks through it, and the launch-night plan for officers puts “addons installed” on the list for the weekend before.
Addons are one line on a longer list. The rest, from rulesets to raid nights, is in our WoW Forever guild checklist.
FAQ
Does WoW Forever have addons?
Yes. Forever loads addons like any other WoW client. It runs on the modern engine, so addons follow the modern rules: in combat they can't read the combat log, health, power, auras or threat.
Do damage meters work in WoW Forever?
Not as in-game addons the way they did in Classic, because addons can't read the combat log during play. The game still writes the combat log file with /combatlog, and tools can read that file after you play.
Will Deadly Boss Mods work in WoW Forever?
Deadly Boss Mods has said Forever uses the same structure as Midnight, the retail expansion. How each boss mod handles Forever's raids is for its authors to announce, and the raids don't open until 9 December.
Does the GuildPro addon work on WoW Forever?
Yes. It records boss pulls from the game's encounter signals and records loot as on other versions. Grading is worked out by the companion app from the combat log file. See what's different in Forever.