Raid frames are the central core of any healer. It’s the command center by which lifesaving decisions are made. There are many different unit frame options at your disposal. I started off my healing career using CT Raid. I moved on to XPerl. During the tail half of Burning Crusade, I made the jump to Pitbull. A few weeks ago I landed on VuhDo (Ithato’s fault, I assure you).
I’m not here to tell you which raid frames are better than others. That’s a subjective choice that comes with time.
Among various UI screenshots, I see players with raid frames tucked in corners or off to the side. I used to be such a player as well.
So what changed? I was dying to fires. I was standing in void zones a second too late. I would get hit by fire walls.
I was suffering from healer tunnel vision. At first I thought I could compensate by just being faster. Dart your eyes around the screen quicker and watch the environment for warning signs, I frequently scolded myself.
Yes I was getting better at dodging eye beams and other abilities. But not enough to make me happy. By having my raid frames on the side, my eyes were focused on them during the majority of the boss fights.
That’s what it looked like to me. I’d stay sharp and focused on my frames but I didn’t have the peripheral vision to catch everything on the side. I decided to change it up and place my frames directly in the middle below my character.
Everything converges onto the middle where my character is. My reflex time did not change. But what happened was that I discovered my ability to notice, adapt, and react to various environmental cues increased.
I have become much happier as a result. Everything important begins at the middle and radiates outward from high priority (health, frames) to low priority (Omen, buffs, spells).
Examples
Omen‘s at the bottom left. It’s mostly used as a reference at this point.
Elkano’s Buff Bars is on the far side. There’s a huge contrast between buffs and debuffs. If I start noticing red debuffs, I can shoot it a quick glance. The color’s enough to stand out and alert me accordingly.
Bartender 4 is set up along the bottom which is how Spartan UI has it (Not updated yet as the map’s still on the top right).
Don’t worry, I’ll feature my UI sometime soon enough. Consider this post a quick tease!
Found a cool addon? Want to share a UI tip? In the mood to contribute a guest post? Have some ideas for future posts? Feel free to 
Whoops! Love it when the images don’t properly upload with the post. Fixed! Full sized too!
Interesting post Mattycus! I’m still using the classic interface + healbot. I find myself constantly adjusting row & column height, and moving the window all over the place as buffs start stacking underneath my raid bars. The reason I’ve kept it on the left is so that 1) I can still see my character, and 2) My raid bars don’t overlap the action (there seems to be a calmer background on the sides than directly in front, especially in close corridors like certain halls in naxx).
Certainly open to trying something like this though. I’m interested in hearing more about your UI. Have you used Healbot? How does it stack up against VuhDo or the others?
@Etni: Nope, I am firmly against the use of HealBot. I don’t like it at all and I would never use it. I’ve seen it in action and I’ve seen healers turn into headless chickens without knowing what to do when Healbot fails. It’s like they forget how to heal entirely. But that’s just me. If HealBot works out for you, far be it from me to tell you what you should be using. Use addons that you are comfortable with and that you believe will help your playing ability.
My raid frames aren’t exactly smack in the middle. They’re right below my Dwarf so it allows me some semblance of visibility.
So what is it that makes other addons more appealing? Wouldn’t it be true that if another addon failed, you would be equally screwed? I haven’t used anything else, and it sounds like there might be ample reason to switch. Maybe I’ll go check out VuhDo if you recommend it? Do you know of any good articles on this topic? It’s nice the way you have your raid bars positioned. And what are the elliptically shaped bars that surround your character?
FEED ME SEYMOUR! :D
Your story is very similar to the progression of my own UI. I played a rogue originally and never once looked at raid frames. In fact, my friends teased me that I had DPS tunnel vision and often died while taking on groups of mobs because I just didn’t even look at my health bar (this is way back when I used the default UI as well with the faaaar away nameplates). Once I switched to my healer main, however, my UI was in more constant flux as I really hammered out my needs and aesthetics. Finally ended up with Grid in the center with my player, focus, target and tot frames situated around it. My reaction to the environment around me really improved once I realized I should be centralizing the frames I was having staring matches with.
Your point is very important for all healers, imo. If any healer is modding their UI in anyway, finding a way to centralizing their raid frames will make their lives so much easier. Though I can foresee having a bit of a problem if they are dealing with limited screen real estate, even just improving upon the raid frame placement can be a life saver (literally!).
I do not think I would ever be willing to put my raid frames back on the side of my screen. I do very much feel that by having them in the bottom center I am better able to see what is going on around me.
Now for a question….
How is using VuhDo any different from using Healbot? Mind you I’ve only briefly tried both, I’m a Grid user, but I just did not see much difference. I think that VuhDo is more customizable, but other than that it is the same. Both are compact unit frames that display a lot of information in a small space. Both allow you to assign heals to various mouse clicks. Grid is the same only I have to get another add on if I choose to assign my heals to mouse clicks. Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems to me a person could be just as dependent on VuhDo as on Healbot or Grid/Clique.
What are the bars that arc around your character? Is that your character’s health/mana bar? What mod is it?
I’m been moving my Grid closer to the center for some fights and it has helped with my situational awareness. I’m definitely going to try placing it below my character now.
@Debby That is probably IceHUD. Look at it on curse
@Ayslin: It’s just a matter of personal preference. I’ve just seen players completely hampered by the absence of HealBot which gave me a negative stigma of the addon. Is VuhDo any different? I might get the same impression if VuhDo was substituted instead of Healbot. I think that any healer SHOULD be able to heal with any set of raid frames at the drop of a hat. Pitbull, VuhDo, Xperl, PerfectRaid, whatever. I’ve seen players effortlessly switch between 2 or more of those and pick it up instantly.
But HealBot? For whatever reason, I’ve noticed that some players rely exclusively on it. I suspect it may have something to do with clickcasting. Personally I rely on 10 or so different keystrokes/combinations to heal. I don’t know. I wish I had a real tangible theory, but I can’t say for certain what it is that turns me away. Regardless, if you like using HealBot by all means keep using it. It’s just not something I personally would use.
@Debby: The arc that encompasses my character is called a HUD (Heads Up Display). Saberus was close. The one I’m currently using is called DHUD. I wrote a quick post on HuDs earlier in the year: http://www.nostockui.com/2009/03/4-popular-heads-up-displays/
@Etni: Start with these threads on Plus Heal for VuhDo.
Manual: http://www.plusheal.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2047
Other VuhDo discussion: http://www.plusheal.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1677
The second thread has active participation and the creator of VuHDo engages with the players himself.
I’d be a terrible healer if I tried to keep my raid frames (Grid!) to the side. It just makes so much more sense to have everything follow your line of vision–and in a raid, that tends to basically be right up the middle. So less important stuff to the sides, and more important things (raid frames, your health and mana, your target’s health, boss warnings, a popup to tell you when special abilities activate or come off CD) layered up the middle.
I’ll forever swear by Grid + Keybound mouseover macros, especially when I’m raid or spot healing.
Ok. I was just wondering why you seemed to hate just one of them. I personally did not like Grid and cannot even say why. I did not like the way information was displayed I suppose. On the other hand I love Grid., but I do think I could switch to other unit frames if I needed to. In fact I actually have AGuF raid set up so that all I need to do is turn it on if Grid ever quit on me. I set this up mid raid during trash pulls as half my Grid stopped showing up for some reason. Did a little tweaking later. They are not Ideal, I prefer Grid, but they are there if needed.
LOL I meant I did not like Healbot. Oops! :)
I’ve actually been doing this for years and I have posted my UI to WoWinsider for the reader UI of the week and never made it on there. Shame shame.
*gets motion sickness from Matt’s swirly effect*
That’s not tunnelvision man, that’s “my monitor is spining out of control!”
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Having my raid frames in the center of the screen is really crucial for my healing performance. For a long time I raided with my raid frames just at the right side of my char, this worked pretty good as well. Especially because it was really on the right side of my toon, not somewhere in a corner.
Because remember guys:
Your peripheral view is excellent. Up and Down, not so much. If you have important things at the very bottom or top of your screen, this will in most cases require some eye movement. Important flashing bars in your peripheral view you might very well notice even when looking at the center of your screen.
And on another note: Having my healing frames at the right side of my healer works perfect. On the left side, not at all. I guess that must be because I’m a right hander.
My centralized healing UI:
http://i40.tinypic.com/hwel50.jpg
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You know, I did try this when revamping my UI… and it made my screen feel so unbalanced. Like, my unitframes and buttons were fine but then I couldn’t figure out for the life of me where to put my chatlog. (I don’t use two frames for it, like you do.) I also don’t have a lot of screen space because I’m on a laptop, so I try to stay as minimal as possible.
In any case, I’ve always had my Grid on the right-hand side of my screen, towards the bottom. That’s where my mouse constantly hovers for click heals.
[...] Hint: Compare it with the images from this post. [...]
sweet UI! :) looks damn good! was definitely teased by this :p can’t wait for your post discussing your UI in-depth, want to incorporate some elements of yours into mine :)
I’m also just learning the value of de-cluttering my screen and keeping important info right below my toon.
Can’t look at the screenshots on the page here. The motion blur makes my eyes cry.
Matt! I’ve been staring at that image for hours trying to decipher which mods you’re using but it’s giving me a terrible headache. I don’t think I can wait any longer for you to explain your UI. Can you give a brief explanation? Possibly a list of addons I can download and a non-radial-blurred image I can use as reference, just to get me started. I too play a priest and change up my UI at least once a week because of the problems you described.
Please!
Nick
75 Priest, Crushridge
@Nick: It’s coming soon to an addon blog near you.
I’m a healbot user and have had no issues with it. I dont have any raid frames but drag the icons for MT and OT from the Blizzard Raid UI.
I’ve always had it centred though and I’m confused as to why someone would have it any other way.
Yes, Healbot is click-casting but tring to remember a range of different key combos and find a target in a ten man let alone a 25 man is my idea of hell .
That might say more about me as a player than anything else , lol!
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Thanks Matticus. I’ll be looking forward to your post about full UI setup. Any chance you’ll make a package of addons/WTF files for quick and easy adoption? Copying is the sincerest form of flattery :)
Keep up the great work here and @ WoM!
Regards,
–Jas
This is the kind of simplicity I have trying to work towards. I like minimalist UIs.
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo16/thedoctorr/NewUIa.jpg
There is more hideen things there than it seems.
However this is what I currently use in raids. But the idea is to clean this further to make the first screenshot useable.
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo16/thedoctorr/RaidyRaid.jpg
Good work on this blog by the way, it was just what people needed when it started up a few months ago. Keep it up;.
EDIT SO SORRY!!
The first link is meant to be this :
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo16/thedoctorr/ClosedUI1.jpg
I have a question.
What is the name of the addon in the picture that shows the raid frames? it looks very cool and handy, and very easy to work with.
@Whitepriest:
Last I knew, and I think it’s even mentioned in the first paragraph, Matt’s using VuhDo, as do I. It’s very actively developed and the author maintains a constant presence in this forum thread.
WHOA, blur effect made me dizzy/bugged out XD lmao.
Whats weird is that I’ve been doing the Center thing for a long time, especially throughout BC. But lately I’ve preferred my raid frames on the left side?? I’m not sure why but I still have them close enough that it doesn’t hinder my fire jumping too much ;)
I’ve had bad experiences with Healbot users in the past as well; the addon used to be very different though. It doesnt seem as bad as it used to be, but it’s just not my preference anyway :)
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Putting my Grid under my character changed my life as a healer.
I levelled a little druid recently and when beginning to run instances in Northrend, I kept dying and wiping my group. The very day I draged Grid from the side to the bottom, just under my casting bar, noone die anymore.
So definiely, this is the right spot to put your raid frames as a healer.
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Regarding centering, has anyone else ran into issues with DBM alerts or the healing cast bar intruding in your raid bars? What has been your solution?
My girlfriend left me because of this game!! Someone help me!!!! i need help!!!
When I started raiding I downloaded Healbot on another raider’s suggestions and have been relatively happy with it up to a point. However, to Etni’s last point, it does require moving things around when DBM alerts or boss life-bars (like Freya or the Four Horsemen) start cluttering up the screen, so while I’m not *unhappy* with it, I’ve been toying with the idea of rethinking my overall UI strategy.
Which is where your post comes in so handily, Matt. Thanks for the info and I look forward to seeing your UI post at a later date!
I use Healbot in a the same location, underneath my character. My own cast bar seems to be the only item sitting in the way, but Bartender helps clear up a lot of screen space. Healbot definitely has an out-of-the-box appeal with many sensible defaults and obvious basic options. This aspect may just draw a disproportionate amount of mind-numb, addon dependent healers. It has plenty of deeper features, but Grid and VuhDo seem to encourage more customization.
I had issues with positioning, like Etni mentions, but I discovered a few useful features. I have the Healbot UI anchored on the bottom right and the frames sectioned by raid group. This limits the height of the UI to 5 bars usually and lets it expand to the left. The “My targets” list let me section off my tank targets for easy visibility.
If all addons broke then I could pull out the raid frames to be below my character and hotkey my heals again. But I would be a much more conservative healer and I would definitely not be able to target swap or raid heal as well as I can with an addon.
[...] saw great discussions of healer UIs over at Restokin as well as No Stock UI, where Matticus has strong anti-Healbot feelings. There was also the unpleasant side of cluttered [...]
[...] habe festgestellt, dass ich gerade beim Heilen den von Matticus angesprochenen Tunnelblick habe: Ich schaue vorallem in meine obere linke Ecke, weil sich da das Wichtigste für mich [...]
I agree with this completely. I kept dying to void zones in OS3D and finally figured out I needed to move my unit frames from the left side to the center of the screen (I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out sooner but I love pretty UIs and moving the raid frames kind of messed that up). It fixed all my problems and I can’t recommend it enough.
It’s been almost two weeks with no update. =(
I’m not sure what you meant by soon (either weeks or months), but I was hoping for something to use while you write up the complete post.
Nick
(Newly) 80 Priest – Crushridge
Even when I first started healing with Healbot a long time ago, I had the frame in the middle of the screen faded out so I could react faster and take everything in without my eyes having to dart all around the screen. Only problem was that Healbot always extended vertically rather than horizontally no matter how I tried configuring it. The frame thus blocks my line of vision. Though I see those fire walls darn well.. I’d die to void zones.
Then after I got myself a new laptop and with it, a much larger screen real estate, I swapped out to using Grid/X-perl and had it postioned at the bottom middle and had other monitors on the sides and top of the screen. Now, I know I see everything; even the idiot who stands in mimi’s rockets. Then, I yell on vent. =)
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Hi, I just wanted you to know that the simple fix for SpartanUI’s minimap issue is to install a 3rd party minimap mod (SexyMap, Chinchilla, BasicMinimap, SimpleMinimap, etc) and move the map manually.
Putting your raid frames on the bottom of your character is still suboptimal because relevant boss animations, emotes, and boss mod inforemation is usually near the top of the screen, I guess because that’s where the dps is looking. So personally I have my grid (configured to be very small but informative) about an inch to the right of my character. It works far better for situational awareness as far as I’m concerned.
I have come to completely agree with you about centering below and around my toon useful data that I want to see during an encounter. My own UI is under constant revision, but it’s at a place right now that I really like. A few months ago I tried my hand at writing a character management guide for my guildies, entitled At The Top Of Your Game and found at:
http://aegis.wowstead.com/forums/thread/89
The last section of the guide deals with a healer’s UI and talks about mine, and I thought I’d link it here in the hope that someone might find it useful.
http://aegis.wowstead.com/gallery/9
You can see that my latest UI revisions have been all about centering info around my toon. Thanks!
[...] did a post similar to this in the past, but I do want to build upon [...]