This is a four part series examining the UIs of the four tanking classes. The goal is to share with you what’s relevant to these guys and what they deem expendable on their interfaces. Tanking’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

NSUI: First, some introductions!

Andaris: My name is David. Andaris is my level 80 Death Knight tank. I’m both the guild and raid leader for The Grey Order on Moonrunner. I’m also the co-host of a new World of Warcraft guild leadership podcast which can be found here! We’re an exclusive 10 man guild that’s cleared out Anub’rekan the night he was out. We’re still working on Yogg.

NSUI: Alright, so you’re a Death Knight tank. Did you have any other experiences with other tanking classes?

Andaris: Yeah, I have a level 80 druid who tanked in Burning Crusade and is tanking 10 mans in Wrath.

Click to go full size

NSUI: From a user interface perspective, what type of mentality did you have going in when customizing your DKs UI?

Andaris: I used to run IceHUD and stuff, but I got to a point where it was starting to interfere with my primary function. The way a lot of HUDs are set up, sometimes clicking on a mob behind the HUD frame bugs out, and I have had a few instances where I wasn’t able to target a mob to taunt it. That sort of experience led me to what I have now, which is “minimalist”.

NSUI: What do you mean by minimalist?

Andaris: The simplest way of explaining it is this: I need to know the state of the raid, what my threat looks like, and I need DBM. Those are essential. So I start with the vital utilities that I must have to perform my job. Then I add things that make me a better tank. I don’t add anything that is duplicative, or pretty, or doesn’t serve my main purpose. Keeping my screen clear of clutter gives me a better view of the “action” and that’s vital for a tank, and even moreso for a raid leader.

Some of my UI, you just can’t see. Mik’s scrolling combat text is huge. Also, I have sound alerts configured for different levels of health so I know when to pop potions and healthstones. Those don’t flash warnings, but I hear them.

Taking that off of the screen and putting it in my headphones frees up space, but keeps the information that I need flowing in.

NSUI: So as a tank then, what type of visual elements do you absolutely need to know? Or as a Death Knight rather?

Andaris: Tanking Blood is a unique beast. I can heal myself for 5-7k every 5 seconds if I’m smart, but I have less avoidance than, say, Frost. If I want to be a good tank (and that means doing everything I can to ease the load on my healers), I have to know my resource system. I have to have my runes in front of me at all times, and my runes are the most central thing on my screen. In fact, they’re the only thing in the middle of my screen 100% of the time. That’s of principle importance. Mob health is only relevant as it relates to phases, so I leave that where the standard UI puts it. Minimalism means a lot of prioritization. The data I need most, I keep closest. Other visual’s I need include raid health and aggro, and I use Grid and Omen for these. They’re side by side, and I’m always watching for people to light up with Aggro on the Grid bar.

The last thing in a lot of fights are debuffs. I use Elkano’s buff bars, it’s the blue thing on the left below my raid frame, and it’s great. Debuffs show up larger than the buffs, and they’re Red, and have the number. So for Gormok I glance over and see “Impale x3″ and I know it’s time to switch.

Then DBM with it’s timers. Aside from that, the game gives you most of the information you need. See that fire? That’s the ultimate UI.

NSUI: You have raid frames on your screen. I know some tanks don’t. Why did you include frames in yours?

Andaris: I can see why tanks wouldn’t. I think I have it there because I’m also RL Actually, that’s the only information that’s duplicated, because I look at those two spots a lot, and I like to have it close to both. Primarily I keep it because, as RL, I need to know when someone dies. If I’ve got someone on add duty and they die, I want to know who else is up so I can change the assignment.

NSUI: Alright, we’re almost done. Just a few more questions to go. What’s the most useful addon for you?

Andaris: Runewatch — If you’re a Death Knight and you don’t have this or something very similar, you’re doing it wrong, in a very fundamental way. I have tanked Ulduar with no rune frame whatsoever, but you shouldn’t ever!

NSUI: Least favourite tanking fight in the game?

Andaris: Faction Champions is the worst fight in the game, but you don’t really tank it, so…Mimiron, Phase 1 and Phase 4, are pretty obnoxious.

NSUI: Favourite fight to tank in the game?

Andaris: Northrend Beasts or General Vezax. Like Mimiron, these fights have some diverse mechanics, but they’re a little bit less punishing if you’re not completely precise.

NSUI: Finish this line. Nerf _____.

Andaris: Paladins. I run with a Pally Tank and it’s just silly, he doesn’t take damage!

NSUI: Most important aspect of tanking?

Andaris: Situational awareness: Veneretio from the Tanking Tips podcast has said, “If you die with cooldowns up, you failed as a tank” and I think that’s true. You need to be aware of when to pop them, you need to be aware of what needs taunting and when, of where to position mobs so your raid doesn’t have to move and isn’t exposed to tail swipes, of where your healers are and where they’re going to be, of when to trigger cooldowns and when to take the hit on the chin…You need to know everything, and act on it immediately with confidence. I guess that’s a broad answer. ;)

NSUI: Cool! Final thoughts?

Andaris: Yeah, one more thing I want to mention. When creating your UI, the most important thing is having access to the information you need. That may be different for each class or encounter. Backup your UI folder. Think of 5 addons that you must have. Install them, configure them, and run a heroic. If you aren’t relying on one, remove it. If you must have another, add it. I think you’ll find that a lot of the things you think you need aren’t crucial, and you may find that something you didn’t think you really needed is vital. It pays to occasionally open up your toolbox, look through it, and throw out the ones you never use.

Thanks again Andaris!