World of Warcraft Midnight stamps out combat mods, but DBM is ready to adapt

World of Warcraft Midnight is taking a firm stance against combat mods in its first alpha, which has just gone live. The new update disables access to basically any combat-related information for the purposes of addons, preventing some of the most beloved tools such as WeakAuras and Deadly Boss Mods from offering the functionality they've brought to the MMORPG for many years. In a video responding to the changes, the creator of DBM explains what this could mean for players in the long term, and also assures that the tool "isn't going anywhere," even if it has to adapt in order to survive.

We've long ranked Deadly Boss Mods (typically just known as 'DBM') as one of the best WoW addons. In fact, we go one step further, calling it "essential" for anyone looking to raid. Its mechanics callouts and timers make sure you can keep on top of everything the toughest bosses have to throw your way, making it easy to coordinate with your team in the chaos. This long-time arms race between fight designers and mod creators has finally come to a head in the new World of Warcraft expansion, however, with Blizzard finally ripping the bandaid off and attempting to bolster its own UI to do the job instead.

DBM's creator Adam 'MysticalOS' Williams talks through the changes as they appear now in the video above. "Even as the author of DBM, I've said that the base UI has not been accommodating enough and has led to the situation where addons have become mandatory, because the base UI does not provide sufficient combat information for what's going on." He says that, in principle, he's happy with the changes Blizzard is making to improve the clarity of fight mechanics and interactions to replace combat addons.

Speaking with Wowhead, game director Ion Hazzikostas says, "I just want to super clarify, a lot of the shorthand here has been like, 'Oh, Blizzard's killing WeakAuras.' That is not what we are doing." He explains that the new system puts certain "secret values" in a box. "The UI and addons can know that box exists, they can display information about it […] but what they can't do is know definitively what's inside that box and run any kind of logic based on it."

Hazzikostas reiterates, "The goal specifically is just to restrict that problem-solving, real-time computation that's used to aid moment-to-moment combat and do the least possible damage to every other addon that millions of people use and enjoy." Instead, the team plans to design encounters "so that all information required to use abilities with intention is available in the interface."

Williams, however, says the initial changes overshoot the mark. "What's not okay is that in alpha one, they're going way, way beyond breaking just combat addons, they're breaking a lot more." Referring to a Blizzard document about the current implementation of API adjustments shared with mod creators, he says the ramifications could be rather far-reaching. "Anything I discuss here is subject to change, and hopefully it will change because the first iteration is very bad."

Along with the expected restriction on combat logs, WoW Midnight also treats chat messages as 'secret values' while in an instance, meaning that addons will not be able to read from chat or send communications to other players. Williams calls this a "disastrous change" that could break out-of-combat break timers, note sharing, durability and latency checks, and loot addons such as RCLootCouncil.

"I suspect that Blizzard's changes are extreme on purpose," Williams continues. "It's a good negotiating tactic: if you play hardball to begin with, but then make concessions right away, it makes the negotiation appear more friendly." As such, he suggests that this heavy-handed "thermonuclear war" approach is a smart way to start, and that we could see gradual rollbacks to certain restrictions as the pre-launch testing continues.

However things pan out, Williams doesn't intend to stop working on his creation. "DBM isn't going anywhere in Midnight," he writes via social media. "It'll just be shaped around the kind of game Blizzard wants in Midnight. Our goal is merely to help shape the best game for everyone through communication and feedback." The account for Weakauras, meanwhile, says it will "post a statement about the future of Weakauras once we have more details and [have] talked about it among the team."

If you're not taking part in the Midnight alpha, here are more of the best fantasy games to try, along with the best multiplayer games on PC right now.

Do these changes make you excited for more engaging encounters once again, or are you an addon enthusiast who's worried for the future of WoW? Let us know your thoughts via our community Discord server, where you can chat with staff and readers.