Although Blizzard has improved their out-of-the-box User Interface by a significant margin over the years, the search for more information and efficiency usually brings players to the wonderful world of addons and macros. While neither are necessary for healing in a dungeon or raid environment, the artful application of both can keep players informed about damage, about incoming effects and fight mechanics, about the status of their team, and about their own performance.

Unlike other sections of the Resto Guide, the following is based on my own personal preference (so there won’t be any charts or quantitative evaluations of optimal performance mods). The addons and macros listed here aren’t meant to be an exhaustive list, simply a sampling that I’ve tested over the past 5 years of play.

Add-ons & Resources

When I first started exploring the world of WoW add-ons, I was quite frankly, overwhelmed by the number of options out there for customizing and configuring how I saw the game world.  For new players and old players alike, finding the “right” add-on can be a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack, when you have no idea what the needle even looks like. So, when deciding on new add-ons to supplement my UI, the first thing I usually do is head over to a screenshot gallery on one of the WoW fansites and start perusing other players’ UIs. You can find some of these galleries at:

Once you have an idea of what you’d like to add to your UI, there are a couple main sites which you can visit to get the latest version of a mod. Do bear in mind that add-on authors tend to favor one site over another, so it’s likely that a mod might only be maintained on only one of the Add-on sites:

Popular download sites include:

Lastly, what follows are all of the mods that I’ve had experience using over my years of play. I am somewhat of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to add-ons, so if I find something that works well for me, I tend to stick to it unless absolutely forced to find a replacement. So, there may be other viable alternatives out there, I simply haven’t tried them.

Raid Frames

  1. Grid
  2. Vuhdo
  3. Healbot
  4. Pitbull
  5. Xperl
  6. Out-of-the-box raid frames (for starting healers, I actually think that Blizzard’s Raid Frames are a good starting point)

Healing functionality

  1. Clique
  2. Decursive
  3. Power Auras
  4. ClassTimer
  5. HotCandy
  6. Totemtimers
  7. Quartz

Information

  1. Recount
  2. Skada
  3. Omen
  4. OmniCC
  5. TipTac
  6. Buffalo
  7. Cael Nameplates
  8. Loggerhead

Boss Mods

  1. Big Wigs
  2. DXE (Deus Vox Encounters)
  3. DBM (Deadly Boss Mods)

Maps, Bags and Bars

  1. Chinchilla
  2. SexyMap
  3. Bagnon
  4. Bartender 4

Purely Aesthetic

  1. KGPanels
  2. Prat
  3. Button Facade

Macros

Since making the switch in BC from DPS to healing, I’ve actually found that the number of macros that I use to perform my raid role has actually decreased. Whereas as a mage I had focus, CC, assist targeting, spellsteal, and shield macros, on my healers I tend to only keep those commands that really contribute to an improvement in my gameplay. And since I like to keep things as simple as possible, that means … I don’t use many macros at all.

That being said, here are a few that I’ve found invaluable:

Earth Shield

#showtooltip Earth Shield
/focus [modifier:alt,@target]
/cast [@focus,noharm,exists] Earth Shield; [@focustarget,noharm,exists] Earth Shield; Earth Shield

Mana Tide

/equipslot 16 [Spirit Staff]
/p >> TIP YOUR RESTO SHAMAN FOR THIS AWESOME SPIRIT <<
/cast Mana Tide

Wind Shear

#showtooltip Wind Shear
/stopcasting
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][@target,harm,nodead][@focustarget,harm,nodead][@targettarget,harm,nodead] Wind Shear

NS + GHW

/cast [@target,nodead] Nature’s Swiftness
/cast Greater Healing Wave

Purge

#showtooltip Purge
/stopcasting
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][@target,harm,nodead][@focustarget,harm,nodead][@targettarget,harm,nodead] Purge

PowerAuras Configuration

I make no bones about it, when it comes to raiding addons I find none as useful and flexible as Power Auras. In its purest sense, PowerAuras’ job is to provide a player with warnings regarding those spells and/or effects that the player has prioritized. Spell cooldowns, buffs, debuffs, dots, boss abilities, and timers can all be associated with visual and/or auditory warnings of the player’s choosing. However, because PowerAuras is class neutral, the user must configure each and every warning within the addon, meaning that this mod is hardly what you would call plug-and-play.

So, to give you some ideas for your own Power Auras settings, I’ve pulled a couple of my own alerts. To import any of the strings below in your PowerAuras settings, first make sure that you have Power Auras 4.9 installed. Then, open the configuration panel by typing /powa, and select “Import” in the main window. Copy/paste the string into the window, and after hitting “Okay” you will have a fully functional sample alert to play around with.

Earthliving Weapon

Version:4.9; b:0.1333; icon:inv_weapon_shortblade_93; buffname:Earthliving ; r:0.0863; x:89; groupany:false; unitn:Only for raid/group.; bufftype:5; texture:36; stacksOperator:=; spec2:false; size:0.32; y:-195; texmode:2; inverse:true

Earth Shield Missing

Version:4.9; b:0.1451; anim1:4; g:0.0706; icon:Spell_Nature_SkinofEarth; buffname:Earth Shield; r:0.8784; x:-193; unitn:Only for raid/group.; texture:21; aurastext:Earth Shield Missing!; stacksOperator:>; textaura:true; spec2:false; groupOrSelf:true; aurastextfont:2; size:0.81; y:-194; texmode:2; inverse:true; finish:0

Version:4.9; b:0.2314; g:0.1137; icon:Spell_Nature_SkinofEarth; buffname:Earth Shield; r:0.8863; x:-102; unitn:Only for raid/group.; texture:21; mine:true; stacksOperator:=; spec2:false; groupOrSelf:true; size:0.18; y:-193; texmode:2; inverse:true

60% Mana

Version:4.9; b:0.3216; g:0.2; icon:inv_alchemy_elixir_02; x:-21; groupany:false; unitn:Only for raid/group.; bufftype:9; texture:27; sound:10; stacksOperator:=; threshold:60; size:0.14; y:-196; texmode:2

Water Shield

Version:4.9; g:0.5961; icon:Ability_Shaman_WaterShield; buffname:Water Shield; r:0.1333; x:23; groupany:false; unitn:Only for raid/group.; texture:34; stacksOperator:=; size:0.14; y:-196; texmode:2; inverse:true

Unleash Elements

Version:4.17; b:0.7255; g:0.6; icon:Spell_Shaman_ImprovedStormstrike; buffname:Unleash Elements; r:0.5137; bufftype:15; texture:6; combat:true; size:0.62

Riptide (Off CD)

Version:4.17; anim1:2; g:0.7882; icon:spell_nature_riptide; buffname:Riptide; r:0.4353; unitn:Only for raid/group.; bufftype:15; texture:28; duration:4; stacksOperator:=; combat:true; size:0.74; texmode:2; finish:0

Mana Tide (off CD)

Version:4.17; b:0.1686; anim1:2; icon:Spell_Frost_SummonWaterElemental; buffname:16190; r:0.2078; bufftype:15; texture:3; sound:41; combat:true; size:0.79; torsion:1.04; y:-25; texmode:2

Hand of Protection

Version:4.9; icon:Spell_Holy_SealOfProtection; buffname:Hand of Protection; x:120; groupany:false; unitn:Only for raid/group.; owntex:true; stacksOperator:=; size:0.26; y:2; timer.h:2.09; timer.enabled:true; timer.y:-52; timer.x:105

Engulfing Darkness (Maloriak HM)

Version:4.9; icon:Spell_Shadow_ChillTouch; buffname:Engulfing Darkness; x:174; timerduration:8; bufftype:2; focus:true; owntex:true; groupOrSelf:true; size:0.34; texmode:2; timer.h:1.64; timer.enabled:true; timer.y:-89; timer.x:168; timer.ShowActivation:true

Tier 11 Buffs/Debuffs
Set=T11@
Aura[145]=Version:4.17; b:0.102; g:0.0431; icon:ability_vehicle_sonicshockwave; buffname:Tracking; r:0.6431; x:161; bufftype:2; texture:13; size:0.56; y:-26; texmode:2@
Aura[146]=Version:4.17; g:0.1098; icon:spell_fire_twilightnova; buffname:Blackout; r:0.8745; x:159; bufftype:2; texture:52; size:0.52; texmode:2@
Aura[147]=Version:4.17; g:0.1686; icon:Spell_Holy_ConsumeMagic; buffname:Engulfing Magic; r:0.6824; x:-2; bufftype:2; texture:60; size:1.06; torsion:1.06; y:-31; texmode:2@
Aura[148]=Version:4.17; g:0.8824; icon:INV_Elemental_Primal_Water; buffname:Waterlogged; r:0.4; x:164; bufftype:2; texture:26; size:0.5; y:-15; texmode:2@
Aura[149]=Version:4.17; b:0.2392; g:0.2196; icon:INV_Elemental_Primal_Fire; buffname:Burning Blood; x:-149; bufftype:2; texture:20; size:0.54; texmode:2@
Aura[150]=Version:4.17; b:0.1176; icon:Ability_Creature_Poison_05; buffname:Fixate; r:0.4431; x:159; bufftype:2; texture:101; size:0.43; y:-26; texmode:2@
Aura[151]=Version:4.17; b:0.5451; icon:Spell_Shaman_StaticShock; buffname:Lightning Conductor; r:0.9843; x:157; bufftype:2; texture:110; size:0.43; y:-31; texmode:2@
Aura[152]=Version:4.17; g:0.3216; icon:Ability_Warlock_EverlastingAffliction; buffname:Shadow Conductor; r:0.5333; x:156; bufftype:2; texture:110; size:0.43; y:-29; texmode:2@
Aura[153]=Version:4.17; b:0.102; g:0.0431; icon:Spell_Fire_Fire; buffname:Consuming Flames; r:0.6431; x:161; bufftype:2; texture:9; size:0.56; y:-26; texmode:2@
Aura[154]=Version:4.17; icon:Spell_Shadow_ChillTouch; buffname:Engulfing Darkness; x:-158; timerduration:8; bufftype:2; focus:true; owntex:true; groupOrSelf:true; size:0.24; texmode:2; timer.h:1.64; timer.enabled:true; timer.y:-83; timer.x:-164; timer.ShowActivation:true@
Aura[155]=Version:4.17; InvertAuraBelow:20; b:0.5765; g:0.6431; icon:Spell_Nature_LightningOverload; buffname:Static Overload; r:0.2784; x:157; bufftype:2; texture:144; size:0.56; y:-31; texmode:2@
Aura[156]=Version:4.17; InvertAuraBelow:20; b:0.1098; g:0.5686; icon:Spell_Nature_EarthBind; buffname:Gravity Core; r:0.6431; x:161; bufftype:2; texture:145; size:0.56; y:-26; texmode:2@
Aura[157]=Version:4.17; g:0.6627; icon:Spell_Frost_Frost; buffname:Heart of Ice; r:0.2824; x:-149; bufftype:2; texture:20; size:0.54; texmode:2@
Aura[158]=Version:4.17; b:0.102; g:0.0431; icon:Spell_Fire_ElementalDevastation; buffname:Explosive Cinders; r:0.6431; x:161; bufftype:2; texture:76; size:0.56; y:-26; texmode:2@
Aura[159]=Version:4.17; g:0.6627; icon:Spell_Arcane_FocusedPower; buffname:Stolen Power; r:0.2824; x:-149; texture:20; owntex:true; size:0.19; texmode:2; timer.h:2.73; timer.UpdatePing:true; timer.enabled:true; timer.x:-36; stacks.enabled:true; stacks.y:-70; stacks.x:-149@