In an article published just now, Blizzard talks about the WoW HUD and UI overhaul coming with the expansion. Dragonflight. Find all the details below.
Get ready to experience a redesigned Heads-Up Display (HUD) and User Interface (UI), designed to be adjustable, efficient, engaging and easily accessible.
With the Dragonflight update, we are making some substantive changes to the HUD and UI of World of Warcraft. Our goal is to simplify the display and allow players to customize their HUD to better suit their individual needs.
A whole new look
Technologies have come a long way since we designed the first user interface in 2004. We now have more sophisticated tools for making and improving game elements. We wanted to modernize the look of the interface while retaining the charm and personality of the original graphics through a clean aesthetic. What better time to make these changes than the launch of Dragonflight ?
Players will immediately notice the most apparent changes. For example, the minimap and health bar are more visible, and we’ve removed some superfluous elements for clarity. Likewise, we’ve simplified the appearance of the action bar, while maintaining its iconic style. We’ve also added a new set of Gryphons and created Wyverns for our Horde Heroes and Heroines. Check out the new style of inventory and loot display! It is now possible to use the Combo Backpack feature to find and organize inventory items faster.
It’s your turn
Welcome to Edit mode. Thanks to the Edit mode, you will now be able to modify, customize and move (almost) anything you want wherever you want. The different elements of the ATH are movable and each element has a variety of options allowing you a perfect fit.
Once you’ve made your adjustments, you can name, save, edit, copy, and share your settings with the community. Those who change their specialization often will have the pleasure of seeing that the latter will be memorized. When you change specs, the feature remembers the HUD layout you’re using for that spec and changes it accordingly.
Will this new feature completely replace the ability to use additional add-ons? No way. We recognize that add-ons offer a lot of customization possibilities, but not all gamers use them. However, with the help of our User Research team, we strive to meet the needs of our community. We are integrating elements from some add-ons into the base UI. Those who wish can continue to use their favorite add-ons.
Improved accessibility to make your life easier
Improving accessibility features is central to the design of the new UI, providing players with the tools to fully enjoy the game. Here are some of the changes made to improve accessibility:
- New option “Casting spells: press and hold” – When enabled, allows a spell to be continuously cast from the action bar by pressing and holding a key on the keyboard without having to press the same key multiple times.
- New “Interaction Key” feature – By pressing the Interaction key, you will be able to interact with NPCs and objects without using the mouse click. NPCs and interactable objects will have an icon above their head when you are close enough to interact.
- New “Reactive Combat” targeting system – This feature complements the standard targeting system and automatically targets enemies when you get close to them. This will allow you to start casting abilities immediately and quickly switch targets depending on where you are looking.
And after ?
The UI redesign is an ongoing project; we want to keep making changes and improvements. In addition to improving the feature set currently available, we intend to look at many other UI elements and eventually include other features, such as:
- additional Edit mode options;
- group management;
- raid windows;
- quest tracking;
- as well as other graphical improvements.
We’ll be bringing you more information and details about these features (and more) as we get closer to the launch of Dragonflight. Check out all these changes and more. We look forward to your comments.
World of Warcraft®: Dragonflight™ will be available on December 31, 2022 at the latest. Go to the website of Dragonflightto pre-order. Check WorldofWarcraft.com/news for the latest updates and follow us on Twitter this facebook.
See you soon on the Dragon Islands!
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