Buzz
The moment has arrived: World of Warcraft’s eighth expansion, Shadowlands, is now live. For newcomers or those hesitant to dive back into the vast world, the free-until-level-20 option remains a great way to test if WoW suits your style—reaching level 20 is a third of the new max level in Shadowlands, and it’s achievable in just a weekend.
For veteran players, ensure your last-minute raids and Icecrown preparations are complete, as Shadowlands is about to launch. Blizzard has confirmed that the new content will go live at 3 p.m. PT.
There’s no need to rush to Blizzard’s servers at launch, as the Shadowlands content will seamlessly appear. The journey begins with a quest in Stormwind or Orgrimmar, depending on your faction. Additionally, other updates to quests, rewards, and events tied to the expansion will roll out throughout the day.
Whether you’re eagerly waiting in a virtual city or planning a gradual return to WoW over the holidays, I suggest exploring some essential addons to streamline your gameplay. These tools can help manage your inventory, guide you through quests, and even warn you about dangerous boss mechanics. With countless addons available, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, so I’ve curated a list to ease your transition back into the game.
An addon manager is a must-have for discovering, installing, and updating addons. While manual installation is possible, using an app like Ajour simplifies the process and ensures your addons stay current. Ajour is an open-source tool that requires no installation—just download and run it. Point it to your World of Warcraft addons folder, and you’re ready to explore its catalog of addons.
To get started, place Ajour in any directory and launch it. Specify your WoW addons folder location (typically [WoW installation path]\World of Warcraft\_retail_\Interface), then browse the addon catalog. Now, let’s dive into the must-have addons for a smooth return to World of Warcraft.
AdiBags
AdiBags
Whether you’re diving into World of Warcraft for the first time or dusting off a long-forgotten character, maintaining your inventory can be a daunting task. AdiBags stands out as my top choice for inventory management, surpassing even Bagnon, thanks to its unique ability to automatically categorize your items. This feature provides a clear overview of your inventory, making it effortless to identify what you need and what you can discard.
AutoVendor
AutoVendor
One of the most tedious tasks in WoW is manually selling junk items at merchants or repeatedly clicking the “repair items” button after an unfortunate encounter with a high-level world boss. The AutoVendor addon eliminates this hassle by automatically selling your unwanted items and repairing your gear every time you interact with a merchant.
Pawn
Pawn
Despite WoW’s recent stat squish—reducing the maximum level to 60 in the new Shadowlands expansion—determining your character’s optimal stats can still be perplexing. For instance, if a new sword drops, should you prioritize Haste over Mastery? What about Versatility or Critical Strike?
Simplify gear upgrades with the Pawn addon, which evaluates whether an item in your inventory outperforms your equipped gear. It also helps you decide which quest reward to pick based on its gold value if no significant upgrade is available.
Bartender4
Bartender4
While World of Warcraft’s default interface is functional, I prefer having full control over the placement of its various elements. Bartender4 allows me to customize my UI, hiding or revealing components based on my activities, whether I’m casually exploring or diving into combat. Unlike full UI overhauls, Bartender4 offers a balanced approach, providing flexibility without requiring a complete relearning of the interface.
Deadly Boss Mods
Deadly Boss Mods
During your adventures, you’ll likely face challenging bosses in instances or raids. These encounters are thrilling, provided you avoid standing in the glowing areas—unless, of course, the dungeon mechanics require you to do so to defeat the boss.
For those who prefer not to rely on a “purist” approach, Deadly Boss Mods is invaluable. It provides crucial details during boss fights, such as upcoming abilities and warnings about dangerous mechanics. With loud alerts and clear instructions, it helps you react quickly, making complex fights easier to learn and reducing unnecessary deaths—as long as you heed the warnings.
(Yes, I’m aware of WeakAuras, but I haven’t explored that option yet.)
Kaliel’s Tracker
Kaliel’s Tracker
Blizzard’s default quest tracker is rather cumbersome. Kaliel’s Tracker offers a sleek alternative, complete with handy automations and filters to help you focus on quests in your current zone. At the very least, it allows you to resize the quest window, making it far more manageable than the oversized default sidebar.
BtWQuests (and its many “quest packs”)
BtWQuests (and its many “quest packs”)
If you’re ever unsure about your progress in a specific area—whether you’re on the correct questline or need a reminder of how your current tasks fit into the broader story—BtWQuests is the solution. This addon displays every questline in WoW, presenting them in a tree-like structure that allows you to review completed quests, upcoming tasks, and how they interconnect to form a cohesive narrative. Personally, I use it to gauge how much is left in particularly tedious zones.
HandyNotes
HandyNotes
Ever wondered where to find everything in World of Warcraft? Instead of scouring guides for treasure chests, dungeon entrances, or unique items, HandyNotes (along with its additional packs) marks them all on your in-game map. You can even use ALT+Right Click to add personal notes about specific locations, making exploration and navigation a breeze.
OmniCC
OmniCC
OmniCC is straightforward yet incredibly useful. For any ability or item with a cooldown, it displays a clear countdown directly on the corresponding button. This way, you’ll always know exactly how long until you can unleash your next move, like transforming into the legendary Millhouse Manastorm once more.
TomTom and TomCat’s Tours
TomTom and TomCat’s Tours
True to its name, TomTom adds a GPS-style navigation arrow to your WoW interface. Set a waypoint on your map, or integrate it with quest-tracking addons, and you’ll see a directional arrow and distance indicator guiding you to your destination. While it won’t prevent you from getting lost in places like Nazjatar, it’s a helpful tool. Plus, you can reposition the arrow anywhere on your screen.
TomCat’s Tours complements TomTom by marking all rare enemies on your map. With WoW’s shift toward “fly-and-find” gameplay, this feature saves you from constantly alt-tabbing to search Wowhead. It’s a time-saver for tracking down elusive targets.
(For serious rare-hunting, I prefer RareScanner, which provides alerts and sound cues when rare enemies or in-game announcements are nearby.)
Rarity
Rarity
If you’re frustrated by the elusive drop rates of rare items in WoW—like the infamous Horseman’s Reins—Rarity tracks your attempts. It logs how many times you’ve defeated a specific enemy and how often the game’s RNG has let you down, offering a clear record of your efforts.
SexyMap
SexyMap
Transform the bland minimap in the top-right corner of your screen into something more visually appealing with SexyMap. This addon lets you customize your minimap’s appearance, including active coordinates, icon display, and color schemes. While it’s primarily a cosmetic upgrade, it’s worth considering given how much time you’ll spend glancing at it.
World Quest Tracker
World Quest Tracker
World quests are a fantastic way to gear up your character once they’re unlocked. World Quest Tracker simplifies the process by organizing available quests by reward type, saving you time and helping you prioritize tasks during limited play sessions. It’s especially useful for the Shadowlands pre-patch event in Icecrown.
Postal
Postal
If you frequently use in-game mail—whether to alts, guildmates, or friends—Postal is a must-have. It streamlines the mailing process so efficiently that it’s surprising Blizzard hasn’t integrated its features into the base game. With Postal, you can set up frequent contacts, use mouseover lists, and quickly send items to your characters or others.
Azeroth Auto Pilot
Azeroth Auto Pilot
For those looking to level up quickly or return to WoW with maximum efficiency, Azeroth Auto Pilot offers optimized routes to take your character from level 1 to 50 (soon 60). While it can make the leveling process feel less immersive, it’s perfect for players who want to breeze through old content to reach the new.
As shown in the video above, some players have achieved leveling in under five hours using Azeroth Auto Pilot. While your experience may take longer, such speedy runs are indeed possible. Here’s a quick look at how the addon operates:
Honorable Mentions
While I’ve covered the essentials, there are several other addons worth mentioning. For WoW’s pet battles, Rematch and PetTracker are invaluable. Completionists will appreciate All The Things, which tracks everything you’ve yet to achieve in the game. For managing multiple characters, Altoholic keeps you organized and lets you check stats and gear across alts. Details! is a top-tier damage meter for evaluating your performance in dungeons or raids. Master Plan simplifies managing your Warlords of Draenor garrisons. Lastly, MountSpy is a handy tool for identifying how to obtain the impressive mounts you spot in the game.
