UI's for dummies

When you first start your first character ever, just playing the game is pretty awe-inspiring. There's so much to learn, so much you don't know about the simplest aspects of the game, that changing the UI doesn't even cross your mind. One needs to learn to use the darn thing before modifying it, after all. However, when that newly minted character first gets a quest to go into Ragefire Chasm, there might be a few things lacking. Once you start getting a few more bags to store your stuff, the regular old system just doesn't seem to cut it so much. And when you ding 80, you learn it's pretty valuable to know just how much damage you're doing. Luckily, some very smart people have made it so the rest of us noobs can change the default UI and get some stuff done.

The one thing any raider or PvPer needs NOW is information. Whether it be a new phase of a boss encounter, GET OUT OF THE FIRE!!, or what class your opponents are in the arena, we need info and we need it fast. Also, it's good if all the information sources we have are sort of clustered together, so that it's easy for our eyes to take it in all in quick order. For me, I posistion Recount right near my spells and all the action, so I know how effective I'm being at any moment, and how big the risk of some hard-ass pug leader kicking me out of the raid for sluggish DPS is. For healers, it might be the raid frames, so they know who's dying, or for tanks, it might be... I dunno, Omen or something. (That's how much tanking knowledge I have.)

Efficiency also comes in the form of bag mods. I really hate having to sift around my huge Frostweave bags (and one Dragon-Hide Bag) to find that one stack of Infinite Dust I need to give to the enchanter. The solution: ArkInventory. Hooray! Organization also comes in the form of Dominos, a bar mod. No, not that kind of bar. An action bar. Another time-saver is Auctioneer, an AH mod that helps you buy and sell with ease.

Of course, it's all useless if your UI doesn't look good. Looking good is part of a nice, streamlined UI that helps you get stuff done. And it'd better be pleasant to look at, if your going to be looking at it hours each day. The biggest thing is consistancy. Most mods can be configured to look at least sort of similar to one another, so it's relatively simple to make a cohesive-looking UI. Also, don't let your screen get too cluttered. If you're soloing, you don't need Omen or Recount. Both mods can be told to go the hell away when not in group or raid, and can also be told to come back again when you are. This goes a long way in making a screen look nice.

A good UI is like a good book. It should have the bookish equivalent of bent pages, tattered covers, and coffee stains. These things are what makes that book yours. Part of the reason to change the screen is to make it yours. Don't use Dominos to put to double rows of buttons on the bottom and two columns on the right side. That might be what you're used to, but change it up a little. Put a column on either side, if that's what you think will work the best. I saw one UI that had no buttons on it at all; the guy decided he didn't need any additional information when he was soloing. All he had was the map, essentially. Do whatever you like, and whatever you think makes you a better player.