Cataclysm Classic Guide to Mage's Best Addons

Addons make it a lot easier to play Mage. They warn you when important procs are available, they can monitor your damage over time spells to gain an optimal Combustion, warn you when important boss mechanics appear. In summary, addons simply help to give your interface a far better overview so you can focus more on playing.

WeakAuras is probably the most important addon for you to get. It has tons of small WeakAuras, such as Combustion Helper. They can be used to optimize damage or to track personal buffs/abilities/procs. Apart from that, there are regularly updated raiding packs, which can have more useful class-specific functions than Deadly Boss Mods does. Mage-specific WeakAuras can be found here.

Spell Activation Overlay makes buttons glow when you have, for example, a Arcane Missiles or a Hot Streak proc. This is a very useful and important addon, as you do not need to focus on your own buffs and have more time to focus on fight-related mechanics. This addon is also great for PvP.

ItemRack allows you to configure and quickly swap between different sets of gear. This is incredibly useful for easy swapping between PvP and PvE gear!

Threat Plates customizes nameplates to provide clear visual indicators of threat levels, making it easier to manage aggro during combat. It offers extensive customization options for appearance and behavior, enhancing situational awareness and improving tanking performance.

Whenever you stand in a fire or any similar AoE effect, GTFO will warn you with a sound. This is especially useful as a Mage, as you can just Blink out of any AoE effect. This small addon is literally a lifesaver whenever things become hectic, as the sound effect saves you.

Deadly Boss Mods is a great addon that has pre-made timers for boss abilities in nearly every PvE encounter in the game. Deadly Boss Mods comes with plenty of customization options, so you can configure it however it works best for you.

In addition to DBM's timers, the maker of the addon also has DBM Voicepack VEM that adds an audio cue to the notifications from Deadly Boss Mods.

OmniCC is one of the oldest and most popular addons in the entire history of World of Warcraft. It adds a countdown to your abilities on the action bar, so you get a better overview when they are ready for use again.

Leatrix Plus automates many in-game functions, such as skipping NPC gossip, repairing broken gear, vendoring grey items, removing annoying text/speech (such as the Citizens of Dalaran... speech in Dalaran), etc.

ElvUI is a fully customizable UI overhaul. For those transitioning from the retail version of the game, it provides modern cast bars, unit frames, and many conveniences integrated into later expansions, visually enhancing your UI and making it more spacious.

Details includes a comprehensive combat log to enhance your understanding of each combat encounter.

Furthermore, Details includes Tiny Threat, a plugin that provides a window displaying the threat levels generated by you and your group members.

Questie is a great supplement to questing. It has tons of functions to enhance your questing experience.

ReforgeLite Classic helps you to easily reforge you gear in order to optimize your damage output.

AtlasLoot shows you what which boss drops which items from raids and dungeons. Further, it contains a list of reputation rewards, profession items, items from world events, etc.

TradeSkillMaster (TSM) streamlines and optimizes the process of auction house trading, crafting, and inventory management. It provides powerful tools for automating pricing, posting, and purchasing, making gold-making activities more efficient and profitable.

Bartender4 lets you customize your action bars. Once you have learned your keybinds by heart, this addon can be used to make more space on your screen by having smaller action bars and even let them fade out when you do not need them. A common trick with Bartender is to make additional action bars where you can put trinkets or consumables on.

Macros automate sequences of actions, allowing players to execute complex commands with a single keystroke. Check out our Mage Macros page. Maybe you will find a macro that helps you.