Developer Blizzard Entertainment shared a new blog post dedicated to the HUD (Heads-Up Display) and UI (User Interface) revamp coming in the World of Warcraft: Dragonflight expansion. The team’s aim is to provide a clutter-free layout and allow players to customize their HUD to better fit their individual needs.
Technology has moved many steps forward since the first WoW UI had been developed in 2004. There are now more tools to create and improve QoL features, and the developers wanted to modernize the appearance of player’s layout and view while maintaining the original design’s charm and personality:
“Right away, players will immediately notice the more apparent changes. For instance, the minimap and health bar are more prominent, and we’ve removed some clutter to provide greater viewable space. Also, while keeping to the iconic design, we’ve cleaned up the appearance of the Action Bar. We also added a fresh set of Gryphons and created Wyverns for our Horde-loving heroes. There’s also a new look for the loot and inventory display, and players can use Combined Backpack functionality to help them find and organize their inventory items more quickly.”
The game allows players to customize UI to fit their needs in the Edit mode: tweak, personalize and move almost anything anywhere to your heart’s desire. Not only are various elements of the HUD movable, but each individual component has a variety of options to help you get everything just right. Additionally, the team introduced improved accessibility options to make things easier:
- New Option: Press and Hold Casting – When enabled, the player can press and hold a keyboard hotkey to continually cast a spell on an Action Bar without repeatedly pressing the button.
- New Feature: Interact Key – Pressing the Interact Key will enable you to interact with NPCs and objects with a key press instead of a mouse click. Interactive NPCs and objects will gain an icon above their heads as you move close enough to interact.
- New Targeting System: Action Combat – This feature works alongside the standard targeting features and automatically targets enemies as you approach them. This will allow you to start casting abilities immediately and dynamically switch between targets based on where you’re looking.
If you want to learn more about the Dragonflight HUD and UI revamp, check out the official site. The developers have also shared their intention to tackle other UI elements down the line, such as group manager, raid framers, quest tracker and more.
