Vamp
Automates the selection of bite targets during the Blood-Queen Lana'thel fight in Icecrown Citadel. Works for both 10 and 25 player normal and heroic modes.
Ask your guild to install VampArrow for the ultimate in bite navigation!
VampArrow adds an arrow to your bite target, as well as a speech bubble. Never miss a bite again! Make sure your raid leader is running Vamp r94 or later to take advantage of VampArrow.
Example video
This video shows Vamp and VampArrow in action during heroic BQL 25: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vY9TWPWSDs
The UI used in the video is available for download here.
What makes this different from other BQL add-ons?
- Uses up to three separate DPS groups, a healer group, and a tank group. This allows the add-on to make intelligent choices, and lets you control positioning and limit movement during the fight.
- Configuration uses the standard WowAce UI and is entirely manual, giving you more control and reliability.
- Group lists are persisted forever, and can be setup to never change if you raid with a fairly consistent group.
- Setup group lists in advance based on guild rank, or set it up on the fly based on players in your raid.
- Continually overwrites other boss mods (like DBM) that are trying to use raid marks, ensuring bite marks are up at all times.
- Can optionally reverse marks (for strategies where the bite target finds the biter).
- Uses the Ace3 profile system, allowing you to switch between several predefined priority lists.
- Can output a detailed log of everything that happened during the fight, to help diagnose issues afterwards.
- Integrates with VampArrow to help your players locate their victims faster.
- Note: players in groups 1-5 are the only players that Vamp considers to be participating in the fight. This applies to both 10 and 25 player modes.
AddonLoader recommended
Installing AddonLoader will cause this add-on to only load when you enter the appropriate raid zone or sub-zone.
Comments and bug reports
General comments and questions can be posted at the WowAce site. Bug reports and feature requests should be made using the ticket system.
Frequently asked questions
How does Vamp inform the raid of the bite target?
A few seconds after someone is bit, that player receives a whisper. The whisper tells them who to bite and what raid mark the bite target will have. It also sends a whisper to the bite target, saying "Soandso is coming to bite you!" It will then mark all bite targets and maintain those marks until more bites occur. The raid marks are reapplied every second, so they will overwrite other boss mods (this is intentional).
When does it announce the bite target?
The delay between bite and whisper defaults to 10 seconds, in order to make sure all bites have happened. The delay is configurable. This gives players 50 seconds (65 seconds on 10 man) to find their target and get ready.
How does it choose the bite order?
The goal is to "seed" each of the three DPS groups as early as possible. Vamp's first priority is to make sure at least one member from Melee, Ranged A, and Ranged B is bitten. It will always try to limit movement as much as possible - for example, a player from Ranged A will be used to seed Ranged B, melee will bite the offtank if possible, ranged will bite healers if possible, etc.
You don't have to use all the groups. If any group is empty, Vamp will just ignore it.
Once the three DPS groups are seeded, players will try to bite other players within their own group. When DPS targets are exhausted, the offtank is the next priority. Unlisted players will be bit next, if that option is enabled. Healers are after that. The very last target will be the main tank.
Vamp will always try to re-seed a DPS group if all vampires within that group die, disconnect, or are mind controlled.
Will it automatically skip players who are dead or disconnected?
Yes. If your bite target dies or disconnects before you bite him or her, Vamp will immediately recalculate a new target for you and let everyone know. Vamp will also send a raid warning, letting the raid know that somebody died or disconnected. This warning can be turned off, and is throttled to occur by default no more often than once every 10 seconds. This throttle is also configurable.
Will Vamp adjust if someone doesn't follow it's directions?
Yes. Decisions are only made in response to actual bites.
Does it require raid leader/raid assist status?
Yes. You must be a raid assistant or raid leader.
Can multiple players in the same raid use Vamp at the same time?
No. Choose one player (preferably the raid leader) to run Vamp.
If a player is in my raid, but I didn't list them in any priority list, will they ever be a bite target?
Yes, if you've turned on the option: "Bite unlisted players". This is on by default. Unlisted players have a priority just below ranged and melee, and above the healers.
Does Vamp provide an arrow to my next target?
Not by itself. Have everyone in your guild install VampArrow.
I'm running Vamp for my guild. Can I tell who's running VampArrow?
Yes. Use the command /vamp ver.
1x Vamp-19\Core.lua:490: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)
Vamp-19\Core.lua:422: in function `?'
CallbackHandler-1.0-5 (Ace3):147: in function <...Ons\Ace3\CallbackHandler-1.0\CallbackHandler-1.0.lua:147>
<string>:"safecall Dispatcher[1]":4: in function <[string "safecall Dispatcher[1]"]:4>
<in C code>: ?
<string>:"safecall Dispatcher[1]":13: in function `?'
CallbackHandler-1.0-5 (Ace3):92: in function `Fire'
AceEvent-3.0-3 (Ace3):120: in function <Ace3\AceEvent-3.0\AceEvent-3.0.lua:119>
However a few questions:
1.how does the addon inform the raid of the bite target? Whisper? Raid warning? Raid Icon?
2. And when does it announce the bite target? 5 seconds b4 requiring to bite?
3. Also will it automatically skip players who are dead?
4. does it require raid leader/raid assist status?
One plus is that it works in 10 man as well. Promising addon. Keep up the good work!
The To-Do list sounds promising too. However instead of a bite log that is only helpful after a wipe, it would be great if the addon can also output the pre-assigned bite order into chat before the fight starts. It will be helpful to give raid members a heads up of the pre-assigned bite order rather than to keep then guessing.
Keep up the good work!
1. The person who gets bitten first is not a DPS but a healer. Will the addon know how to assign a bite target for the healer? Since the healer is neither in the ranged or melee group.
2. The person who gets bitten first does not follow the addon and bites another person from the same DPS class. i.e. ranged > ranged. To make it more general, does the addon still work if the person bitten somehow does not follow the bite order assigned and bites the wrong guy?
3. Since the addon preassigns targets 1 minute before the bite is to occur, does the addon take into account when the target assigned to be bitten dies midfight? Or vice versa?
2. Basically every time a new bite assignment is needed, the add-on looks to see who is doing the biting. If that player is a ranged, it looks to see if any melee have been bitten yet. If no melee have been bitten yet (or if they were, but died), the player will be assigned to a melee player. Basically the add-on makes sure that one ranged and one melee DPS are each bitten as the first priority above all else.
3. Deaths are taken into account (untested). Disconnects and mind controls are not yet, but as you can see, it's on the to-do list.
It definately removes raid marks upon combat start, but nothing else that it is supposed to do.