The 5.xx MoP Lua API changes will be coming in 5.0.4

I thought this one would be obvious but it caught me out. And I've been a regular in the addons community for a few years now.

There has been a metric ton of changes in the Lua API that addons use as well as changes in the macro system. There has been stuff removed , stuff added and things renamed. Certain things now work a completely different way.

So my biggest advice is start updating your addons and making a plan for when they break right now.

What to do right now :

Firstly you should go off and download a addon loader addon eg Addon Control Panel or LoadIT. These addons make it possible to save "sets" off addons and load them in and out. The theory being is you will have a set of addons which make up your main UI and ones that are actually working. As you keep updating after patch day you'll ideally want both sets to eventually be the same. Make sure to save a set as your main UI in the days before the patch hits.

Next you'll want to install a decent bug grabbing addon like Bugsack/ Bug grabber or Swatter from the Auctioneer suite. These addons make it easy to grab any Lua errors that come up so you can report them to the authors. Buggrabber in particular has a throttle on Lua errors - if too many are logged in a certain time it will shut down the lua reporting system for you.

Finally what you should do now is to track down where the addon author will be updating their addon and bookmark them ready for patch day. If they have updates feel free to download them now but be warned - some of the addons will be designed to only be installed after the MoP changes come. For some of them if you install them now they may bug out in 4.3.4

On patch day :

1) If you haven't already use the bookmarks from above to go out and find MoP compatiable addons and install them.Some addon won't be updated till patch day while others are simply not meant to be installed until then.

2) When you log in click the addons button and make sure "Load out of Date Addons" is turned on. This option gets turned off because of a misguided concept that no one really uses anyway. A full explanation would be a little off topic for this guide but go ahead and ask me if your interested.

3) Make sure your bug grabber addon (ie Bug Grabber) is turned on and log in.

4) Once in game sit patiently while Lua errors come up. Even if you've fully updated you'll see these come up. Blizzard have been known to ninja changes to the Lua API that were not seen on the PTR or Beta. Check for reports in Bugsack / Swatter / Your error reporting addon.

5) Take careful note of the ones that are erroring out. Write them down to go seek updates later. Turn them off then save an addon set called "Working in MoP".

6) Type /console reloadui

This will reload your game and UI . More errors may come up again. If so go back and do step 5 & 6 . Repeat until UI is stable and is not coming up with Lua errors.

7) Go play. If any more come up go do steps 5 & 6 again. It may help to note down what you were doing when you did so

Updating addons after patch day :



You will now have a list of addons that are erroring out on you.

So on a regular basis go back to your bookmarks and check for updates. Also check in the US or EU Official UI & Macros forums for hints on updates. The major addon sites have systems where you can favourite an addon and it will email you with updates. If you do the emails thing be sure to set up a folder in your email for them to go to as well as a filtering rule.

The major addon sites also have RSS feeds you can subscribe to to get news on your addon updates.

Don't be afraid to help the addon authors out by posting any errors you are getting to their addon page. Make sure to do a search on the comments to check if one's been posted already or if a solution has been found. If they have a ticket system like wowace.com has be sure to submit a ticket in their ticket reporting system.

But do be aware that for some addon authors they are just as blind sided as you when it comes to patch day errors in their addons. Have a little bit of patience with them. You have your addon loader addon and your list of ones to update so it's not like the entire thing is completely unmanageable for you.

So that's it. As you update your addons you'll eventually have your "Working in MoP" set to be the same as your main UI.After patch day hits expect more updates from the authors as they find new things from the Lua API that they need to update their addon for. Eventually these will stop but do not stop checking for updates until things stablize.

Alpha/Beta addons



Quite often addon authors will be working on alpha/beta versions of their addons ahead of patch day. When patch day hits the authors tag the beta versions as release versions , which is why you'll often see a few updates within hours of a patch hitting.



Also Curse runs a alpha/beta site for addons at wowace.com or curseforge.com. When tagged they get forwarded to Curse's main site. On their addon page on Curse there is a "project site" link up the top.



Do not forget to check those 2 sites for any addon hosted on Curse - often times it's the first place authors will post updates for their addons to.



Diagnosing Lua errors



So you have this Lua error but you're not sure how to fix it.



Usually it will tell you which particular addon is causing the error. But sometimes there will be multiple addons mentioned in the error report you have. In this case it could be due to a cascade error from something a previously loaded addon is hooking. It should be the first addon loaded that's causing the error. This is usually the last addon mentioned in the report as the reports usually go (last addon loaded -> addon loaded before that -> addon loaded before that -> addon loaded before that - > etc etc etc -> first addon loaded)



Bug sack . Bug grabber will keep a log of Lua errors for you as well - so if it goes away you can still get at the error.



Knowing which addon is causing the lua error is vital in seeking help to fix it. From there visit the addon page and see if that error's been mentioned yet. In the chaos that is patch day madness sometimes someone else other then the author has figured out how to fix it and has posted in the comments. Also check the official forums as well as any online communities you are a part of.

If you do need to post about getting the Lua error make sure you post a full report of it , including what other addons you use as well as what you were doing at the time of the crash. Most decent error reporting addons make it possible for you to copy the error in full as well as what other addons were loaded at the time. If the author has a ticket system please use that.

Turning off Display of Lua errors - Do not turn on this option

Seriously do not use this option.



This may make the Lua error go away but it does not magically fix a broken addon. A lua error means "something is wrong when I loaded the UI here is what broke it go fix it now". It's a clue for you to fix something that's cause your UI to be unstable.



Hiding these errors means your missing vital information as to where your UI is breaking and why. This can cause your game to slow down (as it's technically still coming across these breaks in the UI) and can cause your addons to bug out in unexpected ways (as stuff that should be there isn't loading correctly). It gets worse when the broken addon is hooking something other addons use and causing cascade errors as whatever they've hooked is hooked incorrectly.



It's much better to fix the thing causing the Lua errors then hide them.



A decent error logging addon like Bug sack/ Bug grabber is helpful here as not only do they allow you to copy/paste from game but it also has a throttle so if too many are logged in shuts the lua error reporting system down yet still allows you to get at them when they've disappared off screen.

Addons that continue to have lua errors even after all this updating :

This is also a possibility. Not all addons are going to work in MoP.Some may even be discontinued/abadoned by the addon authors and won't be getting updates at all. Some haven't been updated since the last expansion.Some won't work as Blizzard changed something in the Lua API that the author hasn't been able to work around yet.

Have no fear ! This is where you get to be creative :) !

You can jump on the official wow forums (or similar online community site) and ask around about it. Ask if anyone has any suggestions on a similar addon you can use. Go try it out and see if you like it.

It's also possible that someone may of figured out a way around w/e lua error has come up. You can either note down to keep an eye or updates , word of a fix or go replace that addon. The choice is yours :P

Addon resources :

Curse and wow interface's MoP addons catergories -

http://www.curse.com/addons/wow/expansion/mop

http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/index.php?cid=140

Wowinterface's Mists of Pandaria Addon Guide (common addons, if they are updated for MoP and where to find updates) :



http://wowinterface.com/betaguide.php