One of the things I used to most despise about respeccing my talents was having to redo all my action bars and keybindings to accomodate the new spec. Thankfully, the dual-spec option remembers one’s layout, so the switch from Spec 1 to Spec 2 doesn’t require one to open one’s spellbook and reposition everything.
For me, however, switching between specs isn’t merely a matter of having a different set of buttons to mash. I utilize several add-ons as a healer and these too must be altered. Many add-ons allow you to set a profile, and in some cases, this is might be the easiest way to quickly move between the settings you need for Spec 1 and Spec 2: Khaeli_Disc and Khaeli_Holy, for example.
TellMeWhen is an add-on I’ve come to love and rely on. It notifies you when spells are off cooldown and when buffs and procs are active. I find it very useful for monitoring the cooldowns on certain heals; for reminding me to reapply Inner Fire; for notifying me when I have Borrowed Time (ok, duh, that one’s obvious) or Heroism or Surge of Light. However, TellMeWhen does not have the option of setting profiles. I wrote about this add-on — briefly — when I first was asked to switch specs to Holy, and some commenters asked for more details on setting it up. As I’ve had to fiddle with it somewhat lately so that I can easily switch between Holy and Disc, this seemed like a good time to revisit the “How To.”
Access to the addon’s configuration is available two ways: under one’s interface screen (via the Menu) or via /tmw.
I use two icon groups on Khaeli: Icon group 1 reminds me when I have certain buffs active. Icon group 2 reminds me when the cooldowns are up on certain spells. As you can see, you can dictate how many icons you want in each group and if you want them in rows and or columns and if you want them only shown in combat.
You’ll have to pardon some of these screenshots, I should interject here. These were taken while waiting for the raid to fill last night. But you can see here where my eyes are focused during most fights. On the left is my Belkin layout. (I use Clique for the spells you don’t see there: cures, Penance, Flash Heal, PW:S, PoM) Above my main action bar is TellMeWhen’s Group 2, cooldown notifications. Then Grid. To the right of Grid (not visible in this picture) is my Prayer of Mending tracker. Then Quartz above that (with my target to the left of Quartz (also not pictured here) and target’s target to the right). Above Quartz, TellMeWhen’s Group 1, buff notifications (this screenshot is in setup mode. When active and locked, the icons display the appropriate image, not the clock you see here).
As you can see, I have cooldown notifications for three spells: Prayer of Mending, Penance, and Circle of Healing. (The latter is a “?” in the above screenshot as I am currently Disc. When I’m Holy, Penance becomes a “?” Once you’ve locked the add-on, this “?” will disappear, so don’t fret.)
To setup your buffs and spells, type /tmw. Choose the name of the spell/buff/debuff you’d like monitored, and whether you want the add-on to monitor whether it’s active (in the case of something like Surge of Light) or when its cooldown is up (in the case of something like Penance) or when it’s absent (in the case of something like Inner Fire).
As you setup TellMeWhen, I recommend establishing the icons that you need for your main and your offspec. As you can see in the images above, even though I’m specced Disc, I have Surge of Light notification waiting in the wings; it’s just not enabled. When I switch to Holy, I disable the notifications for Disc — disabling the icons for Borrowed Time and Penance — and enable the notifications for Holy — Circle of Healing, Surge of Light, Serendipity.
Although admittedly, it’s a bit of an annoyance to have these extra steps — it’s not a push-a-button switch — it’s worth setting up these notifications in advance. And hell, if you’re asked to switch to your offspec for an encounter, everyone can bloody well wait while you get yourself situated.
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