OldCombatSounds — Bring Back the Iconic Sounds of Pre-Legion WoW!

Remember when every single ability in World of Warcraft had an unmistakable, visceral audio identity? When you could tell purely by ear that a Rogue just opened with Cheap Shot and used Cloak of Shadows, a Warrior slammed Thunder Clap and Mortal Strike, a Paladin popped Divine Shield, a Warlock sent a Chaos Bolt flying, or a Hunter fired a deafening, booming blast from their blunderbuss?

Since the Legion audio overhaul, many of those punchy, unforgettable sound effects were replaced with softer, homogenized swishes and swooshes. OldCombatSounds brings that pure nostalgia back into modern Retail WoW!

This addon originally started as a personal passion project for my own use because I deeply missed those iconic pre-Legion combat sounds—and because I wanted to test Gemini Argon 4 for vibe coding. It turned out so great in-game that I decided to polish it into a full release and share it with everyone who misses the classic audio feel as much as I do.

🔥 Highlights & Key Features

• Pure Audio Nostalgia (No External Files Needed!): Automatically mutes modern Retail sound effects (MuteSoundFile) while triggering the original Classic, TBC, WotLK, and MoP sound files that are still hidden inside the official WoW client. No external sound packs or extra downloads required!
• The Iconic Hunter Gun, Bow & Crossbow Sounds Are Back: Tired of modern firearms sounding like airsoft pea-shooters? Restore the heavy, thunderous boom of classic WoW guns, the crisp snap of classic bows, and classic crossbows—complete with a manual weapon-type override button in the GUI in case your ranged weapon is transmogged!
• 11 Classic Classes Comprehensively Covered: Restores hundreds of core rotational abilities, iconic cooldowns, stuns, interrupts, heals, shields, totems, traps, and utility spells across Warrior, Rogue, Paladin, Mage, Death Knight, Shaman, Warlock, Priest, Druid, Hunter, and Monk—carefully verified against original Classic/WotLK sound databases.
• 3-Phase Spell Audio, Channels & Real-Time Projectile Sensor: Separates spell casting (PreCast), hand release, channeling/flight loops (like Arcane Missiles, Mind Flay, Haunt, or Death and Decay), and target impact. Ranged projectiles (such as Frostbolt, Fireball, Shadow Bolt, Lava Burst, or Wrath) dynamically detect when your projectile actually hits the target (UNIT_COMBAT) before playing the classic impact sound!
• Smart Melee White-Hit Engine: Automatically detects your equipped weapons (Axes, Maces, Swords/Daggers, Fist Weapons, Polearms/Staves) to play classic physical impact sounds:
  • True Dual-Wield Support: Alternates between your actual Main-Hand and Off-Hand weapon types.
  • Druid & Monk Support: Plays classic claw/bite sounds in Cat & Bear Form and classic martial arts strikes for unarmed Monks.
  • Smart Swing-Timer Gating: Prevents weapon enchants or multi-hit procs from spamming white-hit sounds.

🎛️ In-Game GUI & Live [Old] vs. [New] Preview (/ocs)

• Instant [Old] vs. [New] Audio Preview Buttons: Every spell in the menu features both an [Old] and a [New] button! Listen to the restored Classic sound and compare it directly against the modern Retail sound inside the options menu—without even having to log onto that class.
• Live Search & Filter Bar: Quickly search for any spell by name across any class tab.
• On-the-Fly Toggling & Master Class Switches: Enable or disable individual spells or entire classes mid-combat with a single click—no /reload required.
• Full Minimap Addon Compatibility: Powered by LibDBIcon-1.0 & LibDataBroker-1.1 (with a built-in fallback), the minimap button natively supports square minimaps, button drawers, and auto-fading from addons like BasicMinimap, SexyMap, and ElvUI.
• Ultra-Lightweight & Raid-Optimized: Built strictly on native, unprotected player unit events (RegisterUnitEvent) with event-driven caching and zero-garbage-collection object pooling. Zero combat-log taint and near-zero CPU usage even in 30-player raids.

💬 Slash Commands

• /ocs or /oldsounds — Opens/closes the configuration window.
• /ocs reset — Resets the window and Minimap button position to default.

🤝 v1.0 Release & Community Feedback

Because World of Warcraft's audio engine has evolved significantly over the years, some spells have dozens of underlying sound variations across different hero talents and glyphs. If you notice a modern sound slipping through on a specific talent build, or if you feel an iconic classic sound is missing or could be tweaked, please leave a comment with the Class and Spell Name! I am always open to feedback and suggestions to make the addon even better. Enjoy the nostalgia!