Play
Play is a modern UI overhaul for World of Warcraft.
It offers complete Keybinding, UI, Actionbar setup. Getting into the game has never been easier.
Important things move closer to the center of your attention, while less important UI parts become quieter until you need them. New features like quest progressbars, currency revamps and a optional guiding Element - the "Focus HUD" and a lot more are there to support your journey.
*Disclaimer: When choosing to import whole setups, you need to have a mouse with mousebutton 4 & 5, or create workarounds by yourself.
https://youtu.be/wlSBVCgsPVY
What Play offers at launch
A calmer interface
Play can fade parts of the UI when you do not need them.
- Action bars, chat, quest tracker and other UI parts can become softer.
- When you move your mouse over them, they become clear again.
- When you type in chat, the chat stays readable.
- In combat, important things stay visible.
The addon shines more light on what you are doing right now.
A smarter quest experience
Play makes quests easier to understand at a glance.
- Different quest types get different colors and icons.
- Important quests stand out more.
- Quest progress can be shown with clean progress bars.
- The active quest can appear in a small 'Focus HUD' near the top of the screen.
- Quest tracker hover effects make it easier to see what you are pointing at.
Focus HUD
The Focus HUD is a small central display for the quest or message that matters most.
It can show:
- your current focus quest
- quest goals
- help tips
- friend-online notices
- item upgrade hints
It feels like a small "now look here" area, instead of spreading important information all over the screen.
Modern minimap buttons
Play can collect addon buttons around the minimap and show them in cleaner ways.
Available styles include:
- buttons open like a small fan
- buttons move around the minimap
- buttons fly outward in a more dramatic animation
- buttons slide into position one after another
You can also hold Ctrl over the minimap to show small mode buttons and switch the style quickly.
Inventory and account item info
Play helps answer a very common question:
"Do I already have this item somewhere?"
It can show:
- which character owns an item
- where the item is stored
- how many you have in total
This makes bags, banks and alts easier to manage.
Better item tooltips
Item tooltips can become more useful and more readable.
- Item quality tints the tooltip.
- Important stats are highlighted.
- Item upgrade tracks get special colors.
- Bag item tooltips can follow the cursor more smoothly.
New money display
Play can replace the normal gold/silver/copper display with a larger coin system for very big amounts of money.
It is designed to make large numbers easier to read.
It also respects colorblind mode.
Nameplate improvements
Nameplates can become more meaningful.
Play can improve:
- quest enemies
- rare enemies
- low-health warnings
- friendly player names
- role-based visibility
- city/resting area behavior
The idea is that nameplates should show what matters, not just float everywhere equally.
Cursor and mouse gestures
Play has many small quality-of-life features around the mouse.
- Shake the mouse quickly to make the cursor pop larger for a moment.
- In combat, the cursor can become easier to see.
- Holding Ctrl can show extra UI hints.
- Holding Ctrl over action bars shows the keybind for that button.
- A sweet inspect icon follows the cursor during Ctrl mode.
Ctrl Modes featureset will be expanded in the future like all other launch features.
This makes the UI feel much more alive.
Action bar keybind helper
Hold Ctrl and move over an action bar button.
Instead of a large spell tooltip, Play shows the key you press for that button.
This is useful when you are learning or checking your bars.
Movable Blizzard windows
Many Blizzard windows can be moved and remembered.
- Drag a supported window to move it.
- Ctrl + right click can reset a panel.
- Combat-safe rules avoid touching protected UI at unsafe times.
Quest dialogs and world text
Play also changes smaller world UI moments.
- Quest dialogs appear larger and more comfortably placed.
- Quest dialogs animate in and out.
- Zone text intros become more modern.
- Combat text is shown more centrally.
- Language flags can help identify player regions.
Setup import
Play can import character setups.
It's handling:
- action bars
- keybindings
- macros
- UI layout presets
This is useful for people who like presets.
Settings
The settings menu (found in spellbook) groups features by topic, such as:
- quests and Focus HUD
- inventory and item information
- minimap and transparency
- nameplates
- world UI and cursor behavior
- setup and development tools
Important Notes
Play is a large feature project.
Some parts are more polished. Some parts are meant to be refined. Your Feedback is urgently wanted, you can comment on Curseforge or visit this Project's Discord if you like to.
The goal is not to make WoW look completely different for no reason. The goal is to make the UI better and more pleasant to use.
Also the deadline of an ongoing sets the boundaries how much is possible. New features, Tuning, Bugfixing, Performance reviewing will be done extensively in the following weeks.
TL;DR
Play makes your UI better. The longterm aim is on usability and giving Players everything from the get-go.
It helps with quests, inventory, minimap buttons, nameplates, cursor visibility, item ownership, money displays, setup import/export and many small mouse interactions.
It is made for players who want the game interface to feel calmer, clearer and more modern.
The description is work-in-progress and will be reworked and refined when more features have been released, which are currently in development.

