TBC Ping Wheel recreates Retail WoW's modern ping system inside TBC Anniversary, built entirely on the APIs the classic client actually exposes. Since TBC has no ground-ping capability (C_Ping is disabled and there's no cursor-to-terrain raycast), the addon focuses on what is achievable: unit pings — and does everything else the Retail way.
What it does
Hold your ping key over any unit — hostile, friendly, player, NPC, mob, or boss — and a Retail-style radial wheel opens at your cursor: Warning on top, Attack left, On My Way right, Assist bottom, cancel in the centre. Aim toward a ping, release, and three things happen: a marker appears above that unit and follows its nameplate, a group-chat-styled line prints ([Party] [You]: {icon} Attack: Enemypriest, using the client's actual Retail ping icons), and that ping type's distinct sound plays. Everything is local-first: it works identically solo in Elwynn or in a 3v3 — grouping only adds replication, never gates functionality.
When grouped, your ping broadcasts to other addon users as a GUID (never client-specific unit tokens). Each teammate's addon resolves that GUID to their own view — same marker above the same priest on their screen, same styled chat line, same sound — effectively simultaneously. Markers anchor by priority: the unit's nameplate, then your target frame, then their party/raid frame. For friendly pings with friendly nameplates off, the addon temporarily flips them on for the marker's lifetime, then restores your setting (crash-safe via saved variables). Markers are GUID-verified against nameplate recycling, pooled rather than endlessly created, and repinging refreshes rather than stacks.
The four ping sounds ship inside the addon, so every install sounds identical — Attack is a descending double-strike, Warning an alarm pulse, Assist an ascending chime, On My Way a sonar sweep — and a new ping always interrupts the previous sound so spam stays clean. Everything is insecure UI: no protected calls, fully combat- and arena-safe, no Blizzard UI taint.
How to use it
Install by placing the TBCPing folder in Interface/AddOns/, then fully restart the client (required once so the sound files register). Bind the key under Key Bindings → AddOns → TBC Ping Wheel — any key, mouse button, or modifier combo works; G is just the convention. At login you'll get a one-line reminder showing your key, or a warning if none is bound.
Then it's: mouse over a unit → hold the key → move the cursor toward a ping → release. Release over the centre to cancel. No mouseover? It pings your current target by default. For the full above-the-head experience, keep nameplates on (V for enemies, Shift-V for friendlies) — without a plate, markers fall back to unit frames.
Type /tbcping to open the options window (draggable, ESC to close): sound toggles and a Test button, marker lifetime, auto friendly plates, target fallback, chat settings, and the optional plain-text mode that posts [Ping] Attack: Target into real party chat for groupmates without the addon — addon users filter that raw line automatically so nobody sees doubles. /tbcping help lists the slash equivalents, and /tbcping soundtest self-diagnoses audio if anything goes quiet.
One honest limitation to know: pinging arbitrary terrain like Retail isn't possible — the classic client simply doesn't expose the API — so this is deliberately, and completely, a unit ping system.
The TBCPing Team
