Plater: The Nameplate Addon You Didn't Know You Wanted

By BrutallStatic Last Updated: 2019/03/02 Changelog Patch: 8.1.0

March 2nd, 2019 update: Shortly after this guide hit the scene, the good people over at WAGO decided to allow Plater profile incorporation and it's absolutely brilliant. You can copy a variety of profiles, settings, and more from the website to make your Plater experience that much better. Give it a go and let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns over on my Twitch channel (linked directly below).BrutallStaticTwitch Streamnameplatemore powerPlaterPlaterCustomizing your nameplates allows you to have absolute control over how you interact with a target, or a group of targets, which directly influences the capabilities of the role you play in any given moment.Watch live video from BrutallStatic on www.twitch.tv/brutallstatic

Care to see how much of a difference a simple Plater setup can provide? Of course you want to see such a representation, it's why you're reading this article!

Watch live video from BrutallStatic on www.twitch.tv/brutallstatic

While these clips may not be able to showcase every tiny detail about the addon, their point is to shed light on how much information is made available to you via Plater. The default nameplates do their job on a basic level. That's fine, but with Plater there's just so much more you can do - and see. Couple that with the other features outlined below and you can quite literally alter your entire approach to combat in WoW if you've been shying away from something like Plater. Is that statement too dramatic? Eh, maybe, but I stand by it. What's the worst that could happen, you install it and fall madly in love with what you see and become more involved with the game as a whole? The horror.

Setup

Let's go ahead and jump into how the addon presents itself in-game, and where you should get started in customizing it to your liking.

Right away you can see just how many customization options there happen to be for something that has been considered fairly one dimensional since WoW hit the market. You can immediately take control of how the nameplates you see in-game look and respond to your presence. You can see in the image above that you have the option to alter your nameplate's bar texture, the distance that the nameplate fades when outside of casting range, whether you want your nameplates to stack, and even how far away you want them to be visible - and these are just the first few options on the first tab within the menu.

Before I delve any deeper, in the time that I've been using Plater, I've compiled a short list of the most noticeable pros and cons I've picked up on:

Pro	Con
The customization is unbelievably robust	The customization is daunting, if not downright debilitating
Its ability to help you create WeakAuras on a whim	If you don't already use WeakAuras, you might need to learn the basics of another addon in addition to Plater
There is a Discord community to assist with the understanding of the addon, and the URL is linked at the bottom of the menu	You may need help from the Discord community to truly understand and take advantage of all the options and features of the addon
Adding spells to the tracklist, blacklist, special auras, etc. takes a single click of the mouse	It can be confusing learning how to manage your various lists, hooks, scripts, etc.

I wanted to present this information to you so that you were fully aware of what Plater expects of its users, but also to remind you that you do not need to be worried about utilizing every possible feature of the addon. The beauty of Plater is that from the moment you install it and begin using it, it's already an improvement upon the default nameplates in the game. If you want to keep things simple and merely adjust some debuff icons or maybe manage the color of the nameplate given the circumstance (e.g. if you have threat, if the target is in combat, etc.), that's perfectly acceptable and easy to accomplish.

Going the Extra Mile

Okay, so you've mastered Plater's tutorial. Congratulations. It's time to graduate to the big leagues, because there's a lot more you can do with this addon. In fact, it even ties in with a couple of other beloved and widely used addons: Details!WeakAuras 2theirWatch live video from BrutallStatic on www.twitch.tv/brutallstatic

Watch live video from BrutallStatic on www.twitch.tv/brutallstatic

You can even have nameplates perform an animation when a specific spells lands on the target via the "Animations" tab. Need a visual cue that your Chaos Bolt landed? Consider it done. You'll notice the nameplate of your target increase in size and shake like a gnome in Northrend. It's an incredible feature that doesn't get in the way of what you're trying to accomplish while in combat.

Watch live video from BrutallStatic on www.twitch.tv/brutallstatic

Stop Reading and Go Get Plater

It's impossible for me to go into every detail of this addon. It genuinely does more than you could ever possibly need or want in a nameplate addon, but the fact that each feature exists, and that they each service such a unique function, is a welcome addition to something that most people never even stop to consider. Thankfully, Plater continues to improve with each update, and more and more features are being added on a regular basis. The sooner you download and install it, the sooner you can begin mastering what it has to offer.

I hope that you've enjoyed reading about Plater and some (not all) of its features. Don't let its sheer wealth of options intimidate you into not giving it a fair chance. Again, it's ready to be used out-of-the-box, but the more time you spend using the addon, the more you'll want to get to know it and seek the treasures that lie within. Enjoy what's to come and remember: Addons don't make the player, the players make the addons. Or something. I should come up with a better catchphrase...

Comments

Comment by Sarthorius

I was using not so long ago another one, Kui Nameplates, because I needed one that wouldn't hog so much on the game (and PC) resources, dropping FPS down. Dows anyone knows if this one can do the same? I'll check it out later.

One of the other things I'm missing from every nameplate addon is the 'naming' of npcs and characters that don't necessarily have a 'nameplate' bar on them, like, let's say, neutral npcs or players in the world.

Another setup I'd wan't to know is if this one has an option to hide neutral npc's nameplate at all, instead of showing them, along with 'hostile' ones in the world. Currently I'm using ElvUI's nameplate mod, and that turtle's nameplate near Zul'Dazar's boat makes me facepalm everytime he passes near the table -.- .

A 3rd option I'd wanna know is if this addon can 'hide' somehow, the nameplates of npcs on levels that are not on your own, like in dungeons/raids (specially Timewalking Magister's Terrace, for example). These stuff are game-breaking for me, at least there should be an option for them to be disabled that way inside instances. You wouldn't want to pull below/above mobs with your pet going all the way for them heh?

Comment by Mockturtle

I'd be very interested to know what the differences are between Plater and my current addon Threat Plates.

Comment by F1rstAssau1t

Coming from KUI namaplates i liked it, but after trying Plater im not going back. Im still learning more about the options but im a good at it and with Weak Auras and Details! which are addon's that actually really complement each other.

Thank you for letting me know of the existance of this addon WoWhead.

Comment by Gothy

Cool but I'll stick to Threat Plates because I'm a stickler for open source ;)

~~Let's not talk about how Blizzard uses plenty of FLOSS but ultimately keeps things proprietary and doesn't officially support GNU/Linux.~~

Comment by Demison

hey in a Group it spam all my Chat full with "Plater Mod Aura Reorder code for Nameplate Removed error:... how bring i that away

Comment by Arni32167

I really need an advanced Plater guide. Like, really. How do I make a nameplate glow when someone is casting given spell?
Where to set the alpha for nameplates of enemies out of range and/or not in combat with me?
Buffs/debuffs were figured out by myself already.
Damn, I need a few-hours session training or a book tutorial.

Plater: The Nameplate Addon You Didn't Know You Wanted

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