[Addon Release] SlamPlates 2.5 – GUID Debuffs, Judgement Tracking & Dungeon Plates

[Reksim]

[Addon Release] SlamPlates 2.5 – GUID Debuffs, Judgement Tracking & Dungeon Plates

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share the latest version of a project I’ve been working on called SlamPlates.



SlamPlates is a nameplate enhancement built for Vanilla WoW / OctoWoW-style 1.12 clients, using ShaguPlates as its underlying nameplate engine.

The goal is to bring some of the readability and information you’d expect from modern WoW nameplates into the Vanilla client, while working around the limitations of the original API.

The visual direction was inspired by addons such as Luxthos / Platynator, but the project has grown into much more than a visual reskin.


What’s New in SlamPlates 2.5

The main focus of 2.5 is debuff reliability.

Version 2.0 introduced the exact-GUID debuff system, and 2.5 expands that system with:

• Paladin Judgement tracking
• Better debuff refresh handling
• Reliable untargeted AoE reapplications
• Independent timers for identical mobs
• New diagnostic tools for troubleshooting aura behavior

GUID-Aware Debuff Tracking

One of the biggest problems with traditional Vanilla nameplate debuff tracking is that the client has very limited information about non-target enemies.

For example, if you are fighting three identical mobs:

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Mangy Wolf - Level 6
Mangy Wolf - Level 6
Mangy Wolf - Level 6

a normal nameplate addon can have trouble knowing which specific wolf owns which debuff.

SlamPlates uses SuperWoW GUID information to give each mob its own identity.

For example:

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Mangy Wolf → GUID A → Rend: 12s
Mangy Wolf → GUID B → Rend: 5s
Mangy Wolf → GUID C → No Rend

This means effects can remain associated with the correct mob instead of bleeding between identical nameplates.

This improves:

• Rend
• Thunder Clap
• Hamstring
• Multi-target combat
• AoE debuffs
• Rapid target switching
• Debuff reapplications
• Independent timers on identical enemies

There is no name/name+level ownership fallback in the exact-GUID system.


Paladin Judgement Tracking

SlamPlates 2.5 now supports persistent Paladin Judgements using the same exact-GUID system.

Supported Judgements include:

• Judgement of the Crusader
• Judgement of Light
• Judgement of Wisdom
• Judgement of Justice

This allows Judgements to remain tied to the actual enemy they were applied to.

For example:

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Mob A → Judgement of Wisdom: 8s
Mob B → No Judgement

Even if both mobs have the same name.


Reliable AoE Reapplications

Some Vanilla abilities behave strangely when refreshed.

The first application may generate a normal combat-log event, but a later cast may simply refresh the aura without producing another normal "afflicted" message.

That can cause a nameplate timer to keep counting down even though the effect was just reapplied.

SlamPlates 2.5 adds a reusable exact-GUID reapplication system for these abilities.

Currently supported:

• Demoralizing Shout
• Piercing Howl
• Challenging Shout
• Demoralizing Roar
• Challenging Roar

For example:

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Mob A — Demoralizing Shout: 18 sec
Mob B — Demoralizing Shout: 18 sec

If Mob A moves away and Demoralizing Shout is recast near Mob B:

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Mob A → continues from 18 sec
Mob B → resets to ~30 sec

The system does not simply reset every visible timer.

A timer is only refreshed if:

Code: Select all

Exact GUID is already owned
        +
Aura is still live
        +
Mob passes the range check
        =
Timer refresh

This keeps the system conservative and helps avoid false timers.


Dungeon Plates

SlamPlates-Advanced includes an optional Dungeon Plates system.

Dungeon mobs can be classified as:

• Normal – Standard dungeon enemy
• Tanky – Durable / high-health enemy
• Caster – Spellcaster / priority interrupt target
• Rare – Rare enemy
• Boss – Boss encounter

This lets the health bar communicate what type of enemy you are looking at during a pull.

Caster mobs can also be learned automatically.

Manual role overrides are supported as well.

Dungeon role information is stored using:

Code: Select all

Instance + NPC ID

This helps prevent NPCs reused elsewhere from inheriting the wrong role.

While Dungeon Plates are active, the health bar shows the mob’s role while threat is communicated through a separate glow.

Outside instances, SlamPlates returns to its normal health-bar behavior.


Other Features

Core

• Modernized compact nameplate appearance
• GUID-aware player debuff tracking
• Independent debuff timers for identical enemies
• Improved AoE and multi-target debuff handling
• Friendly-player class-colored health bars
• White friendly-player names for readability
• Configurable hostile-target enlargement
• Improved target highlighting
• Improved target/non-target timer behavior
• Improved castbar presentation

SlamPlates Advanced

• Dungeon Plates
• Normal / Tanky / Caster / Rare / Boss dungeon roles
• Automatic caster learning
• Manual NPC role overrides
• Threat glow
• Quest-objective coloring
• Boss / Elite / Rare coloring
• Intelligent castbar colors
• Important-cast highlighting
• Crowd-control indicators
• Interruptible-cast highlighting
• NPC subtitles / subnames
• Learned NPC service labels
• Pet / minion / guardian ownership handling
• Configurable target enlargement
• Minimap settings button

SlamPlates-Advanced is completely optional.

If you only want the core styling and debuff system, you do not need to use every Advanced feature.


NPC Service Labels

SlamPlates can learn useful NPC information as you interact with them.

Examples include:

Code: Select all

[Vendor]
[Repair]
[Vendor / Repair]
[Trainer]
[Banker]
[Auctioneer]
[Flight Master]
[Innkeeper]

It can also display NPC subtitles such as:

Code: Select all

Weaponsmith
[Vendor / Repair]
Corina Steele

Dynamic pet/minion ownership information is kept unit-specific so summoned creatures do not permanently contaminate wild NPCs with the same name.


Cast Information

SlamPlates-Advanced includes:

• Intelligent cast-bar coloring
• Important-cast highlighting
• Interruptible-cast highlighting
• Crowd-control indicators

You can add an Important Cast with:

Code: Select all

/slama important add Greater Heal

You can remove it with:

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/slama important remove Greater Heal

Use the spell name exactly as it appears in game.


Target Enlargement

SlamPlates can automatically enlarge the nameplate of your current hostile target.

This makes your selected enemy easier to distinguish during larger pulls.

Target enlargement applies to:

• Hostile NPCs
• Attackable PvP-enabled players

It does not enlarge:

• Friendly NPCs
• Vendors
• Trainers
• Party members
• Friendly players
• Other non-hostile targets

The default target size is:

Code: Select all

120%

You can configure it anywhere from:

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100% → 200%

through the SlamPlates Advanced settings window.

You can also use:

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/slama targetscale 150

to make the current hostile target's plate 150% of normal size.

I personally like running mine around 130%.


Requirements

ShaguPlates is required.

SlamPlates does not replace or bundle ShaguPlates.

It builds on top of it.

SuperWoW is strongly recommended for the full GUID-aware feature set.


Installation

Your addon folder should look like this:

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Interface\AddOns\ShaguPlates
Interface\AddOns\SlamPlates
Interface\AddOns\SlamPlates-Advanced

SlamPlates-Advanced is optional.

If upgrading from an older version, replace the existing:

Code: Select all

SlamPlates
SlamPlates-Advanced

folders with the new versions.

Your normal SavedVariables can be kept.


Configuration

SlamPlates consists of two parts:

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SlamPlates
|
+-- /slam
    Core addon controls


SlamPlates-Advanced
|
+-- /slama
    Advanced features and customization

You do not need to memorize commands for normal gameplay.

Most Advanced options can be controlled through the SlamPlates Advanced minimap button.


Core Commands

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/slam
/slam apply
/slam on
/slam off
/slam bubbles on
/slam bubbles off
/slam guidscan
/slam guidrefresh
/slam aoeprobe
/slam demoshout

/slam
Displays SlamPlates commands.

/slam apply
Reapplies SlamPlates visual settings.

/slam on
Enables SlamPlates.

/slam off
Disables SlamPlates.

/slam bubbles on
Enables SlamPlates chat-bubble handling.

/slam bubbles off
Disables chat-bubble handling.

/slam guidscan
Detailed GUID / aura diagnostic.

/slam guidrefresh
Forces exact-GUID reconciliation for the current target.

/slam aoeprobe
Diagnoses supported untargeted AoE reapplications.

/slam demoshout
Focuses the AoE diagnostic on Demoralizing Shout.


Advanced Commands

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/slama
/slama menu
/slama apply
/slama on
/slama off
/slama quest on/off
/slama elite on/off
/slama casts on/off
/slama cc on/off
/slama interruptible on/off
/slama services on/off
/slama services clear
/slama subtitles on/off
/slama subtitles clear
/slama skinnable on/off
/slama minimap on/off
/slama targetscale 100-200
/slama important add <Spell>
/slama important remove <Spell>

Most players will probably never need to type these manually since the main options are available through the Advanced minimap settings.


Diagnostic Commands

If something behaves incorrectly, SlamPlates includes several troubleshooting commands.

The main ones are:

Code: Select all

/slam guidscan
/slam guidrefresh
/slam aoeprobe
/slam demoshout

/slam guidscan is the main debuff diagnostic.

It can show information such as:

• Exact GUID
• Aura source
• Remaining duration
• Internal tracked state
• Visual slot
• Cooldown state
• Numeric timer state
• Frame layering information

If you run into a debuff problem, the most useful testing procedure is:

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Bug happens
    ↓
Do not change targets if possible
    ↓
/slam guidscan
    ↓
Take screenshot
    ↓
/slam guidrefresh
    ↓
/slam guidscan
    ↓
Take another screenshot

For AoE reapplication problems, also run:

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/slam aoeprobe

Screenshots of the affected nameplates together with the diagnostic output are extremely helpful.


Feedback / Bug Reports

There are still bound to be edge cases because a lot of SlamPlates is working around limitations of the original Vanilla client.

If you run into something strange, especially involving:

• Debuffs
• Multiple identical mobs
• AoE abilities
• Debuff refreshes
• Paladin Judgements
• Castbars
• Dungeon NPC classification
• Unusual nameplate behavior

please report it.

Screenshots and reproducible examples are especially useful.

I’d also be interested in hearing what other players would like to see added, as long as it can be implemented reliably without sacrificing the stability of the core addon.


Credits

Huge credit to Shagu for ShaguPlates, which provides the underlying nameplate engine SlamPlates is built around.

The visual direction was inspired by modern nameplate styles such as Luxthos / Platynator, adapted for the Vanilla environment.

SuperWoW makes much of the exact unit identification possible, particularly when tracking debuffs across multiple enemies.

SlamPlates is free and open source under the MIT license.


Download / Source

GitHub:

https://github.com/Slamrish/SlamPlates

Latest Release:

https://github.com/Slamrish/SlamPlates/releases/tag/v2.5.0


If anyone gives it a try, feedback is very welcome.

This started as something I wanted for my own setup, but it has grown into a much larger project focused on making Vanilla nameplates behave more reliably in real combat.

SlamPlates is intended to work with both enemy and friendly nameplates enabled.

If you're in town and see a wall of friendly nameplates, just toggle friendly nameplates off temporarily for a cleaner screen.

I have also not done dedicated PFUI compatibility testing yet, so if anyone runs SlamPlates alongside PFUI, feedback would be appreciated.

[Reksim]

CHANGES SINCE SLAMPLATES 1.0

For anyone who used the original release, here's a more complete overview of what changed on the road to 2.0.

DEBUFFS / AURAS

• Added exact GUID-aware player debuff tracking through SuperWoW.
• Added exact per-mob tracking when multiple NPCs share the same name.
• Added support for multi-target/AoE debuff applications.
• Added GUID-specific debuff reapplications.
• Added automatic learning of known player debuff durations and textures.
• Added spellbook-based duration learning.
• Added SuperWoW UNIT_CASTEVENT support for targeted debuff reapplications.
• Added RAW_COMBATLOG handling for exact multi-target applications.
• Added exact target-aura reconciliation when the target portrait knows about an aura before the nameplate does.
• Improved first-application reliability.
• Fixed Thunder Clap sometimes requiring another action/target change before appearing.
• Fixed Rend sometimes failing to reset correctly when reapplied.
• Fixed intermittent missing debuff icons.
• Fixed sparse ShaguPlates aura slots allowing two debuffs to occupy the same visual position.
• Fixed cases where a debuff icon was visible but its numeric countdown was not.
• Improved cooldown text layering when changing targets.
• Added GUID diagnostic tools for troubleshooting unusual aura behavior.

Importantly, the system does not simply assign a debuff to every nearby mob with the same name. Exact GUID ownership is preferred so identical mobs can maintain independent timers.

DUNGEON PLATES

• Added an entirely new instance-only Dungeon Plates system.
• Added Normal, Tanky, Caster, Rare and Boss roles.
• Added automatic caster learning.
• Added manual role assignment for targeted NPCs.
• Added per-instance + NPC-ID role storage.
• Added protection against role information leaking between different instances.
• Added curated dungeon NPC data support.
• Added a dedicated Dungeon Plates settings tab.
• Added Dungeon Plates status and target-role information.
• Added the ability to clear learned caster information.
• Added a Base 1.0 override for NPCs that should retain the original SlamPlates behavior.
• Moved threat information to a nameplate glow while Dungeon Plates is active so role colors remain readable.

NAMEPLATE READABILITY

• Improved friendly-player name readability.
• Friendly player names remain white while health bars retain class colors.
• Improved target emphasis/scaling behavior.
• Improved NPC subtitle positioning and filtering.
• Added/expanded Vendor and Repair service information.
• Added NPC profession/service subtitles such as Weaponsmith.
• Added filters for unwanted location/faction subtitles such as Stormwind, Alliance and Horde.
• Added an option for Skinnable subtitles.
• Improved pet, minion, guardian and companion ownership subtitles.
• Fixed ownership subtitles leaking onto wild creatures with the same name.

ADVANCED FEATURES

• Expanded the SlamPlates-Advanced settings interface.
• Added a dedicated Dungeon Plates configuration page.
• Added intelligent cast coloring.
• Added CC indicators.
• Added optional interruptible-cast highlighting.
• Added quest-objective coloring.
• Added boss / elite / rare coloring.
• Expanded minimap/settings controls.

UNDER THE HOOD

The biggest difference between 1.0 and 2.0 isn't just visual.

SlamPlates now has a much stronger identity and reconciliation layer for working around the limited unit information available to traditional Vanilla nameplate addons.

ShaguPlates still provides the underlying nameplate engine, while SlamPlates adds the OctoWoW/SuperWoW-specific logic needed for more reliable modern-style behavior.

[Reksim]

CHANGES SINCE SLAMPLATES 2.0

For anyone who was already using SlamPlates 2.0, here is a breakdown of what changed in the 2.5 update.

The main focus of 2.5 was expanding the exact-GUID debuff system so it can handle more complicated refresh behavior without sacrificing the reliability work introduced in 2.0.


PALADIN JUDGEMENT TRACKING

SlamPlates can now track persistent Paladin Judgements using the same exact-GUID debuff system as other player-applied effects.

Supported Judgements include:

• Judgement of the Crusader
• Judgement of Light
• Judgement of Wisdom
• Judgement of Justice

Judgements are associated with the exact mob GUID they were applied to.

This means identical mobs can maintain completely separate Judgement timers.

For example:

Code: Select all

Mob A - Judgement of Wisdom: 8s
Mob B - No Judgement

Even if both mobs have the same name and level.

Judgement refreshes also remain tied to the original exact GUID instead of being applied globally to matching nameplates.


UNTARGETED AOE REAPPLICATION FRAMEWORK

SlamPlates 2.0 already handled many targeted and combat-log-confirmed debuffs well, but one remaining problem involved untargeted AoE abilities.

Some Vanilla abilities behave like this:

Code: Select all

First application:
Combat log says the mob was afflicted.

Reapplication:
Server refreshes the aura,
but no second normal "afflicted" message appears.

This can cause the actual debuff to refresh while the SlamPlates timer continues counting down from the original application.

Demoralizing Shout was the first ability where this behavior was reproduced consistently.

Instead of creating a one-off Demoralizing Shout fix, SlamPlates 2.5 introduces a reusable framework for this entire class of abilities.


CURRENTLY SUPPORTED AOE REFRESH ABILITIES

The new framework currently supports:

• Demoralizing Shout
• Piercing Howl
• Challenging Shout
• Demoralizing Roar
• Challenging Roar

These abilities can now refresh their existing SlamPlates timers even when the normal Vanilla combat log does not produce another application event.


EXACT-GUID RANGE-AWARE REFRESHING

The AoE system does not simply reset every matching debuff on the screen.

A timer can only refresh when all of the following are true:

Code: Select all

SlamPlates already owns the effect
on that exact GUID

        +

The aura is still confirmed live
on that exact GUID

        +

The mob passes the range check

        =

Refresh that individual timer

This keeps separate mobs independent.

For example:

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Mob A - Demoralizing Shout: 18s
Mob B - Demoralizing Shout: 18s

If Mob A is moved out of range and Demoralizing Shout is recast near Mob B:

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Mob A - continues counting down
Mob B - resets to approximately 30s

This near/far behavior was tested directly before the 2.5 release.


NO NEW NAME-BASED OWNERSHIP FALLBACK

The exact-GUID safety rules introduced in 2.0 remain intact.

2.5 does not add logic such as:

Code: Select all

"This mob has the same name,
so it probably has my debuff."

A recast cannot establish ownership by itself.

SlamPlates must already know that the effect belongs to your player on that exact GUID before the AoE refresh system is allowed to restart the timer.

This prevents identical nearby mobs from contaminating each other's debuff states.


CONSERVATIVE RANGE HANDLING

The new AoE framework uses a conservative approximately 10-yard exact-GUID range check.

This was intentional.

Some talents can increase the effective radius of certain abilities beyond their normal range.

In those cases, a mob standing in the outer talented portion of the radius may occasionally keep its previous timer instead of being refreshed.

That is preferable to falsely resetting a timer on a mob that was not actually hit.

SlamPlates continues to prefer:

Code: Select all

Possibly under-refreshing a timer

over:

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Displaying a timer we cannot trust

DEMORALIZING SHOUT FIX

The original issue that led to this new system was Demoralizing Shout.

The first application was tracked correctly, but reapplying Demoralizing Shout while the debuff was already active did not restart the nameplate timer.

Testing showed that the recast produced a SuperWoW cast event but did not provide a normal new target-afflicted combat-log message.

SlamPlates therefore knew the debuff was still present, but it had no normal application event telling it that the duration had restarted.

2.5 now handles this through the generic AoE reapplication framework.

Demoralizing Shout can be reapplied and the correct exact-GUID timers will restart only on mobs that satisfy the refresh conditions.


WHY THIS BECAME A GENERAL SYSTEM

During testing, it became clear that Demoralizing Shout was not something that should be solved with a completely separate hard-coded system.

Other untargeted AoE abilities can follow similar Vanilla event behavior.

Rather than repeatedly creating:

Code: Select all

Demoralizing Shout fix
Piercing Howl fix
Demoralizing Roar fix
etc.

SlamPlates now has a reusable system for mechanically compatible abilities.

This means additional abilities with the same behavior can be added to the framework without redesigning the debuff engine every time.


PALADIN JUDGEMENT REFRESH HANDLING

Judgements also required some additional handling because certain persistent Judgements can have their duration refreshed after the initial application.

SlamPlates does not simply assume that every Paladin attack should restart every Judgement timer.

Instead, Judgement tracking remains associated with the exact GUID and uses the existing aura/reconciliation system to keep the displayed state tied to the actual enemy.

The goal is the same as the rest of the SlamPlates debuff engine:

Code: Select all

Observe the actual unit whenever possible
instead of inventing a timer from assumptions.

NEW AOE DIAGNOSTICS

SlamPlates 2.5 adds a new diagnostic command:

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/slam aoeprobe

This can provide information about:

• Supported AoE casts
• Exact GUIDs being considered
• Existing owned debuff states
• Live aura confirmation
• Range-check results
• Which individual timers were refreshed

The existing Demoralizing Shout diagnostic also remains available:

Code: Select all

/slam demoshout

This provides a focused view when specifically troubleshooting Demoralizing Shout behavior.


EXISTING GUID DIAGNOSTICS REMAIN

The main SlamPlates debuff diagnostics from 2.0 remain available:

Code: Select all

/slam guidscan
/slam guidrefresh

/slam guidscan remains the primary diagnostic for individual debuff problems.

It can report information including:

• Exact mob GUID
• Live aura state
• Aura source
• Tracked duration
• Remaining time
• Internal ownership state
• Visual icon location
• Cooldown frame state
• Numeric timer state
• Frame-level information

If a debuff behaves incorrectly, the recommended procedure remains:

Code: Select all

Bug occurs

Do not change targets if possible

/slam guidscan

Take a screenshot

/slam guidrefresh

/slam guidscan

Take another screenshot

For an AoE reapplication issue, also run:

Code: Select all

/slam aoeprobe

WHAT DID NOT CHANGE

The 2.5 work was deliberately built on top of the stable 2.0 system rather than replacing it.

The following 2.0 systems remain intact:

• Exact-GUID player debuff ownership
• Multi-target debuff tracking
• Thunder Clap handling
• Rend handling
• Target/non-target aura reconciliation
• Aura-slot collision fixes
• Numeric cooldown-text layering fixes
• Dungeon Plates
• Automatic caster learning
• Manual dungeon role overrides
• Instance-specific NPC role storage
• Threat glow
• Quest-objective coloring
• Elite / Rare / Boss coloring
• NPC subtitles
• NPC service labels
• Pet / minion / guardian ownership handling
• Target enlargement
• SlamPlates-Advanced configuration

The goal of 2.5 was to expand debuff coverage, not rewrite the stable parts of 2.0.


UNDER THE HOOD

The largest architectural change in 2.5 is that untargeted AoE refresh behavior is now data-driven.

Instead of writing a completely separate system every time another compatible ability is discovered, mechanically similar abilities can use the same framework.

Conceptually, the system now looks like:

Code: Select all

Untargeted AoE is cast
        |
        v
Is this ability supported?
        |
        v
Find exact GUID states already
owned by SlamPlates
        |
        v
Confirm aura is still live
        |
        v
Confirm mob is inside
conservative range
        |
        v
Refresh only that exact GUID

This should make it much easier to support additional abilities with similar behavior in future versions without repeatedly redesigning the debuff engine.


SUMMARY: SLAMPLATES 2.0 TO 2.5

The main additions since SlamPlates 2.0 are:

• Persistent Paladin Judgement tracking
• Judgement of the Crusader tracking
• Judgement of Light tracking
• Judgement of Wisdom tracking
• Judgement of Justice tracking
• Exact-GUID Judgement refresh handling
• Fixed Demoralizing Shout reapplications
• Generic untargeted AoE reapplication framework
• Demoralizing Shout AoE refresh support
• Piercing Howl AoE refresh support
• Challenging Shout AoE refresh support
• Demoralizing Roar AoE refresh support
• Challenging Roar AoE refresh support
• Exact-GUID range-aware refresh decisions
• Independent near/far AoE timers
• Conservative handling of talented extended ranges
• New /slam aoeprobe diagnostic
• Dedicated /slam demoshout diagnostic retained
• Continued protection against name-based debuff contamination

The important part is that these additions were built on top of the SlamPlates 2.0 GUID system.

The existing debuff ownership, timer rendering, aura-slot handling, Dungeon Plates and SlamPlates-Advanced systems remain in place.

2.5 is primarily about extending the situations where SlamPlates can maintain a reliable timer when the Vanilla client does not give a traditional nameplate addon enough information to do so.


DOWNLOAD / SOURCE

GitHub:

https://github.com/Slamrish/SlamPlates

SlamPlates 2.5 Release:

https://github.com/Slamrish/SlamPlates/releases/tag/v2.5.0


As always, if anyone runs into an ability that appears correctly on the first application but does not restart its timer when reapplied, please report it.

If it follows the same behavior as the abilities above, it may now be possible to support it through the generic framework rather than requiring another dedicated tracking system.