World of Warcraft's 11.1.5 update is landing April 22, and with it new features like a boss rush mode and the return of Battle for Azeroth's Horrific Visions. However, what players are perhaps most excited about is that the update will finally bake in a UI alternative to one of the game's most popular (and, in the opinion of many WoW players, required) add-ons.
As detailed in a blog post, patch 11.1.5 will officially add the Cooldown Manager to the game's customizable UI, giving players far more control over tracking their character's various abilities and buffs. Players will be able to better track their utility cooldowns with a special bar, see easy-to-read meters showing the time remaining on buffs, and more easily watch out for the essential abilities coming off cooldown. It's something the game's default UI has been sorely missing for quite some time, resulting in players turning to free third-party add-ons to meet their needs, specifically an add-on called WeakAuras.
While the Cooldown Manager won't offer quite as much granular customization as WeakAuras (which can get very complex), it does offer much of the basic functionality and benefits of the add-on, minus all the hassle. It's not the first time Blizzard has sought to improve its UI and make it so add-ons feel like less of a requirement. As part of the game's Dragonflight expansion, Blizzard dramatically overhauled the MMORPG's UI and introduced far more customization to it than ever before, significantly reducing the need for players to install popular UI add-ons like Bartender. Over time, Blizzard has continued to update the UI to make it far more usable right out of the box.
No doubt many players will still use WeakAuras due to how highly customizable it is, but for players who are more casual and don't feel like spending hours setting up WeakAuras for each of their characters, the default Cooldown Manager will be a great alternative.
As for actual content coming as part of 11.1.5, things will kick off on April 22 with a new scenario and quests revolving around the Flame's Radiance, a new Renown faction that will see players defending Hallowfall from invading Sureki forces. In addition to new cosmetics and a tabard that will change visually as players rise through the Renown ranks, players will also unlock buffs that will make them stronger while in Hallowfall and Azj-Kahet. A leveling event that will grant 20% more XP, as well as a hefty Renown reputation buff for Dragonflight and The War Within factions, will also begin April 22.
Battle for Azeroth's Horrific Visions feature will return on May 20, allowing players to once again battle through Old God corrupted versions of Stormwind and Orgrimmar to earn not only up to Heroic level gear but also new cosmetics and enchants. Then on June 3, Blizzard will introduce a new feature called Dastardly Duos, a boss rush-style mode that will see players battling against two or more bosses from the game's past at the same time.
WoW's 11.1 update, Undermine(d), released February 21 and saw players travel to the fabled goblin city, though the Race to World First to clear the Mythic difficulty of the game's new Liberation of Undermine raid was disrupted by a group of exploiters. In between content updates Blizzard has been giving WoW players new looks at the game's upcoming player housing feature, including how they will be able to customize the interior of their Azerothian home.
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As detailed in a blog post, patch 11.1.5 will officially add the Cooldown Manager to the game's customizable UI, giving players far more control over tracking their character's various abilities and buffs. Players will be able to better track their utility cooldowns with a special bar, see easy-to-read meters showing the time remaining on buffs, and more easily watch out for the essential abilities coming off cooldown. It's something the game's default UI has been sorely missing for quite some time, resulting in players turning to free third-party add-ons to meet their needs, specifically an add-on called WeakAuras.
The 11.1.5 Content Update goes live April 22!
Nightfall campaign
Cooldown Manager UI Update
Winds of Mysterious Fortune Leveling Event
Horrific Visions Revisited - May 20
Dastardly Duos Event - June 3 pic.twitter.com/HTgj7RHHbo
— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) April 8, 2025
While the Cooldown Manager won't offer quite as much granular customization as WeakAuras (which can get very complex), it does offer much of the basic functionality and benefits of the add-on, minus all the hassle. It's not the first time Blizzard has sought to improve its UI and make it so add-ons feel like less of a requirement. As part of the game's Dragonflight expansion, Blizzard dramatically overhauled the MMORPG's UI and introduced far more customization to it than ever before, significantly reducing the need for players to install popular UI add-ons like Bartender. Over time, Blizzard has continued to update the UI to make it far more usable right out of the box.
No doubt many players will still use WeakAuras due to how highly customizable it is, but for players who are more casual and don't feel like spending hours setting up WeakAuras for each of their characters, the default Cooldown Manager will be a great alternative.
As for actual content coming as part of 11.1.5, things will kick off on April 22 with a new scenario and quests revolving around the Flame's Radiance, a new Renown faction that will see players defending Hallowfall from invading Sureki forces. In addition to new cosmetics and a tabard that will change visually as players rise through the Renown ranks, players will also unlock buffs that will make them stronger while in Hallowfall and Azj-Kahet. A leveling event that will grant 20% more XP, as well as a hefty Renown reputation buff for Dragonflight and The War Within factions, will also begin April 22.
Battle for Azeroth's Horrific Visions feature will return on May 20, allowing players to once again battle through Old God corrupted versions of Stormwind and Orgrimmar to earn not only up to Heroic level gear but also new cosmetics and enchants. Then on June 3, Blizzard will introduce a new feature called Dastardly Duos, a boss rush-style mode that will see players battling against two or more bosses from the game's past at the same time.
WoW's 11.1 update, Undermine(d), released February 21 and saw players travel to the fabled goblin city, though the Race to World First to clear the Mythic difficulty of the game's new Liberation of Undermine raid was disrupted by a group of exploiters. In between content updates Blizzard has been giving WoW players new looks at the game's upcoming player housing feature, including how they will be able to customize the interior of their Azerothian home.
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