Game editions

Rotation Master runs on several World of Warcraft editions, but they do not all give addons the same information. This page explains what to expect on each.

If the game says the addon is out of date for your client, tick Load out of date AddOns on the AddOns screen, and tell us on Discord how it goes.

Built In rotations

Every edition has Built In rotations: Classic Era (with separate ones for Season of Discovery), Mists, TBC Anniversary, Forever and Retail. They adapt published guides into a priority list and are not complete or optimal for every situation. They load only for their own edition and class (and, where they say so, an expansion or season rules); their specialization and level are part of their switch condition, so they follow a respec or a level-up. Some are alternatives to the recommended one for a specialization and ship disabled; turn one on and either turn the other off or raise its priority (see Built In overrides). Open the Viewer and choose Bundled rotations to read the current set, with each one's handle for /rm set.

You can also build your own rotations, or use ones other players have shared for your edition.

Restricted clients (Retail and Forever)

On Retail and Forever, the game hands addons secret values for much of what happens in combat: an addon may show such a value, or pass it back to the game, but it cannot compare it or calculate with it. A rotation is made of comparisons ("health below 35%", "two or more stacks", "cooldown under 3 seconds"), so RM can only use data the game lets it read at the moment a condition runs. RM follows what Blizzard's own API documentation marks as secret, checked against the game itself, rather than refusing everything.

What works

• Always readable, so these conditions work exactly as elsewhere: whether a spell is ready, known and in range; Blizzard's Assisted Combat suggestion; combat, group, instance, zone, PvP zone, outdoors, stealth and control state; your level and specialization; forms; items, equipment, weapon enchants and set pieces; runes and rune cooldowns; loss of control; distance; time in combat; unit existence, whether it is dead, friendly, an enemy or attackable, and its classification.
• Your secondary resources, which Blizzard made never secret: combo points, runes, soul shards, holy power, chi, arcane charges and essence (the Points condition).
• Readable unless the game hides that value right now: buffs and debuffs and their time and stacks, spell cooldown times and charges, another unit's casts and channels, totems, threat (generally readable against your target or a nameplate), stats, movement and swing speed, an NPC's class and creature type, and your recent spells and combat events.

When a value is hidden at that moment, the condition is unavailable for that check, never simply true or false: a Branch or Stop that depends on it pauses that check, an action whose condition is unavailable is skipped, and Not of an unavailable condition stays unavailable. A hidden cast or channel name still proves the unit is casting.

What does not work, and why

A few sources are always secret, or gone, for addons on these clients. Conditions that need them are not available on this client: the condition pickers do not offer them, and a rotation that uses one is incomplete and cannot be selected. The editor, the rotation list and /rm why say which condition and why, for example "Health is not available on this client (health is secret on this client)."

Other reasons belong to an edition rather than to secrets, and can appear on any client: "this client uses a different talent system" (a Talent condition made for another talent layout), "this client has no ranged slot" (Mists and Retail), "this client has no specializations for your class" (Specialization of your own class on Forever), "this edition has no point resource", "glyphs are not supported on this client build", and "the game API it needs is missing" (for example Season of Discovery runes outside Season of Discovery).

If the game reports that its restrictions are off, health and power read normally again; RM checks that when it validates your rotations.

Built In rotations there

Every Retail and Forever Built In uses only conditions its client can read, so each one is complete and the recommended one for your specialization is chosen automatically. Retail's recommended Built Ins highlight the spell Blizzard's Assisted Combat suggests next, alongside reminders RM can still judge. Guide and SimulationCraft orders that need hidden data are kept as "Reference only, off by default" Built Ins, to read or copy.

Your recent spells and your pet's are recorded (a spell the game hides is recorded as unknown), and nearby enemies are counted from nameplates. Announcements triggered by casts do not run on these clients.

Spell ranks

Classic editions have spell ranks. RM's spell actions and conditions use the ranks you have learned; options such as Use this exact spell rank and Match all ranks let you be more precise. These options are not shown where ranks do not exist.

Talents

Talent checks a talent in the layout of the client it was made on: the talent trees of Classic Era, TBC, Wrath and Cataclysm, the Mists talent grid, or the Retail and Forever trait trees (a trait node and its chosen entry). Primary Talent Tree and Talent Tree Points work with the talent-tree layout, and on Forever, whose three classic trees are groups in its trait tree; not on Retail or Mists. A client with a different talent system keeps the condition but cannot evaluate it, and says so: the condition is shown as not available on this client.

Item-set macros

The /click RM_… item-set macro buttons (Item sets) are only available where the client still allows that kind of secure button.

Dual specialization names

Classic editions with dual specialization can give each specialization a display name in General.

Still stuck? Ask on Discord or open an issue.