The Great Grid Project Results!

Roughly two weeks ago I decided that I was going to give Grid one last chance to prove itself a superior raid frame for me.  No matter what, I was going to raid with it for two full weeks before making a decision on if I was going to keep it or pitch it.  Welp, my two weeks are up, and I have made my decision!

Pros to Grid:

• I very much like how I can track each of my HoTs on everyone’s individual raid frame.  I had been using HoT Candy since TBC, and while that worked well for me, this is better.  This is probably the biggest selling point for me.
• I like how configurable it is.  You really can set it up anyway that you want as long as you have the patience and time to tinker with it.
• I like how lightweight it is.
• I like how compact it is.
• I like the amount of information that it can provide me with…if set up properly.
• It now has Icon capabilities, so you can opt for these rather than just the little dots for things!  This is a BIG plus for me.  I’m not sure exactly how long ago this functionality was added, but in my very early experiments with Grid, not having this was a big draw back.

Cons to Grid:

• It is not very “user friendly” right out of the box.  It does take time to set up, and can be very frustrating and downright overwhelming to a user new to the interface.
  • If I ever had my interface wiped, and had to start over from scratch, I’d probably die a little inside.  While I am starting to get the hang of the interface a little more, I would still have to refer to other sources to get me back on my feet again.
• It requires a lot of extra modules to get everything set up how I like it.  This means that I now have to update six or seven mods for my raid interface every patch instead of just one.
• I cannot see raid icons in Grid.  While there is a module for this, it appears to be only downloadable from the developer’s forum page at WoW Ace.  This is problimatic because in order to download from the forums you must be logged in, which in the forums’ current state is not possible.

If you are thinking about switching to Grid, I do have a few pieces of advice for you:

• Make sure that you are ready to make the jump to Grid, don’t let someone bully you into it.  If your mindset is such that you are being “forced” into the change, you are already thinking of Grid negatively and it will be very difficult to give it an unbiased opinion.
• Pick a day when you feel tranquil and relaxed for the project, and can do it on your time so that you aren’t rushed.  I am very easily frustrated by change, so for me I had downloaded all of the modules weeks before but waited to do anything with them until I sat down at my computer and my first thought was “today, I am going to try Grid”.
• Be sure that you have a few hours to tinker with everything on the day you decide to set it up.  I went to a number of different “How to Grid” type guides, and did quite a bit of internet searching when I was setting mine up.
• Hop into an AV to test your frames out and tweak them.
• Run an easy raid that you are familiar with during an off-night where it will be OK if you aren’t on the top of your game with your new set up before you enter into your normal 25 man raid setting.  This will give you time to micro-adjust anything that you don’t like or want to make changes to without feeling pressured.

I will be staying with Grid for the foreseeable future.  I like enough of the features, and after only two weeks, I’ve gotten incredibly fond of how it displays my HoTs that I’m not sure that I will ever be able to go back to anything else.