Configuring your Combat Log

How many times has your raid leader asked, “What killed you?”  Long moments pass as you scroll furiously through your combat log, trying to sort through the streams of information to find only that pertinent to you and your  death.  Ten minutes later you give up in frustration, “I…think it was a shadow fissure.”

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to know what happened to you.  One of the best tools at your disposal is a properly configured combat log.  My husband put many hours into the research for this post and I am delighted to present you with a step by step How-To guide for setting up your combat log.

Displaying your combat log.

First off, I like to pull my combat log out from my General tab so that I can have them both showing simultaneously.  You do this by left clicking on the Combat Log tab and dragging it out from the General tab.

Now you’re ready to Configuring your combat log.

Step One. Right click on the Combat Log Tab and Choose Settings.

Combat Log - Settings

Step Two. Highlight the Filter you wish to use.  I use  “What Happened to Me”.  You can see “Self” and “Everything” are also presented as default options.  You have the option to add more or delete any of these filters.

You are currently under the Message Sources tab.  Go ahead and uncheck every box except “Me”.  Of course, if you are a hunter and also want to see incoming damage on your pet, you would leave the “Pet” box checked.

Message Sources

Step Three. Click on the Message Types Tab located next to the Message Sources Tab you were just under.  You can see that I’ve turned off most everything except actual damage. This allows me to track  my incoming damage during the fight without cluttering my combat log with superfluous messages.

Message Types

Step Four. Currently, you have the the Combat category highlighted.  You  can see the categories listed in the top left hand side of the screenshot.  Click on the “Other” category and, from that screen, uncheck all the boxes.  At this point, click “Okay” to save your preferences.

Remember, you are still under the combat log configuration, so these notifications will still show up under your General log, just not your Combat log.  This is what made the biggest difference for me.  No longer was my combat log informing me every time Deadsong made a frost weave bandage or Romer created a bolt of cloth.

Category: Other

Using the above example, you have now modified your “What happened to me” filter.   Remember that you may have several other filters such as  Self and Everything.  One of the others may be the default filter, so be sure to highlight “What happened to me” (or whatever filter you chose) in your Combat Log tab to take advantage of these modifications.

Highlight your Filter

Congratulations, you’re done! Next time your raid leader asks what killed you, it should only take a quick glance to give him an answer. And … you might discover it wasn’t the shadow fissure after all.