The raid debuff tracker that Vanilla WoW never had.
Real-time debuff tracking, live armor monitoring, and full raid visibility — powered by SuperWoW.
In Vanilla WoW, you're blind. You can see your own debuffs, maybe your target's — but the full picture? Which mobs have Sunder Armor? Who's missing Curse of Elements? How much armor has that boss actually lost? Nobody knows. You guess. You hope. You ask in voice chat.
Cursive Raid changes that.
It tracks every debuff on every hostile unit in combat. Not just yours — everyone's. Duration timers, stack counts, who applied what, what's missing. All of it, all at once, on every mob. Things that were literally impossible in 1.12 before SuperWoW opened the door.
Built for TurtleWoW and compatible vanilla 1.12 servers. Requires SuperWoW.
- GUID-based scanning — Tracks all hostile units simultaneously, not just your target
- Shared Debuff Tracking — See raid-wide debuffs from every class: Sunder Armor, Faerie Fire, Curse of Elements, Shadow Weaving, Winter's Chill, and 40+ more
- Duration timers — Accurate countdown on every debuff, color-coded (white/yellow/classcolor/none)
- Stack tracking — Sunder stacks, Shadow Vulnerability stacks, Expose Armor combo points
- Decimal precision — Optional sub-second display in the last 3 seconds (white or red)
- Live armor monitoring — Reads actual armor values via
UnitResistance(GUID)without targeting - Reduction tracking — See how much armor has been stripped by Sunder/EA/Faerie Fire in real time
- Color-coded display — Green → Yellow → Red as armor drops
- Shield icon — Configurable position (left/center/right) with armor value pairs (Live + Total, Live + Reduced, etc.)
The feature that made people say "wait, that's possible in Vanilla?"
Traditional addons need the rogue to be your current target. Cursive Raid uses SuperWoW's UnitResistance(GUID, 0) to read armor by GUID — no targeting required. It detects the armor diff after cast and computes the exact combo point count.
- Configurable priority — Drag debuffs into the order you want: Front → Mid → Rear → Last → Swap Side
- Per-category positioning — Own Class, Own Raid, Other Class, Other Raid — each with independent placement
- Missing debuff icons — Grey desaturated icons show which expected debuffs aren't active yet
- Debuff borders — Color-coded frames: green for your own, red for raid-critical, classcolor, or off
- Save & Load — Snapshot your entire configuration and switch between setups instantly
- 7 default profiles — Default, Pro Full, Raid Debuff Tracker, Raid Live Armor View, Spy Enemy Player, Targeted Only Own Debuffs, Track All Near Friendly Player
- Export & Import — Share profiles as text strings. Paste and go.
- Cross-character — Profiles are global, not per-character
- Live refresh — No
/reloadneeded. Settings apply instantly. - Minimap quickswitch — Right-click the minimap icon to switch profiles on the fly
Six-tab configuration panel — everything is configurable, nothing needs manual editing:
| Tab | What it controls |
|---|---|
| General | Enable/disable, move UI, test overlay, bar inversion, debuff borders, debuff order |
| Raid | Shared debuff toggles, missing debuff display, raid debuff order grid |
| Class | Per-class debuff selection — choose exactly which spells to track for each class |
| Display | Scale, opacity, font sizes, icon sizes, bar dimensions, max targets, columns |
| Filter | Target filtering: combat, hostile, attackable, player/NPC, range, raid icons |
| Profiles | Save/load/delete profiles, export/import, default profile presets |
Preview your UI without being in a raid. Generates 8 fake targets with realistic debuffs based on your class, complete with timers, stacks, health bars, and raid icons. Toggle with /cursive test or the checkbox in General settings.
Built-in macro system for Warlocks and other multi-DoT classes:
/cursive multicurse— Auto-pick the best target and cast- Priority modes:
HIGHEST_HP,LOWEST_HP,RAID_MARK,RAID_MARK_SQUARE - Never double-curse a target again
- Install SuperWoW (required)
- Download the latest release
- Extract the
Cursive-Raidfolder into yourInterface/AddOns/directory - Restart the WoW client
Upgrading from v4.0? The addon folder has been renamed from
CursivetoCursive-Raid. Copy your SavedVariables files:
WTF/Account/<name>/SavedVariables/Cursive.lua→Cursive-Raid.luaWTF/Account/<name>/<realm>/<char>/SavedVariables/Cursive.lua→Cursive-Raid.luaThen remove or disable the old
Cursivefolder to avoid conflicts.
Interface/AddOns/Cursive-Raid/
├── Cursive-Raid.toc
├── profiles.lua # Profile system
├── defaultProfiles.lua # 7 built-in presets
├── profilesUI.lua # Profiles tab UI
├── curses.lua # Debuff detection engine
├── ui.lua # Frame rendering
├── CursiveOptionsUI.lua # 6-tab options panel
├── CursiveTestOverlay.lua
├── settings.lua
├── spells/ # Per-class spell definitions
│ ├── shared_debuffs.lua
│ ├── warlock.lua
│ ├── warrior.lua
│ └── ...
└── Libs/ # Ace2 framework
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/cursive |
Show help |
/cursive options |
Open the options UI |
/cursive test |
Toggle test overlay |
/cursive profile list |
List saved profiles |
/cursive profile save <name> |
Save current config as profile |
/cursive profile load <name> |
Load a saved profile |
/cursive profile delete <name> |
Delete a profile |
/cursive curse <spell>|<guid>|<options> |
Cast if debuff not on target |
/cursive multicurse <spell>|<priority>|<options> |
Auto-target and cast |
/cursive target <spell>|<priority>|<options> |
Target by priority |
Cursive Raid tracks 40+ shared debuffs across all classes:
| Class | Debuffs |
|---|---|
| Warrior | Sunder Armor, Demoralizing Shout, Thunder Clap, Mortal Strike, Intimidating Shout |
| Warlock | Curse of Recklessness, Curse of Elements, Curse of Shadow, Curse of Tongues, Curse of Weakness, Shadow Vulnerability, Banish, Enslave Demon, Fear, Howl of Terror, Seduction |
| Druid | Faerie Fire, Demoralizing Roar, Hibernate |
| Mage | Polymorph, Fire Vulnerability, Winter's Chill, Ignite |
| Rogue | Expose Armor, Wound Poison, Sap |
| Hunter | Hunter's Mark, Freezing Trap, Scatter Shot, Wyvern Sting |
| Paladin | Judgement of Light, Judgement of Wisdom, Judgement of the Crusader, Hammer of Justice |
| Priest | Shadow Weaving, Shackle Undead, Mind Control, Psychic Scream, Burning Zeal (T3.5) |
| Weapon Procs | Thunderfury, Nightfall (Spell Vulnerability), Annihilator (Armor Shatter), Puncture Armor, Gift of Arthas, Potent Venom |
| Scythe of Elune | Elune's Radiance (Holy), Elune's Twilight (Shadow), Elune's Rage (Fire), Elune's Wrath (Arcane), Elune's Grace (Nature), Elune's Ire (Frost) |
Vanilla WoW's API is deliberately limited. You can only inspect your current target's debuffs. You can't read armor values by GUID. You can't detect casts from other players on arbitrary targets.
SuperWoW changes the rules:
UnitDebuff(GUID, i)— Read debuffs on any unit by GUIDUnitResistance(GUID, 0)— Read armor values without targetingUNIT_CASTEVENT— Detect spell casts from all raid members with target infoSpellInfo(spellID)— Look up spell data by ID
Cursive Raid builds on all of these. The result is a level of raid awareness that wasn't possible before — and still isn't without SuperWoW.
UNIT_CASTEVENTfires when a Rogue begins casting Expose Armor- Cursive captures the target's current armor via
UnitResistance(GUID, 0)asbaseArmor - An OnUpdate poller monitors the armor value for 2 seconds
- The armor difference maps directly to combo points via talent multiplier detection
- The exact stack count is displayed — no guessing, no targeting required
See docs/DEBUFF-TRACKING.md for the full technical breakdown.
Profiles are stored independently from AceDB in a separate SavedVariables: CursiveProfiles table. This allows:
- Cross-character sharing without AceDB's per-realm/per-class restrictions
- Clean export/import via serialization (no LZW compression — plain readable format)
- Safe sandbox import using
loadstring()+setfenv()(pfUI-proven pattern) - Live application via
UpdateFramesFromConfig()— no reload required
Cast a spell on your target (or a specific GUID) if they don't already have it:
/cursive curse Corruption|target
/cursive curse Curse of Recklessness|target|refreshtime=1
Automatically pick the best target and cast:
/cursive multicurse Corruption|HIGHEST_HP
/cursive multicurse Curse of Recklessness|RAID_MARK|warnings,resistsound,expiringsound
/cursive target Icicles|HIGHEST_HP
| Priority | Description |
|---|---|
HIGHEST_HP |
Target highest HP enemy without the debuff |
LOWEST_HP |
Target lowest HP enemy without the debuff |
RAID_MARK |
Target by raid mark priority (Skull > Cross > Square > ... > Star > No mark) |
RAID_MARK_SQUARE |
Like RAID_MARK but ignores Skull and Cross |
INVERSE_RAID_MARK |
Reverse of RAID_MARK |
HIGHEST_HP_RAID_MARK |
Highest HP first, raid marks break ties |
HIGHEST_HP_RAID_MARK_SQUARE |
Like above but with RAID_MARK_SQUARE priority |
HIGHEST_HP_INVERSE_RAID_MARK |
Like above but with INVERSE_RAID_MARK priority |
Append options after the priority, comma-separated:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
warnings |
Display text warnings when a curse fails |
resistsound |
Play a sound when resisted |
expiringsound |
Play a sound when about to expire |
allowooc |
Allow out-of-combat targets (careful in raids!) |
priotarget |
Always prioritize current target for multicurse |
ignoretarget |
Ignore current target for multicurse |
playeronly |
Only target players, ignore NPCs |
minhp=<number> |
Minimum HP threshold |
refreshtime=<number> |
Allow refresh when remaining time is below this (seconds) |
name=<str> |
Filter targets by name (partial match) |
ignorespellid=<number> |
Skip targets with this spell ID |
ignorespelltexture=<str> |
Skip targets with this spell texture |
cooldown |
Check spell cooldown before casting — returns false if on CD (enables clean macro fallthrough) |
harvestrefresh=<number> |
Time threshold for refreshing DoTs when Dark Harvest is off cooldown |
Simple chain (game decides order):
/cursive curse Curse of Recklessness|target|refreshtime=1
/cursive curse Corruption|target|refreshtime=3
/cursive curse Siphon Life|target|refreshtime=1
Controlled priority chain (Lua, guaranteed order):
/script if not Cursive:Curse("Curse of Recklessness", "target", {refreshtime=1}) then if not Cursive:Curse("Corruption", "target", {refreshtime=3}) then Cursive:Curse("Siphon Life", "target", {refreshtime=1}) end end
Multicurse with full options:
/script Cursive:Multicurse("Curse of Recklessness", "HIGHEST_HP", {warnings=1,resistsound=1,expiringsound=1,refreshtime=2})
Raid mark filtering with ignore:
/cursive multicurse Curse of Recklessness|RAID_MARK|name=Touched Warrior,ignorespelltexture=Spell_Shadow_UnholyStrength,resistsound,expiringsound
Affliction Warlock with cooldown-aware Dark Harvest:
/script if buffed("Shadow Trance") then cast("Shadow Bolt") elseif Cursive:Curse("Curse of Shadow","target",{refreshtime=2}) then elseif Cursive:Curse("Corruption","target",{refreshtime=2}) then elseif Cursive:Curse("Curse of Agony","target",{refreshtime=2}) then elseif Cursive:Curse("Dark Harvest","target",{cooldown=true}) then else cast("Drain Soul") end
The cooldown option checks the spell's actual cooldown (filtering out GCD). If the spell is on CD, the command returns false immediately — enabling clean fallthrough to the next action in the macro chain.
-- Check if a debuff is active
Cursive.curses:HasCurse("corruption", targetGuid, minRemaining)
-- Get raw curse data
local data = Cursive.curses:GetCurseData("Corruption", guid)
-- Returns: { rank, duration, start, spellID, targetGuid, currentPlayer }
-- Get time remaining
local remaining = Cursive.curses:TimeRemaining(data)
-- Get smart target GUID
local guid = Cursive:GetTarget("Corruption", "HIGHEST_HP", {})| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Debuff Tracking | SharedDebuffs internals, procExpected system, armor-diff EA detection |
| SuperWoW API | All SuperWoW APIs used and how |
| Test Overlay | Fake GUID system, API wrappers, class-specific debuff injection |
| Spell ID Reference | All verified spell IDs for TurtleWoW |
| Spell Verification | ID verification against database.turtlecraft.gg |
| Vanilla Lua Reference | Complete Lua 5.0 addon development guide |
| v3.2 Implementation | Shared Debuffs architecture & decisions |
One-line fix reported during guild testing.
- "In Combat" filter respects the player's combat state again — when you are out of combat, all attackable mobs in range show up (for scouting and pull setup). Once you engage, the filter narrows to mobs actually in combat. This was the pre-regression behavior the
ShouldDisplayGuidcomment was already describing.
Follow-up hotfix iteration after Naxx raid + live validation. Splits range semantics cleanly.
- OOR stripes use spell-range, "Within Range" filter uses 120y — distinct semantics: the filter broadens the list, stripes tell you whether you can actually cast
- 300-yard overall max tracking range — passive-acquired UNIT_COMBAT GUIDs from distant raid members no longer linger in the list
UnitXP("distanceBetween")replacesIsSpellInRangefor passive GUIDs — the old API returns1at 600+ yards for non-target units, so stripes effectively never fired for passive acquisitions
Three follow-up fixes from v4.1.1 live validation.
- Targets no longer disappear at standstill — v4.1.1
evictStaleused a 30s TTL; rewritten toUnitExists-based removal with 5-min safety-valve TTL - Name Length slider now applies live —
SetWidthcache-guard inBarUpdateinstead of create-only - Within Range is a fixed 120-yard radius — replaces misleading class-spell-range check
Hotfix release after Naxx raid on 2026-04-16. Three correctness bugs fixed plus TestOverlay rewrite.
- UNIT_COMBAT tracking restored —
arg1is a unit token (not GUID); the0x-prefix guard silently rejected every passive acquisition since v4.0.6 - LoS check actually blocks —
UnitXP("inSight")returns a boolean, butui.luacompared to0; mobs behind walls now show OOR stripes - Raid-mark filter bypass respects the toggle — OOC bosses with stale marks no longer leak past the "In Combat" filter
- "?" debuff icons fixed — render priority chain skips the
INV_Misc_QuestionMarkfallback from third-party addon injections - TestOverlay rebuilt — 8 targets with unique raid icons covering every feature (CC, Reflect, OOR, LoS, Scythe procs, weapon procs)
Major performance update. Fixed extreme lag in Alterac Valley and large battlegrounds.
- GUID tracking cap (60) — Prevents unbounded unit accumulation in BGs with 80+ combatants
- Range/LOS/Reflect/CC caching — 250ms TTL caches eliminate ~95% of redundant WoW API calls
- Single-pass aura scanning — One debuff+buff scan per GUID per 150ms instead of per-debuff-per-tick
- EA Poller throttled — 10Hz instead of 60Hz (frame-rate)
- Aura-gone handler optimized — Direct key lookup instead of full GUID iteration
Bugfixes for weapon proc timers and visual improvements.
Scythe of Elune debuffs, Reflect text, OOR stripes, class-specific range check, 4-phase performance optimization.
CC/Reflect Transparency, Mind Control fix, new consumable debuff.
Minor fixes and Turtle Launcher integration.
- Default profiles corrected to match live SavedVariables
- TOC adjustments for Turtle Launcher update detection
- Spy Enemy Player text size fix, README emoji update
Bugfixes, new features, and addon folder rename.
Fixes:
- Shadow Weaving tracking — Fixed consecutive Mind Flay casts cancelling each other's scan events (unique scan IDs per cast)
- Shadow Weaving on non-targeted mobs — Now correctly tracks and updates stacks on all mobs, not just your current target
- Multicurse broken — Fixed
getEffectiveRefreshTimeforward declaration error (Lua 5.0 scope issue) - isDarkHarvestReady nil error — Moved
isSpellOnCooldownandisDarkHarvestReadybeforegetEffectiveRefreshTimeto satisfy Lua 5.0's top-down function resolution - Consecutive proc scan cancellation — All CAST and CHANNEL trigger scan events now use unique IDs via
GetTime()to prevent overwriting
New Features:
- Debuff Icon Spacing — New slider (0–10, default 1) to control gap between debuff icons
- Health Bar Spacing — Renamed from "Spacing" for clarity
- Target Armor Position — New slider (-30 to +30) for horizontal offset of the armor display
Changes:
- Addon folder renamed —
Cursive→Cursive-Raid(TOC file now matches folder name) - 7 new default profiles (replaces 12 class-specific profiles):
- Default
- Pro Full
- Raid Debuff Tracker
- Raid Live Armor View
- Spy Enemy Player
- Targeted Only Own Debuffs
- Track All Near Friendly Player
The biggest update since the addon's creation. Complete UI overhaul, profile system, and dozens of polish items.
New Features:
- 📋 Full profile system — save, load, delete, rename, export, import
- 📋 Default profiles for every class and playstyle
- 📋 Minimap right-click profile quickswitch
- 🛡️ Target Armor display — live armor values with color coding and shield icon
- 🎨 Debuff Order rewrite — Swap Side, configurable per-category positioning
- 🧪 Test Overlay fixes — full API wrapper coverage (UnitIsPlayer, UnitResistance)
- ⚙️ Decimal Duration dropdown (None/White/Red)
- ⚙️ Duration Timer + Stack Counter "None" option (hide completely)
UI Polish:
- 6-tab options panel (new Profiles tab)
- Debuff border system with per-category color coding
- Slider limits refined (Max Debuffs 18, Icon Size 30)
- Armor Build dropdown (Live + Total, Live + Reduced, etc.)
- Pixel-perfect spacing across all panels
- No more
/reload— everything applies live
- Expose Armor CP Detection (targetless, via armor-diff)
- Shadow Vulnerability complete fix
- Raid Debuff Order UI with icon grid
- Test Overlay system
- Show Missing Debuffs
- Winter's Chill fix
- Thunderfury/Nightfall/Annihilator timer fix
- Shared Debuff Tracking system
- Debuff Border Colors
- Complete Options UI (5 tabs)
- Fork of Kirchlive/Cursive v3.1
- Original updates by Kirchlive: Dark Harvest, trinket fixes, UI improvements
- Original Cursive by pepopo978: ShaguScan-based curse tracking
- SuperWoW is required — There is no fallback mode. Without SuperWoW, the addon will not load.
- WoW 1.12 only — No TBC, Wrath, or retail support.
- Debuff slot cap — Vanilla WoW has a 16-debuff cap per target (64 on TurtleWoW with SuperWoW). Cursive tracks what's visible.
- Proc debuff timing — Weapon procs (Thunderfury, Nightfall) rely on
UNIT_CASTEVENTtiming. Slight delays are possible. - External addon conflicts — Some addons (e.g., SuperCleveRoidMacros) may log errors when Test Overlay is active. This is harmless and caused by those addons trying to resolve fake GUIDs.
Does this work on TurtleWoW? Yes. Built for TurtleWoW, tested on TurtleWoW. SuperWoW is supported and widely used on the server.
Do I need SuperWoW? Yes. SuperWoW provides the GUID-based APIs that make shared debuff tracking possible. Without it, Cursive Raid cannot function.
Will this get me banned? SuperWoW is de facto supported on TurtleWoW — core developers maintain addons that depend on it. Cursive Raid uses only SuperWoW's Lua API extensions, nothing external.
Can I use this in 5-man dungeons? Absolutely. It works in any combat scenario — raids, dungeons, world PvP, solo farming.
How do I share my profile with guildmates? Open the Profiles tab → select your profile → click Export → copy the text string → share it. They paste it into their Import field and click Import.
The addon folder changed from "Cursive" to "Cursive-Raid"?
Yes, as of v4.0.1 the folder name matches the addon name. You'll need to copy your SavedVariables files (see Installation above). The internal Lua global stays Cursive for AceDB compatibility.
| Who | What |
|---|---|
| pepopo978 | Original Cursive addon — ShaguScan + curse tracking foundation |
| Kirchlive | v3.0–v3.1 (Dark Harvest, trinket fixes, UI work) and v3.2–v4.0 architecture & design |
| Teto | v3.2–v4.0 implementation — shared debuffs, EA detection, profile system, options UI, test overlay |
| SuperWoW | The mod that made all of this possible |
| pfUI | Inspiration for dropdown patterns, profile serialization, and UI design philosophy |
"We just implemented something for Vanilla WoW that was previously declared impossible." — On targetless Expose Armor detection via
UnitResistance(GUID)
"AceDB-2.0 silently deletes your config values on logout if they match the defaults. The fix? Set your defaults to a value that can never be real." — The sentinel trick that saved debuff order persistence
"The apostrophe in Winter's Chill broke the entire debuff categorization. One character." —
"winter'schill"≠"winterschill"
"Fake GUIDs in WoW are like fake IDs at a bar — every bouncer (addon) will try to check them." — On why Test Overlay needs 10+ API wrappers
"Lua 5.0 has a 32 upvalue limit per function. We hit it building the Raid Order UI." — Solved with
do...endscope blocks. Classic vanilla pitfall.
"No ReloadUI. Everything applies live. That's the standard now." — On the profile system's instant-apply architecture
Found a bug? Have a feature idea? Open an issue.
Want to add debuff definitions for a new spell? Check spells/shared_debuffs.lua — the format is straightforward.
Same license as the original Cursive project. See upstream repositories for details.
Built with obsession, tested in raids, polished pixel by pixel.
Kirchlive & Teto — 2026 💠
Thanks to our mates for the raid testing, feedback, and patience. This one's for you. 🐢