Posts and replies

I didn't know #WorldofWarcraft is so accessible for blind players!

I've always been interested in World of Warcraft as a game and had the chance to play it for a while when I was sighted. Although I only played for a few days due to school commitments, I really enjoyed it. I lost my sight a few months later, but now I've discovered that I can try it again!

A skilled programmer has developed a very useful add-on for blind players, allowing us to play World of Warcraft in combination with other add-ons. This isn't for the classic version—it's all about retail.

These include:

Console Port for UI navigation (though it still uses a sighted layout which makes it quite clunky).

TomTom for map navigation, which helps us navigate map points, recorded quest objectives, and generally find our way around this huge world.

BlindSlash itself, which adds functionality for screen readers and makes everything quite accessible.

Other add-ons like GTFO, DBM, and Hear Kitty help with fighting bosses, alerting us when we're standing in damaging areas, and providing sounds for different resources like holy power and combat point changes.

With these few add-ons and some OCR skills to recognize the screen when necessary, one can play the game and do most of the things other players can. The only thing that remains inaccessible is dungeons. Most add-ons are disabled in dungeons, which means we can't do much on our own inside and need to follow other players.

Yes, several workarounds are needed, and sometimes you might get stuck behind a wall or struggle to find an object or NPC among many others. However, workarounds like /target unitname to target something and points that lead you directly to what you need are helpful.

Many players have given up because of the challenges and the overall poor stability of add-ons when you start playing and go through the starting area.

But believe me, it gets more stable as you progress. I haven't gone too far yet, but I've developed a level 16 paladin in two days while exploring the world, completing quests, and going through the Battle for Azeroth with no sighted assistance. I'm astonished and hope the development continues, though it's a very big project to handle.