the agonist
OG
Do you get rid of the look of your character? Do you want a more epic feeling when you pwn stuff?
There are some possibilities to do so, but let me write a little guide for you to keep it easy as hell
Many people change their look by changing files stored in the WoW-data, but that is risky and can turn out to be very complicated. What options do we have left?
Cache Editing!
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Q&A:
Q. What can I accomplish after reading this guide?
A. Fast, easy way to change what your weapons, shield, or armor looks like.
Q. Why Cache Editing instead of model change?
A. I prefer Cache Editing because it is faster, easier, and you don't have to waste time looking for a model name.
Q. Why model change instead of Cache Editing?
A. With Cache Editing you can only edit items you have seen/have, unless someone gives you their itemcache.wdb file.
Q. Is this all I can do with Cache Editing?
A. No! There is A LOT more you can do, this is just a simple introduction to it.
Q. Player x said method y is better/easier/more efficient than this.
A. There may be better/easier/more efficient methods, but I prefer this one.
Q. Can this get you banned?
A. Strictly spoken, it is against the TOS. But there is nothing you have to worry about as long as you just exchange your gear.
Q. How can I reset it?
A. Delete the itemcache.wdb and log into WoW. It will create a new one itself.
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Ok - let's get started!
QUIT WORLD OF WARCRAFT FIRST! ELSE YOU WONT BE ABLE TO DO IT.
What do you need?
You need a Hex-Editor. A free and very useful one can be downloaded here for free:
http://www.handshake.de/user/chmaas/delphi/download/xvi32_231.zip
After you've downloaded XVI32 start it and open up "itemcache.wdb". (Default location is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Cache\WDB\enUS\itemcache.wdb - note that the location can differ from this one, depending on which language you play with.)
Create a backup if you feel like you need it. But it's not necessary. If something went wrong you can also simply delete the file and log into WoW - it will automatically create a new one.
You should see a bunch of letters now. But relax. It just looks a little confusing the first time
Press CTRL-F to open Search. Type in the name of the item you currently wear and you want to change. For this tutorial I will change [Befleckte Schiftung der Schattenkunst] (mouseover for an english tooltip) into [Drachenlederschiftung des Feldmarschalls].
Once you find your item you will see it written on the right side (RED):
Highlight the last letter of the item name. (The T in "Schattenkunst" in my case).
It should highlight 2 numbers/letters. After those 2 numbers/letters there should be a couple of 0's. After the 0's should be a set of 4 letters/numbers. This is what we are changing.
Those 4 letters/numbers are known as ID-Code. Whenever I speak about the ID-Code of an Item, these 4 letters/numbers are meant.
RED: Last letter of the item name / GREEN: Couple of 0 / BLUE: ID-Code
Now you need to know the ID-Code of the item you want to have the look of. So I had to search (CTRL+F) for the ID-Code of [Drachenlederschiftung des Feldmarschalls]. If you got it, write it's ID-Code down somewhere or memorize it.
Go back to the item you currently wear. Highlight the first pair of the ID-Code. Go to the Menu:
Edit > Overwrite String (be sure not to choose "Insert string", else it will mess everything up). Write the ID-Code of the new item into the "Hex string" field and press OK. In my case, it's 78 76.
BLUE: ID-Code (highlight the first pair - 13 in my case - and then use the "Overwrite string" function).
If everything went good you should now see the new ID-Code in the fields where the old one were.
BLUE: new ID-Code
Success!
Save it and do some more changes or log into WoW and enjoy your uber looking items.
Troubles? Check the: Tipps, tricks and most frequently asked questions
Q. Why did my edit disappear after i've patched the game?
A. After each patch the game will wipe the cache and create a new one. Save your edited cache somewhere to copy it back in after patching.
Q. I can't find the item I want to change. Why?
A. Are you sure that you've seen it ingame before? If you aren't sure search for the item on http://www.wowhead.com and link it ingame. Quit WoW and check your cache again. It should be there now.
Q. I Changed my sword into a staff and now I have a staff shaking on my rogue's hips. Wtf?
A. The item you wear doesn't change it's type, if it's a sword then it'll stay a sword, regardless of which model it has.
For questions or feedback leave a reply
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