Feature: Quest icon on name plates.

[PentSec]

Feature description

Quest icons on the nameplates of NPCs that need to be looted or Slain—positioned to the left or right of the nameplate—using a bag icon for targets to be looted and a skull or crossed swords for targets to be killed.

Reason

It would make questing much more convenient, easy, and fast. Mission-related enemies would be identified directly on their nameplates, eliminating the need to read tooltips to know what to do; it would be intuitive to look at your inventory and know exactly what needs to be looted or who needs to be killed.

Additional information

Screenshot reference

[Raz0r1337]

For something like that, you need a complete quest database like the one Questie provides.
It's best to use Questie if you want those icons...
DragonUI isn't a quest helper add-on. 😉

[PentSec]

hey, tanks for reply this feature: Actually, none of that is needed, and there are two ways to do it, which I'll explain in a separate comment on this issue.

[PentSec]

Quest Icons on Nameplates — Vanilla WotLK Method (Tooltip Scanning)

Uses only 3.3.5a-native APIs: tooltip text scanning + localized pattern matching.
No C_QuestLog, no QuestUtil, no API backports required.
Works on any stock 3.3.5a client.

---

1. Core Principle

When you mouseover a quest mob, the game tooltip shows quest progress as plain text:

Murloc Costaverde          ← unit name
0/10 Murlocs asesinados    ← quest objective text + progress
50%                         ← or percentage for collect quests

The addon captures this tooltip text programmatically (without showing it to the user), parses out the progress and objective type, and renders the appropriate icon.

---

2. The Scanning Tooltip

Create an invisible tooltip frame dedicated to scanning:

local ScanTooltip = CreateFrame("GameTooltip", "MyAddon_ScanTooltip", UIParent, "GameTooltipTemplate")
ScanTooltip:SetOwner(UIParent, "ANCHOR_NONE")  -- Never visible to the player

How to use it:

function GetQuestInfo(unitID)
    ScanTooltip:SetOwner(UIParent, "ANCHOR_NONE")
    ScanTooltip:SetUnit(unitID)    -- Point at the mob
    ScanTooltip:Show()             -- Force tooltip population

    local quests = {}

    for i = 3, ScanTooltip:NumLines() do   -- Skip lines 1-2 (name, level)
        local line = _G["MyAddon_ScanTooltipTextLeft" .. i]
        local text = line and line:GetText()
        if not text or text == "" then break end

        -- Skip lines showing other players ("Tapped by X")
        if UnitIsPlayer(text) then
            -- Not our tag? Stop parsing
            if text ~= UnitName("player") then return end
        else
            local progress = ParseProgress(text)
            if progress then
                quests[#quests + 1] = {
                    text = text,
                    remaining = progress.remaining,
                    isPercent = progress.isPercent,
                    questType = DetectQuestType(text),
                    itemTexture = nil,
                }
            end
        end
    end

    ScanTooltip:Hide()
    return quests
end

---

3. Progress Parsing

Two patterns to detect:

Pattern A: Fractional progress "X/Y objective text"

-- "0/10 Murlocs asesinados" → x=0, y=10, remaining=10
-- "7/8 Putrid Explosives destroyed" → x=7, y=8, remaining=1
local x, y = string.match(text, "(%d+)/(%d+)")
if x and y then
    local remaining = tonumber(y) - tonumber(x)
    return { remaining = remaining, isPercent = false }
end

Pattern B: Percentage progress "XX% objective text"

-- "50%" → 50% complete, 50 remaining
local pct = tonumber(string.match(text, "([%d%.]+)%%"))
if pct and pct <= 100 then
    return { remaining = math.ceil(100 - pct), isPercent = true }
end

Guard: Skip threat percentage

The threat tooltip also shows percentages. Filter it out:

-- "THREAT_TOOLTIP" global string is "%d%% threat" (localized)
local threatPattern = THREAT_TOOLTIP:gsub("%%d", "%%d-")
if string.match(text, threatPattern) then
    return nil  -- Not a quest line
end

---

4. Quest Type Detection (Localized Substring Matching)

After extracting the text, determine the objective type by matching localized keywords in the objective description:

-- Localized keyword tables (example: English)
local QuestTypes = {
    enUS = {
        KILL = {"slain", "destroy", "eliminate", "repel", "kill", "defeat"},
        CHAT = {"speak", "talk"},
    },
    esMX = {
        KILL = {"asesinad", "destrui", "elimin", "repel", "derrota"},
        CHAT = {"habla", "pídele"},
    },
    deDE = {
        KILL = {"besiegen", "besiegt", "getötet", "töten", "tötet", "vernichtet", "zerstört"},
        CHAT = {"befragt", "sprecht"},
    },
    frFR = {
        KILL = {"tué", "tuer", "abattu", "détrui", "élimin", "repouss", "vaincu"},
        CHAT = {"parle", "demande"},
    },
    ruRU = {
        KILL = {"убит", "уничтож", "разбит", "сразит"},
        CHAT = {"поговорит", "спрашивать"},
    },
    zhCN = {
        KILL = {"消灭", "摧毁", "击败", "毁灭", "击退"},
        CHAT = {"交谈", "谈一谈"},
    },
    koKR = {
        KILL = {"쓰러뜨리기", "물리치기", "파괴"},
        CHAT = {"대화"},
    },
    ptBR = {
        KILL = {"morto", "morta", "matar", "destrui", "elimin", "repel", "derrota"},
        CHAT = {"falar", "pedir"},
    },
    zhTW = {
        KILL = {"毀滅", "擊退", "殺死"},
        CHAT = {"交談", "說話"},
    },
}

local function DetectQuestType(text, locale)
    local types = QuestTypes[locale] or QuestTypes.enUS
    local lower = string.lower(text)

    -- Check KILL first (most common)
    for _, keyword in ipairs(types.KILL) do
        if string.find(lower, keyword, nil, true) then
            return "KILL"
        end
    end

    -- Then CHAT
    for _, keyword in ipairs(types.CHAT) do
        if string.find(lower, keyword, nil, true) then
            return "CHAT"
        end
    end

    return "DEFAULT"
end

Why substring matching works

The keywords are prefixes/stems of the words that appear in quest objectives:

Keyword (esMX)	Matches in game text
"asesinad"	"asesinado", "asesinados", "asesinada", "asesinadas"
"destrui"	"destruir", "destruido", "destruidos"
"elimin"	"eliminar", "eliminado", "eliminados"
"habla"	"habla", "hablar"

---

5. Quest Item Detection

Some quests give you a special item to use on mobs. These show a different icon:

-- Build quest ID → log index lookup on login / quest changes
local questIndexByID = {}  -- [questID] = logIndex
local questIDByTitle = {}  -- [questTitle] = questID

function BuildQuestIndex()
    wipe(questIndexByID)
    wipe(questIDByTitle)
    for i = 1, GetNumQuestLogEntries() do
        local questID = GetQuestIDByIndex(i)  -- Requires API backport
        -- Vanilla fallback: scan quest log titles only
        local title = GetQuestLogTitle(i)
        if title then
            questIDByTitle[title] = questID or i  -- index as fallback ID
        end
    end
end

-- When a quest line matches a known quest title:
local questID = questIDByTitle[objectiveText]
if questID then
    local _, itemTexture = GetQuestLogSpecialItemInfo(questIndexByID[questID])
    if itemTexture then
        -- Use the quest item's icon instead of skull/chat
        questType = "QUEST_ITEM"
    end
end

Vanilla limitation: GetQuestLogTitle() does not return the numeric quest ID in 3.3.5a. As a fallback, use the log index directly or match by quest title string.

---

6. Icon Display

Map each quest type to a texture/atlas:

Quest Type	Icon	Source
DEFAULT	Quest bang !	SetAtlas("SmallQuestBang") — vanilla 3.3.5a atlas
KILL	Skull	Custom .tga texture or "Interface\\TargetingFrame\\UI-RaidTargetingIcons" skull icon
CHAT	Chat bubble	"Interface\\WorldMap\\ChatBubble_64.PNG" — built-in
QUEST_ITEM	Item icon	GetQuestLogSpecialItemInfo() texture — vanilla API

Multiple quests on one mob

When a mob is objective for multiple quests, stack the icons:

local offset = 0
local spacing = 5
local iconSize = 25

for _, quest in ipairs(questList) do
    local icon = getIconForType(quest.questType)
    icon:ClearAllPoints()
    icon:SetPoint("TOPLEFT", anchor, "TOPLEFT", -offset, 0)
    icon:Show()

    -- Show remaining count if > 1
    if quest.questType ~= "CHAT" and (quest.isPercent or quest.remaining > 1) then
        icon.countText:SetText(quest.isPercent and (quest.remaining .. "%") or quest.remaining)
    end

    offset = offset + spacing + iconSize
end

---

7. Event Triggers

frame:RegisterEvent("QUEST_LOG_UPDATE")     -- Quest progress changed
frame:RegisterEvent("UNIT_NAME_UPDATE")     -- Unit appeared / nameplate created
frame:RegisterEvent("PLAYER_ENTERING_WORLD") -- Build initial quest index
frame:RegisterEvent("QUEST_ACCEPTED")        -- Rebuild quest index
frame:RegisterEvent("QUEST_REMOVED")         -- Rebuild quest index

---

8. Full Integration Flow

PLAYER_ENTERING_WORLD
    │
    └─► BuildQuestIndex()  ── scan quest log for titles and IDs
    │
NAME_PLATE_UNIT_ADDED / UNIT_NAME_UPDATE
    │
    └─► GetQuestInfo(unit)
         │
         ├─► ScanTooltip:SetUnit(unit)
         ├─► ScanTooltip:Show()
         ├─► Read text lines from tooltip
         ├─► For each line:
         │    ├─► ParseProgress(text) → remaining count
         │    ├─► DetectQuestType(text, locale) → KILL | CHAT | DEFAULT
         │    └─► CheckQuestItem(text) → texture or nil
         ├─► ScanTooltip:Hide()
         │
         └─► Render icons
              ├─► KILL    → skull
              ├─► CHAT    → chat bubble
              ├─► ITEM    → quest item texture
              └─► DEFAULT → quest bang !
    │
QUEST_LOG_UPDATE
    │
    └─► Refresh all visible nameplates

---

[PentSec]

Quest Icons on Nameplates — New API Method (Retail / Backported)

Uses modern WoW APIs: C_QuestLog.GetUnitQuestInfo() + QuestUtil
Available in Retail, and in 3.3.5a clients with API backports (e.g. custom launchers).

---

1. Core API Call

Everything starts with a single query to the server through the C_QuestLog namespace:

local questStatus, questID, talkToMe = C_QuestLog.GetUnitQuestInfo(unit)

Return value	Meaning	Example
questStatus	Type of quest objective	"collect", "objective", pickup/turnin strings
questID	Numeric quest ID	12345
talkToMe	Non-empty if NPC has pickup or turn-in quest (! / ?)	"turnin", "available"

---

2. Decision Flow

C_QuestLog.GetUnitQuestInfo(unit)
          │
          ├─ talkToMe is NOT nil ──→ Pickup/Turn-in NPC (!/?)
          │                              │
          │                         QuestUtil.GetTalkToMeQuestIcon(talkToMe)
          │                              │
          │                         Controlled by: showQuestNPCs setting
          │
          └─ talkToMe IS nil ──→ questStatus is "collect" or "objective"?
                                        │
                                        ├─ YES ──→ Kill/Loot Objective
                                        │              │
                                        │         QuestUtil.GetQuestStatusIcon(questStatus)
                                        │              │
                                        │         Controlled by: showQuestObjectives setting
                                        │
                                        └─ NO  ──→ Trivial/Pickup NPC (no talkToMe)
                                                       │
                                                  QuestUtil.GetQuestStatusIcon(questStatus)
                                                       │
                                                  Controlled by: showQuestNPCs setting

Code skeleton:

local function UpdateQuestIcon(unit)
    -- API guard: silently disable if API is unavailable
    if not (C_QuestLog and C_QuestLog.GetUnitQuestInfo) then
        HideIcon()
        return
    end

    local questStatus, questID, talkToMe = C_QuestLog.GetUnitQuestInfo(unit)

    -- No data yet? Retry with exponential backoff
    if isEmpty(talkToMe) and not questStatus then
        ScheduleRetry(unit)
        return
    end

    -- Validate quest is in log and not completed
    if questID and questID > 0 then
        local idx = GetQuestLogIndexByID(questID)
        if idx == 0 then HideIcon(); return end
        local _, _, _, _, _, _, isComplete = GetQuestLogTitle(idx)
        if isComplete then HideIcon(); return end
    end

    local atlas, desaturate

    if not isEmpty(talkToMe) then
        -- NPC path: pickup or turn-in
        if not showQuestNPCs then HideIcon(); return end
        atlas, desaturate = QuestUtil.GetTalkToMeQuestIcon(talkToMe)
        -- Fallback
        if not atlas then
            atlas, desaturate = QuestUtil.GetQuestStatusIcon(questStatus)
        end

    elseif questStatus then
        if IsObjective(questStatus) then
            if not showQuestObjectives then HideIcon(); return end
        else
            if not showQuestNPCs then HideIcon(); return end
        end
        atlas, desaturate = QuestUtil.GetQuestStatusIcon(questStatus)
    end

    -- Default fallback atlas
    if not atlas then atlas = "questnormal" end

    -- Optional: override specific atlas
    if atlas == "questkill" then atlas = "tormentors-boss" end

    -- Apply to texture
    questIcon:SetAtlas(atlas, true)
    questIcon:SetDesaturated(desaturate or false)
    questIcon:Show()
end

---

3. Atlas Selection

The actual icon image is entirely delegated to QuestUtil:

Function	Returns
QuestUtil.GetTalkToMeQuestIcon(talkToMe)	Atlas name + desaturation flag for NPC icons
QuestUtil.GetQuestStatusIcon(questStatus)	Atlas name + desaturation flag for objective icons

Common atlas names: "questnormal", "questkill" (→ "tormentors-boss"), "quest-turnin", "quest-recurring", "quest-legendary", etc.

The addon does NOT choose the image. It just applies whatever atlas QuestUtil returns.

---

4. Loot vs Slain distinction

Both "collect" and "objective" statuses are treated identically — they both fall into the "objective" path:

local function IsObjective(status)
    return status == "collect" or status == "objective"
end

To differentiate, you'd need to inspect questStatus directly before delegating to QuestUtil:

if questStatus == "collect" then
    atlas = "your-loot-atlas"      -- custom loot icon
elseif questStatus == "objective" then
    atlas = "your-slay-atlas"      -- custom kill icon
else
    atlas = QuestUtil.GetQuestStatusIcon(questStatus)
end

---

5. Nil-Data Retry (Race Condition)

C_QuestLog.GetUnitQuestInfo() may return nil during loading or right after the unit appears. Implement exponential backoff:

Attempt	Delay
1	0.15s
2	0.30s
3	0.60s
4	1.20s

After max retries, hide the icon until the next event refreshes it.

---

6. Event Triggers

Event	Behavior
NAME_PLATE_UNIT_ADDED	Immediate check for the new unit
QUEST_LOG_UPDATE	Throttled batch refresh
QUEST_ACCEPTED	Throttled batch refresh
QUEST_POI_UPDATE	Throttled batch refresh
UNIT_QUEST_LOG_CHANGED	Throttled batch refresh
QUEST_QUERY_COMPLETE	Throttled batch refresh

Also: delayed refresh 3–4 seconds after PLAYER_LOGIN (API may not be ready immediately).

---

7. Settings/Config

-- Two independent toggles:
showQuestNPCs = true       -- Icons for pickup/turn-in NPCs (!/?)
showQuestObjectives = true -- Icons for kill/collect mobs
questIconScale = 100       -- Percentage (100% = 1.2x base)
questIconAnchor = "LEFT"   -- LEFT, RIGHT, or TOP
questIconX = 0             -- Horizontal offset
questIconY = 0             -- Vertical offset

---