WoW:API COMBAT LOG EVENT

COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED redirects to this page, but most add-on developers will want to use it in preference to COMBAT_LOG_EVENT, because the events provided by the latter will only reflect the user's actual combat log.

Note: COMBAT_LOG_EVENT and COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED have identical parameters. All information provided here applies to both events.

Base Parameters

1st Param	2nd Param	3rd Param	4th Param	5th Param	6th Param	7th Param	8th Param	9th Param!
unknown	sourceGUID	sourceName	sourceFlags	sourceFlags2	destGUID	destName	destFlags	destFlags2

The timestamp parameter has almost the same format as the return value of the time() function. You can use it as the second parameter to date(). The only difference is that time() returns an integer (the unit is seconds), while the timestamp parameter has three decimal places (milliseconds). That means (timestamp-floor(timestamp))*1000 is the number of milliseconds of the timestamp.

The parameters sourceFlags2 and destFlags2 appeared in patch 4.2.

More information on GUIDs (including format, how to tell a player from an NPC, pets, mob IDs, and more) can be found on the API UnitGUID page.

Events

How to get full event strings: Read prefix to suffix in order and use the parameter table as specified. Unused entries are nil. A Blank cell means that there are no additional arguments for this pre- or suffix.

Prefixes

The Parameters listed with prefixes are numbered in the order they come after the base 8 parameters.

Prefix	2nd Parameter	3rd Parameter	4th Parameter
SWING
RANGE	spellId	spellName	spellSchool
SPELL	spellId	spellName	spellSchool
SPELL_PERIODIC	spellId	spellName	spellSchool
SPELL_BUILDING	spellId	spellName	spellSchool
SPELL_ABSORBED*	absorbSourceGUID	absorbSourceName	absorbSourceFlags	absorbSourceRaidFlags	spellId	spellName	spellSchool
SPELL_ABSORBED	absorbSpellId	absorbSpellName	absorbSpellSchool	absorbSourceGUID	absorbSourceName	absorbSourceFlags	absorbSourceRaidFlags	spellId	spellName	spellSchool
ENVIRONMENTAL	environmentalType

SPELL_ABSORBED* - When absorbed damage originated from a spell, will have additional 3 columns with spell info.

Suffixes

The Parameters listed with suffixes are numbered in the order they come after the prefix parameters.

Suffix	1st Param (13th)	2nd Param (14th)	3rd Param (15th)	4th Param (16th)	5th Param (17th)	6th Param (18th)	7th Param (19th)	8th Param (20th)	9th Param (21th)
_DAMAGE	amount	overkill	school	resisted	blocked	absorbed	critical (1 or nil)	glancing (1 or nil)	crushing (1 or nil)
_MISSED	missType	isOffHand	amountMissed*
_HEAL	amount	overhealing	absorbed	critical
_ENERGIZE	amount	powerType
_DRAIN	amount	powerType	extraAmount
_LEECH	amount	powerType	extraAmount
_INTERRUPT	extraSpellID	extraSpellName	extraSchool
_DISPEL	extraSpellID	extraSpellName	extraSchool	auraType
_DISPEL_FAILED	extraSpellID	extraSpellName	extraSchool
_STOLEN	extraSpellID	extraSpellName	extraSchool	auraType
_EXTRA_ATTACKS	amount
_AURA_APPLIED	auraType
_AURA_REMOVED	auraType
_AURA_APPLIED_DOSE	auraType	amount
_AURA_REMOVED_DOSE	auraType	amount
_AURA_REFRESH	auraType
_AURA_BROKEN	auraType
_AURA_BROKEN_SPELL	extraSpellID	extraSpellName	extraSchool	auraType
_CAST_START
_CAST_SUCCESS
_CAST_FAILED	failedType
_INSTAKILL
_DURABILITY_DAMAGE
_DURABILITY_DAMAGE_ALL
_CREATE
_SUMMON
_RESURRECT

* Its possible that this value does not exists. (For instance MISS or IMMUNE)

Special Events

Event	Prefix to use	Suffix to use
DAMAGE_SHIELD	SPELL	_DAMAGE
DAMAGE_SPLIT	SPELL	_DAMAGE
DAMAGE_SHIELD_MISSED	SPELL	_MISSED

Event	1st Param	2nd Param	3rd Param
ENCHANT_APPLIED †	spellName	itemID	itemName
ENCHANT_REMOVED †	spellName	itemID	itemName
PARTY_KILL
UNIT_DIED
UNIT_DESTROYED

† These events are pretty much useless. They are triggered when a weapon's enchant changes, but before the API information is updated to reflect the change. It is possible for main-hand and off-hand wielded weapons to have the same itemID. So we might not even know for sure which weapon the enchant changed on. When an enchant is reapplied the original is removed first, triggering an ENCHANT_REMOVED event before a ENCHANT_APPLIED event is triggered.

A much better way of tracking temporary weapon enchants is to use the UNIT_INVENTORY_CHANGED event (a true event, not part of a COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED) which is triggered every time an enchant changes. What's more, the information on the temporary enchants available through the API has been updated at the point this event is triggered. Sometimes the event is triggered twice however.

Template:C-inline The UNIT_DESTROYED event will fire for deaths of totems and certain Template:Wowhead tooltip instead of UNIT_DIED

Parameter Values

Spell School

spellSchool (binary / bitmask)	spellSchool (hex)	spellSchool (decimal)	Type	Color Codes / School Combination
00000001	0x1	1	Physical	#FFFF00     (255, 255,     0)      (1.00, 1.00, 0.00)
00000010	0x2	2	Holy	#FFE680     (255, 230, 128)      (1.00, 0.90, 0.50)
00000100	0x4	4	Fire	#FF8000     (255, 128,     0)      (1.00, 0.50, 0.00)
00001000	0x8	8	Nature	#4DFF4D    (  77, 255,   77)      (0.30, 1.00, 0.30)
00010000	0x10	16	Frost	#80FFFF     (128, 255, 255)      (0.50, 1.00, 1.00)
00100000	0x20	32	Shadow	#8080FF     (128, 128, 255)      (0.50, 0.50, 1.00)
01000000	0x40	64	Arcane	#FF80FF     (255, 128, 255)      (1.00, 0.50, 1.00)
Double schools
00000011	0x3	3	Holystrike	Holy + Physical
00000101	0x5	5	Flamestrike	Fire + Physical
00000110	0x6	6	Holyfire	Fire + Holy
00001001	0x9	9	Stormstrike	Nature + Physical
00001010	0xA	10	Holystorm	Nature + Holy
00001100	0xC	12	Firestorm	Nature + Fire
00010001	0x11	17	Froststrike	Frost + Physical
00010010	0x12	18	Holyfrost	Frost + Holy
00010100	0x14	20	Frostfire	Frost + Fire
00011000	0x18	24	Froststorm	Frost + Nature
00100001	0x21	33	Shadowstrike	Shadow + Physical
00100010	0x22	34	Shadowlight (Twilight)	Shadow + Holy
00100100	0x24	36	Shadowflame	Shadow + Fire
00101000	0x28	40	Shadowstorm (Plague)	Shadow + Nature
00110000	0x30	48	Shadowfrost	Shadow + Frost
01000001	0x41	65	Spellstrike	Arcane + Physical
01000010	0x42	66	Divine	Arcane + Holy
01000100	0x44	68	Spellfire	Arcane + Fire
01001000	0x48	72	Spellstorm	Arcane + Nature
01010000	0x50	80	Spellfrost	Arcane + Frost
01100000	0x60	96	Spellshadow	Arcane + Shadow
Triple and multi schools
00011100	0x1C	28	Elemental	Frost + Nature + Fire
01111100	0x7C	124	Chromatic	Arcane + Shadow + Frost + Nature + Fire
01111110	0x7E	126	Magic	Arcane + Shadow + Frost + Nature + Fire + Holy
01111111	0x7F	127	Chaos	Arcane + Shadow + Frost + Nature + Fire + Holy + Physical

• Spell School Coloring: COMBATLOG_DEFAULT_COLORS.schoolColoring
• Spell School Masks & Strings: SchoolStringTable

Power Type

Main article: PowerType

powerType	Type
-2	health
0	mana
1	rage
2	focus
3	energy
4	combo points
5	runes
6	runic power
7	soul shards
8	lunar power
9	holy power
10	alternate power
11	maelstrom
12	chi
13	insanity
14	OBSOLETE
15	OBSOLETE2
16	arcane charges
17	fury
18	pain

Miss type

• "ABSORB"
• "BLOCK"
• "DEFLECT"
• "DODGE"
• "EVADE"
• "IMMUNE"
• "MISS"
• "PARRY"
• "REFLECT"
• "RESIST"

Aura Type

• "BUFF"
• "DEBUFF"

Environmental Type

• "DROWNING"
• "FALLING"
• "FATIGUE"
• "FIRE"
• "LAVA"
• "SLIME"
• More possible but currently unconfirmed

Failed Type

• "A more powerful spell is already active"
• "Another action is in progress"
• "Can only use outside"
• "Can only use while swimming"
• "Can't do that while asleep"
• "Can't do that while charmed"
• "Can't do that while confused"
• "Can't do that while fleeing"
• "Can't do that while horrified"
• "Can't do that while incapacitated"
• "Can't do that while moving"
• "Can't do that while silenced"
• "Can't do that while stunned"
• "Interrupted"
• "Invalid target"
• "Item is not ready yet"
• "Must be in Bear Form, Dire Bear Form"
• "Must have a Ranged Weapon equipped"
• "No path available"
• "No target"
• "Not enough energy"
• "Not enough mana"
• "Not enough rage"
• "Not yet recovered"
• "Nothing to dispel"
• "Out of range"
• "Target is friendly"
• "Target is hostile"
• "Target needs to be in front of you."
  • Added with Patch 6.1.2.^{[citation needed]} Possibly to rationalize with "be behind" from rogue's Gouge.
  • Not to be confused with the red alert in UI, "Target must be facing you."
• "Target not in line of sight"
• "Target too close"
• "You are dead"
• "You are in combat"
• "You are in shapeshift form"
• "You are unable to move"
• "You can't do that yet"
• "You must be behind your target."
• "Your target is dead"
• More possible but currently unconfirmed

Examples

Introduction

I wanted to post some info about what I have learned about using this event. I think the description of how the arguments work is confusing. Hopefully this provides some clarity.

There are always at least 8 arguments. (arg1 through arg8) Depending on the Prefix there will be 0, 1, or 3 more arguments. These will be numbered starting with 9 and going up to 11 if necessary. Depending on the Suffix there will be 0-8 more arguments. These will be numbered starting from the last Prefix argument (i.e. 9, 10, or 12).

Sample Arguments Example

Example: The following 2 examples show the parameters used for a SPELL_MISS event and a SWING_DAMAGE events

Event Type	Arg1	Arg2	Arg3	Arg4	Arg5	Arg6	Arg7	Arg8	Arg9	Arg10	Arg11	Arg12	Arg13	Arg14	Arg15	Arg16	Arg17
SPELL_MISS	timestamp	event	sourceGUID	sourceName	sourceFlags	destGUID	destName	destFlags	spellId	spellName	spellSchool	missType	isOffHand	amountMissed
SWING_DAMAGE	timestamp	event	sourceGUID	sourceName	sourceFlags	destGUID	destName	destFlags	amount	overkill	school	resisted	blocked	absorbed	critical	glancing	crushing

Simple Function Example

Example the following function would display a message whenever a Mind Blast crits.

Foo.xml

<Frame name="Foo_Frame">
  <Scripts>
     <OnLoad>
        Foo_OnLoad();
     </OnLoad>
     <OnEvent>
        Foo_OnEvent(self, event, ...); -- The ... parameter passes all arguments that would otherwise be implicitly sent prior to 3.0.
                                       -- As of 3.0, you will need to explicitly send these arguments (as done here).  
     </OnEvent>
  </Scripts>
</Frame>

Foo.lua

function Foo_OnLoad()
  this:RegisterEvent("COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED");
end

function Foo_OnEvent(self, event, ...)

  local timestamp, type, hideCaster, sourceGUID, sourceName, sourceFlags, sourceFlags2, destGUID, destName, destFlags, destFlags2 = select(1, ...)
  -- Note, for this example, you could just use 'local type = select(2, ...)'.  The others are included so that it's clear what's available.

  if (event=="COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED") then
    if (type=="SPELL_DAMAGE") then

      local spellId, spellName, spellSchool = select(12, ...)
      -- Use the following line in game version 3.0 or higher, for previous versions use the line after
      local amount, overkill, school, resisted, blocked, absorbed, critical, glancing, crushing = select(15, ...)

      if (spellName=="Mind Blast" and critical==true) then -- ==true for clarity only.  Not needed.
        DEFAULT_CHAT_FRAME:AddMessage("Mind Blast Just Critted!");
      end
    end
  end
end

Event Descriptions

Summary Of what I have learned about when events fire and when they don't: (Preliminary)

Prefixes

Event Prefix	Description
SPELL_	Spell is the prefix for most effects even if the spell is a DoT or channeled. IE when the spell begins to be cast, SPELL_CAST_START is fired and not SPELL_PERIODIC_CAST_START. This is the same with _MISS, _FAILED, etc.
SPELL_PERIODIC	Spell_PERIODIC Only the effects that are periodic start with this PREFIX. IE: Successfully casting a DoT only happens once therefor even though the spell is periodic use the SPELL_ prefix. However, the damage is periodic so it will start with SPELL_PERIODIC_. 90% of the time you will only care about _DAMAGE or _HEAL.
SPELL_BUILDING	SPELL_BUILDING New in WotLK, assumed to be damage that can affect destructable buildings.
ENVIRONMENTAL	sourceGUID = "0x0000000000000000", sourceName = nil

Suffixes

Event Suffix	Description
_DAMAGE	Triggered on damage to health. Nothing Special. (overkill returns a number greater than or equal to zero)
_MISSED	Triggered When Effect isn't applied but mana/energy is used IE: ABSORB BLOCK DEFLECT DODGE EVADE IMMUNE MISS PARRY REFLECT RESIST
_HEAL	Triggered when a unit is healed
_ENERGIZE	Any effect that restores energy/mana. Spell/trinket/item set bonuses can trigger this event. IE: Vampiric Touch, or Mark of Defiance (Trinket)
_DRAIN	Same as _ENERGIZE but this time you are losing energy/mana. Caused by enemies.
_LEECH	Same as _DRAIN, but the source unit will simultaneously receive the same kind of energy (specified in extraAmount)
_INTERRUPT	Spellcasting being interrupted by an ability such as Kick or Pummel.
_DISPEL	A buff or debuff being actively dispelled by a spell like Remove Curse or Dispel Magic.
_DISPEL_FAILED	A failed attempt to dispel a buff or debuff, most likely due to immunity.
_AURA_STOLEN	A buff being transferred from the destination unit to the source unit (i.e. mages' Spellsteal).
_EXTRA_ATTACKS	Unit gains extra melee attacks due to an ability (like Sword Specialization or Windfury). These attacks usually happen in brief succession 100-200ms following this event.
_AURA_APPLIED	Triggered When Buffs/Debuffs are Applied. Note: This event doesn't fire if a debuff is applied twice without being removed. IE: casting Vampiric Embrace twice in a row only triggers this event once. This can make it difficult to track whether a debuff was successfully reapplied to the target. However, for instant cast spells, SPELL_CAST_SUCCESS can be used.
_AURA_REMOVED	Triggered When Buffs/Debuffs expire.
_AURA_APPLIED_DOSE	Triggered by stacking Debuffs if the debuff is already applied to a target. IE: If you cast Mind Flay twice it causes 2 doses of shadow vunerability, the first time it will trigger, SPELL_AURA_APPLIED (arg10 = shadow vulnerability), and SPELL_AURA_APPLIED_DOSE (arg10 = shadow vunerability) the second. The last argument reflects the new number of doses on the unit.
_AURA_REMOVED_DOSE	The opposite of _AURA_APPLIED_DOSE, reducing the amount of doses on a buff/debuff on the unit.
_AURA_REFRESH	Resets the expiration timer of a buff/debuff on the unit.
_AURA_BROKEN	A buff or debuff is being removed by melee damage
_AURA_BROKEN_SPELL	A buff or debuff is being removed by spell damage (specified in extraSpell...)
_CAST_START	Triggered when a spell begins casting. Instant Cast and channeled spells don't invoke this event. They trigger _CAST_SUCCESS, _MISS instead.
_CAST_SUCCESS	Triggered when channeled spells begin or when instant cast spells are cast. This (obviously) isn't triggered when this spell misses. On a miss SPELL_MISS will be triggered instead. Also, spells that invoke _CAST_START don't trigger this event when they are done casting. Use _SPELL_MISS or _SPELL_DAMAGE or _SPELL_AURA_APPLIED to see when they were cast
_CAST_FAILED	If the cast fails before it starts (IE invalid target), then _CAST_START never triggers. However it is possible for a cast to fail after beginning. (IE you jump, move, hit escape etc.)
_INSTAKILL	Immediately kills the destination unit (usually happens when warlocks sacrifice their minions).
_DURABILITY_DAMAGE
_DURABILITY_DAMAGE_ALL
_CREATE	Creates an object (as opposed to an NPC who are 'summoned') like a hunter's trap or a mage's portal.
_SUMMON	Summmons an NPC such as a pet or totem.

Special Events

Event	Description
UNIT_DIED	destGUID and destName refer to the unit that died.
PARTY_KILL	includes both sourceGUID and destGUID, but only reports for you (not in a party) or your other 4 party members (not raid members)