SoftCombatLock
Auto targeting is one of those quality-of-life features that feels amazing in the middle of a rotation and absolutely maddening everywhere else. You know the feeling: you are running through a capital city, click an NPC to repair, and suddenly your character snaps onto some random mob halfway across the zone. That is exactly the problem SoftCombatLock was built to solve. This lightweight addon keeps soft targeting where it belongs, in combat, and gets rid of it the moment the fight is over.
What SoftCombatLock Actually Does
At its core, SoftCombatLock flips the SoftTargetEnemy CVar to a value of 3 automatically when you enter combat. This gives you that smooth snap-to-target behavior between priority swaps without burning a global cooldown trying to hard lock something mid-rotation. When combat ends, the addon quietly puts everything back the way you had it.
By default, it restores your previous setting. If you prefer, you can configure it to shut soft targeting off entirely instead. Either way, there are no permanent CVar flips, no mystery settings left running in the background, and no "why did I just target that?" moments while you are clicking NPCs or moving through the world. In combat, it is there. Out of combat, it is gone.
Installation and Compatibility
If you are ready to download SoftCombatLock, the process is about as simple as addons get. You drop the folder into your World of Warcraft Interface/AddOns directory, restart the client, and you are done. For anyone wondering how to install it across multiple game versions, the good news is that SoftCombatLock for World of Warcraft is built to travel well. It supports Retail, Classic, TBC, WotLK, Cataclysm, and MoP, so whether you are raiding current content or reliving the Burning Crusade, the same addon folder works without extra tinkering.
Players who juggle several clients at once often keep a launcher handy to avoid manually updating each addon folder. The foxygame.net launcher, for example, offers a curated addon catalog with one-click install and automatic updates, and SoftCombatLock sits comfortably in that kind of setup because it rarely needs maintenance between patches. Version compatibility is handled cleanly, which means fewer surprises when Blizzard pushes a new build.
Controls, Commands, and Defaults
SoftCombatLock keeps its interface minimal on purpose. A small minimap button gives you quick access: left-click toggles between 0 and 3, and right-click opens the settings panel. If you would rather keep your minimap clean, slash commands cover everything.
- /scl on — enable soft targeting
- /scl off — disable soft targeting
- /scl toggle — switch between states
- /scl status — check the current value
- /scl minimap — show or hide the minimap button
Default Settings
Out of the box, chat notifications are off because nobody needs extra spam in their chat window. Restoring your previous CVar value after combat is enabled, and the minimap button is visible. That combination gives you sensible behavior without touching a single option.
Why This Addon Exists
The entire premise is refreshingly honest: auto target feels good in combat and annoying everywhere else. SoftCombatLock simply keeps it where it belongs. It does not rewrite your UI, it does not add a dozen configuration panels, and it does not leave hidden settings behind. It watches for combat, applies the change, and reverses it when the dust settles.
Credit for the original idea and starting point goes to Phobos982, with additional inspiration from a spouse who wanted this sanity-saving function in her own game. That origin story explains the addon's focus: solve one real annoyance, solve it well, and stay out of the way.
Final Thoughts
If you have ever wished auto targeting would only kick in during a fight, SoftCombatLock is the clean answer. It is small, predictable, and compatible with every major World of Warcraft version from Classic through MoP and Retail. Grab it, set your preferred behavior once, and let it handle the rest so you can focus on the rotation instead of fighting your own targeting system.