_NPCScan.Overlay

NPCSCAN.OVERLAY IS BEING REWRITTEN

The old codebase was showing its age, so I'd been wanting to do this for awhile. With WoW 8.0, however, Blizzard forced my hand by completely replacing the map subsystem and API.

 

To reiterate:NPCScan.Overlay is not dead; it's being worked on.

 

NPCScan.Overlay is an addition to _NPCScan that adds map overlays for rare mob patrols. When you search for a rare in _NPCScan, _NPCScan.Overlay will show where it patrols until you find it.

 

Note: _NPCScan.Overlay can integrate with NPCScan if you have installed it, but make sure to keep both up to date if you do use both!

If you have a question check the FAQ, or a problem create a ticket

Details

World Map

In addition to drawing paths on the World Map, _NPCScan.Overlay adds a key to a corner of the window with each rare's name. It only appears in zones that have rare maps, like Netherstorm as seen in the screenshot. Hovering over a mob's name in the key will cause the mob's path on the map to start flashing. If you need to read something under the key, it can be toggled by Clicking on the Key Toggle button on the map. The key can be repositioned by just moving your mouse over top of it while holding the shift key and the key will jump to a different corner.

Most map mods like Atlas will inherit the key and overlays from this module. Even Carbonite's map display will show them.

Battlefield Minimap

The small “Battlefield Minimap” (AKA the “Zone Map”) also shows mob paths.

Minimap

All shapes and sizes of minimaps are supported. Rotating minimaps work fine as well.

One feature not shown in the screenshot is a thinner 100 yard range ring around your character. It helps you gauge _NPCScan's detection range, so you can sweep through zones more effectively. This option can be found in the Minimap subsection of the options panel, detailed below.

Options

_NPCScan.Overlay's options can be found under _NPCScan's main options menu, under _NPCScan > Overlay or as its own entry of _NPCScan.Overlay if _NPCScan isn't installed. This panel can be opened with the “/npcscanoverlay slash command, or “/overlay” for short.

The “Always show all paths” checkbox at the top of the pane overrides the instructions of NPC tracking mods like _NPCScan to hide unused paths, and always displays all known paths instead.

The rest of the configuration pane lists each map display's options. You can enable/disable each map from here, as well as configure individual settings for them.

Each map display can have its overall transparency set independently with the “Alpha” slider, so that it doesn't obscure the maps themselves.

ABOUT THIS LISTING

This page describes _NPCScan.Overlay by Torhal. The description and screenshots are the author's own, imported from their listing on CurseForge on 31 August 2026: https://www.curseforge.com/wow/addons/npcscan-overlay

Mythiq.net hosts no files for it. The download button goes straight to the release file on edge.forgecdn.net, so you are downloading from the author's own host, not from a copy of ours.

The download count, rating and comments on this page start at zero and count Mythiq.net only. The source's own figures are not copied here — they measure a different site, and a number that cannot be checked against our own ledger is not worth printing.

GAME FLAVOUR

This is a retail (modern World of Warcraft) build. It will not work in the Classic clients, which run a different interface API.

INTERFACE VERSION

Built against game version 7.3.0. After a patch, an addon that has not been updated is flagged out of date; most keep working, and the "Load out of date AddOns" checkbox on the character screen lets you try.

DEPENDENCIES

Some addons need a separate library addon (Ace3, LibStub and friends) that is not bundled. If the addon does not appear in the list in game, a missing dependency is the usual reason.

1. Quit World of Warcraft completely. The game reads the AddOns folder at launch and will overwrite settings for an addon added while it is running.

2. Download the archive with the button on this page and unzip it.

3. Move the folder — the one with the .toc file in it, not the zip's wrapper folder — into:

World of Warcraft\_retail_\Interface\AddOns

4. Start the game. On the character selection screen, click AddOns and check that it is listed and enabled.

IF IT DOES NOT APPEAR

Nine times out of ten the folder is nested one level too deep. Interface/AddOns/Thing/Thing/Thing.toc will not load; Interface/AddOns/Thing/Thing.toc will.

UPDATING

Delete the old folder before unzipping the new one. Unzipping over the top leaves files behind that the new version no longer expects.