Buff Tracker

Display active buffs, debuffs, and spell effects with countdown timers.

Goal

Track all active effects on your character with visual progress bars showing time remaining.

The Problem

GemStone IV sends buff data via the dialogData id='Buffs' XML elements. These include spell effects, sigils, and other timed buffs with progress bars and countdown timers.

Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
│                                             │ Active Effects         │
│                                             ├────────────────────────┤
│                                             │ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░ 3:44        │
│                                             │ Fasthr's Reward        │
│                                             │                        │
│              Main Game Text                 │ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ 0:76        │
│                                             │ Celerity               │
│                                             │                        │
│                                             │ ▓▓▓▓░░░░░░ 1:57        │
│                                             │ Sigil of Defense       │
│                                             │                        │
│                                             │ ▓▓░░░░░░░░ 0:08        │
│                                             │ Sigil of Major Bane    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘

Configuration

layout.toml

# Active buffs panel
[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "buffs"
category = "Buffs"
x = 85
y = 0
width = 35
height = 20
show_timers = true
show_border = true
title = "Active Effects"
sort_by = "time_remaining"  # or "name", "value"

# Debuffs panel (if you want separate tracking)
[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "debuffs"
category = "Debuffs"
x = 85
y = 20
width = 35
height = 10
show_timers = true
show_border = true
title = "Debuffs"
color_scheme = "danger"

# Cooldowns panel
[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "cooldowns"
category = "Cooldowns"
x = 85
y = 30
width = 35
height = 8
show_timers = true
show_border = true
title = "Cooldowns"

Color Configuration

# colors.toml

# Buff bar colors by time remaining
buff_full = "#00FF00"      # Green - plenty of time
buff_medium = "#FFFF00"    # Yellow - getting low
buff_low = "#FF6600"       # Orange - almost expired
buff_critical = "#FF0000"  # Red - about to expire

# Category colors
buffs_color = "#00AAFF"    # Blue for buffs
debuffs_color = "#FF0000"  # Red for debuffs
cooldowns_color = "#FFAA00" # Orange for cooldowns

Alerts for Expiring Buffs

# triggers.toml

# Celerity about to expire
[[triggers]]
name = "celerity_warning"
pattern = "The heightened speed of Celerity fades"
tts = "Celerity expired"
sound = "buff_expire.wav"

# Spell shield warning
[[triggers]]
name = "shield_warning"
pattern = "Your (spell|elemental) shield dissipates"
tts = "Shield down"
sound = "warning.wav"

# Generic buff fade
[[triggers]]
name = "buff_fade"
pattern = "The (glow|aura|effect) of .+ fades"
sound = "buff_expire.wav"
cooldown = 1000

Advanced: Profession-Specific Buffs

Ranger Buffs

[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "ranger_buffs"
category = "Buffs"
filter = ["Camouflage", "Nature's Touch", "Resist Nature", "Tangle Weed"]
x = 85
y = 0
width = 35
height = 10

Wizard Buffs

[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "wizard_buffs"
category = "Buffs"
filter = ["Elemental Defense", "Elemental Targeting", "Haste", "Familiar"]
x = 85
y = 0
width = 35
height = 10

Cleric Buffs

[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "cleric_buffs"
category = "Buffs"
filter = ["Spirit Shield", "Spirit Warding", "Benediction", "Prayer"]
x = 85
y = 0
width = 35
height = 10

Compact Mode

For smaller displays:

[[widgets]]
type = "effects"
name = "buffs_compact"
category = "Buffs"
x = 85
y = 0
width = 25
height = 15
show_timers = true
compact = true           # Single line per buff
show_progress = false    # Hide progress bars, just show time
abbreviate_names = true  # "Sigil of Def" instead of full name

Tips

Sort by time to see what’s expiring soon
Use filters to show only profession-relevant buffs
Add sound alerts for critical buff expirations
Compact mode works well for limited screen space

XML Reference

The game sends buff data like this:

<dialogData id='Buffs' clear='t'></dialogData>
<dialogData id='Buffs'>
  <progressBar id='115' value='89' text="Fasthr's Reward"
    left='22%' top='0' width='76%' height='15' time='03:44:32'/>
  <label id='l115' value='3:44 ' top='0' left='0' justify='2'/>
  <!-- more buffs... -->
</dialogData>

Two-Face parses this into ActiveEffect elements with:

id - Spell/effect identifier
text - Display name
value - Progress percentage (0-100)
time - Time remaining string

Two-Face Documentation