Combat Log Event Triggers

Overview

Combat log event triggers monitor the COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED event, providing detailed information about damage, healing, spell casts, and other combat activities.

Combat log triggers fire for every matching combat event, making them ideal for proc tracking and combat analysis.

Basic Combat Event Trigger

{
  type = "event",
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_CAST_SUCCESS",
  sourceUnit = "player",
  spellIds = {"12345"}
}

Combat Log Subevents

The combat log uses specific subevent prefixes:

Spell Events

Cast Events
Aura Events
Damage Events
Heal Events

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_CAST_START",    -- Cast begins
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_CAST_SUCCESS",  -- Cast completes
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_CAST_FAILED"    -- Cast fails
}

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_AURA_APPLIED",        -- Aura gained
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_AURA_REMOVED",        -- Aura lost
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_AURA_APPLIED_DOSE",   -- Stacks gained
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_AURA_REMOVED_DOSE",   -- Stacks lost
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_AURA_REFRESH"         -- Aura refreshed
}

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DAMAGE",     -- Spell damage
  subeventPrefix = "SWING_DAMAGE",     -- Melee damage
  subeventPrefix = "RANGE_DAMAGE",     -- Ranged damage
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_PERIODIC_DAMAGE"  -- DoT tick
}

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_HEAL",           -- Direct heal
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_PERIODIC_HEAL"   -- HoT tick
}

Event Filtering

Source Unit Filter

{
  sourceUnit = "player"  -- Only player's actions
}

Destination Unit Filter

{
  destUnit = "player",    -- Events affecting player
  destUnit = "target",    -- Events affecting target
  destUnit = "boss"       -- Events affecting any boss
}

Spell Filter

Spell IDs
Spell Names
Spell School

{
  use_spellId = true,
  spellIds = {
    "48068",  -- Renew
    "48066"   -- Power Word: Shield
  }
}

{
  use_spellName = true,
  spellName = "Fireball"
}

{
  use_spellschool = true,
  spellschool = {
    [2] = true,   -- Holy
    [4] = true    -- Fire
  }
}

Damage and Healing Filters

Amount Thresholds

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DAMAGE",
  use_amount = true,
  amount = "1000",
  amount_operator = ">="
}

Crit Detection

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DAMAGE",
  use_critical = true,
  critical = true  -- Only crits
}

Overkill Tracking

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DAMAGE",
  use_overkill = true,
  overkill = "0",
  overkill_operator = ">"  -- Overkill occurred
}

Absorb and Block

{
  use_absorbed = true,
  absorbed = "0",
  absorbed_operator = ">",  -- Some damage absorbed
  
  use_blocked = true,
  blocked = "0",
  blocked_operator = ">"    -- Some damage blocked
}

Advanced Filters

Power Type

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_ENERGIZE",
  use_powertype = true,
  powertype = 0  -- Mana
}

Power Types:

0 - Mana
1 - Rage
2 - Focus
3 - Energy
6 - Runic Power

Extra Spell

{
  use_extraSpellId = true,
  extraSpellId = "12345"  -- Proc spell ID
}

Miss Type

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_MISSED",
  use_missType = true,
  missType = "RESIST"  -- Only resists
}

Miss Types: MISS, DODGE, PARRY, BLOCK, RESIST, IMMUNE, EVADE, DEFLECT, ABSORB

Event Counter

Count occurrences of combat events:

{
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  use_count = true,
  count = "3",           -- Every 3rd event
  count_operator = "=="
}

Event counters persist until manually reset, useful for proc tracking.

Event Arguments

Combat log events provide extensive information:

function(event, timestamp, subevent, hideCaster,
         sourceGUID, sourceName, sourceFlags, sourceRaidFlags,
         destGUID, destName, destFlags, destRaidFlags,
         ...  -- Additional args based on subevent
)

Damage Event Args

-- After standard args:
spellId, spellName, spellSchool,
amount, overkill, school, resisted, blocked, absorbed, critical

Heal Event Args

-- After standard args:
spellId, spellName, spellSchool,
amount, overhealing, absorbed, critical

Aura Event Args

-- After standard args:
spellId, spellName, spellSchool,
auraType, amount  -- amount is stack count

Custom Event Processing

Process combat events with custom logic:

function(event, timestamp, subevent, ...) 
  local args = {...}
  
  -- Extract common fields
  local sourceGUID = args[1]
  local sourceName = args[2]
  local destGUID = args[5]
  local destName = args[6]
  
  -- Damage events have these fields
  if subevent:match("_DAMAGE$") then
    local spellId = args[9]
    local amount = args[12]
    local critical = args[18]
    
    return critical and amount > 10000
  end
  
  return false
end

Performance Considerations

Event Volume

Combat log generates massive event volume in raids:

-- Good: Specific filtering
{
  sourceUnit = "player",
  spellIds = {"12345"},
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_CAST_SUCCESS"
}

-- Bad: No filtering
{
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED"
  -- Processes EVERY combat event!
}

Subevent Filtering

Always specify subeventPrefix to reduce processing:

{
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_",  -- Only spell events
  -- Much faster than checking every event
}

Unit Filtering

Filter by source/dest units early:

{
  sourceUnit = "player",  -- Filter before custom code
  -- Prevents running code for non-player events
}

Common Patterns

Proc Detection

{
  type = "event",
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_AURA_APPLIED",
  sourceUnit = "player",
  spellIds = {"12345"},  -- Proc buff ID
  duration = 10           -- Show for 10 seconds
}

Damage Tracker

{
  type = "event",
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DAMAGE",
  sourceUnit = "player",
  use_amount = true,
  amount = "5000",
  amount_operator = ">=",
  use_critical = true,
  critical = true
}

Interrupt Monitor

{
  type = "event",
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_INTERRUPT",
  sourceUnit = "group",  -- Track all party interrupts
  duration = 5
}

Dispel Tracker

{
  type = "event",
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DISPEL",
  sourceUnit = "player",
  use_extraSpellId = true  -- Track what was dispelled
}

Death Detection

{
  type = "event",
  event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
  subeventPrefix = "UNIT_DIED",
  destUnit = "player"  -- Player death
}

Combining with Other Triggers

Combat events work well in multi-trigger setups:

{
  disjunctive = "all",
  triggers = {
    [1] = {
      -- Trigger 1: In combat
      type = "status",
      event = "Conditions",
      use_incombat = true
    },
    [2] = {
      -- Trigger 2: Damage spike
      type = "event",
      event = "COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED",
      subeventPrefix = "SPELL_DAMAGE",
      destUnit = "player",
      use_amount = true,
      amount = "10000",
      amount_operator = ">="
    }
  }
}

Spell School Reference

Physical

School ID: 1

Holy

School ID: 2

Fire

School ID: 4

Nature

School ID: 8

Frost

School ID: 16

Shadow

School ID: 32

Arcane

School ID: 64

Multiple schools are bitwise OR: Frostfire = 16 | 4 = 20

Troubleshooting

Events Not Firing

Verify subeventPrefix matches exactly
Check source/dest unit filters
Ensure you’re in combat range
Use /combatlog to verify events are generated

Too Many Triggers

Add more specific filters (spell ID, unit)
Use subeventPrefix to filter early
Consider using aura2 triggers for buffs instead

Missing Information

Some events have limited information:

Environmental damage has no source
Some NPC events lack detailed flags
Check combat log output for available data

Best Practices

Buff/Debuff Triggers

More efficient aura tracking

Custom Lua

Advanced event processing

Trigger Overview

Trigger system fundamentals

Architecture

Triggers

Display Types

Customization

​Overview

​Basic Combat Event Trigger

​Combat Log Subevents

​Spell Events

​Event Filtering

​Source Unit Filter

​Destination Unit Filter

​Spell Filter

​Damage and Healing Filters

​Amount Thresholds

​Crit Detection

​Overkill Tracking

​Absorb and Block

​Advanced Filters

​Power Type

​Extra Spell

​Miss Type

​Event Counter

​Event Arguments

​Damage Event Args

​Heal Event Args

​Aura Event Args

​Custom Event Processing

​Performance Considerations

​Common Patterns

​Proc Detection

​Damage Tracker

​Interrupt Monitor

​Dispel Tracker

​Death Detection

​Combining with Other Triggers

​Spell School Reference

Physical

Holy

Fire

Nature

Frost

Shadow

Arcane

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

​Related Topics

Buff/Debuff Triggers

Custom Lua

Trigger Overview

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Basic Combat Event Trigger

Combat Log Subevents

Spell Events

Event Filtering

Source Unit Filter

Destination Unit Filter

Spell Filter

Damage and Healing Filters

Amount Thresholds

Crit Detection

Overkill Tracking

Absorb and Block

Advanced Filters

Power Type

Extra Spell

Miss Type

Event Counter

Event Arguments

Damage Event Args

Heal Event Args

Aura Event Args

Custom Event Processing

Performance Considerations

Common Patterns

Proc Detection

Damage Tracker

Interrupt Monitor

Dispel Tracker

Death Detection

Combining with Other Triggers

Spell School Reference

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Related Topics