Using the CD Planner: Advanced Plan Making using Replays
The standard vanilla Cooldown Planner editor, while still very functional & easily accessible from the config, is not the most optimal option for users who actually want that extremely precise cooldown planning. Instead, using the Cooldown Planner from the Replay Viewer (/vbm r) is highly advised, as it provides much more comprehensive information, including actual casts, statuses, cooldowns, and plenty more intricate details like coordinates.
This allows for better insight into things like full weave windows for OGCDs, any areas where mistakes were made, any opportunities to optimize during uptime/downtime, etc.
The recommended approach involves recording all relevant replays for each pull that needs to be analyzed. Once the replay is opened, the Events section can be expanded, followed by the user's specific pull of interest (e.g. your best pull or one that presented many challenges). From there, select the button corresponding to the character (e.g. WAR100 Firstname Lastname).
The following screen will appear: (NOTE: the selected replay must have a Cooldown Plan enabled inside of it, or it will not show any tracks!)
For the example given here, here's a small replay of the first 30s of pull-start from Future's Rewritten.
Please note of the small arrow indicator on the timeline:
This indicator represents synchronization with the Replay Viewer's timeline & playback. Because of this, it’s possible to click on the timeline to scroll to the exact point in time of interest. Example here is after the user clicks on the 13.9s mark:
The user is immediately sent to their exact point in time of instance, showing what was exactly happening at the exact frame of 13.9s.
By expanding the Party dropdown menu, the coordinates of the user & all ally members at that moment are visible:
Coordinates can also be edited if the user desires. This update will be reflected in the radar and hints as though the user was positioned there. However, these edits will also reset to the real values when scrolling through the timeline, so be sure to save your plan's changes appropriately!
The Planner also displays all available OGCD slots:
This enables some extremely precise planning for any use-cases along OGCD abilities, some being for mitigation, movement, etc.
Additionally, enabling the Show Debug checkbox at the top will display the planned AI Movement path on the radar:
The resulting purple line will indicate the planned AI Movement path, with the option to edit it as well. Saving the changes will update the hint & the plan accordingly.
Preference.
The standard vanilla Cooldown Planner is still recommended for those who don't require this level of detail, but this small primer highlights that such intricate planning is certainly achievable with BossMod. Overall, the Replay Planner enables very thorough planning and verification of the desired results, offering a level of detail far beyond what its origin provides. While a real pull will still be necessary after editing, in nearly every case, the adjustments will work past expectations.