A tribute
Before there were tech stacks,
there were raid builds.
This is the story of three tools that taught us what optimization really means.
If you've ever spent hours min-maxing a character build, agonizing over stat priorities, or theory-crafting the perfect loadout, you understand something most people don't.
Complex systems have optimal configurations.
And finding them is an art.
StacksFinder didn't emerge from a vacuum. It was born from countless nights playing World of Warcraft, Dofus, and League of Legends. And from the remarkable tools that helped millions of players navigate overwhelming complexity.
This page is a tribute to those tools and their creators.
Without them, StacksFinder wouldn't exist.
AskMrRobot
The gold standard of gear optimization
Founded by Peter Coley, AskMrRobot revolutionized how WoW players approached gear optimization. It wasn't just another "Best in Slot" list. It was a sophisticated system that understood something fundamental:
Context matters.
Every recommendation came with articles explaining the why. Not just "use this trinket," but the math behind it, the reasoning, the trade-offs. New patch? New hotfix? AMR was updated within hours.
But what struck me most was a subtle feature: you could set the number of activatable items to manage rotation complexity. Because being theoretically optimal means nothing if you can't execute it.
They understood the human behind the screen.
The hardest thing for an experienced player is to accept that the tool might be right, and to trust it instead of imposing your own vision and missing out on its full potential.
What AMR taught us
Explainability is everything. A recommendation without reasoning is just an opinion. A recommendation with transparent methodology becomes trustworthy knowledge.
Today, AMR is widely used in competitive WoW. We're thrilled to see it thrive. It deserves all the recognition.
Dofus Fashionista
Constraint-based optimization, ahead of its time
Created by PiwiSlayer, Fashionista was a set optimizer that handled something incredibly complex: multi-constraint optimization.
In Dofus, building the perfect set isn't just about maximizing damage. You need exactly 11 AP, 6 MP, enough resistances to survive, and you're working within a budget of kamas. Oh, and set bonuses create non-linear interactions between pieces.
A combinatorial nightmare. Handled elegantly.
What surprised me was the robustness of the tool and the depth of customization available, unfortunately poorly documented, requiring exploration to discover. It was ahead of its time, and most players never realized what they had.
It was robustness hidden behind modesty. A tool so ahead of its time that most players never realized what they had.
What Fashionista taught us
Constraint satisfaction is beautiful. It's not about finding the best thing in isolation. It's about finding the best thing given your specific limitations.
But Fashionista also taught us a harder lesson.
Potential unrealized is potential wasted.
Fashionista was criminally underestimated. Being open-source, it progressed at the mercy of volunteer goodwill. PiwiSlayer and its current maintainer Trameur deserve far more recognition, and support, than they ever received.
If Fashionista had been properly funded and maintained, it could have been the pillar of the Dofus ecosystem. The pillar it deserved to be.
With StacksFinder, we're determined to build something sustainable. Not just a tool, but a business that can support continued development and give this philosophy the home it deserves.
LoLTheory
Context-aware recommendations in real-time
Created by Griffin, LoLTheory brought something crucial to the table: dynamic adaptation.
In a game where the meta shifts every two weeks and your build should change based on enemy composition, static recommendations are useless. LoLTheory understood this. Recommendations adapted based on your team comp, enemy picks, and current game state.
Data updated with every patch. Not one "correct" build, but a spectrum of over 150 viable options per champion for different situations. Team synergies mapped. Counter-picks analyzed.
Always current. Always contextual.
What LoLTheory taught us
Context is king. The best database in the world means nothing if recommendations don't adapt to the user's specific situation.
The Thread That Connects Them
Three tools. Three different games. Three different eras.
Yet they share a common DNA:
Respect for complexity. They didn't pretend the problem was simple. They embraced it and built systems to navigate it.
Trust through transparency. The best tools don't just give answers. They explain their reasoning. Trust is earned, not assumed.
Human in the loop. They understood that users have preferences, constraints, and context that algorithms can't fully capture.
Niche does not mean simplistic. Serving a specific audience doesn't mean dumbing things down. It means going deeper where it matters.
When we built StacksFinder, we didn't just want to make "another tech recommendation tool."
We wanted to bring the rigor, transparency, and respect for complexity that these gaming optimization tools pioneered to the world of software development.
Same inputs, same outputs.
Every score justified.
No black-box opinions.
If you've ever trusted AskMrRobot with your raid gear, Fashionista with your PvP set, or LoLTheory with your ranked climb...
you already understand what we're building.
Welcome home.
Begin your optimization journey