Hidden Addons

killmove

Hi,

Someone told me that it's possible to create and use addons that aren't shared with ESO community.
In other word, some clever players with enough knowledge can make their own addon (mainly for pvp) to surpass other on the battlefield.
is that true ?

Thanks for your response

Maggi12

i have made my addons for auto research and auto making items for research (traits) for my toons, so yes - it is possible.

JamieAubrey

Yes, Miat's is an example of such addon before it was released to the public so I wouldn't be surprised if there are others

Runs

Yes you can make your own addons, no you do not need to share them.

You are still limited to the api that ZOS provides.

Danikat

Not sharing them is actually the default. When you create an addon it will only exist on your computer, you have to upload it to a fan site (or more than one) before anyone else can get it, and you'll probably have to post about it on forums and things as well since not many people are going to download a random addon they've never heard of just to see what it does.

But addons in this game are much more limited than in most. You can't make new objects for the game or modify skills, stats etc. or change what characters are able to do. You're pretty much limited to changing the UI, and everyone else making addons will have exactly the same capabilities.

So for example you could make an addon which makes combat easier by warning you when a major attack is coming and you'll need to block, but anyone else capable of making addons can do that too and probably already has - so anyone else can get the same ability. You couldn't make a secret addon which will automatically block when it detects a major attack coming.

zaria

Maggi12 wrote: »

i have made my addons for auto research and auto making items for research (traits) for my toons, so yes - it is possible.

Yes, you can make your own personal ones.
However as all the functions are public you are unlikely to manage to make something who give an edge in PvP.
Only thing would be to customize something who give information in an way who fit you better.

killmove

Danikat wrote: »

Not sharing them is actually the default. When you create an addon it will only exist on your computer, you have to upload it to a fan site (or more than one) before anyone else can get it, and you'll probably have to post about it on forums and things as well since not many people are going to download a random addon they've never heard of just to see what it does.

But addons in this game are much more limited than in most. You can't make new objects for the game or modify skills, stats etc. or change what characters are able to do. You're pretty much limited to changing the UI, and everyone else making addons will have exactly the same capabilities.

So for example you could make an addon which makes combat easier by warning you when a major attack is coming and you'll need to block, but anyone else capable of making addons can do that too and probably already has - so anyone else can get the same ability. You couldn't make a secret addon which will automatically block when it detects a major attack coming.

But somebody can make an addon for incoming dmg notification like in pve but only for pvp.
maybe also an addon that will use a specific potion when low in health or in resource.
an addon that tells if the player is CC immune or not, if he's under a potion or not....

I think addon should validated and shared by/with ESO community, otherwise there will always be exploits.

Ydrisselle

killmove wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

Not sharing them is actually the default. When you create an addon it will only exist on your computer, you have to upload it to a fan site (or more than one) before anyone else can get it, and you'll probably have to post about it on forums and things as well since not many people are going to download a random addon they've never heard of just to see what it does.

But addons in this game are much more limited than in most. You can't make new objects for the game or modify skills, stats etc. or change what characters are able to do. You're pretty much limited to changing the UI, and everyone else making addons will have exactly the same capabilities.

So for example you could make an addon which makes combat easier by warning you when a major attack is coming and you'll need to block, but anyone else capable of making addons can do that too and probably already has - so anyone else can get the same ability. You couldn't make a secret addon which will automatically block when it detects a major attack coming.

But somebody can make an addon for incoming dmg notification like in pve but only for pvp.
maybe also an addon that will use a specific potion when low in health or in resource.
an addon that tells if the player is CC immune or not, if he's under a potion or not....

I think addon should validated and shared by/with ESO community, otherwise there will always be exploits.

Are you sure it's possible to do something like that with an addon? There was Miat's PvP Alerts by Dorrino, but it was gutted by ZOS, so every similar but unpublished addon lost it's usefulness too.

starkerealm

killmove wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

Not sharing them is actually the default. When you create an addon it will only exist on your computer, you have to upload it to a fan site (or more than one) before anyone else can get it, and you'll probably have to post about it on forums and things as well since not many people are going to download a random addon they've never heard of just to see what it does.

But addons in this game are much more limited than in most. You can't make new objects for the game or modify skills, stats etc. or change what characters are able to do. You're pretty much limited to changing the UI, and everyone else making addons will have exactly the same capabilities.

So for example you could make an addon which makes combat easier by warning you when a major attack is coming and you'll need to block, but anyone else capable of making addons can do that too and probably already has - so anyone else can get the same ability. You couldn't make a secret addon which will automatically block when it detects a major attack coming.

But somebody can make an addon for incoming dmg notification like in pve but only for pvp.
maybe also an addon that will use a specific potion when low in health or in resource.
an addon that tells if the player is CC immune or not, if he's under a potion or not....

I think addon should validated and shared by/with ESO community, otherwise there will always be exploits.

In essence, this already happens.

The API, or Application Programming Interface, is a (moderately large) set of commands that ZOS permits you to run from an addon. Writing an Addon in ESO is not like making a Mod in Skyrim; you cannot create whatever you want so long as it's within your skill, or directly access the database, you are limited to commands and information that remains exposed in the API.

Now, the API does expose a lot of information that is not readily available to the player. For example: When looking at a player, the API will let you pull their actual CP, even if it's above cap, but the default UI does not give you that information, so an addon can replace the reported number with their actual CP. If you ever wondered how someone can look at another player and know, "oh, yeah, they've got over 1k CP," this is how.

Back at launch, the API even allowed you to view their active skills bar. So, addons were written that would track that as well as their resource pools. Needless to say, those two pieces of information provided an enormous competitive advantage to players, and as a result, both of those pieces of info were later concealed from the API, so those addons were no longer possible.

What you're describing is Miat's PvP addon, (I forget the exact name), which did provide a lot of information, including warning you about incoming attacks from stealth. Again, a lot of those function calls in the API were concealed, and while the addon still exists, it's far less effective than it used to be, with most of the more egregious functionality having been disabled by ZOS.

There are always going to be private addons floating around, and some of those may have access to exposed API calls that provide a direct advantage, but an addon author can't simply decide what they want their addon to do, they are limited to what ZOS permits them to do.

Royaji

There are definitely some addons out there that are not shared with general public. They are still limited by general addon functionality though. After the whole Miat's conundrum the API was limited quite a bit in PvP.

Most of the functions you've described are either already available in public addons or are provided through in game means. There are addons that track CC immunity and buffs (including potions) on your enemies. In-game combat text already gives you a lot of information about incoming and outcoming damage and effects. Some addons give you an MMO-like quickslot bar and allow for much easier potion access.

Despite all that I've said I do not see a reason to make a big fuss out of that. ZOS is not going to police specific addons. They just choose what infromation can addons access in the game. And most sinister things are locked out nowadays.