Would you play this game if add-ons didn't exist?

xv1_me

Klad wrote: »

As a matter of fact I stopped using mods a few years back, the game gives you everything you need to play...in fact all mods do is put the game on auto pilot....sorta like <insert any mobile game here >

My advice to anyone is learn to play the game without the mods first at least. Folks who say they can't play without them are not the kind of people you want having your back in a Dungeon.

Also I can actually see a day when Zos actually stops allowing mods.

Mods are the reason Bethesda games are popular for over 10+ years. Bethesda won’t let zos get rid of add ons. It wouldn’t be right

Scallan

No

Probably not. Far too many QOL add-ons. Plus it's 2021, so I expect more from a AAA game of this profit-level. Add-ons have really been a saving grace of this game, whether ZOS wants to admit it or not.

imno007b14_ESO

No

You don't technically need the addon, but I have serious doubt that I would play without the Tamriel Trade Centre resource. I think this game wins for having the worst guild store/trader system in any MMO - or at least any MMO I've played.

mekops_ESO

Yes

yes. i would need to in order to bring about the first addons. would i continue to play it if addons are removed? absolutely not. there are fare too many quality of life features and outright time savers (you are mortal) that if those were taken out that the game would be calculably not worth continuing in.

VelimOrthic

Linaleah wrote: »

Hallothiel wrote: »

And all those who say that add-ons are not ‘cheating’? I beg to differ.

Lazy writ & dressing room I would ban. And the one the gives you combat cues. [snip]

[Edited to remove Baiting]

why? what's so great about having to put on individual pieces of armor one at a time vs just with one click? what is so SKILLFUL about it? in what way does that create an unfair advantage? (and if you say pvp, you cannot change gear in combat or while in a battleground.) all it does is save. time.

the only addon that was anything close to cheating was the one that warned you about being attacked from stealth. and guess what? its banned already!

and you know how you guys on consoles can finally multicraft, get quest markers AND a list of items to craft for your dailies, can actualy "gasp" search through guild stores and have more options to filter your inventory by, just to name a few?

yeah, you're welcome.

I literally have no idea what you're trying to say

Kiyonami

Yes

Of course i will! For 5 years of playing, I have only used 1 addon - guild bank stacker... If there are no addons, nothing will change for me.

HumbleThaumaturge

Yes

When I first started playing in "Early Access" [March 30, 1014]. I played this game for a year (on both the North American and EU servers) without any addons. I then started trying them because everyone was using them in YouTube videos. I was actually impressed with some of them, just because of the cleverness of the concept and the coding. In the end, I continued playing without addons.

Some addons (particularly any addon that gives combat alerts or otherwise improves combat performance) seem clearly to be cheating, even if ZOS allows them.

Other addons simply improve quality of life during activities that do not impact combat. Such addons are fine. Personally, I feel that addons like Harvest Map and Tamriel Trade Centre are cheating (pulling individual user data over the internet into a centralized database). Yet ZOS allows these. I assume ZOS understand some players would revolt if they were denied such (benign?) addons.

Aside: I often wonder if addons are causing the computer performance issues I hear about. I mean, how many times have I heard players complaining about "lag" . . . but they won't try playing without addons running. ZOS has repeatedly stated that some addons cause performance problems, but I've never seen them actually name names. I seem to experience "lag" much less frequently than other players. Is it partly because I don't use addons?

I wonder: How many players who strongly advocate for addons . . . also use Console Commands when playing Skyrim or Fallout 4???

miteba

I'm on console but want to be on PC

xv1_me wrote: »

Funny out of those necessary add ons I use one of them. (...) A lot of small QoL add ons add up to a smooth quick experience.

If i had to choose only one of these, i would choose the simplest which is Advanced Filters.
All the others would be less important, now that i think about it.

Although there is another one i missed that is very important for me because i have 17 maxed out characters, with gear distributed over them, from A to Z, which is Inventory Insight. It helps me find the pieces i need because all characters have a proper build and sometimes it's chaotic.

Thanks @Phyllya for the advice on that one 🤗

xv1_me

HumbleThaumaturge wrote: »

When I first started playing in "Early Access" [March 30, 1014]. I played this game for a year (on both the North American and EU servers) without any addons. I then started trying them because everyone was using them in YouTube videos. I was actually impressed with some of them, just because of the cleverness of the concept and the coding. In the end, I continued playing without addons.

Some addons (particularly any addon that gives combat alerts or otherwise improves combat performance) seem clearly to be cheating, even if ZOS allows them.

Other addons simply improve quality of life during activities that do not impact combat. Such addons are fine. Personally, I feel that addons like Harvest Map and Tamriel Trade Centre are cheating (pulling individual user data over the internet into a centralized database). Yet ZOS allows these. I assume ZOS understand some players would revolt if they were denied such (benign?) addons.

Aside: I often wonder if addons are causing the computer performance issues I hear about. I mean, how many times have I heard players complaining about "lag" . . . but they won't try playing without addons running. ZOS has repeatedly stated that some addons cause performance problems, but I've never seen them actually name names. I seem to experience "lag" much less frequently than other players. Is it partly because I don't use addons?

I wonder: How many players who strongly advocate for addons . . . also use Console Commands when playing Skyrim or Fallout 4???

Yes I believe some add ons like Thank you for your service” and maybe others affect certain lag and crashing, but majority of the lag isn’t due to those.

Add ons are more like Skyrim mods vs console commands.

I love when people say they are cheats. Your strongest evidence in your post towards cheating is combat alerts that you should already notice if you pay attention to the game and mechanics.

I can’t think of any cheat add ons. Even harvestmapdata wouldn’t be considered a cheat even tho you no longer need keen eye passives with that add on.

The only thing I’ve noticed with add ons is the work of a mod author (that probably wasn’t paid unless they received donations) to provide us with quality of life features as well as information related to the game we are playing I.e UI, combat, map, and harvest add ons.

Thank you to all the mod authors!
Thank you zos for allowing them!

xv1_me

miteba wrote: »

xv1_me wrote: »

Funny out of those necessary add ons I use one of them. (...) A lot of small QoL add ons add up to a smooth quick experience.

If i had to choose only one of these, i would choose the simplest which is Advanced Filters.
All the others would be less important, now that i think about it.

Although there is another one i missed that is very important for me because i have 17 maxed out characters, with gear distributed over them, from A to Z, which is Inventory Insight. It helps me find the pieces i need because all characters have a proper build and sometimes it's chaotic.

Thanks @Phyllya for the advice on that one 🤗

What

You aren’t choosing writ crafter?

lurkin777

No

Only of they incorporate the addons I use into the client!

Linaleah

No

VelimOrthic wrote: »

Linaleah wrote: »

Hallothiel wrote: »

And all those who say that add-ons are not ‘cheating’? I beg to differ.

Lazy writ & dressing room I would ban. And the one the gives you combat cues. [snip]

[Edited to remove Baiting]

why? what's so great about having to put on individual pieces of armor one at a time vs just with one click? what is so SKILLFUL about it? in what way does that create an unfair advantage? (and if you say pvp, you cannot change gear in combat or while in a battleground.) all it does is save. time.

the only addon that was anything close to cheating was the one that warned you about being attacked from stealth. and guess what? its banned already!

and you know how you guys on consoles can finally multicraft, get quest markers AND a list of items to craft for your dailies, can actualy "gasp" search through guild stores and have more options to filter your inventory by, just to name a few?

yeah, you're welcome.

I literally have no idea what you're trying to say

1. I was replying to the person claiming that dressing room and lazy writ are cheating. dressing room especially is a very weird claim to make.
2. I'm trying to say that the list of all the things you can do now in a last sentence? every single one of those did not originally exist in a game and was instead extremely popular addons whose functionality was eventually implemented into a base game in some capacity.

majulook

Yes

Sure the game is fun with or without add-ons

Linaleah

No

HumbleThaumaturge wrote: »

When I first started playing in "Early Access" [March 30, 1014]. I played this game for a year (on both the North American and EU servers) without any addons. I then started trying them because everyone was using them in YouTube videos. I was actually impressed with some of them, just because of the cleverness of the concept and the coding. In the end, I continued playing without addons.

Some addons (particularly any addon that gives combat alerts or otherwise improves combat performance) seem clearly to be cheating, even if ZOS allows them.

Other addons simply improve quality of life during activities that do not impact combat. Such addons are fine. Personally, I feel that addons like Harvest Map and Tamriel Trade Centre are cheating (pulling individual user data over the internet into a centralized database). Yet ZOS allows these. I assume ZOS understand some players would revolt if they were denied such (benign?) addons.

Aside: I often wonder if addons are causing the computer performance issues I hear about. I mean, how many times have I heard players complaining about "lag" . . . but they won't try playing without addons running. ZOS has repeatedly stated that some addons cause performance problems, but I've never seen them actually name names. I seem to experience "lag" much less frequently than other players. Is it partly because I don't use addons?

I wonder: How many players who strongly advocate for addons . . . also use Console Commands when playing Skyrim or Fallout 4???

nothing wrong with using console commands when playing a single player game.

that said, no i do not use them myself. i DO however use a decent number of addons for both Fallout 4 and Skyrim. some of which are UI mods, because I don't know what it is with bethesda and UI design. others modify textures because in Skyrim especially characters etc can look.... not great. and then there's fun stuff like base building supplies in Fallout 4 that have better range with addons and you even get to have some things that don't look completely dilapidated, or extra companions/houses for either of the games. but to each their own /shrug.

and not addons that give you alerts etc? are NOT cheating. if anything, they are accessibility measures. all they do is make it easier to notice things you need to react to. they do NOT however help you react to them, that is still entirely up to player. same with stuff like TTC. all it does is eliminate the need for spreadsheets. it doesn't even update in real time. Harvest map is the equivalent of keeping an open guide next to you with locations of things.

also, having experienced lag while trying to play completely addon free? no. that's just a scapegoat.

xv1_me

Yea console commands are mainly used for testing mods.

Oryctolagus

No

I will admit to being kind of old and grumpy, but I have to say that if I lost Harven's Mute NPC add-on I would quit.

I played on console and quit because of dragons in your homeland. I'm not even kidding. We all have weird breaking points I guess.

densire

Yes

I play this game with minimal addons, other than the housing ones there isn't any that I necessarily need. I love how beautiful the game is without customizing my interface in any way so I'm fine with it.

miteba

I'm on console but want to be on PC

xv1_me wrote: »

What

You aren’t choosing writ crafter?

🤭 Decisions, decisions...
Truth is everyday i only do writs with 4 characters because it is my balance to mantain my sanity.
Last anniversary event i did it with 18 chars so i need a break...

And i did it for so many time without Lazy Craft that i am really quick even without it... But i take my hat for that Add-On: what a time saver! 🥂

AlgolStar

Yes

My friend, I played Skyrim without mods. If I can handle that, I can handle anything.

miteba

I'm on console but want to be on PC

AlgolStar wrote: »

My friend, I played Skyrim without mods. If I can handle that, I can handle anything.

x2
But after 2 years or something i saw a YouTube video with quests type content (mods) and played it again with some add ons (to improve graphics, gameplay and immersion) and those ingame mods and what a fantastic experience it was.
There are really some mods that expand the game to instance (or not) areas, with
awesome storytelling, and all add to an already great game

Tigerpanda13

Yes

If there had never been add-ons, yes probably. I love Elder Scrolls, and the draw of that would probably be enough. I would whine, but I'd play, though probably not as often as I do.

If they took all of them them away tomorrow and said I'd be banned if I tried to circumvent it, I'd end my sub and leave immediately. Not joking. Add-ons, even the little ones, make games so much better. Any game that would allow them and see their benefits, then take them away arbitrarily would lose my support instantly.

(Ones that open hack-able backend issues or bots excluded of course, like absolutely get rid of those, please, but still.)

AlgolStar

Yes

miteba wrote: »

AlgolStar wrote: »

My friend, I played Skyrim without mods. If I can handle that, I can handle anything.

x2
But after 2 years or something i saw a YouTube video with quests type content (mods) and played it again with some add ons (to improve graphics, gameplay and immersion) and those ingame mods and what a fantastic experience it was.
There are really some mods that expand the game to instance (or not) areas, with
awesome storytelling, and all add to an already great game

right now I'm considering returning to either Skyrim or Oblivion, this time with mods, just to see what it's like, especially Oblivion which I never really played

Jaimeh

I started using addons 2-3 years after starting to play, and at first I didn't make the most of them, and even nowdays I prefer to have as few active as possible, since I find my game's performance improves without them. So I think I'd be okay without all of them, except S'rendarr (which is my desert island addon )

Edit to add: I think the game is going on a good direction trying to hardwire some addon functionality into the game, like indicating which items need crafting for writs, the new action duration, etc., and I hope it will continue like this, for the console players and also pc players who don't want to mess with addons.