Are addons needed / a must have?

Fisgael

I am asking this because I don't like addons. They were a huge pain in World of Warcraft, Healbot made healers not look at what happens but blindly klick some buttons to heal without actually playing, Recount was the cause for countless kicks I witnessed (rarely was myself since I was a hunter but dungeons still were stressfull because if you didn't made enough dps, no matter in which way you helped the group, there was a chance the tank had Recount too and would kick you) and UI modification was a must in the eyes of many people.

But do I need them while playing elder scrolls online? And why? That's my question because I am currently thinking if I even should engage into UI modifications. Is the game less fun without them because you can't see enemy spell casting or the counts on your mana, life and stamina? Or is it less challenging with UI mods because you CAN see them...

Should they be forbidden or should it be allowed to see how much damage others do?

Sturmlied

Short answer... No.

At least I don't think so... There are some that I use because they are convenient (Outfitter - allows me to save Hotbar and Equipment Setups) or to move stuff where I like it (FCT). But you can play just as well without them.

Nox_Aeterna

With time OP , there is a really good chance this game will also have addons that are "must haves" like recount, but the game is not even out yet , so that is not the case yet.

Anyway , i only use 1 addon Lootdrop by Pankette. It allow me to auto loot and check what im getting at the same time , which is great for me. Also , i like to see the exp rolling in :P.

Fisgael

And (not to criticise you, I'm just asking ) auto-loot isn't cheating for you, especially against those who don't have the ui addon?

Twistedmind

Sturmlied wrote: »

Short answer... No.

I agree on this 110%, someone comes and tells me other ways will have to somehow give me solid reasoning why I would start to use certain addon.

Zargorius

Fisgael wrote: »

And (not to criticise you, I'm just asking ) auto-loot isn't cheating for you, especially against those who don't have the ui addon?

Auto-Loot is an option that can be toggled in the default settings so I can hardly see how this can be consdered "cheating"?
Also it's Zenimax who decides what data should the API show so I don't see how any Addon can be considered cheating if the API calls are endorsed by Zenimax themselves?

Sturmlied

Fisgael wrote: »

And (not to criticise you, I'm just asking ) auto-loot isn't cheating for you, especially against those who don't have the ui addon?

Auto-Loot is a option in the game itself not an addon. Lootdrop just shows you the loot and experience in a nice way.

Loot is instanced in ESO btw. (except chests) so no it is not cheating in any way.

Nox_Aeterna

Fisgael wrote: »

And (not to criticise you, I'm just asking ) auto-loot isn't cheating for you, especially against those who don't have the ui addon?

Well , i dont really see how me having a better time looting could be considered cheating heh :P.

But lets toss it back to WoW , do you think it was cheating to have recount (or even those addons that help in raids) just because some do not use it?

Guess some would consider it cheating , but in the end of the day , it does not break any rule and the people using them are the ones being more effective.

Fisgael

Ahh, I see! Then it's of course not cheating! I wasn't playing the beta so I couldn't know that autoloot was in the game itself I'd consider that an useful addon that doesn't do any harm then.

No, I don't think recount was cheating, it was still annoying as heck I think however that healbot is some form of cheating and probably addons that show you when to interrupt are too (because it wasn't how the game was intended, the game was intended so you had to use your smarts for knowing when to interrupt not an addon that does the work for you) but not addons that show you status effects like poisoned or just change the looks of the ui - with that you're not better or worse than others

kewl

Fisgael wrote: »

Should they be forbidden or should it be allowed to see how much damage others do?

If I get kicked from a group becuase my damage is to low, then so be it. They were not the group for me and I need to get better.

AstroCat

@Fisgael No and that's a good thing. I use LootDrop only at the moment.

Alekero

Well only one addon i use - its about enemies health bar (changes only spot (now on bottom near your healthbar). Just not to scroll my eyes on top of the screen xD And i guess other addons just making game easier...dont like it at all

catabuca

I just use Loot Drop and Wykkid's Full Immersion at the moment - I'm considering one of the addons that show you the colour (white, green, blue etc.) of your equipped gear and its repair level though. Otherwise, I don't feel the need to use anything else. Even those aren't necessary - they are simply nice little quality of life addons.

Will there be some that become a requirement in order to stay competitive? I'm sure the community will try to develop that kind of addon, but ZOS have made it clear so far that they don't ever want any addons to provide an advantage to the players who use it over the players who don't, so I'd expect if they appear they'll be dealt with centrally.

clearnoise

It's like saying, are cell phones a must have?

IronbarSinister

Fisgael wrote: »

But do I need them while playing elder scrolls online? And why?

Fisgael, I would say addon use comes down to personal taste and enhancing your own enjoyment of the game.

Here is my experience:
I spent some time in beta with the default UI, and I've spent a lot of time since Sunday morning in Early Access live.

Now that I've got some experience in the live game under my belt, there are things that I think "Hrm, it would be nice to have this/that/the-other".

This evening I'm going to install SpamFilter first thing - the gold seller spammers have been very annoying to me.

I'm also going to install Wykkyd's Framework. After dinking with just the Framework for a while, I will explore Wykkyd's other works.

So bottom line:
In my opinion, use addons that genuinely enhance your personal enjoyment of the game, and to hell with the rest.

faluciousub17_ESO

I fully intend on getting minimap and damage add-ons but I understand what you mean about add-ons destroying games. Before I quit WoW guilds started requiring a lot of mandatory add-ons and I'd hate to see that plague come here.

Fisgael

Thanks for your opinions!

ItISLupus

Currently, my only addons are lootdrop (as mentioned above) esohead markers, which keeps track of my discovered resource nodes, and one that displays my current inventory space.

mretgb14_ESO

They have a clock add-on I use. Helps me to quickly know the time in game. Some of the add-ons are pretty simple and useful.

Corithna

Fisgael wrote: »

I am asking this because I don't like addons. They were a huge pain in World of Warcraft, Healbot made healers not look at what happens but blindly klick some buttons to heal without actually playing, Recount was the cause for countless kicks I witnessed (rarely was myself since I was a hunter but dungeons still were stressfull because if you didn't made enough dps, no matter in which way you helped the group, there was a chance the tank had Recount too and would kick you) and UI modification was a must in the eyes of many people.

But do I need them while playing elder scrolls online? And why? That's my question because I am currently thinking if I even should engage into UI modifications. Is the game less fun without them because you can't see enemy spell casting or the counts on your mana, life and stamina? Or is it less challenging with UI mods because you CAN see them...

Should they be forbidden or should it be allowed to see how much damage others do?

The stance that I have seen taken by ZOS on this subject is that they want to allow addons to modify the way in which normally available data is presented to the player in whatever manner they deem preferable. However data that is not available via the default interface has been specifically restricted. And any add on that players will/might feel compelled to use simply to remain competitive are being actively redacted from viability per API access restriction. A level playing field, no more, no less is what this development team is dedicated, per the above issues raised in the original post.

natters69

im glad the API is restricted personally im all for addons that enhance your enjoyment of the game like the ones mentioned in posts above, if thats they way u wanna play then by all means do it as for addons such as "recount" my opinion is if you want to look at numbers and base everything on numbers then you should have been a mathamatician

Yevon

You do not NEED addons, but this game would be much diminished by their removal. To be blunt, the base UI is aweful (imo ofc) and the game would be almost unplayable with out them. But each to their own, I enjoy information others fear it for whatever reason. There is not a right or wrong answer, but I would recommend trying a few out and seeing if they add or detract from your personal experience.

Fisgael

mretgb14_ESO wrote: »

They have a clock add-on I use. Helps me to quickly know the time in game. Some of the add-ons are pretty simple and useful.

That actually IS usefull and a information I was missing. Where can I find this addon, I'd like to try it out!

Cairenn

*points at her sig*

Evergreen

Addons are something I was wary of as well OP but I do love the FTC (Foundry Tactical Combat) addon when I'm experimenting with new skills or builds. The damage tracker lets you review your performance seeing what abilities are performing well. I definitely appreciate the API restrictions so that nothing gets out of hand though like Healbot you mentioned from WoW and other shenanigans that could give an unfair advantage against players without certain must have addons.

Cogo

I am sure there are usefull and crap addons.

However, since the game is brand new and will be patched over and over again to fix bugs/cheats/exploits and to add things, I suggest not using any addon what so ever before things gets a bit stable.

I am NOT saying an addon will cause you problems, but if you do not play with any addons in the start, you know when you crash, it's not your addon. :-)

Draxinusom

To answer the subject, since I personally find the standard ui horribly limited and "broken" for a PC (ok for a console) I find that yes, they are absolutely a must-have.

Especially something that improves the horribly bad inventory system.

That said, feel free to play without them, you certainly can.

Also I want to mention that nothing an addon can do is ever cheating. If it does something Zenimax considers improper use, they will limit the Addon API (they already did that with enemy cast information for example). Thus, nothing an player does while using an addon is ever "cheating". The player is always using functions provided by Zenimax in the first place that work exactly how Zenimax implemented them.

Yasha

If you want to be competitive in pvp/pve addons are a must have. Still, at least its not as bad as before they scaled back what the addons could do in beta.

Fisgael

Okay, I gave it a try. I now have a clock addon, a addon that shows combat text (how much dmg I do, how much heal I get and so on) and LootDrop. And it works for me!

Draxinusom, you had me thinking and I think you're right.

Hencz

I don't use addons and I can play fine so far.

Left_Hand

Out of the Add-ons that currently exist, there isn't a single one that i could call essential to playing and being competitive in this game, most of the better ones are quality of life improvement add-ons that end up saving time or bringing the information into the game HUD instead of in the background.

The way the add-on API is currently set, i doubt we will see any "must have" add-ons in the near future.