Am I the only one that does not want to use Add-Ons & UI Mods?

festivalsb14_ESO

To me the game seems exceptional as is. I very much enjoy my screen almost completely void of an UI elements. My only wish would be that I could make the compass very small (Currently you can make it somewhat small but it seems chat and company all get very small too).

So that's really all I would change. Why do you guys get these mods and add-ons? Do you not feel it disrupts your screen?

What's the best one that you have come across? Why do you like it so much that it would clutter your screen?

Wishes

Zahne

I am only using 2 addons, the skyshard and lorebook ones, you can see on the map where they are

Zazar

Some like immersion, some others like performance.

Ecian

You are not alone. I play add-on free here as I do with most games.

Gilvoth

your not alone in this at all, infact, there is a whole community of people hate the add-ons because of cheats in them. and was a huge forum explosion about this on many occasion. some of them have cheats in them. and they are only there so eso can attract the "mmo only" type crowds that have never played elderscrolls single player games. (which is a good idea for sales and community)
i love add-ons in single player game, but they can and will destroy an mmo due to the cheats available because of not being able to go through every single add-on to check to see if is valid and not involve cheats like being able to see stealthed people and all kinds of things not intended by zenimax.
zenimax said they will monitor the add-ons as they are presented for use, but i see that as a huge task when they allready have so many struggles with the current buggs and promised 4 - 6 week content additions.

Sharee

No addons here either. Only change to the default UI look i did was to make the ability bar always visible, not just in combat (so that i can see whether my ultimate is charged before i jump into the middle of a mob crowd )

Kreager

Add on have cheats in them? Are you serious? Another uninformed person that has no idea how the api works. Please point me to a current cheat mechanic that is in the API @Hlaren_shortsheath. You are confusing hacks with addons. There is a difference. This has been pointed out numerous times but as usual Sheeple only see what they want to see. No of the current hacks in game have anything to do with the API.

KerinKor

Zazar wrote: »

Some like immersion, some others like performance.

No relation between the two.

I don't use addons in most games, and none in this one not least because of the connections problems some have caused.

But mainly far too many add-on creators get bored and leave the game and I don't want to have to do without an orphaned add-on I've become addicted to.

That's the core problem I have with ZOS and their 'outsourcing' of UI development to the add-on writers, they abdicate responsibility and if users end up with useless add-ons they won't accept the blame.

Syntse

I like my view as clear as possible however there are few things I've added through add-ons.

Combat Log which actually logs the combat into the chat window, research timers as building my crafter I really like to know when research is finished and I can go on and research more, then simple clock addon to show the time.

Turelus

You're not the only one at all, there are many to abstain from using add-ons.
I personally use a few which add small features which help my day to day play but don't detract too much from the theme or original design of the game.

Dolenz

Kreager wrote: »

Add on have cheats in them? Are you serious? Another uninformed person that has no idea how the api works. Please point me to a current cheat mechanic that is in the API @Hlaren_shortsheath. You are confusing hacks with addons. There is a difference. This has been pointed out numerous times but as usual Sheeple only see what they want to see. No of the current hacks in game have anything to do with the API.

Well, everyone may see it differently but a person above you says they use an add-on to show where skyshards and lore books are. Some may consider that cheating.

To answer the original question. I use no add-ons.

Feimerdre

Hlaren_shortsheath wrote: »

your not alone in this at all, infact, there is a whole community of people hate the add-ons because of cheats in them.

Man, this is the 4th attempt I make trying to write a comment that is no personal offense. It is pretty hard, believe me.
Let me say it straight and as constructive as I manage to: You are pretty clueless if it comes to API/LUA/Addon questions. So I really beg you: next time try to post your sentences as question. Not as facts. Thank you.

Kreager

Dolenz wrote: »

Kreager wrote: »

Add on have cheats in them? Are you serious? Another uninformed person that has no idea how the api works. Please point me to a current cheat mechanic that is in the API @Hlaren_shortsheath. You are confusing hacks with addons. There is a difference. This has been pointed out numerous times but as usual Sheeple only see what they want to see. No of the current hacks in game have anything to do with the API.

Well, everyone may see it differently but a person above you says they use an add-on to show where skyshards and lore books are. Some may consider that cheating.

To answer the original question. I use no add-ons.

Kreager

yes but the same info is available on fan sites so......... not really an issue

Kreager

Wow strange double post

Knootewoot

I don't use addons. It is not necessary. Also i am to lazy to install one.

Only addon i ever used was in Vanguard the infomap(tm) which was very handy.

Mango995

Don't use addons either

ShadowWolf613

I use to say I wouldn't use any add ons but I use 2 or 3 now. One is tactical foundry. Although i disable the frames cause i like the normal way. Just use it to see how much damage i do and how much damage im taking and so on. Then I forget what the other add on is but its an xp bar. Tells me how long i've been playing. How much xp I've earned. How much xp i'm getting an hour. How many mobs to kill for next level up. and tells me how much XP i get for each kill and quest turn in and so on. Then I have the skyshard add on.

seaef

Kreager wrote: »

Some may consider that cheating.

"Some" don't matter. It's only cheating if Zeni decides it's cheating.

Of course, if another player gets all the skyshards before someone else, they'll probably think that's cheating. I'm sorry their ego is damaged by a [percieved] "win" in a game.

Moderator Edit: removed for abusive language.

Govalon

festivalsb14_ESO wrote: »

Why do you guys get these mods and add-ons? Do you not feel it disrupts your screen?

What's the best one that you have come across? Why do you like it so much that it would clutter your screen?

I think you have no idea what addons can really do if you think they clutter your screen. I have A LOT of addons and none of them actually put nything on my screen while I am adventuring, well one does but it is really minor, it shows Veteran XP gains from quests and kills. Xp gain is shown on bottom right corner and since my screen is big, I really have to take good look at it to even notice it so it won't clutter screen at all.

Here are few addons I use.

- Skyshards and lorebooks shown on map - really handy tool and does not clutter my screen one bit. Just 2 more icon types on the map.

- research assistant - Shows traits on items that I have researched, it also shows if I have multiple of the same trait items on my inventory so it is safe to deconstruct or sell one of them. I could not live without this addon. Once I started using this, It has saved HUGE amount of inventory space and huge amount of time since I can see right away which items I need to save and which ones I can deconts/sell.Does not clutter my screen. Only visible when I look at my inventory or when I am selling/deconstructing.

- Mark items. I can mark items with special icon by right clicking item and choosing "mark". This is gamesaver for me and I would probably quit the game if this single addon was missing. Before I started using this, there was no way for me to know which items I wan't to save later use because deconstruction window actually shows items you have in BANK. how ridicilous is that? If I put something in bank, I obviously wan't to save that item and not deconstruck.

With this addon, I no longer have to worry about destroying items I am not currently using but wan't to save for later like different set items etc. Does nothing to clutter my screen, only visible when looking at iventory or when selling/deconstructing items.

- I used to have DPS metter addon but I didn't like how it ruined my screen so I enable it when I really wan't to know my DPS so I use this hardly ever.

- Numbers visible on health/stamina/magicka bars on my self and on enemies. Does not clutter screen IMHO, just adds numebers inside the bars that are already on screen and the additional info is really handy. This is a good indicator if I can solo some boss or not. If the boss has 4k hp it is soloable. If boss has 40k hp - not soloable.


I am sure I forgot something since I am so used to these addons and it already feels like they have always been part of the game itself.

mutharex

I don't like addons that change the UI (it's almost perfect as it is) or help you find things, but I do use an anti spam (for the chat), bank stuffer, craftcompare and sous chef, as they just add extra functionality without altering the experience

Sorpaijen_ESO

While I appreciate an uncluttered screen (I don't use the floaty-damage-numbers or combat/loot logging to the chat window, for example), there ARE some AddOns that are just too useful NOT to use.

To wit:

Motif ID - in my inventory, there is an icon showing me which racial motif belongs to an item. No more guessing whether that's a Redguard or a Breton piece.

Research Assistants - If I have already researched the trait on an item, it'll have a gray check mark next to it. If I have NOT researched that trait on that item, there will be an orange box next to it. If I have not researched the trait on that item BUT I have another item of the same type that has the same trait and is "inferior" then the superior item will have a GREEN box next to it ---- I COULD use it for research, but the same-trait/same-item-type with the orange box would be better to destroy in research, while the green-box item could be deconstructed for more valuable resources (or sold for more).

Armor Type - in my inventory, Heavy Armor items are marked with an "H" and Light Armor items are marked with an "L" and so on ---- simple enough, but makes it faster to identify items.

Better Searching - again, in the inventory window(s), bank and personal, there are little icons that let me see ONLY one handed weapons, or ONLY helmets, or ONLY Armor Trait gemstones, or ONLY provisioning materials, etc. Makes things a LOT easier

Reticle Chagnes - my default reticle is now a tiny circle which changes color based on whether I am mousing over a player, a friendly NPC or a hostile NPC. The reticle also changes to a circled-crosshair when I am in combat mode. I used to use a mod that displayed the range to foe but I found it to be largely unnecessary.

Item Condition - my items on the paper doll have a border which "lowers" as the items' condition deteriorates so at a glance I can see if I have any items that are dangerously damaged and in need of repair.

Alerts - while I like an uncluttered screen, there are times I need to know things without actually ~looking~ for them. That is, when my horse is ready to be fed, I get a message; I feed the horse, the message goes away. I have a weapon low on charges, I get a yellow-border icon of that weapon which changes to red when the weapon runs OUT of charges. When I have items that are below some set-by-me condition threshhold, I get a notice (and price to repair!) on screen.

A lot of the things addOns do should, frankly, have been options in the vanilla game... but that's almost always the case with TES games.

Oh, and while I have the Skyshards addOn, I leave it off until I am ready to leave a zone and I have not yet found all the 'shards --- so far, only two or three I've missed. Nice to have that option, rather than aimlessly searching (hints are often not that helpful).

columbineb14_ESO

I distrust add-ons (never can tell what someone's put in there, like a keylogger), and I think people use them to shortcut having to actually think, explore, pay attention, etc. So, no, no add-ons here, and frankly I wouldn't shed any tears if the ability to make and use them was removed from the game. But I recognize that mileage varies, and as long as other people's shortcuts don't affect my play, I can't get worked up about it.

Now, whether some addons give some people unfair advantages in PvP is a different story (and one people will be arguing about in these forums for months to come, I'm sure), but since I don't PvP, I don't care about that either

(Full disclosure: I have used web sites to find locations in treasure maps and one pesky skyshard I just couldn't get from the hint. But in those cases I prefer to have to go outside the game to look it up, to make it harder to do and remind me that I am giving in/cheating.)

(I should also add that I keep research/crafting notes on - gasp - paper! Yes, actual paper written on with an actual pencil. But I'm old school. Very old school. Ancient school.)

RubyTigress

I use addons that complement my playstyle, which isn't focused on combat mechanics, but exploration and crafting.

They open windows when i want them, and are not visible when i don't.

Nothing about an addon requires it to be intrusive.

Gisgo

No add-ons im too lazy to even download them let alone resize the UI.

Audigy

(I should also add that I keep research/crafting notes on - gasp - paper! Yes, actual paper written on with an actual pencil. But I'm old school. Very old school. Ancient school.)

Hehe I like you already

Reminds me of the days when we still had stop watches at raid content, as things like DBM didn't exist or when we actually painted pictures so our players knew in which corner they had to tank a mob ^^

Kyotee0071

There are plenty of addons out there that do not disrupt your screen.

At esoui.com here are a few priceless ones that you won't even know are there unless you open your map:

1) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info288-LoreBooks.html - adds the location to all lore books - can toggle the ones already found off.

2) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info128-SkyShards.html - adds the location to all sky shards - can toggle the ones already found off.

3) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info257-MundusMap.html - adds the location to all mundus stones - can toggle the ones already found off.

And then there is a nice little minimap that hardly takes up any of your screen if you are into those. I personally use it as it's handy when going through dungeons

4) Mini Map - http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info142-ZrMM-Modified.html

This next mod keeps the traditional look of ESO's UI, but allows you to move anything and scale the size. I personally love it.

5) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info199-Azurah-InterfaceEnhanced.html

If you are into doing tradeskills:

6) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info163-SousChef-ProvisioningHelper.html - Great for cooking

7) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info153-ResearchBuddy.html - Great for keeping track of researching items.

Ever wonder what you just looted?

8) http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info35-LootdropContinuedAllinOne.html - Gives a small / movable window that shows your loot before fading out.

All the addons above can be ran without even knowing they are there with the exception of the mini map. But they make life so much easier.

Installing addons in this game is an absolute breeze as well. I'm sure most of everyone here knows how to do it, but for the few that don't.

A ) Download the above addons using winrar or whatever program you prefer.

B ) After a virus scan (can never be too safe) "extract the contents" to - Documents/Elder Scrolls Online/live/AddOns

C ) At Character select screen select addons and check "allow out of date addons".

Done.

In game you can access the options to all the addons you have installed via the in game menu. From there you can go in to the options for each individual addons and select / tweak your options.

Good luck!

Neferath

columbineb14_ESO wrote: »

I distrust add-ons (never can tell what someone's put in there, like a keylogger), and I think people use them to shortcut having to actually think, explore, pay attention, etc. So, no, no add-ons here, and frankly I wouldn't shed any tears if the ability to make and use them was removed from the game. But I recognize that mileage varies, and as long as other people's shortcuts don't affect my play, I can't get worked up about it.

Now, whether some addons give some people unfair advantages in PvP is a different story (and one people will be arguing about in these forums for months to come, I'm sure), but since I don't PvP, I don't care about that either

(Full disclosure: I have used web sites to find locations in treasure maps and one pesky skyshard I just couldn't get from the hint. But in those cases I prefer to have to go outside the game to look it up, to make it harder to do and remind me that I am giving in/cheating.)

(I should also add that I keep research/crafting notes on - gasp - paper! Yes, actual paper written on with an actual pencil. But I'm old school. Very old school. Ancient school.)

Very nice and same here with one exeption only.

I do PvP and i hate to see how much time it takes me to keep my group full (invites / kicking offliners etc.) while others simply run auto-invite / kick scripts.

Tandor

I don't use any add-ons in this game, I don't see any problems necessitating them, but then I don't PvP. The only game I use a UI mod is AoC, otherwise I prefer to stick to the default UI in games.

Naguur86

I use AddOns, 5 I believe but I don't do anything major to the UI. I mostly have them to add immersion.

• One that gives me the availability to adjust the size of ui elements to very tiny
• A map marker AddOn because, come on everybody can take a pen and write things on a map. Used this a lot in Baldurs gate.
• compass remove
• stupid floating questmarker killer. I hate nothing more than NPC's looking like a character from The Sims. It also removes the pins from the map but not the compass so I have to search a lot. Sometimes I switch the compass back on when I absolutely can't find a place^^
• And most importantly "librarian". A library AddOn which saves every single pice of paper in this game to read it later. Sometimes it feels just plain stupid to stay in a dungeon, reading a book and most of the times sth. bad comes at you and disrupts you from reading.

That's it. I would not consider any of those cheating. Maybe the marker thing because it enables sth. that others don't have but I think they should add this to the game because it just makes sense to write notes on a map.

The wonderful thing about librarian is that every book is saved on my hard drive and that enables me to process this text to create my own big lorebook and this is just fantastic

Rosveen

Some of the features in this game are so stupidly broken or underdeveloped that I never play without certain addons: Guild Store Search, Librarian, Research Assistant, Advanced Filters. For convenience: Craft Research Timer, Inventory Item Borders, Bank Stuffer and the one that lets you see your equipped items in crafting menus, don't remember the name.

None of them are cheats. I don't even have anything combat-related, all they do is help me organize my inventory. I could put every single thing in the bank manually, run to the crafting stations 500 times a day and frantically switch between menus, but why?

columbineb14_ESO wrote: »

(I should also add that I keep research/crafting notes on - gasp - paper! Yes, actual paper written on with an actual pencil. But I'm old school. Very old school. Ancient school.)

Hey, I do it to - for when I want to compare crafting notes with a friend to see if we have something useful to exchange. We aren't always playing at the same time, so we do it outside the game.