Are add-ons really that important?Follow

I like addons, but I could certainly live without them. The ones which are most important to me are actionbar and unit frame addons (as the default ones are rather poor in my opinion). Due to a combat log error I had to raid Naxx with no DBM or decursive, in a role that I don't normally play. It was more stressful than usual, but certainly not impossible, and if they took away those sorts of addons people might complain a bit less about the game being too easy.

I have a few i like and use all the time .

1.Auctioneer Suite , i find it saves me ages guessing what prices to sell at or when looking for upgrades if something is worth buying (as i might wait and get it cheaper ) and for disenchanting just the Enchantrix part is well worth having as i like to know the possibilities of what i may get.

2.Koordinatoor , a nice simple cords app as all it adds to the screen is a tiny box , to me was well worth it after checking cords here.

3.Ratingbuster , for sure it is my favourite but that might just be i have only recently got it , for those that do not know it is an app for showing stats you may gain or lose by changing to a different weapon or armour , and i bet there are many times people have had two items and no ideas which really is the better item and this app shows you what the stats will give you.

4.carbonite , while it is still available i will continue at times to use this as its not a huge memory hog like quest helper is.

5.CT_mailmod , as i tend to post a lot any app that gives me a faster way to open my post has to be well worth using as trying to open sometimes 100+ posts is a real pain without it.

6. AckisRecipeList , well worth it for me as i can see instantly where i need to go for a recipe i need unless it is a world drop.

7. Altoholic , great for those with multiple characters as it shows every item you own and who has it and also shows the guild bank and my horde characters .

I do have recount and omen but find i hardly use them .

I find i do like them but i can live without them as most of them i have not had for a long time and my first was Auctioneer which i got just because it was easier to decide on prices with it .

I chose need and it's mostly because of AutoBar. I am pretty much reliant upon that now. It makes things so much easier having a bar with all kinds of shortcuts to most used items. The times when I have been without it, were very tough. Just get accustomed to having everything right there. The first time I went w/o it, I had to go through the screens real quick to figure out where you go to summon a mount. I have never really moved it to any place special in my bag because I always used AutoBar.

It has spoiled me I guess.

[Use] Mostly just to make my life easier. Questhelper, Atlas, auctioneer. I also use Decursive because it will work with my priest as well as my druid. If I didn't have them tho, it would just make it a little slower overall.

Need / Depend on.

There are so many addons that I've completely adopted that I'd find WoW unplayable without all of them. One or two I could work around but if the lot vanished at the same time, I think that'd be the end of my playtime. The ones I count in this category are:

Grid + Clique
Questhelper + Lightheaded
Cartographer / Gatherer
Auctioneer / Enchantrix / Enhtooltip
Deadly Boss Mods

Omen isn't quite in this category because I play as rogue or healadin and neither trouble a decent tank for aggro and Blizzard have made good steps in this direction.

I would have to say that I cannot and will not play this game unless I can move Player Unitframe and Target Unitframe. I don't know who's bright idea it was to put all the CRUCIAL information (like "are you about to die?" "is HE about to die?") along the top of the screen; seeing as all the important stuff is happening in the center of it.

So my list of addons I can't live without:

SpartanUI (or any other UI addon that'll move or allow me to move unit frames)

Auctioneer (you try being an Scribe and seperating stacks of 5 glyphs...oh and once your done with that on stack there's 30 other stacks of 5 to go through)

Healbot (or any other addon that allows 'Unitframe-click to cast' abilities)


those are the only necessary addons, the other 19 can go or stay


Also, just remove the donations info in-game; yeesh...the hissy fits of some people because they can't get easy money...

I vote USE.

There are several that I use and would not like to give up. There are a couple more that I could live without if I had to.

As has been said before, the add-on community ultimately helps Blizzard make a better product.

Sincerely,

Westee

Voted Use, but not sure I'd continue playing w/o Bartender4 and BagOn. There is no way I could go back to the default action bar/inventory/bank setup.

I used the default UI with no addons until lvl 20 during my 10 day trial period (about 6 or 7 days) since that is the max level during the trial. Once I decided to contiune playing at that point, I started getting addons. The availablinity of addons that fixed the hidious default UI was the only reason I continued to play (and pay to play for that matter). 90% of my addons are just to alter the display/layout of some of the frames used in game. I could live w/o the rest.

Don't Use

I know that probably throws me into the "casual" gamer group, but I wanted to include my vote.
Raiding is not for me, and I realized that the first time I saw "LFG for Kara, must be geared, no greens". I can't be bothered searching armories and web-sites for better gear, gems and enchants. I just take what I get and I am perfectly happy. Naturally, I solo a lot. Lol.

Lately, all the raid groups require that you "know the fights", which requires more research to see how other people have been successful. Then we all just function as chess pieces. John, you stand here and throw flames. Susie, you stand here and eat tomatoes. Willie, you make sure that Susie doesn't put salt on her tomatoes. Jane, if you pull aggro you get -50 DKP and you are kicked. Stand in the beam. Don't stand in the beam.

On the other hand, I'm sure Custer could have benefitted from a bit of research before the Big Horn, and Achilles was pretty careful not to post anything about his heel on the Interwebs.

I always knew I was in a "low percentage" group as a player that doesn't use add-ons, which was 8% when I wrote this. But remember, a lot of casual players NEVER visit a site like Alla or the O-boards, so we may be under represented. I use it mostly when i can't find an NPC or the quest description is too ambiguos.

If only 5% of the players raid, and only 33% of the player have a level 80, I'm sure that there's much more than 8% of us who don't use add ons.

By the way, notice I am not criticizing those who do. I did not vote "hate". I am first and foremost an ardent supporter of letting people play the game any way they want, within the rules as set by Blizzard. And I think they have done an incredible job of keeping happy the full-time players and the part-time players. I also understand that if you DO raid, it's serious business and a huge time investment, so it behooves you to have all the help you can.

OK, I'm done now. I got to use the word "behoove", which was my original goal.

Xperl does big buffs.

I used to be in the 'need' category until my account got hacked & I removed everything - after a few months I capitulated and reinstalled quest helper - then healbot & omen. Healbot & Omen both break on a regular basis - may be the way I have them set up - dont know - Questhelper breaks every time I get on a griffen if I havent let it load in first! Now I use stuff if and when it is working. Blizz could go a long way to removing the need for these addons simply by making things clearer in the quest write ups - 90% are great but the other 10% assume you have quest helper installed. Oh - and how tough would it be to have a threat meter installed in the current UI? or a gathering addon? these seem to be the ones that most people use! Lets face it - they have dumbed down the content so much they can't seriously say they dont want people using them for the sake of the game!

for me, addons significantly increase the enjoyment of the game. i left once a while back because i got bored. i came back a year later and with different addons, i'm still playing it and loving it. so yeah... i have quite a few that i "can't live without", so WoW would probably be toast without them.

I was debating between use and depend on,but I'll vote depend on for the simple reason that they make my life easier.

The main adds I use are auctioneer/enchantrix,koordinator,quartz,atlas maps,gatherer,flo aspect bar for my hunter,necrosis,and cryolysis, and Omen.I just recently started using questhelper.To some,that may seem like a lot,to others not very many.But I try to keep only the ones that actually make my gameplay easier.Auctioneer I could live without.I never go completely by the prices it suggests,but it does help.Koordinator is just too handy to do without.I like knowing exactly where I am at any given point.Quartz lets me cast spells almost simultaneously,or so it seems,since I'm seeing the actual lag between me and the server.Gatherer I could do without,because by now.I know where the herbs live pretty much by heart.Necrosis and cryolysis are another matter.

I have three level 80's.My main is my warlock.Without necrosis,managing my spells and buffs would be a royal pain.It's nice having one spot where I can make my various spellstones,and use them,plus having my demon/buff spells on handy buttons.Otherwise,I'd have to put them on action bars or open my spellbook.My spells at level 80 have all the action bar slots full already.Cryolysis is handy for my other alts,mainly for the mount button,tho I use the main sphere to cast the buffs I use most often for those alts.

Omen for my hunter and warlock is also an addon I suppose I could live without,but wouldn't want to.I know the Blizzard ui warns you,but I'd rather see the bar,instead of getting a gaining threat message,followed by "Attacking You!"

Being on the PTR made my vote easier.I keep most or all my adds turned off,too many headaches.But I have found that doing without them makes the game less enjoyable for me.I spend too much time trying to do things that became intuitive with my addons,and it's gotten me killed a few times.

So,in the long run,I COULD live without any addons,but I wouldn't wan to.For one thing,it would remind me too much of FFXI,where if you use a single addon,you're account is cancelled and you are banned for lfe.If Blizz ever went that way,I'd probably kiss wow goodbye,not so much for the addons,as on general principle.