Addon Spotlight: Goin' commando (or close)
by Sean Forsgren 
Mar 11th 2008 at 11:20AM
Each week, the Tuesday server down-time gives us all a little time away, which I often spend contemplating the state of my User Interface. As a semi-pro (long on semi, short on pro) addon enthusiast, this often means I visit various addon sites for updates and to peruse the new and exciting developments since my last visit. Although I am meandering towards automatic updates, because it makes me feel so connected, I still enjoy browsing what's new in the world of addons. However, sometimes I start to wonder if life would easier without addons. I could spend less time worrying about updates, memory footprints, configuring addons and a potentially cluttered UI. I would not have the same power to make changes to the look and feel of World of Warcraft, as well as the opportunity to change my game play. With so many alts, and my known commitment issues, I need to add variety to grinding. What, then, for the freedom of giving it all up and just playing the game out-of-the-box?
I have actually begun converting as many addons as I can to the Ace system, just to see how it turns out. I had recently seen a decline in my system's performance, and suspected an addon had gone rogue. I'm happy to report that so far, my Ace conversion is going very well. (More on that in the future). During this time of trials, I was forced to decide which addons I simply could not live without. Could I even play without my beloved mods? Would I have to keep at least a couple of must-haves?
What merit is there in going addon-free? Would I be able to hold my head a bit higher, knowing that I can play without added software? Will my Mac breath a sigh of relief and reward me with more frames-per-second? I turn to you, fair reader, to delve into these two deep, and philosophically daunting questions?
Why go addon free? (I'm giving you addon-objectors a chance to sell me your way of thought).
For those of you who opt to use addons, which of your repertoire could you absolutely not play without?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Add-Ons, Features, AddOn Spotlight
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Khanmora Mar 11th 2008 11:30AM
I can play without them but if I have my choice they are so going in: Bongos2 and Xperl (preferably with fubar but if I can live without that longer than the other two).
SweetPoison Mar 11th 2008 11:34AM
I can do anything i need to on a computer with a command line, but a GUI makes it so much easier...
Felwrathe Mar 11th 2008 4:12PM
Perfect analogy.
Also why I don't understand people who swear by Linux.
Edgey Mar 11th 2008 4:31PM
Linux has had a GUI for more than a decade now.
heartless_ Mar 11th 2008 5:08PM
I've always found it funny while going through school, I learn the Windows GUI and in my job always end up using the Windows command line. I learned Linux via the command line, but always end up using the GUI at work :P
Lars Mar 11th 2008 5:09PM
People swear by Linux because it's vastly superior in many ways. Security, stability, configurability, performance, etc. However, it's also vastly inferior in one way, which happens to be the most important thing to 95% of users; ease of use.
On-topic: I don't use any add-ons. I had used some in the past, but I found my most beloved ones becoming unusable after certain patches. Having to update them or re-enable after every patch was annoying too. I quit using them about the time WoW seemed to be getting patched on a weekly basis. I'm thinking of checking them out again though, as I hear they have come a long way.
Edgey Mar 11th 2008 5:22PM
Linux is actually as easy if not easier than Windows to install and use now. The major problem is compatibility with games, and some obscure hardware.
Nekudotayim Mar 11th 2008 5:51PM
@Felwrathe
Check this Linux GUI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ImW0-MgR8I
Vista what?
LostOne Mar 11th 2008 11:44AM
Cartographer Routes is a must-have when leveling herbalism or mining.
Lightheaded and TomTom for easy questing...a nice speed-up when leveling the umpteenth alt to 70 and trying unfamiliar zones for a change of scenery.
Fubar GarbageFu for clearing vendor trash from my bags, very nice after farming/questing for an hour or more. DurabilityFu for autorepairing for me when I'm at a vendor. MoneyFu for quickly letting me see gold on all my characters (very useful when a character hits a level to get a new mount, I know who can spare the most gold).
tripdream Mar 11th 2008 4:09PM
It's always nice to meet another semi-pro addon addict. I don't feel much like a freak anymore LOL. I've been in your situation a couple of times in the past 2 and a half years. After a year of manually updating addons from several different websites I discovered Ace. It took a lot of time and work to find addons that were equivalent to the ones I was used to using, but it did happen. I've also tried to minimize the amount of addons that I use in the game, but having done so I realize it's just a fruitless endeavor. You get so used to having gobs of information and anything within easy reach that if you just play the game out-of-the-box you're going to go out of your mind. Sure your frame rate will more than likely double since you don't have to worry about the lag created by Lua processing and you won't have to worry about updating addons. I would simply backup your Interface and WTF folders to someplace safe, then nuke both folders and start the game. You may actually like it a lot more, but personally I would miss thinking that I am flying a 747 with all these gauges around me :)
wolves Mar 11th 2008 5:37PM
Must-have addons:
Configurable action bar (bartender3, bongos),
Cast bar (quartz of course),
Unit frames (aguf, pitbull, perfectRaid)
ReRoll Addict Mar 11th 2008 12:09PM
I've been add-on free for years.
When I dps, I'm at the top of any dps report someone gives.
When I tank, nobody else gets aggro.
When I heal, nobody dies.
When I battle ground, I'm at the top of the list for kills and (depeneding who I am playing) heals or damage.
I don't need the crutch.
Khanmora Mar 11th 2008 12:15PM
And if you read what the others were saying, we don't NEED it either, we just prefer it. Sometimes it's nice to just see the game and not the crappy interface that you get out of the box.
hpavc Mar 11th 2008 12:19PM
Good for you BuzzLightforge.
Culhag Mar 11th 2008 12:34PM
Just because you do good without addons doesn't mean you couldn't do better with them !
LuckyJoe13 Mar 11th 2008 12:39PM
When you make blanket statements, you sound like a fool.
I never understood the people who consider addons a "crutch" (or, better yet, "cheating") and how they rationalize it when Blizzard, in their infinite wisdom, integrates an addon into the basic UI. I can only assume you refuse to turn them on, insisting still that you don't need a crutch. No Scrolling Combat Text for you!! All that easily accessible information is just *too* gosh darn helpful! Maybe you should turn off all the options in the user interface, and set your graphics down to the bare minimum-- I mean, you don't want all that extra stuff help "crutch" you up in the BG's. :P
And, in my opinion only, a tank who doesn't use a threat meter is a liability.
I, too, would consider myself a semi-pro addon enthusiast, and the only addon that I use that I can say arguably makes the game "easier" is Healbot-- because I couldn't imagine healing without it.
For everything else, it's new bars (Bongos2) or quest help (Cartographer + Questhelper) or the like. I'd probably triple my fps in windows if I did without, but since I run from Linux, I get pretty good fps as it is. (for my crappy laptop, anyway!)
If I need something more, I write a macro. (I'm particularly proud of my druid macros) :) Oh, wait.. are those a crutch too? :P :P
bloodlight Mar 11th 2008 2:46PM
ah your absolutely perfect, Nice to meet you Mr J. Christ, Truthfully its east to spout nonsense from behind a computer screen. I don't believe a word of it till given proof.
sorry but that basic bull, since it take far more than just you to pull off what you claim.
bloodlight Mar 11th 2008 2:46PM
Please not the careful wording or Rerolls post,
When he dps's , when he tanks, and when he heals, Of course the fact he never plays the game to above level 10 because at that point it get to hard and he actually has to start doing all of the above is why he phrased it that way. thats why he is a reroll addict he is addicted to rerolling ever time the game gets a bit hard.
MogWaiZ Mar 11th 2008 12:56PM
the only add-ons i use are ones that dont give me an obvious look at something im obviously not suposed to see...
i am against catogropher, your suposed to unlock the map as you discover it... i would only agree to cartogropher if you had a level 70 who had actually BEEN EVERYWHERE and unlocked everything, then cartogropher wouldnt be such a difference when used on an alt char....
i use bartender3 because i nead access to alot of my secondary skills.... and yes i use tomtom...
Farrell Mar 11th 2008 1:29PM
You do know you can switch off the feature that unlocks the map?
But cartographer has way more features than that - like gatherer functionality, seeing where guildmates are in the world, stored waypoints, etc