Is playing without addons viable?

[Felfaadaern Darkterror]

Yes.
All content is designed assuming the client has no addons installed.
What you miss out on are the QoL enhancements. It also presumes that you are not a competitive player in the world/server first sense, as with competitive raiding, everything short of exploits is fair game.

No. They may design it to a standard where they don't feel addons are absolutely required, but Blizz is fully aware and expects that most raiders will be using addons.

[Deleted]

Macros are more important than addons. It's easier getting addons to reduce gameplay to simon says but it's not necessary to react fast. Having that macro to instantly cast on someone not even targeted will however always give an advantage in reaction time. Look at wow tournaments people didn't turn dogshit cause they had no addons but everyone made damn sure they had still their macros.

[Deleted]

Its not optimal but then again, no human player is. Unless you raid mythic, you can easily have a satisfactory game experience without addons.

[Soisoisoi]

If you want to play single-player, then sure. Otherwise no, not really.

If you're not using AddOns you're at a disadvantage, and in doing so you put your team at a disadvantage. i wouldn't call that viable, I'd call that being selfish.

[Deleted]

If you want to play single-player, then sure. Otherwise no, not really.

If you're not using AddOns you're at a disadvantage, and in doing so you put your team at a disadvantage. i wouldn't call that viable, I'd call that being selfish.

There is no moral obligation to carry others, if you can at least perform equal to others who play with addons then you do your part.

[Katchii]

Everything can be done without them, the entire reason they exist anymore is because they make certain things a LOT easier to see and/or manage. That said, when it comes to high end content that has a lot of attention demanding mechanics and requires top notch level of play, there aren't many people that could manage both things at the level of detail required if they had to split their attention equally to both things. Making it easier to manage the mechanics (Deadly Boss Mods, and others like it) leaves you room to focus more on game play (Weak Auras, Heal Bot, Recount, etc...) and focusing more on game play allows you to focus more on mechanics.

Add-ons make it possible for more people to participate in higher level content because it creates an opportunity for the decent players to be "good enough" to participate, but as someone else already said:

A shit player is still shit with all the most helpful "play the game for you" addons, and a great player is still a great player without them.

[SoulSoBreezy]

No. They may design it to a standard where they don't feel addons are absolutely required, but Blizz is fully aware and expects that most raiders will be using addons.

I'm reading this like you agree with me.
Without addons, the top end of raiding wouldn't just be incredibly hard, but very frustrating to orchestrate without non-human help. I wouldn't consider it impossible though.

[Damajin]

I'm reading this like you agree with me.
Without addons, the top end of raiding wouldn't just be incredibly hard, but very frustrating to orchestrate without non-human help. I wouldn't consider it impossible though.

I remember when there were no Boss Mods, and before threat meters and the like and it was pretty brutal to raid lead at that stage, basically talking MC and early BWL there. So much guesswork on everyone's part and it required much more of peoples' attentiveness to defensive cds, debuffs and that most important of windows: Target of Target. They're able to make fights more complex now because of the existence of boss mods carrying a good part of the load for the playerbase, so obviously there's a tradeoff there in just how many things you can be reasonably expected to deal with and process with and without them.

[xact4]

You can get used to looking anywhere for information, you can write your own complex macros, you can heal without a flexible UI (shudder), you can memorize boss fights and hone reflex responses.

Are you going to enjoy it very much? Nope.

[FlemmMinis]

You cannot play efficiently if you cannot see your procs/CD near the center of the screen.

Most of the procs are shown in the center now anyways.

[izayoi80]

Add-ons like DBM aren't needed, but fact is: the average WoW player will do anything and everything to make things as easy for them as possible. It's just how it is.

Personally, I don't need that stuff, as it cheapens the gaming experience for me. I do however use recount and quicktalents.

[Nihilist74]

I have been playing on the pre-patch ptr only using recount. Its not bad. I was able to set up a comfortable UI within blizzards options. I would prefer to have bartender, move anything and other addons available though. Tradeskill master addons are great for crafting and professions. I prefer I have my coolline available. I prefer to have trufigcd. Wow would still be enjoyable with the standard ui but I much prefer my own.

[Otimus]

I honestly wish things like DBM and the like were banned by Blizzard so I would feel less inclined to believe I need them. I probably don't need them, but I feel "bad" if I don't have it, and it using it ruins the game for me in a lot of ways.

It's also the kind of thing Blizzard has decided to design encounters with in mind, and I just think that's a wrong way to do things. If you're going to do that, you should be baking all those things into the UI yourself, and if you're not, then you have to admit something is wrong with the way things are made.

Also, I use and love TSM, but I think it's a bit TOO powerful, as well.

[Geschan]

The question is way to vague to get proper answers.
In the end World of Warcraft is about information.
Your screen and soundsystem deliver the information the client gives you as player to react to.
The better these information are transmitted, the faster and better you can react.

The standart UI spreads information all around the screen. You have buffs and minimap at the top right.
You have your character HP at the top left. The character is in middle of the screen.
Actionbuttons are at the bottom of the screen. Boss HP are at the right side of the screen. Raidframes at the left side.
There are a lot of ornaments, like the dragons framing the actionbars.

A well built raiding ui removes all the ornaments, try's to arrange UI elements in a optimized manner and trys to deliver
additional information that the standart UI does not.

The standart ui is like a Fiat Punto. Sure can drive with it. You can even race a lap on the Nürburgring with it.
But you will get laptimes that are to be expected for a Fiat Punto.

An optimized, well built raiding UI is like a Formula 1 car. The whole car is built around racing.
If you can handle the car, you will achieve great laptimes.
But don't try shopping with it. It won't do. The Fiat Punto will.

[Arborus]

Mythic Archimonde without the mark of the legion addon would be a total nightmare, you'd have to get 4 groups into the right position within a few seconds without knowing who will be chosen to be at each mark. It's probably doable but the % of players completing the content would be even lower.

Outside of serious PvE/PvP I would imagine that it's viable, it just requires more effort for the same results

The mark isn't even that bad, my guild did it without anything except the debuffed players being told where to go via marking. The people soaking for them just winged it, because the only really bad one is the back right which will eat Infernals every so often when they line up with the mark.

I think the biggest impact of addons on Mythic Arch are for chains and lasers, they help to minimize movement a ton and cut out the need for wonky patterns for lasers, as you can just leave them as a jumbled mess and let the addon carry you.

In overall terms, you could definitely play without addons- but why would you want to? The default UI is absolutely horrible in every aspect. Information is all over the place, there's tons of stuff you don't need to see, the graphics look like they're from the mid 90's...everything about it is just awful- to the point where I probably just wouldn't play the game if I had to use the stock UI.

[ComputerNerd]

Macros are more important than addons. It's easier getting addons to reduce gameplay to simon says but it's not necessary to react fast. Having that macro to instantly cast on someone not even targeted will however always give an advantage in reaction time. Look at wow tournaments people didn't turn dogshit cause they had no addons but everyone made damn sure they had still their macros.

They both have their uses.
It is a rather arrogant and petty stance to assume addons are simply about reducing gameplay.
There are certainly addons telling you what it thinks you should be pressing, but that is not all addons.
So don't claim that.

I use addons to change how that information is displayed.
So I don't have for example the need to look between 3 places on my screen, and amongst a number of icons for one specific fraction of the information.

Because people can play the tournament does not mean that the UI is good enough.
People use what they have, and go by the rules they have to follow.
That doesn't mean there aren't better ways of doing it.
Look at how blizzard are improving nameplates, adding in features that addons have been required for.
Recognising that addons have filled a void where the default was simply insufficient for proper decision making.

What did people do before boss mods for abilities on a fixed timer - have a physical timer and then call them out.
Having an on-screen timer is little different in that regard.

[Deleted]

They both have their uses.
It is a rather arrogant and petty stance to assume addons are simply about reducing gameplay.
There are certainly addons telling you what it thinks you should be pressing, but that is not all addons.
So don't claim that.

I use addons to change how that information is displayed.
So I don't have for example the need to look between 3 places on my screen, and amongst a number of icons for one specific fraction of the information.

Because people can play the tournament does not mean that the UI is good enough.
People use what they have, and go by the rules they have to follow.
That doesn't mean there aren't better ways of doing it.
Look at how blizzard are improving nameplates, adding in features that addons have been required for.

What did people do before boss mods for abilities on a fixed timer - have a physical timer and then call them out.
Having an on-screen timer is little different in that regard.

Obviously not all addons are like that, some even implemented third party games like bejeweled. I don't even see why you thought i was generalising. However Timer's / announcement addons do exactly that -they reduce gameplay from where you need to think ahead and keep an eye on the whole battle to react when the addon tells you too. External helpers be it on a smartphone or some analog eggclock accomplish of course similiar things but they don't work as well. Regarding Repositioning/ displaying additional information - that was also done with macros. Kinda merges as you can write small lua snippets into a macro. Regardless how you accomplish it, it's of course not as bad as having an addon doing your job but it certaintly makes it easier wich in reverse also means you get an advantage. Don't get me wrong, i also customized my UI but it shouldn't keep us from admitting that for example having a visible number for your dot's remaining duration on your enemy makes it much easier than a default ui where you only see a small icon that you have to hover over to see the remaining time.

Either way the original point was merely that for a really good player macros seem more vital than addons. You can compensate a lack of addons with using your brain, memorizing cd's, ability durations and thinking ahead instead of tunnel vision but you can't compensate a lack of macros because it will be mechanically always more button presses and additionally give in pvp your target away since you need those focus/arenaX macros to avoid targeting.

[Aori]

Look at all the people so dependent on items thinking the game can't be played without them and people say addons aren't making the game easier.

[ComputerNerd]

Look at all the people so dependent on items thinking the game can't be played without them and people say addons aren't making the game easier.

That isn't an issue with addons specifically.
That is a problem with players.

The default UI has not kept up with the game.
It is horribly lacking now in a lot of areas, though in fairness some of those issues do not have a universal solution.
As there are distinct preferences often in how players want to see the same information.
Bars vs Icons for instance.

I just think blizzard ought to really look at the typical addons, and perhaps even ask users and authors why they use or create those.
Figure out the problems those addons are trying to fix.

Part of it I feel isn't helped by the need to fit everything into this highly stylised "warcraft look".
Lots of artwork I feel gets in the way.

[Gonzalez]

At least it's getting better with Legion.