How does this choice eliminate competition? All it does is change the rules, doesn't change the end, nor the beginning of the competition. Better players will still rise to the top. Things can still be just as competitive. It is completely idiotic to think competition only happens because of addons or specific bits of information.

as i can understand you its quite sad that as it tremendously widens the gap between those who spend several 100$/€ for gaming devices that are still abe to emulate addon effects - and those who have no excess to either addons or proper devices (by the way is ESO offically supported by any bigger gameing device distributor like nostromo keyboards? Shame upon him who thinks evil upon it. )

i totall agree with that but if an addon offers an advantage over the standard ui it primarily indicates a lacking base UI. and especially from a supporter perspective this ui is utter BS.

ITT: DPS meters look good and obviously fit in with the design philosophy, but little debuff icons on your own character look baaaad.

Oh Zenimax...

Exactly, there's room for improvement. It's not perfect, but lets at least try it out first! Games not even released...

You can run any addons as long it is "fair" and "not cheating" -- It is up to ZOS to define those terms in their game.

I don't like add-ons in general. They're fine for games like Skyrim where you are the only one playing. I don't like macros much either I just think that's a lazy way to play.

Still I'm happy they are sticking to their ideals and vision. I just hope they can keep it up and not cave-in to the MMO community. Other companies have caved-in to community pressure which is why the MMO industry is in such a poor state and most of us hope the next game is better (ESO being that next game).

I, too, hope they don't cave in to the people who pay subs.

They aren't eliminating competition, they are putting rules in place to promote fair play. All these people who think they are pvp pros because some addon in random game 01 told them they have a debuff then cleansed it for them are upset they might actually have to play the game and not allow some addon to do it for them. Zenomax basically took away chance to use loaded bats and made them use regulation bats.

The supposedly pvp pros are upset because the actual skill the have may not live up trash they talk in game or on forums w/o addons.

Personally I'm not interested in automating game play but I have always been a fan of being able to report performance after the event in order to guage effectiveness of builds in the way http://advancedcombattracker.com/screenshots.php was used in EQ2. It's interesting that although that particular parsing program was widely used in raiding it never led to automated botting which is what everyone is seeking to avoid. I can see what the devs are doing and wholeheartedly support their work but I do wonder how it was that SOE were able to release use of combat logs without ceding control of the game to botters.

In the Beta versions, the API was open, fully. It seems this was done to see what people who make add-ons would do with the information provided by it. As they have stated, they felt that to much information was being transferred. Yes, they have cut back on the information that will now be available for add-ons and by association, to the players who like to use them; for now.

In regards to the people that took the time and effort to make theses add-ons for the Beta runs, Yes some of their work will not be use-able; for the time being. That is a tough pill to swallow, but it was a risk, they where willing to take as so far this has been only Beta play.

There are still add-ons available for download and use when everything goes live in a few days. From the sounds of things not all the ones that a few people want, but still it is a start.

If you and other members of this community still want to see more add-ons available in the future, I can only say keep trying. Keep bring the topic up, in a civil manner of course, and hopefully in the future Zenimax will have something workable for you and at the same time something accetpable to those who oppose the introduction of them .

Good luck.

I think this is a huge mistake by the developers, making buff and debuff tracking nigh impossible.

I mean, they built a game around certain specs doing damage or dispelling buffs/debuffs, yet there is absolutely no way to convey the duration of said buff/debuff. The problem with the UI has always been that the developers think not displaying vital information is conducive of a "minimalist" UI. Hate to break it to you, but the whole point of a minimalist UI is to convey as much info as you can, in a concise/unobtrusive manor. The default UI needs better buff/debuff tracking. Period.

Maybe the approach is from a realistic perspective.

If you get poisoned, you don't know how long the effects will last.....there is no timer. Although for gaming purposes, a hidden timer is put on the effects, because it would svck if you only had to get poisoned to die 30 mins later....

uh no, if you flip the coin especially with the addons before the api change you would be forced to download them to be competitive. That is the whole point he was making. Addons are meant to add to the game not be a must have to compete.

First off, thanks for the post. Its good to see a developer with the nuts to stick to its philosophy in this day and age. Will it cost them some in the long run, maybe, most probably likely. But then again, it is going to reinforce in those willing to see it the company's ability to make hard calls for the player above all.

In business, i've had to make many calls where i've had to weigh immediate customer satisfaction on one hand and my long-term ability to provide all my customers a consistent level of service. It is never an easy position to be in and the whole ZOS team has my respect for picking a route and promising to stick to it. And not just that, but to revisit issues at later dates when more information/data becomes available after launch.

Well done ZOS.

And commenting on this, so very true imo.

The problem has, and always will be until the devs change their stance, that the default UI did not adequately display enough information to be useful, specifically with buffs/debuffs.

If you think you are blindfolded by this, then previous MMOs have blinded you.

This.

The only reason why some Addons gave such an advantage is because the default UI puts us at such a disadvantage.

I honestly never knew that the secret ingredient in the ES formula was the UI. I'm glad to know all those Skyrim fans won't be upset with the generic, MMO bog standard of "kill 20 of X" or the MMO-style level-gated content. Good thing ZOS decided to dig their heels in for the UI.

How much do you want to bet that ZOS's Vision gets Memory Hole'd after a few months of end-game and the YouTube reviews start to pour in?

Yes, we pay subs but we don't own the game, we pay for a license to play their game.

We can't demand, or at least we shouldn't. Of course that doesn't stop people making suggestions, but you shouldn't necessarily expect them to act on them.

Obviously you have no idea what an anology is, or you are just trying to make people think you are "witty."

I have a simple question for you: Let's say I CC you. How long will it take for you to be out of it?

As quickly as I could double tap a direction or hit both my mouse buttons. If it is a root probably up to 8 seconds, if it is a stun probably up to 3, though there are a couple that last 10 seconds but have other noticeable effects such as either increasing your regen or putting a slow dot on you. They also have distinct animations for both the attacks and effect. See this is where learning teh agme comes in. The more you know the better you will be (thus those that learn will be the more skilled).

1 sec depending on if I have the stamina to break it, and with my immunity timer I have about 10 secs before I need to worry about it again. This isn't rocket science.

Do you find it comforting that the UI doesn't display any durations?

So your argument is since we can use vent they should allow everything? Seriously all of nothing huh? How will that translate to a better game? The examples given by paul are pretty game breaking AKA the complete opposite of how the game was made. Don't you think they should try to maintain their intended design?