Why Addons Are Holding Back World of Warcraft



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Responding to viewer comments on why addons are essential or harmful in World of Warcraft The War Within. I dive deeper into how addons impact balance, raiding, and the player experience in modern WoW.

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPA8E0Nv6c8

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:50 My Additional Points.
03:44 Comment about Ovinax.
07:04 Comment about Timers & 21st Man.
08:53 Comment on who are the Mythic Raiders?
09:26 Comment about elitist opinion & healers.
10:51 Comment about preference.
12:00 Comment about accessibility.
12:56 Conclusion

Lich King is from Kripp’s raiding video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1x9MErf5NA

Watch my live: https://www.twitch.tv/yeti
Discord community: https://discord.gg/T6nRW3q

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17 thoughts on “Why Addons Are Holding Back World of Warcraft”

  1. I get what you are trying to say. But aren't the addons you try to refer to already not needed for the 'average' player? Those specific weak aura's are for try hard content. (while blizzard should anyway do something about buff/debuff tracking the basic UI).

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  2. Why are people trying to compare FF to WoW. FF and WoW is a completely different audience. If you want the FF experience, why not just play that game and leave WoW alone?
    Blizzard already started with testing a few hidden aura mechanics, that has been pretty good this tier. We haven't needed to press macro buttons, as the visual clarity has improved from DF to to TWW. We also have another massive improvement to clarity on how swirly's interact.

    If Addons automatically kill a boss, then we would see everyone with CE.

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  3. i lost in the rest of the video, but if you think addons are not needed.
    Let's see Blizzard show the data them killing the boss without any of these addons, pure 100% stock UI.
    eg Fyrakk, intermission 1 of mythic requires players to soak correct colour orbs in a split second after dropping to the ground. Good freaking luck trying to coordinate 10/10 players in that split timer as the colour you get is randomized.

    Anyway good luck with your content/channel. I for one would like if Blizzard can fix their engine to use more cores as they have created some scenarios where a million adds spawn and everyones fps is gone to the shit bucket, regardless of Stock or UI modded.

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  4. At first glance, removing addons might seem like a good idea, but in reality, it’s unworkable for a live-service game like WoW. The time, effort, and money required would be astronomical, essentially requiring Blizzard to rebuild the game from the ground up—while still maintaining their regular development schedule. Pausing everything to overhaul the entire system just isn’t an option.
    The ripple effects of such an endeavor would be massive. Multiple expansions hampered by either subpar content quality or painfully slow release cycles. Even if they somehow pulled it off, the changes needed – altering combat pacing, rethinking animation and VFX looks / workflows, overhauling UI design, and recalibrating game complexity, would fundamentally alter the game. It wouldn’t feel like WoW anymore, alienating long-time players and splintering an already splintered and diminished community.
    Technically, the challenge is insane. Addons have been part of WoW’s ecosystem for nearly two decades. They're baked into how content is designed, from encounter mechanics to information delivery. Stripping them out means not only redesigning core systems but also ensuring they perform seamlessly across a sprawling, interconnected game world. Even if Blizzard could simplify certain aspects to reduce addon dependency, there’s no guarantee it wouldn’t backfire. Tweaks that seem small can cascade into game-breaking issues, destabilizing balance and frustrating players.
    And this is where people (not aimed at you, to be clear) often underestimate the complexity of these changes. Just because you can explain the idea in one sentence doesn’t mean the execution is simple. In reality, it’s extraordinarily complex with a significant risk of catastrophic failure. At best, Blizzard can only aim to reduce addon reliance incrementally—anything more is a logistical and creative nightmare.

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  5. i've enjoyed the game primarily on the classic/sod side without addons, aside form somethin like auctionator just for the ease of posting mats on the Auction House.
    Point being, addons take away a lot of the immersion and some extent player skill, kinda had that thought coming into this before a full watch, still will say the video is entertaining and your thoughts are justified.

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