Elder Scrolls Online – Add-Ons

Installing Addons

Install the Minion Addon Manager and point it to your ESO Addon folder when prompted. For Windows running ESO through steam, the folder is under ~/Documents/Elder Scrolls Online/live/Addons/

When installing Addons, I’ll tentatively recommend simply installing all the ones you are interested in, plus dependencies and required libraries (see the descriptions in the Addons or just install all/most of the more popular ones). Then, in ESO on the initial character select screen, you can click Add-ons on the left and disable all but the addons you want to try first (or just one at a time). You can disable/enable them while online but you can’t install them while online. So this will save you some time and confusion, learn from my mistake of cluttering everything up by enabling everything at once. (You may need the Addon Selector addon and LibDialog library installed and enabled for this to work consistently whether you are logged in or not).

List of Addons I Had

Do not just blindly install all of these because some I have disabled, and some you might want elect by personal preference. See the section below on "Add-on Descriptions and Categorization".

These addons I have installed (not including libraries and dependencies). You will need check/uncheck the box to allow out-of-date addons to allow all these to function.

Below the list, I go over what I like and are important/useful. There may be some overlap between categories.

• Action Duration Reminder
• Addon Selector
• AlphaGear 2
• Assist Rapid Riding
• Azurah
• Bandits User Interface *
• Champion Point Respec
• Code's Combat Alerts
• CombatMetrics
• Constellations
• CraftStore
• DarkUI
• Destinations
• Dolgubon's Lazy Writ Creator
• Dressing Room
• EasyTravel
• Foundry Tactical Combat
• Greyskull
• HarvestMap
• HarvestMap-.... Zones
• HodorRelflexes
• Inventory Grid View
• Inventory Inaight
• LightAttackHelper
• LoreBooks
• Lost Treasure
• Map Pins
• Master Merchant....
• Miat's Stealth Text
• Minimap by Fyrakin
• Potion Maker (For Alchemy Crafting)
• RaidNotifier
• Research Assistant
• S'rendarr
• Skyshards
• Urich's Skill Point Finder
• Votan's improved Locations
• Votan's improved Quests
• Votan's Keybinder
• Votan's Lore Library Search
• Votan's Minimap
• Votan's Search Box
• Votan's Survey The World
• WeaponCharger
• WritWorthy
• YetAnotherCompass

Most have an option to make their settings account wide or to choose a character to be the template.

There are some “conflicts” between addons, meaning different addons can offer basically the same or similar functionality where you are better off turning that functionality off on all but one of them. Moreover, depending on your base game display settings etc, you may want to change/turn off some of your base game view settings to avoid duplication.

Addon Description and Categorization

These are my current preferences after going through a couple of iterations and from wanting to have the viable option of playing with a gamepad controller at times. They may not be yours. I'll list the ones I'm using and why. Then give some alternative suggestions if I have any.

I did first watch a few videos from much more experienced players and then I've culled and changed some of the choices they presented. Here are a couple of examples:

From Dottz, with an updated list of his add-ons.

From Dottz , he has many more, just search Dottz ESO Addons on YouTube.

From Adam at Brah We Got This, beginner

From Adam at Brah We Got This, advanced

Tips Before We Begin

There is some overlap of categories so I recommend glancing through them all even if you are only looking for one. I try to avoid repeating myself.

Add-ons show up in the following places:

• Under Add-Ons on the main loading screen or when you Esc: Pick to disable/enable each add-on or library.
• Under Settings once logged in: Shows you Add-on settings/preferences and some have their own tab. You'll want to check here for each add-on you install, especially if they overlap in function and you want to turn some off.
• Under Controls once logged in: Allows you to bind keys to certain actions for some addons, e.g., to show menu screens
• When you make changes to addons, you may need to reload the UI. Usually you are warned or prompted.

Add-ons may have different behavior for different characters but most have the option under settings to unify all settings. In fact, unification of options/settings between characters is the primary feature of some addons.

To change the location/size of some user interface elements you may need to:

• Press . (default button) to see and move the mouse pointer and then click/drag. It can be difficult at times to find the edges of certain elements due to transparency etc.
• Go into Settings for the specific Add-on and unlock movement or press a button to go into their special movement/resizing mode.
• Most of the add-ons have lots of resizing/coloring/theming/etc options and some are only be accessible through Settings in the specific settings for that add-on via sliding bars, textfields etc.

Many add-ons have similar features, such as displaying buffs and skill timers. You will most likely need to go through and turn them off in the settings for all but the one you like the best.

User Interface

• AlphaGear 2
• Bandits User Interface
• DarkUI
• Inventory Insight
• Minimap by Fyrakin Or Votan's Minimap
• Miat's Stealth Text
• S'rendarr
• WeaponCharger
• YetAnotherCompass

Bandits User Interface (BUI) has a bunch of nice UI modifications all in one and a nice central setup for those settings. Currently it is my preferred main Hud (attributes, group health) but I turn off some features I use other addons for including: Minimap and all self Buffs. BUI also has a bunch of quality-of-life features to make some various things easier, just brows through their optional settings, most of which are have good tooltips. I like the curved attributes setting with some size adjustment, set to hide them out-of-combat, and to set some alpha/transparency on some of the control. BUI has some combat statistic and a bunch of other stuff I haven't gotten into. IIRC then BUI also shows indicators on the boss health bar which are triggering for their special actions.

AlphaGear 2 allows you to setup selections of gear and skills for quick swapping. Also lets you auto repair whenever you see a merchant. Gives you a small icon on your screen that shows the current state of your gear and cost of repairs.

DarkUI setups a dark UI and gives some options. It seems nice and I think I mostly have defaults.

Inventory Insight lets you search all your banks/characters etc or a subset of them, very helpful for gaining insight into your inventory. Also lets you filter your inventory view, e.g. types of armor, and to search only through the item set names.

Miat's Stealth Text is a nice little add-on to show more clearly your status for stealth play (I might have it disabled but I think I turned it back on).

Minimap by Fyrakin or Votan's Minimap are my preferred minimaps over the one from BUI. The BUI one disappears when I use a gamepad so it is not an option for me. I find the Fyrakin one more attractive and nice, lets you keep a more immersive experience, has nice edge of map options, and it behaves consistently with/without gamepad. Votan's is solid and works with/without gamepad but it moves/changes a bit which makes it slightly inconsistent and annoying. However, Votan has lots of options and ways of making the map have different zoom levels depending on content and context. Currently, I'm using Fyrakin because its prettier, more consistent, and e.g. has the option to show all team members as icons on the minimap edge, but I'm open to Votan winning me back over.

S'rendarr is my preferred buff viewer (especially for self), it shows you a stack of all buffs/enchantments etc with the icon, timer bar, and name (helps me a lot since I don't know all the icons by heart). Has lots of options, but this is the main reason I like it and use it.

WeaponCharger automatically uses a soul stone to charge your weapon if you run out, indispenable in combat. Light and easy, a must.

YetAnotherCompass puts a compass around your crosshairs, has quite a few options to customize the compass. I like it, at least to just always show me north. BUI has reticle options but it seems to play well with YetAnotherCompass if you want to have both like I do.

Alternatives:

Azurah I have liked for general UI arrangement and some additional features, with the buffs turned off. Because BUI is so broad and clean, I chose BUI over Azurah. Also, BUI seems more consistent with/without gamepad.

Foundry Tactical Combat (FTC) is another favored option for showing attributes and other features, and for collecting combat statistics. It plays well with BUI. However, I find BUI more ascetically pleasing. You can have FTC on and just disable the attribute bars etc if you want to only use it for combat reports. I think I have it setup that way right now, but I haven't dug deep into combat reports yet.

Inventory Grid View shows your inventory in a grid and has some other options. Personally not my preference atm, partly because it doesn't necessarily play well with all other addons but some like it a lot.

Combat And Tactics

• Action Duration Reminder
• Assist Rapid Riding (currently disabled)
• Code's Combat Alerts
• CombatMetrics
• Foundry Tactical Combat (currently partly disabled)
• Greyskull
• HodorReflexes (currently not really using)
• LightAttackHelper
• RaidNotifier

Action Duration Reminder shows you action durations and reminders. Some of these features are included in other add-ons like BUI and Azurah. So you will want to make sure you are only using one for each purpose by adjusting the settings of your add-ons.

Assist Rapid Riding automatically equips and replaces special riding skills. I'm currently not using it but it seems useful and experienced players seem to like it.

Code's Combat Alerts gives alerts to special combat situations in various (non-raid iirc) PVE combat, boss mechanics and such.

CombatMetrics collects combat metrics, I use it to give me a small vertical stack display that shows me my team relative contribution to DPS and healing. Seems a staple among vets.

Foundry Tactical Combat is for when/if I get more serious about combat reports. I currently have all views disabled, but some prefer the report it can generate over CombatMetrics, so I'm keeping it for now.

Greyskull shows your current (expected?) damage output and lets you assign changes in colors depending on the number. Useful, e.g., if you are intending on not initiating a big DPS strike spike until properly buffed/debuffed. It's low profile so I keep it to help me have an idea of what my current DPS looks like but I haven't used it heavily for its primary intended purpose.

HodorReflexes is for group coordination and communication, seemingly a preferred/required add-on for serious tanks and healers (e.g. for coordinating their use of the War Horn ultimate skill).

LightAttackHelper small light weight add-on that shows statistics on your light attack use (how many and optionally the rate). E.g. helps you keep track if you are looking to make your weaving better or evaluating your animation cancelling.

RaidNotifier throws notifications about mechanics etc for raids. Haven't used it but it is probably a must at that level.

Alternatives:

Foundry Tactical Combat and Bandits User Interface both can give combat metrics.

Crafting And Research

• CraftStore
• Dolgubon's Lazy Writ Creator
• Master Merchant....
• Potion Maker (For Alchemy Crafting)
• Research Assistant
• WritWorthy

CraftStore shows you a grid of all your researched traits, what your current research progress is, and if you have slots open. Also has a bunch of other features I think but these are the ones I've used and enjoy.

Dolgubon's Lazy Writ Creator makes creating crafting writs stupid easy. Goto sign post, one click to pick up all writs. Goto crafting tables, automatically creates the writs. Turn in at the writs and it automatically opens the containers for you. Exceptions are alchemy and provisioning, where it helps but doesn't actually create for you (e.g. alchemy is non-unique of course).

Master Merchant is I think the de facto source to search guild merchant pricing etc. I haven't used this one much or quite figured it out yet, but it's supposed to be good.

Potion Maker (For Alchemy Crafting) helps you make potions. I haven't used it but it's supposed to be good.

Research Assistant is great for doing trait research and item management. Puts icons by the items you are saving for trait research indicating, e.g. if they are unique in supplying you with a source for the trait. You will need to choose a character to be your crafter for each type of crafting (a handful of categories), easy if you only have one crafter. This addon helped me to clear a bunch of inventory when I had old crappy items in my bank saved for research because of a trait, but they weren't unique. So I could get rid of most/all of the duplicate ones. In my opinion, a must for crafting/research/item-management.

WritWorthy is for evaluating if master writs are worth doing. Apparently this one had it's last update on 2020/05/20 and will not be maintained according to their webpage. I haven't used it yet but I believe it is the goto add-on for master crafters at the moment.

Map And Navigation

• Destinations
• EasyTravel
• HarvestMap
• HarvestMap-.... Zones
• LoreBooks
• Lost Treasure
• Map Pins
• Skyshards
• Votan's improved Locations
• Votan's improved Quests
• Votan's Search Box
• Votan's Survey The World

Most of these have to do with marking things on your map/s. I haven't properly gone through and sorted these so that I don't have overlapping markers. I'll only specifically mention a few.

EasyTravel lets you right click map locations to optionally travel to them (wayshrine) using friends/team/guild members automatically.

Destinations, Map Pins, Votan Improved..., have settings and pinning of things on your map.

HarvestMap lets you log all locations that you've collected resources at, e.g. flowers, wood, chests. The locations and types are optionally shown both on your map and in 3D in your view. Optionally, you can follow the directions given in the settings and download data files that give you most of the spawn points without having to manually find them yourself.

Skyshards / Lorebooks, shows the skyshard/lorebooks locations on the map but are double covered by some of the other addons here.

EDIT: After putting a little time into selecting what to see on the map and overlapping I'll add this:

Map Pins is nice but has no settings, if you go into the map using keyboard/mouse then you'll see a filter tab on the right hand side. There you can click to enable/disable all sorts of map pins. Arguably, this renders Skyshards, Lorebooks, Destinations and Lost Treasures redundant. However, some other addons may only support some of these. For example, Minimap by Fyrakin supports showing lost treasures on the map edge using Lost Treasures but seemingly not through Map Pins. You can go through on the map using Map Pins and just disable the duplicates if you like, to make it less cluttered and you can have all the listed addons enabled. Also, HarvestMap has settings (accessed by assigning a key to its settings panel) that let you sync to Map Pins so the 3D view matches the world map, or you can set them separately. So there is room for some personal preference here. I haven't looked into the performance, but it seems fine even when everything is on and super cluttered so I suggest you start by not worrying about that.

I currently have Map Pins, HarvestMap, and Lost Treasures enabled (and SkyShards, Lorebooks, and Destinations disabled). Using Map Pins I select to show only some of the pins in the map, opening the map, selecting the funnel on the left top panel, and check/unchecking items. I don't show harvesting points on the map, but I use Harvestmap to unsync with Map Pins and show in 3D view the harvest points. Then I have Lost Treasures on so that Minimap by Fyrakin shows the survey/treasures on the minmap edge (option in the minimap settings).

Other

• Addon Selector
• Champion Point Respec
• Constellations
• Urich's Skill Point Finder
• Votan's Keybinder
• Votan's Lore Library Search

Addon Selector lets you select addons to enable/disable. (This addon needs LibDialog in order to work . If you do not install the library and if you do not enable the libraries ingame in the addon manager, this addon can't be enabled and won't work)

Champion Point Respec helps you save your CP allocation and easily switch between them.

Constellations helps you calculate effects of your CP allocation partly based on parse from CombatMetrics.

Urich's Skill Point Finder shows you a nice grid of all sources of skill points and which ones you've completed. Excellent when you need to figure out where you can get some more skill points.

Votan's Keybinder lets you setup some account wide keybindings.

Votan's Lore Library Search lets you search all of your (lore) library.