Hey all!
Thanks for your feedback around this. The Addon Profiler allows the game client to show you how your addons are performing and if any may be contributing to system or game performance issues. It also provides the WoW development team with metrics they can use to look for game issues in general.
In 11.1, a bug was introduced that allowed this to be disabled by overwriting the cvar. Unfortunately, this meant that addons could toggle the cvar off without informing the player. This caused players to lose insight into how an addon was performing or affecting their client, and prevented the WoW development team from collecting important metrics. This bug was fixed in 11.1.5 and this cvar can no longer be adjusted by players or addons at all.
Our QA teams have thoroughly tested various in-game content with both the Profiler enabled and disabled. These teams have access to very accurate internal tools that allow them to see exactly where frametime is being spent during testing. Individual client performance in group content can vary depending on how many addons someone is using and what is happening on the screen. Even with no addons installed, it’s very normal to see variations in performance during a single encounter. In our examinations, the Profiler did not contribute to decreased performance.
Our development and QA teams continue to monitor game performance across all types of game activities, including group content, and continue to look for areas where improvements can be made.
Please continue to use the in-game Bug Report form when you encounter something that doesn’t appear to be working correctly. This allows the team to track trending encounters and locations that may be developing issues.