Btw, there is a curseforge alpha standalone client so you dont need Overwolf, in case you want a significantly lighter client.
Just a random FYI for folks out there
Sure. It entirely depends on what they are patching and what addons are doing what. Some patches break a lot of addons because they are updates to the API itself, some break only certain addons because they only touch the functions those addons use, and others break none at all.
Probably because those major content patches are often packaged with the largest client updates and functionality changes. Just because the patches include content updates doesnât mean they ONLY include those content updates.
Very true. It sounds like what Xfour is saying, and would not be inconsistent with your argument, is that it is plausible the major Era patches contain only / substantively content, and under this assumption this issue could be avoided if Era had a separate client.
Not is the updates breaking the addon functionality are client based updates. Because if they are, there is no expectation that those updates would not need to also be applied to the classic era client, on top of the additional need to now maintain two different clients.
They already get enough bugs out of just one.
Thatâs interesting, and a good point.
So, it sounds like itâs plausible but unlikely that a stand-alone Era client would address this, though ultimately all we can do is speculate.
Iâm sure if we had more information on which addons broke, could find the cause of the break, check the update notes for the addon when it is fixed, and cross reference that with the patch notes we might have a better idea.
But something to keep in mind is that not everything that is changed makes it into the patch notes either. A lot of client based changes are generally only a footnote at best.
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I would love a single example of an addon that broke in 1.14 or 1.15 due to an essential security / stability update that had nothing to do with newly added features.
Do we have any addons that broke because of any changes made that didnât have anything to do with the client, API, or fundamental changes to the system?
Because the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.
Thatâs not the point of this discussion. It is about how releases (1.14, 1.15) are breaking addons and changing Era.
Those releases added features to Era - new UI, ranking, etc. that have nothing to do with Era and were not necessary. Plus they setup the framework to build HC, SoD, and other potential other versions ontop of Era. Again, all non-essential things for Era.
We can debate the merit of those additions all day, but to say that things breaking stuff in era is the normal state of affairs is nearing gaslighting.
They didnât add a security update and in the course break tauren range.
It wasnât a stability update that magically added wotlk/retail animations to certain spells.
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But it is the point of your proposed solution. What evidence if any do you have that making a separate client would even be feasible for this, let alone resolve the issue to begin with? Itâs a pretty BIG part of the conversation to discuss WHAT broke the addons.
Updating the UI sounds like a pretty integral part of the games core functionality. But also, once again, is there any evidence to suggest that these were the things that broke the addons? And that they were unnecessary?
Thatâs an opinion you hold with zero evidence. Show me where you think that making the base game of era run smoothly and efficiently so that they can use it for all future versions of the game that sit on top of it is 1. The problem causing the addon breaks and 2. A bad thing.
No itâs the entire history of the game. And the baseline way that all addons have worked since the start of the game. There has never been a single point in history for any version of the game where they were able to just sit the client in place and patch it without disrupting addons. Thatâs not gaslighting, youâre suggesting that something they have never been able to do in the past is suddenly possible just because you donât want a company to follow the standard practice of SDLC. So prove me wrong. Show me that your suggestion is both sound AND will provide for an actual fix to this problem.
Ok are those the things that broke the addons?
Literally the antithesis of a stable Era - the UI did not need updating. It was perfect as is and has been working fine for nearly 20 years.
The point of Era was to have a âmuseumâ. Should we go into a museum and âupdateâ the creations within to bring them up to date?
Do you buy an antique and then modernize it?
Are you denying that the game was stable on 1.12?
Are you saying that they released 1.14 and 1.15 to add stability and security to game primarily or was it to make it more extendible so they could add HC / SoD / future versions on the same platform?
No those are things that broke for players using zero addons.
Addons that worked fine for pservers and for blizzard 1.12 client break when they release 1.14, and again at 1.15 - sure there is a magical unicorn coming down from the heavens and making changes to the APIs that is breaking the addons, it couldnât be the new features added 
Technically its impossible to compare this to 20 years ago since we are on the retail client and have been the entire time classic has been out. Nothing about this game has been âfine for 20 yearsâ since that statement doesnt make sense.
Weâve had UI features that are different since the game launched and changes to each retail client since⌠the only constant so far in this game has been change.
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So do you not understand how museums handle displayed artifacts? Restoration and upkeep is a large part of that. Like the âoriginalâ US flag from the revolutionary war was not displayed as some gross dirty bundle of destroyed rags, it was carefully restored. Era is on the retail client, there is a level of required upkeep to maintain this museum piece on hardware that it wasnât being run on prior to the classic release.
Your complaints are nitpics at best. Nothing terrible has happened here except now people have to update their addons, which are third party and not something blizzard needs to concern themselves about. If you encounter a real bug, report it, theyâll probably fix it in a patch much like the one youâre concern trolling about right now.
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Life must be good if worrying about their 39 addons in a 20 year old game is their biggest concern in life haha
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Honestly the irony of saying âmuseum pieceâ and singling out the UI when they are probably running several non authentic addons/UI editors is hilarious.
Itâs like theyâre wanting to protect the Mona Lisa and then just drawing all over it.
Yes I agree - they are nitpicks.
And yet I stand by my statement that the more isolated Era is the better it is for Era. The better it is integrated the more changes it will have overtime - which is what 1.14 and 1.15 have been, changes.
If the bugs had come with an attempt to minimize changes - I would have far less a reason to post.
Edit: These changes have been small, but I am pre-emptively trying to reduces changes before we end up with a token and other such âfeaturesâ which seem to follow wherever the attention is.
So what did they change? What was the content of the update to the UI?
That was not and has never been the point of Era. That might be what some people wanted, but that has never been the suggestion or design goal from what I have seen of Classic.
You mean way back when you could jump warriorâs charges, fell through the world, had game crashes for macros and addons? That era of the game?
That is the question I am asking you that you refuse to answer.
Ok but this discussion is about the addons, so what specific parts of the patch broke the addons?
You continue to refuse to answer a simple question that should be the requirement for your suggestion. What broke the addons specifically, and how does your suggestion resolve that issue? I asked it three different times in that post and you ignored all of that.
There is a whole new menu that was added in 1.14
That is what they stated in the interview when they introduced the character copy to era - I can look for it later if you really care.
I am stating that the changes have been to make the game more extendible. And I disagree with doing such.
Do not let yourself be ruled by the slippery slope fallacy. They have been surprisingly good about leaving Era alone outside of required updates to keep the game running on the retail engine and provide the smallest of QoL additions.
Stagnation will kill Era. The smallest updates will keep it breathing and will maintain the feel of Era. Respectfully, you are knee jerking this way to hard and should step back a bit. There is a ton of good information being provided here in a calm manner and being met with a surprising amount of push back over, as you say nitpicks and incredibly small tweaks.
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What menu specifically? What was the specific change?
But this is a discussion about addons being broken due to updates. First and foremost that is an entirely unrelated and different topic that I can answer 100% for you. Not gonna happen. You should just get that out of your head entirely. Why would Blizzard EVER do 100x the work to add content and additional games to the mix to appease your personal preference on what you want? Because let me tell you something, I would rather them update the client and iterate off the Era version for new seasons.
Faster content, more options, better experience, and less time for patching.