I agree that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
But the problem is that it is broken. Addons give too many negative impacts on wow today, unfortunately.
Arguably it’s a problem with the implementation of WarcraftLogs. It should be doing “full picture” calculations while parsing since all the data is there in the logs, especially in cases where the entire raid uploads their logs. So e.g. when a player gets hit with a mechanic that should factor into the parse, so if you get what would normally be a top-tier parse but were standing in fire half the raid you instead get a garbage parse.
For what it’s worth, I’m with you. The more WoW devolved into “watch the videos on Youtube, read these guides, and then download these addons”, the less fun it became to even bother with raids. Now, it’s even in dungeons.
Used to be, you could just play with guildies. Unfortunately, tons of people have left because WoW’s playstyle has morphed into an unholy union of spreadsheet and lobby gaming.
I don’t see Blizzard banning all add-ons, but I can see them making moves to lessen their need. Moreover, I’d rather just find players who’d rather just jump into adventures and start adventuring, instead of requiring some Ocean’s Eleven style plan ahead of time. Strategies on the fly is way more fun. I doubt WoW players will ever go back to that, though.
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Ban or no ban. No addons does not affect me. Some players from WoW launch are capable of not using it.
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I agree with what you said. And ofc Blizzard will not incorporate functions as many as 3rd party addons. But they are not all needed either.
Why so many other games don’t need addon, but wow needs? What is so special about wow that makes it completely different from other games, that wow can only be played with addon? Nothing, it is just a game, same as others.
All those 3rd party customize addons are not 100% needed. It is just that wow players are used to them. With simple improvement to basic functions, wow is totally playable without addon. And that is what Blizzard should do.
100%. My most fondly remembered group experiences in WoW are with ragtag misfit parties figuring out how to make things work when they probably shouldn’t, leading earnest newbies through dungeons, etc.
But you can’t really have that sort of gameplay in an environment where the party falls apart after a wipe or somebody leaves when things aren’t perfectly optimal.
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Why is this thread flag protected?
Addons were not a problem until Asmongold and Bellular Gaming talked about it .
Addons can be annoying but it’s not the main problem of the game.
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No, but thanks for you opinion.
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Well I hear what you are saying
I feel fundamentally it’s not broken.
It can never become a perfect fit for all types of audiences all of the time.
I feel taking 3rd party addons away would in the end do substantially more harm than good.
If blizzard were willing to take on recreating all of them and include them in the UI, that may seem like a fix. However that would in turn take away a players choice to use them or not.
I don’t even see blizzard willing to use assets to do that, that would be a huge on going ask.
I choose to pick and choose addons I like, ones which are created and maintained by players who love this game.
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You can have my addons when you pry them from my cold, dead hooves.
/moo 
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Absolutely, Players need a lot of “outside” game preparation before you can enjoy in game contents. The game has become a procedure of read 3rd party website.
For casuals, they need to read guides on talents/stats/soulbinds/conduits/legos/rotations, etc. not even mention raid tactics.
For hardcores WF guilds, they spend so much time editing WA codes, macros, UIs, addons, instead of just playing the game itself.
This game relies too much on 3rd party stuff. And we might soon be required a Ph.D in English Literature or Computer Science to play it.
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You get entirely too hung up on peoples’ forum avatars. Their avatar level does not detract from the content of the thread or their message.
Edit: but yeah, they’re typically trolls more often than not, so…
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Give me a minute, I am trying to see the downside in that 
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But I don’t want your addons, I don’t want addons at all. That is the point here.
/moo
Gonna have too hard disagree.
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I’m just like you, I don’t use add-ons, and never have.
However, not having them does kind of affect me. For one, I don’t want to freak out the group I run with, mostly because I tank and heal predominantly. Unless I create the group myself, and inform the party, the group would likely fall apart (or more likely, I’d get kicked) before we got underway. I want to play, but I don’t want to force my playstyle on others. And since WoW is mostly instance play now, I barely log in anymore.
I first tanked Deadmines in early '05, pug run, level 16. Died twice, once 'cause I juked when I should have jived, once because I pulled a bit too much. The whole group cheered when we finished.
Some of them helped me work on my pally weapon and gather ore for blacksmithing, because I wanted to be an armorsmith. Formed our guild the next day. It was the dopest MMO s*** ever. Loved WoW for years after that.
Yep. I can’t describe the inside of half of the dungeons I’ve done in Shadowlands; the parties were running or mounting full speed and taking ‘short cuts’. The only time people say anything now is if someone dies or you take a path “tHat IsN’t OpTimaL”.
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Don’t like 'em? Don’t use 'em.
But don’t dictate to others about 'em.
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My eyesight is bad. I literally can’t play if I don’t have addons. I link things to sound so I can just know when something is up cause I can’t always see my buffs / debuffs.
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