LavenderLight's Guide to Addons

Hi hello and welcome.
So I use mods on each main TES game, I even make my own mods.
Thus, you can imagine how when I found out there were mods for ESO, I jumped on that like a cat on a warm laptop.

"There are mods for ESO?" Yes, yes there are!
They're called "addons" though because they're not as powerful or detailed as, say, Skyrim's. Sorry to those looking for 4k graphics or new armour or houses.
(custom quests ARE a thing though!)

So, how do I install these?
I'm going to only be covering manual installation. Normally, I would use a mod program (you know, like Vortex or WryeBash or MO2). And there is one for ESO called Minion! But I had troubles with it personally, so will be covering manual installation.
  1. Go to https://www.esoui.com/addons.php. That's where the mods/addons are (I'm going to call them mods because... habit)
  2. Browse the site for anything interesting (or use my handy links below!). Make sure you read for any required Libs to download. These will be things like "LibQuests" or "LibSets". These are essential to get mods to work.
    1. Explanation: I guess an analogy, if you care, is that Libs are like... kitchen appliances with the mods being ingredients. If you have one but not the other, your game can't bake a Cool Modded Cake for you. But if you have both, then the game can.
  3. Download those bad boys.
  4. Go to your Addons Folder. This should be in Documents > Elder Scrolls Online > live > Addons (if not there, you can just make a folder called "Addons"). Open the mods with something like winrar and plop the folders inside.
    1. It should look like this. Make sure everything stays in the folder!
  5. Cool cool. Now time to go into ESO!
  6. Once loaded, don't actually go into the game yet. Click "Add-Ons" on the side.
  7. Scroll down and make sure all the Lib addons are checked.
    1. If you don't, some of the addons will be red and mention a "dependency". This means you didn't get the Lib Addon! If you click the arrow on the left side, it should say what you need.
      1. Explanation: You went to the store to get ingredients for a Mod Cake, only to come home for the game to be like "bro we don't even have an oven we live in a tiny communal tenement how are you going to bake a Mod Cake?". Then you'll be like "bro :(" and have to do the Mouse-and-Keyboard Walk of Shame back to esoui.com.
  8. That's it! Load a toon, and your addon is installed! I do recommend going into the settings and checking that out, and setting up hotkeys if needed.

My Absolute Must Have Mods/Addons Seriously I Cannot Play Without These
"Birth is a curse and existence is a prison."
- Michael from The Good Place, absolutely definitely talking about playing vanilla ESO without these addons.
  1. Lazy Horse Trainer
    1. Insta horsie/guar/etc training, just press E (or whatever else)!
      Talk to a stables NPC. Did you have the gold for training? Good, you're done. So much faster, and it focuses on Speed > Capacity > Stamina. You can change it if you don't want to train in that order though.
  2. Map Pins and Destinations
    1. Shows you where stuff is on the map! Completely configurable in the map menu: want to give someone a vamp bite? Check to show the shrines. Want to hunt skyshards? Got you covered. Want to find M'aiq the Liar because you're a nerd? There's a check for that.
      1. Also check out Skyshards (I prefer the icon), LoreBooks, and Lost Treasure.
  3. Personal Assistant
    1. This mod is so awesome and does so many things I can't conveniently describe it all here.
  4. Raid Notifier
    1. A MUST HAVE for Trials.
      1. It also screams at you until you eat food so you won't forget, and reminds you when it runs out.
  5. Code's Combat Alerts
    1. Pretty much the same as above, but for other PvE places and not just trials.
  6. Account Settings
    1. What it sounds like, you can log into your main, save their settings, then import it on your other toons. Why this isn't in vanilla, I have no idea.
      1. Votan's Keybinder does the same for addons. Also recommend grabbing this and this optional lib for it that divides your settings into a default ESO, and an Addon section.
  7. BeamMeUp
    1. Now when you open your map, you get this handy window on the side that shows friends and guildmates in various locations for easy and free fast travel. You can even set up to five favourite locations, so you can always port there for free. Also has an option to help unlock unknown wayshrines, search wayshrines by surveys/treasure maps, and a sassy lil stat that keeps track of how much gold you've saved using the addon.
  8. PapaCrown
    1. Makes the crown above the group leader's head much much bigger, so you don't get lost.
  9. Lights of Meridia
    1. Summons beams of light that mark where your group mates are if you get too far apart. Lots of configuration (you can change colour for different roles).
  10. pChat
    1. IDK how to describe this one, it's amazing. It overhauls the chat in so many ways. Antispam, sound when you're mentioned or whispered @, ect.
  11. I'm Calling U
    1. I like this with pChat. It makes whispers blink and "ring" like getting a phone call until you "answer them" by clicking on the chat box.
  12. Harven's Mute NPCs
    1. "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? DRAGONS! IN YOUR OWN HOMELAND!" killer.
  13. Auto Category
    1. Sorts your inventory by level and set.
  14. Eventor
    1. Keeps track of tickets, reminds you when you're at 12, and also reminds you of your XP boost if it's applicable.
  15. Jack of All Trades
    1. This automatically swaps out your CP slots depending on what you're doing. For example, adding your crafting slots while crafting or the treasure hunting ones while looting containers.
Must Haves Depending On Specific Things (like crafting, builds, etc.) That Will Not Be Must Haves For Everyone
"I don't have a witty quote for this, sorry."
- Me, typing this.
  1. CraftStore
    1. Keeps track of crafting progress on toons, very useful.
  2. Votan's Tamriel Map
    1. Tbh I just find this is more clear to view than the vanilla one where zones are like… 2% darker than areas of Tamriel that are not zones.
  3. Harvest Map
    1. Shows harvest nodes on the map. You can also set up "tours" to give a route to farm mats.
  4. Crafting Material Level Display
    1. Shows what level the crafting mats go with. So you don't have to remember if Orchanium is above, below, or at the right level for you.
  5. AlphaGear 2
    1. Set up builds and you can change them with the press of a button. Also has an optional addon to change CP.
  6. Lazy Writ Crafter
    1. *Don't* do writs without this, seriously. It auto does them for you - just make sure you have the mats, and go to the boards and the stations and press E. Boom, done. You can get all seven writs done in like a minute. Just make sure to check "auto craft" in settings!
      1. You will need Daily Provisioning and Daily Alchemy to complete the series, though! Also Writ Worthy for Master Writs.
  7. Lazy Set Crafter
    1. Shows what you'll need to craft things. Useful for your own reference, or to commission crafters to make you stuff. Can also auto build the set once you're done, or mail someone the mat requirements.
  8. Potion Maker
    1. Makes the UI better, and also makes it easier to discover new potions and poisons.
  9. Perfect Weave
    1. Helps tweak your weaves so you can get a nice DPS boost.
  10. Essential Housing Tools
    1. Does loads of stuff to make decorating your house easier. An edit history, guestbook, a grid, very precise placement options, and more… it also has a Housing Hub option which is extremely useful. However, I don't use it anymore because I recently switched to…
  11. Port to Friend's House
    1. This lets you save a friend or guildmate's home - primary or not - and you can even set up a command to instantly teleport there (something Housing Hub doesn't have). It makes accessing guild halls so much easier!
  12. Bandit's UI
    1. I was skeptical at first, thinking it looked too MMO-tech-y for me. But I've fallen in love with using it, mostly because of how customisable it is!
  13. Vampire's Woe
    1. If you play an undead edgelord like I do, you know about The Struggle with murdering. This makes it so you can easily toggle between the Blade of Woe or Feed instead of having to do an awkward shuffle behind your victim until you get the prompt you want.
Immersion/Roleplay Addons Because I Like To Play TES Like How TV Shows Think D&D Is Played And Maybe You Do Too
"Art thou feeling it now, Mister Krabs?"
- Spongebob Squarepants roleplaying as an elf - a shared hobby between us.
  1. Clock - Tamriel Standard Time
    1. Shows the time and date of both Tamriel, and IRL (which is also handy if you need to get off to go to bed for work in the morning like I do lol). Also the moon phases, with info if you hover.
  2. AlphaStyle
    1. Lets you save looks and easily switch them out.
  3. Notebook
    1. I had a mod like this for Skyrim and Oblivion, and was thrilled to see one for ESO. It's… a notebook! Write whatever you want in it! I'm a nerd so I like to write some in-character thoughts on cool stuff that happened, but I also use it for tracking goals for that toon or a to-do list.
  4. Personality Designer
    1. Make your own personality! Set up idle animations to give your character ~flair~
  5. LovelyEmotes
    1. No more having to /emote type in chat. You can save emotes and bind them to keys (I use the num pad) or a cool radial dial menu. Handy if you're a dork like me who enjoys bands and dance parties while waiting on World Bosses to spawn, or who cares about which toon uses which sit animation.
  6. Quiet Stealth
    1. Makes sneaking UI and SFX more soft and lowkey. IMMERSION!
      1. Also checkout Enhanced Lockpicking for even more sneaky stealthy thief-y i m m e r s i o n
  7. NEW! Light's, Please!
    1. Fun for playing with dark af dungeons, or RPing a light spell. Sets up keybinds for two mementos to cast light.
  8. NEW! Calamath's Shortcut Pie Menu
    1. Putting this here because personally, I use it for RP. It lets you have more pie menus. I like it because I can save mementos and personalities for RP, but still have my PvE food-n-scrolls set up.
Miscellaneous Addons
"I just think they're neat."
- Marge Simpson on potatoes, and these addons.
  1. Pets And Treats
      a. A new addon which adds a Very Important Questline: to meet and pet every named dog in Tamriel! It is still a work in progress, and the mod author is always adding new animal friends to find and love.
Graphics Addons
"I don't understand, the game is supposed to be beautiful." "But Elder Scrolls Online, it is beautiful."
- Shrek and Princess Fiona, talking about ESO and not each other trust me I saw the movie.
  1. Daybreak for ESO
    1. Gets rid of the blue fog in the distance so stuff is clear (see the pics). It's a lil detail I love.
  2. Morrowind UI
    1. My personal pick, but there is also an Oblivion and a Skyrim themed version. Makes the UI like the ones from those games.
  3. Reshade and Reshade Map
    1. There are various presets out there, so if your PC can handle it, find one that fits your fancy. I recently changed, but was using this one for the longest time. :)
Accessibility Addons
I don't have a silly dorky quote for this, just that accessibility is important and games should be for everyone. Please note that other than the first addon, I have not personally used these so cannot comment on how good or bad they are.
  1. Eye Strain
    1. The one mod on here I personally use. It adds a filter over the game which tones down the brightness of the game. I'm autistic and have eye problems so ESO would legitimately make me sick (lightning magic was the worst…). Since installing this, I have had zero problems!
  2. Color Blind Mode
    1. Made by a colour blind mod author, this adds symbols to items since they said they couldn't see the difference between green and gold. They plan to add more features.
  3. Text Trials Guide and All About Mechanics
    1. If you can't use VC in trials, dungeons, or arenas, this lets you look up a written guide in-game for mechanics.
  4. Calamath's BookFont Stylist
    1. Change how the in-game lore notes and books look, you can also change the font size. For UI and dialogue's font size, I believe there is an option already in game for that.
More recommendations
For more ideas on useful addons, check out alcasthq's guide here.

The Outro
These are off the top of my head, I may think of more. I have way more addons than this, but this should help get you started. And of course, you can explore esoui.
And if you ever need help, feel free to contact me!. :)

Have fun!