ESO Addons You Actually Need (Ranked by Real Usage)

First: the libraries (you'll get these automatically)

Some of the most-downloaded 'addons' aren't addons at all — they're libraries other addons depend on, like LibAddonMenu (6M+ installs, it powers nearly every settings menu). You rarely install these on purpose; your addon manager pulls them in as dependencies. Just don't delete them when one shows up uninvited.

If you do endgame: the combat trio

ESO shows you no DPS, no buff timers, no ability cooldowns natively — so serious PvE effectively requires addons. The three that matter: a combat meter (Combat Metrics, ~7M installs) to see your damage, a buff/debuff tracker (Srendarr) to hold your uptimes, and a cleaner action UI (Bandits UI) to track procs. This trio is the closest thing ESO has to a 'mandatory' set for trials and vet content.

• Combat Metrics — see your actual DPS (you can't, natively).
• Srendarr — track buffs/debuffs so uptimes don't lapse.
• Bandits UI — a combat HUD that surfaces procs and timers.

If you explore and collect: the map pack

This is the single most-installed category in the game, and it's all about one pain: ESO hides its collectibles. SkyShards and LoreBooks (each ~13M installs) put hidden collectibles on your map; HarvestMap (9.4M) marks crafting nodes; Lost Treasure and Destinations round it out. If you like completion, this pack removes the blind-hunting tedium.

• SkyShards & LoreBooks — surface hidden collectibles.
• HarvestMap — never walk past a crafting node.
• Lost Treasure / Destinations — treasure maps and fast-travel helpers.

If you craft: writ automation

Daily crafting writs are reliable income and pure busywork — so the community automated the busywork (the legal, click-driven kind). Dolgubon's Lazy Writ Crafter (9.5M installs) handles the repetitive crafting; CraftStore tracks your research, recipes, and motifs so you stop buying duplicates. Together they turn a 20-minute chore into two minutes.

If you trade: price discovery

Because ESO has no central auction house, the trade addons exist to show you what things are worth: Tamriel Trade Centre and Master Merchant (12M+ combined installs) for prices, AwesomeGuildStore to make the clunky store searchable. You don't strictly need them to make gold (see our gold guide), but they're the difference between guessing and knowing on big sales.

The honest caveat: most addons are abandonedCommunity-reported

Roughly two-thirds of that 3,044-addon catalog is no longer maintained for the current patch — and a dead addon can break your UI or silently mislead you. Before installing anything off a years-old list, check that it's been updated for the current chapter. 'Popular' and 'still maintained' are not the same thing, and most lists never tell you that.