Table of Contents
Introduction
The world of Elder Scrolls Online is a vast space full of excellent ideas, missions, and playstyles. With DLC being added at a surprising rate (most recently the Elsweyr DLC), it is thought that this game is so full of content and expansions that Bethesda has all bases covered. While this can be seen as real for the most part, there is always something more that can be added to the universe.
This is where ESO “Addons” come into play. Addons can most simply be described as being similar to mods. Still, they do not change core aspects of gameplay as many mods for other Bethesda titles. This is an online game, after all. Think of addons as non-game-breaking “mods” that Bethesda has approved.
These Addons, What Can They Do?
ESO addons cover a vast array of different categories and provide a variety of different functions. There are over 500 Addons on offer for Elder Scrolls Online with more being added every day. Going through all of them isn’t really feasible, but we can certainly speak about some of the categories available.
ESO add-ons can cover anything from crafting, quests and leveling, guild tweaks, chat and communication improvements, PVP tweaks, just to name a few. To find the best addons for yourself, figure out what playstyle you are going for, and browse the multiple ESO addon library websites.
Two of the biggest library sites are curseforge.com/teso and esoui.com/addons. Here you will find a plethora of addons for the game, all neatly organized into categorized folders. Take your time going through these addons; like other Bethesda games, the player base is dedicated to improving this game by any means. There may be a tonne of add-ons to go through, but you may be surprised at the quality of some available.
How Do I Set Up ESO Addons?
Upon first glance, setting up ESO Addons can be a jarringly-overwhelming experience. There are two main ways to set up ESO Addons; manually or through third-party software. Here I will do my best to guide you through the manual process as easy as I can. It is important to know straight off the bat, that ESO Addon’s are only available for the PC port of the game. Console users, unfortunately, do not have access to installing addons.
Regardless, we begin by ensuring that you have a folder for your addons in the ESO program files. You can find this out by following the steps below.
enter your c: driveUsers > your profiledocumentsElder Scrolls OnlineLive
Once you open the “Live” folder, there should be a folder titled “Addons.” If you do not have this folder, make sure to add one under the “Live” folder listed above. This is where you will store all your addons.
From here, we need to download the original addon file. Once you have searched your preferred addon library and found the one you wish to download, click the big “download” button. Your addon will be downloaded as a .ZIP file, so make sure you have a program to unzip this. (WinRAR is my personal choice, 7ZIP is also a good alternative – both free). Let the download finish, unzip the file, and extract it to the “Addons” folder we mentioned before.
After this, you are mostly finished! Boot up your ESO game, navigate to the start menu, and you will find a new subheading called Addons. Open this, and you will find all the addons currently installed on your game.
It is worth noting that occasionally, an installed addon will read “OUT OF DATE.” This simply means that this addon is not supported by the current build of ESO. Keep in mind that the addon will still work if it is in this state, but it is not as stable as one that IS in date. To fix this, you must delete the out of date addon, and find an updated version that will work with the current build.
It can definitely be frustrating (and disheartening!). To go through the effort of manually finding, extracting, and installing an addon, only to find you need to do it all over again. To combat this, there is a handy little piece of software available to download that will help you with these tasks. We will go through that now.
Minion; What Is It and What Does It Do?
The easiest way to describe Minion is that it acts as a “central hub’ for all of your addons. This means the job of installing, updating, and even finding addons is much simpler and more streamlined. You can download Minion through minion.mmoui/download. Once you download, install, and open Minion for the first time, it will begin to scan for compatible games.
Once it has found ESO, you will see the full list of all the addons you currently have installed. From this page, Minion can actually update your addons for you, at the click of a button. It even has the option to turn on auto-update, which (as stated) will update your addons when a new ESO patch is installed. This saves you countless times needing to uninstall and reinstall all of your add-ons every time Bethesda releases a new patch.
Minion can also be used as an add-on library as well! If you click the “find more” tab in the program, it will take you to a list of available addons. To search by category, simply click the dropdown box at the top of your screen, and view to your heart’s content.
Minion is an incredibly time-effective, easy way to manage, install, and look for add-ons. What’s more, is it is entirely free to download!
As stated in the introduction, the world of Elder Scrolls is vast and seems to be never-ending. Addons simply enhance the game experience further and allow you to view and play ESO in a completely different way. With minion, addons are easy to try, and if you don’t like, just as easy to delete.
Every seasoned ESO player who is looking for a little more out of the experience should certainly consider looking into addons.