Best add-ons for Elder Scrolls Online: Optimize your time, adventures, and rewards

Elder Scrolls Online is a hefty game, and we won’t hold it against you if that gigantic map of Tamriel scares you. But add-ons can make your life significantly easier. This is regardless of whether you have played the game since 2014 or are jumping in for their upcoming adventures.

Most of these add-ons are focused on quality of life and exploration since some locations and collectibles are ridiculously hard to find. Some have been included for the ease of use and removal of tedium from the otherwise very user-friendly MMO.

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Elder Scrolls Online is a good game, but it needs a little seasoning

Cheeky titles aside, add-on managers are absolutely necessary unless one wishes to be a sadistic person who manually installs everything. It’s cool if you can do it but don’t. Instead, try Minion. It has all the add-ons and libraries in the download section, so you can manage everything with one click.

Minion regularly updates the databases depending on patches, so there’s no hassle with manual updates either. It’s simple, easy to use, and makes your life in Elder Scrolls Online better.

Now that the add-on manager is dealt with, let’s look into some of the best add-ons for Elder Scrolls Online.

1) SkyShards by AssemblerManiac

SkyShards (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

This add-on is small but goes a long way. Simply add detailed markers to your zone map for every SkyShards. It might not seem important, but considering that collecting three Skyshards gives a skill point, those numbers quickly stack up.

Plus, you can manage which icons you want for your overworld map. It even works with the add-on down below.

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2) Map Pins by Hoft

Map Pins (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

ESO is chock-full of places to visit and corners for one to explore. But some areas can be left unchecked since they’re off the beaten track. Map Pins is an add-on aimed at eliminating that hassle by marking all those locations on your overworld map, so you can take your time and explore everything without getting lost.

As a bonus, you don’t have to download any libraries for support, and every customizable option is in-game.

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3) HarvestMap by Shinni

HarvestMap (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

Elder Scrolls Online’s most important feature is crafting. To craft strong items, players need to farm resources. And what’s better than marking every little space from where you can harvest these resources?

HarvestMap eliminates one of the biggest hassles in-game and saves you a lot of skill points. With this add-on, you can pick and choose which markers to show on the map so you can fast-track your crafting goals.

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4) Lost Treasure by CrazyDutchGuy

Lost Treasure on the compass and 3D icon in-game (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

The explorable zones in ESO are littered with hundreds of treasure chests that need to be lockpicked. Depending on the rarity, these chests can net some sweet loot and thus are a good source of income.

Lost Treasure points out all the possible places where a treasure chest can spawn. This add-on comes particularly handy in the overland zones where best-in-slot items can drop from chests, and even veteran players farm exclusively based on this little tool.

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5) CraftStore by Rhyono

CraftStore (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

Whether you like it or not, crafting is an integral process of snagging powerful loot and making money in ESO. There is a lot to dissect in crafting and lots to discover. Fortunately, CraftStore eases the process with a simple pop-up menu on your screen.

With this add-on, you can track every research progress, every unlocked motif, and style, and even follow all of the craftable gear’s set locations across all of your characters. It even tracks the mount training timers so you don’t miss out on each day’s progress.

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6) WritWorthy by ziggr

WritWorthy (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

In keeping with the crafting theme, WritWorthy is meant for those who live to craft high-end items in ESO. Also, with max-level crafting disciplines, daily crafting quests can occasionally drop Sealed crafting writs that provide writ vouchers, which can be spent on exclusive items.

But the catch is that these sealed writs require specific items with preset stats and styles. WritWorthy sorts through your inventory and style library to see if you can complete the writ, and if not, how much it will cost someone to unlock all the styles and materials.

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7) Quest Map by CaptainBlagbird

Quest Map (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

Elder Scrolls Online’s storytelling and adventuring are done through extensive questing. With much to explore and many places to visit, it’s easy to miss a quest or two.

Quest Map tracks all of your completed quests and puts markers on all possible locations where incomplete quests can be picked up. This add-on is for the completionists in the house so they can finally move on from that one zone.

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8) Bag Space Indicator by Randactyl

Bag Space in the middle (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

It is a minimal add-on with the simple task of showing a player’s inventory space on the screen so you can keep track of how much stuff you can loot. It’s advantageous if you’re harvesting resources or going on a chest farm.

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9) Srendarr’s Aura, Buff, and Debuff Tracker by Phinix

Buffs on the bottom right (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

ESO’s combat is based on keeping yourself strong and letting the necromancer debuff your enemy. This add-on does exactly what it says, it tracks auras and buffs on you, and debuffs on your enemy.

It can take some time to get used to but once you know all the buffs and debuffs you can apply, following the icons becomes second nature. It makes combat easier and much more responsive than the game is.

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10) Tamriel Trade Center by cyxui

It’s less confusing after 500 times (Image via Elder Scrolls Online)

This is the only trade add-on we’ll include on this since trading is very much an experimental effort. Tamriel Trade Center is aimed at gamers who want to dip their toes into these experiments with gold.

One caveat is that you also have to install a client on your PC, and you have to start it before the Elder Scrolls Online client. The client loads all the sales in-game and makes predictions on prices for each item.

You won’t become a millionaire instantly, but you’ll make more money and even be able to join a trade guild and match the weekly sale quota.

Note: We’re suggesting the tools. You must learn to use these.

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Tons and tons of add-ons are available on esoui and minion databases, and it would take us days to put a list of those. Some can be helpful for users looking for very niche items and even class-specific ones.

But these small additions to your Elder Scrolls Online library will shave off hours of backtracking and sifting through ancient internet documents to find relevant information.

Note that these add-ons are fully customizable in-game. You can tweak almost every aspect of these add-ons to make them suitable for your style, comfort, and UI balance.

Be it immersive, where map pins show very little information, or where HarvestMap and Lost Treasures block your screen, add-ons can accommodate every player’s need. Be sure to install these if you haven’t before you head off to your next adventure or take on a trial boss.