One of the most well-known addons will become an integral part of World of Warcraft. But it is just one of many that will be part of the game.
At gamescom 2025, there was much talk about the new WoW expansion Midnight. However, there were also numerous pieces of information on much smaller panels that fell somewhat under the radar. One reveal: Blizzard is working on implementing its own Damage Meter. This could mark the beginning of the big addon ban.
What are Damage Meters? A “Damage Meter” refers to interface addons that analyze the gameplay and neatly display how much damage is dealt during a fight, a dungeon, or on average per second. It is thus a tool that shows how well one’s performance is in comparison to other players.
Well-known Damage Meters in World of Warcraft include “Recount”, “Skada”, or “Details!” – they are among the most popular addons of this kind.
Why are Damage Meters controversial? Damage Meters, just like many other addons, are controversial within the community. While a large part uses these addons to see their own performance and to recognize when someone is underperforming or not performing at all, others feel pressured by it. They want to enjoy the game and not chase a “high score.” The performance pressure that arises from the display of a Damage Meter – whether for oneself or others – can be daunting for some.
For this reason, there are also MMORPGs that fundamentally prohibit such addons, such as Final Fantasy XIV – but even there, they are used by a part of the community.
Official Damage Meter in WoW will be better and more accurate than previous ones
Why is Blizzard creating its own Damage Meter? Blizzard has acknowledged that Damage Meters have been an integral part of World of Warcraft for nearly 20 years. When newcomers are trained by veterans, downloading such an addon is almost always at the top of the priority list.
However, Blizzard wants to ensure that new players rarely have to rely on external options. Therefore, all addons that are considered “standard” in the community will be gradually integrated by Blizzard and will become part of the basic equipment in World of Warcraft.
At the same time, this has the advantage that Blizzard’s Damage Meters will be 100% accurate – unlike the currently used addons. Because current addons read the combat log, which can be incomplete or erroneous – for example, if characters are standing too far away or are in a different phase of the boss fight. Then it becomes difficult for these addons to retrieve accurate data. An official Damage Meter from Blizzard can handle that without problems.
Ion Hazzikostas, the Game Director of WoW, said at gamescom:
You should not have to rely on external resources to find out if your current talent specialization is performing better than the one you used yesterday. The game should provide you with this information. That’s why we will have fully integrated Damage Meters.
What does this mean for existing addons? Blizzard is undertaking these efforts also to drastically limit the impact of external addons. Because many addons have become so powerful that they provide immediate perfect solutions to puzzles encountered in boss fights. Especially “WeakAuras” can be programmed so comprehensively that they eliminate a large part of the thinking required in a boss fight. This also prevents Blizzard from developing cool boss mechanics – because they are immediately resolved by a WeakAura.
Damage Meter is just one thing that Blizzard is adopting. They are also taking inspiration from addons like Deadly Boss Mods (DBM) or BigWigs and are starting to introduce their own timeline in the game, based on which players can see when particularly important boss abilities are used.
What else is included in the upcoming expansion Midnight, our comprehensive overview of WoW Midnight reveals.
