Curse Client

Curse Client is an additional piece of software for World of Warcraft that provides and manages add-ons.

As the heading probably implies, Curse Client (or just Curse) isn't too useful for anyone who doesn't play the hit MMORPG of ten years, World of Warcraft. However, for those who play the game, Curse helps provide add-on functionality that can even be lifesaving during the game. Although useful add-ons can be installed manually, an add-on manager makes it easier to sort through the files and dependencies created by each add-on, by extension making it easier to install or uninstall them.

World of Warcraft's interface is frequently updated with features that most players consider important, but some are still not in the game's default interface. For example, the game does not have a damage-per-second meter by default, and its warnings about boss actions are more sparse than add-ons can provide. Additionally, since add-ons are not against Blizzard's terms of service as they are with some other companies and their MMOs, add-ons are very common and supported by the community.

Curse is an exemplary add-on manager that installs quickly, does its work, and closes with little to no fuss. Leaving the program in your system tray can automatically update your add-ons when a new version of them is available, and its footprint on memory and so forth is small compared to many other modern applications.

However, it is useful to note that Curse comes bundled with other programs, and does communicate with its server (the central database from which the Curse "Client" pulls). As such, some of its behaviour may be seen as unnecessary or unwanted to users whose only goal is to manage their add-ons, not to have all of the bells and whistles that these partly-welcome intrusions add.

Overall, if you play World of Warcraft, you may find that the game requires add-ons for maximum enjoyability. Unlike other games, they do not change World of Warcraft's fundamental gameplay, but they may make it easier, harder or simply more informative. Although World of Warcraft now provides the option to enable or disable add-ons in its main menu, its functionality is still not equivalent to a true add-on manager like Curse, which does its job very well. Just keep in mind your preferences and needs before you pick one!

Pros

• Simple to use
• Useful for managing large numbers of rarely updated add-ons

Cons

• Potentially bad compatibility with the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion
• Might come with some unwanted cruft