Entire thread is TL;DR, but here's this.

FFXI: People got on, and still do get on, for years without needing any sort of add-ons.
FFXIV: People got on for the entirety of the life of the first version without needing add-ons.

If you really, really cannot get by without the crutches that add-ons provide, maybe you should play a different game. Maybe a game where all the info is spoon-fed to you.

Or maybe one that plays itself.