Open Letter From The Noore to Zenimax Addressing Unresolved Issues Driving Players From The Game

Dleatherus

DISCLAIMER: this is a VERY long document addressing what one guild, The Noore, feels are the key issues contributing to PvP population loss in its own community, and the guilds that it talks to on a frequent basis
As such it doesn't address by a long shot ALL of the issues, just the ones that have hurt us the most
It is an open letter to Zenimax that everybody in the pvp community is welcome to read
Due to it's unusual length we have tried to spare the reader by using spoiler sections so that pvp players can read just those sections of interest to them, and devs can reference the areas of interest to them also
As a guild we aren't going anywhere - we love Cyrodiil, love the PvP, hate the rate of PvP player loss
So there are no threats of leaving, petitions of 'do this or else' etc - just honest feedback that attempts to clearly outline an issue, describe what that issue is, potential solutions, and why those solutions would be beneficial
What Zenimax does with this info, if anything, is up to them, we don't presume that we are of much influence - however we also don't want to hear down the road when we look at empty campaigns 'we didn't realize this was such a big issue for the players'
In light of this we make no apology for its length - what we feel needs to be said is said



We are five months into the game - and rather than look at the PvP road ahead and look at all the wonderous things to come, we need to also look at the PvP road behind us, and the sharp, cutting stones still underneath our feet as we move barefooted along this journey

Cyrodiil is the most beautiful, fun and potential-filled environment many of us have ever PvP’d in - and yet the sight behind us is not pretty - it is strewn with the carcasses of dead campaigns and the sharp stones have cut down guilds and individuals that no longer feel that the pain of paying to play broken content is worth the journey

These casualties are a direct result of ZOS not recognizing and responding in a timely manner to what the true issues preventing healthy, fun and engaging PvP for the player base are

Even now, we are stumbling upon the uneven stones beneath our feet and incur more casualties every day

At what point do we collectively say ‘let’s take a rest and assess our situation as to how best to productively proceed from here’ instead of marching blindly onwards to some goal beyond the horizon that at this rate of attrition (due to the sharp stones still beneath our feet) few, if any of us, will ever reach or see?

We appeal to Zenimax to take stock of some of your most valuable assets - the remaining players in the PvP community, and form with them a Council of Players, much like in EVE Online, where the REAL issues causing players to unsubscribe can be discussed and realistic solutions and timeframes for them be noted and shared with the rest of the PvP player community

We certainly don’t want the tail wagging the dog but currently one or more of the following criteria are in place:

Zenimax is unaware of the core issues causing PvP’ers to unsubscribe
Zenimax is aware of the core issues, is working on them, but is failing to communicate any progress to the PvP base in a manner sufficient enough to slow/halt PvP’ers from unsubscribing
Zenimax is aware of the core PvP issues but lacks the resources to address them in a timely fashion
Zenimax is aware of the core PvP issues but fixing them isn’t a priority in terms of resources available that are currently vested in developing new content, fixing issues in PvE, hustling to get everything ready for the console launch etc

If one or both of the first two criteria are in place, help us to help you - put the council together

If the third criteria is in place, at least let us help you determine which of the issues are the most critical to resolve first to retain subscribers, so that you can pool whatever resources you do have available, into the CRUCIAL issues, and NOT the ‘trivial’ ones.

If the fourth criteria is in place, then as PvP’ers there is nothing we can do to help you

Below is a list of what we feel are real concerns that need to be addressed as promptly as possible - (the list is not in order of priority)

We also wish to point out that some of the suggestions for solutions aren't our own, but rather a compilation of suggestions from in game and the official forums. They might not also be the optimal solution, but might be a starting point from which to start a discussion/look at a viable course of action


Communication (reported since game launch)

Situation:The team at Zenimax is neither connecting nor communicating with it's PvP player base in an effective manner - this could be overlooked if the game was thriving and the player base was satisfied with the content and quality of the product - however this is not the case.
I think that most people understand that this is a newly launched game, and that there will be bugs and exploits to be handled - the issue is that many in the PvP player base feel that any communications/fixes are belatedly reactive rather than proactive.

Potential Solution: We ask that ZOS takes a look at the following points, makes a clear statement regarding each point whether it be an exploit that they are working on fixing the mechanics on, an exploit that they are having trouble fixing the mechanics on but are banning people abusing it, whether it's a bug that has no chance of being fixed etc (more than happy to provide a ‘template’ for this that would show ZOS’s proactive stance).

Benefits: The remaining PvP player base as a whole loves this game for its potential - it hates the ongoing unresolved issues to such a point that unsubscribing due to frustration is becoming ‘normal’
Even if some of these issues cannot be fixed right away, it would alleviate a lot of the frustration that leads to this kind of mindset amongst the players:

Exploits: The Zenimax Policy regarding 'Creative Engineering Around Game Mechanics' (reported since game launch)

Situation: For the purpose of this discussion I will use the term ‘exploit’ to be: using game mechanics, be they intended or unintended, created by the player or by the game, either directly or ‘morphed’ by utilizing other game mechanics, in such a manner as to give an advantage to that player over other players or the environment’
Some players like to ‘creatively push the envelope’ - others are affected negatively by it - in some cases such as the incredibly toxic environment the emperor farming produced on Celarus and other campaigns, they unsubscribed from the game period due to a lack of a timely response.
In reading your Terms of Service I haven’t noticed anything that addresses exploiting as defined above - maybe I am missing where it is? - I see under section 8 in this link http://www.zenimax.com/legal_terms_us about not using hacks, 3rd party software etc, but nothing about exploiting
I also failed to see anything addressing it in your Code of Conduct https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/code-of-conduct?q=ca3c32c8-04bc-470b-bccd-72ad3cd70694&p=f8696909-9b9e-4c2b-9934-0490c29086c3&ts=1409162531&c=zenimaxonline&e=live&rt=Safetynet&h=5b229e26e67ed2745a0b8421dea51966
The only reference I could find anywhere was in the EULA at https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/eula?q=bbd31922-41f5-49da-ad59-51d56442e46d&p=35798699-9098-433f-a97d-07990f92ad74&ts=1409163439&c=zenimaxonline&e=live&rt=Safetynet&h=14a50caf8c7ecaf705c230dd1181a93c under section 4.d which states we can’t exploit the game or any part of it for commercial purposes.
Something that is referenced in several places by ZOS is ‘the spirit of the game’ as in to play within it, or not to break it - I haven’t been able to locate anywhere what ZOS considers ‘the spirit of the game’ to be as it pertains to ESO

I am posting/plagiarizing terms that address exploiting from another game that i spent many years enjoying:

Suspension and Ban Policy
Though we have made every effort to anticipate all the possible circumstances we may encounter as caretakers of the persistent world of (MMO NAME), issues may arise that we had not foreseen. Our players are free-thinking, creative and sometimes crafty individuals who possess the ability to enter into situations or create scenarios unexpectedly. Therefore, this document should not been seen as all-inclusive, but rather to give our players a general idea of the guidelines we follow in dealing with these or similar cases.
Taking action against one of our players, particularly in regard to banning an account, is something we would like to avoid, but realistically must do in order to protect other players or the quality of service we strive to provide to our subscribers. When making a determination about how best to address a situation, our game masters conduct a thorough investigation of the incident in question, the seriousness of the offense and the user’s previous history. Reprimands will be given at the GM’s discretion and may vary from case to case, based on the aforementioned criteria.
Players are urged to familiarize themselves with the information here as well as all of the other related documents outlining our rules and policies. These documents may be revised from time to time and it is the player’s responsibility to stay abreast of any changes.
Should you receive a warning or ban that you feel was not warranted, you may appeal the decision by contacting Customer Support Filing an appeal does not guarantee that the action will be reversed.
1. EXPLOITS
An immediate permanent ban of an account may result if:
a. Investigation shows that a player has employed the use of an exploit tactic despite a public announcement being made to alert players they will be banned for using it.
b. A player who has been previously warned for exploiting and continues to exploit, whether using the same exploit or another.
c. An account holder guilty of employing “duping” exploits. Players found to have received the benefits of this exploit may also face reprimand, from removal of the items in question up to, and including, banning of their accounts.
d. A player has engaged in activity that intentionally causes others to lose connection, suffer latency issues (lag) or to crash to desktop (CTD).
e. A player renders himself invulnerable through the use of a bug/game mechanics
f. A player has created, distributed or advertised an illegal 3rd party program (i.e. macro or cheat program) that disrupts game mechanics, is considered unfriendly or gives an unfair advantage by misusing game features in a way for which they were not intended.
Severe offences may result in an immediate ban without warning; however, warnings may be given for first time offenses, followed by account suspensions of varying degree and ultimately a permanent ban

Potential Solution: Make aware to your player base specifically what your policy regarding players who exploit are.
As it stands, Zenimax comes over as being wishy washy and sidestepping this critical issue - heck, you can’t even call it for what it is - an exploit - you relabel it as ‘creative engineering around game mechanics’ \
Call it for what it is - an exploit - and deal with the individuals for what they are, exploiters driving ‘legitimate’ players away from the game
I am NOT on a witch hunt here - there are many situations with the game being new where a player can ‘accidentally catch a bug’ that gives them some kind of speed, damage, shield boost etc
Even in these cases just posting a notice in the alliance section of the forums (Current Known Bugs and Exploits - could be a sticky thread) stating what the bug or exploit is, whether it is accidental/created, unintended use of game mechanics etc and what the consequences are:
- a bug a player catches ‘accidentally’ and is notified about it and no longer uses that sequence of actions to replicate the bug is obviously not to be dealt with in a similar manner to a player who caught the bug ‘accidentally’ is aware of what the mechanics to catch the bug are, and then replicates those conditions over and over to give him an advantage over the other players and/or environment

Benefit: The PvP player base will have a much clearer understanding of what is allowed and acceptable in terms of pushing the envelope, which ALL of us tend to do in one way or another - we each seem to have varying tolerances for what WE believe is ‘allowed’ in the absence of ZOS having a clear general policy and posting notifications as an issue arises.
This would go a long way towards players who accidentally caught a bug from being vilified and persecuted by other players, and at the same time would handle those who intentionally cross over the line.
The biggest benefit by far would be a complete reversal of the current belief amongst many in Cyrodiil, that for the most part you can get away with exploiting as much as you like, and that eventually sometime down the road ZOS will perhaps get around to addressing the issue - but only if enough people complain on the forums/unsubscribe
Players will be far more patient and ‘hang in’ knowing a defined policy is place.

Campaign Balancing (reported since May 2014)

Situation:This might be one of the more difficult challenges facing both Devs and players alike.
In order to have ongoing healthy PvP you need to have an ongoing healthy campaign.
The PvP player base can be a very fickle group to try and please - worse than Goldilocks at times - too few players and you have a campaign dominated by one faction or another - too many and they start whining about queue times (which can be upwards off an hour in peak time
Even if the number of players was just right, it’s impossible to maintain that 24/7 bringing in an unbalance during Oceanic times etc

Potential Solution: For now, I believe that you have to condense the player population into just 2 30-day campaigns period, and ONLY when those two campaigns are pop locked on a consistent basis do you look at adding a 3rd campaign (there is the added difficulty that maybe the numbers on the EU server justify having 4 campaigns running and NA numbers justify only 2, but because how the NA/EU servers are mirros of each other in terms of numbers/types of campaigns it adds another logistical problem
This sounds drastic but upon closer examination isn’t far-fetched
We are already shrinking down to 4 campaigns with 1.4 with the removal of the VR-only campaign
I played the NA Non-VR campaign and that place is a morgue - hardly anybody in there and those that are there typically fall into one of two categories - the pvp-experienced ESO player who is levelling up an alt/trying to get emperor with the alt, or an pvp-inexperienced player who upon talking with them in zone and messages are less than impressed with their experience - namely being victims of Ap/Emperor farming ‘ESO veterans’ (see related sections fro AP and Emperor farming)
Newcomers would actually get a better and more honest impression of Cyrodiil if they actually joined one of the mixed level campaigns.
Perhaps issue those at level 49 or less with a set of impenetrable gear as a one time joining bonus or something
This is the situation on NA Haderus after just one day of the reset - it is used by AD (my alliance) as a buff campaign - nothing more- nothing less):



There is zero reason for this campaign to currently exist

Add additional AP earning bonus for the underdog alliance(s) (see related AP Farming section) Emperor buffs, both individual and alliance wide, should only apply to the campaign in which they are earned
Remove guesting/travel to player options - though these are used in genuine situations
Cost for changing home campaign should be 150,000AP
Benefits: I think that these potential solutions sound harsh, but benefit the long term growth and health of PvP in ESO
It is better to have longer wait times for Cyrodiil (IF you fix the related topics of FPS/Latency, Kicked from Game and Postern Doors) and a healthy campaign, than deserted, toxic, unhealthy ones

p.s. another player had some potential solutions in this thread here: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/130109/a-possible-solution-to-population-imbalance#latest

AP Farming (reported since Jan 2014)

Situation:Since many of the most desirable rewards in PvP (Emperorship and upcoming top AP tier rewards with 1.4) are linked directly to an individual’s AP score, the inevitable result is that some players will naturally find a way to farm the most AP in order to ‘earn’ those rewards.
Current ‘systems’ involve ‘oil pot parties’ where ‘friends’ in an enemy alliance will invite a player over to their keep walls where you set up oil pots at the bottom of them - they jump off the walls and the player kills them with an oil pot - they rez inside the keep, jump off the walls again 20 seconds later - apparently there are some diminishing returns in place and after a few cycles the oil pot party is disbanded for an hour or so when the diminishing returns reset.
These kind of parties are also moving literally underground since with the high population in a campaign like Thornblade, the crossed swords showing up on the map attracts unwanted attention, and oil potting and then soul gem rezzing is the new preferred method
Camping an enemies ‘suicide travel’ resource has also become a very popular way of farming AP (see this link: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/130031/another-reason-why-the-emperor-leaderboards-are-bogus#latest )

Potential Solution: Install a system where an individual player will only get credit for killing a specific enemy player once every 24 hours (this system might be a nightmare in terms of all the extra packets of information needed to keep track of it, and add to the latency issue, thus making it impractical)
Install a system where the rewards are more alliance based rather than individually based, where those with the higher AP, whether they earned it legitimately or not, still have a far higher rate of reward than those lower down on the scale- but don’t cut out those on the lower end of the scale
Example: Currently I think the proposed 1.4 AP reward system is something along the lines of:
top 2% = gold item
top 10% = legendary item

Proposed system:
top 10% = 50% chance of receiving a gold item/75% chance of a purple item
top 20% = 25% chance of receiving a gold item/50% chance of a purple item
top 50% = 10% chance of receiving a gold item/20% chance of a purple item
top 75% = 5% chance of receiving a gold item/10% chance of a purple item
top 100% = 1% chance of receiving a gold item/2% chance of a purple item

If your alliance wins the campaign, an extra 5% is added to the figures
If your alliance comes in 2nd, an extra 2% is added to the figures

Percentage figures could be adjusted to ensure that rewards aren’t flooding the economy etc
It would be great if you could figure in a percentage based upon number of keeps successfully defended/captured etc, but that might be asking too much

Benefits: Every player on a campaign will feel they at least have an opportunity, never mind how slim, to earn a reward for their efforts.
This will greatly reduce any resentment towards the ‘elite’ tier of players gaining AP, legitimately or otherwise’ at an hourly rate that many folks cannot keep pace with

Emperor Farming (reported since May 2014)

Situation: Possibly the single greatest area where Zenimax failed it's PvP player base - nothing was done whilst entire campaigns were abused and legitimate PvP players left the game in untold numbers.
Even right now we are in a period of where nothing much is being done about it, rather the 'situation is being monitored'
Sitting and watching and noting that emperor farming has declined greatly is NOT a fix - it has declined because the PvP population has been condensed into a handful of campaigns, and most of those involved in the farming have gained what they wanted and hence the decline
The fact is that many of the 'elite' guilds left in this game were instrumental in the emperor farming and we just have to accept the fact since any retroactive 'punishment' would cause them to leave and then we'd have a problem populating even one campaign

Potential Solution: removing all former emperor benefits will cause resentment amongst most of the emperor farmers, and some of the legitimate former emperors
Former emperors should be allowed to keep their passives and glittery ruby red dye color, but the title of 'former emperor' should be removed
Instead of 'Former Emperor' title, the title of 'Longest Reigning Emperor on Thornblade' (a shorter better version can be substituted) would replace it - one per alliance
- this would make it a VERY exclusive title and one that would encourage an emperor and his guild, and that guild's allies to fight tooth and nail to hold onto the throne

Former Emperor passives would now be available to every player, but unlocked based upon the alliance ranking system ie. the first former emperor passive could be unlocked upon a player reaching 'First Sergeant', the next one at 'Major' and so on - this requires months of play to achieve all 5 passives
The glittery ruby red dye could be achieved by reaching a certain high rank in the alliance war as well as Cyrodiil Explorer, Kill a Grand Overlord etc

Benefits: Former Emperors, both legit and farmers, will not get 'punished' - rather the buffs and dye will remain very difficult to obtain, but now there is more than one path to obtain them, resulting in players feeling that they can have a long term goal to aim for without having to resort to oil pot parties etc

One-shot instakills (reported since early Aug 2014)

Situation: Players were being killed by one shot - in some cases the damage was recorded by the death recap screen as being in excess of 50,000 damage
example:

This is a perfect example of the current breakdown in communications between Zenimax and its PvP base
feedback we got was 'we are aware of the situation and are looking into it'
that's a start
however it leaves the rest of us totally in the dark - we're humans - as such we have emotions - amongst them are resentment and empathy

Potential Solution: if Zenimax was to simply release a statement in the Current Known Bugs & Exploits thread (see Exploits spoiler) to the effect of:

(1) Players are reporting extraordinary damage death recaps.
These are being caused by a bug that the player catches unintentionally
Players catching this bug are being asked not to use that particular skill line until we are able to resolve the issue, so as not to ruin the gaming experience for other players
We are working on a fix already and wil update in our weekly 'known bugs and and exploits'

(2) Players are reporting extraordinary damage death recaps.
These are being caused by a bug that the player catches intentionally
Players exploiting this bug are being dealth within accordance with our stricy policy regarding exploiting
We are working on a fix already and will update in our weekly 'known bugs and and exploits'

Benefits: as players we will then know whether the 'enemy' player that just one shot killed us deserves our anger for being a cheat and an exploiter, or deserves our empathy and understanding and instead of quitting the game in frustration after being 1-shot killed for several hours by a certain individual who caught the bug and abused it mercilessly, simply send him a msg saying 'you should be aware you caught the bug'
It's for sure not perfect, few mmo systems ever are, - the guy who accidentally caught it but insists upon abusing the system would be reported and then the game masters can take it over from there etc

Macros (reported June 2014)

Situation: I think it's safe to say that we are all fine with the macros that allow folks to not have to type an emote each time etc
I want to address combat macros.
This is another 'wonderfully' gray area where players are being killed by macro combos that optimize the animation cancelling mechanics
Animation cancelling can for sure be done manually without a macro, but not anywhere near as consistently and efficiently as a macro can
Some of the macros we have created will have the side effect of actually hitting for 2x or in some case 3x the damage every so often during the macro cycle if it is 'looped'

Potential Solutions: Zenimax should issue a statement regarding whether this is permissible or not - other mmo's certainly have no problem addressing this issue
they either allow it and all is good, or they don't and have mechanics and procedures in place to catch and deal with those that still insist on using them

Benefit: yet another gray area cleared up for the pvp players where they aren't left wondering whether another player/group of players is playing legitimately or not - these aren't things that we should be left to try and figure out for ourselves since we all have varying opinions regarding these kinds of issues
Clearing up these kind of gray areas will eliminate a LOT of the ongoing frustrations that are leading to PvP players unsubscribing from the game

FPS/Latency Issues (reported since game launch)

Situation: Players are still reporting significant FPS issues
last night some of us playing on high end machines were experiencing drops from 50-60 FPS down to 3 FPS when getting involved in larger scale combat
Some progress has for sure been made, and it's not as bad as it used to be, but it certainly isn't fixed

Potential Solution: nothing as players we can do about this, other than stay away from large fights - this is one we can't help fix or give suggestions for - even making overall individual campaign pop caps lower won't stop the 100v100 battles from occurring, though it might cut down on them
please just keep us appraised in the proposed weekly 'known bugs and exploits' updates

Benefit: Fixing this frustrating issue makes some of the other bugs more tolerable

Kicked From Game (reported since June/July 2014)

Situation: incredibly frustrating experience in Cyrodiil of being kicked out of the game regardless of where you were or what you were doing - happening many times a night - sometimes as individuals, sometimes half of a 12-man group

Potential Solution: Nothing as players that we are aware of can help fix this itn terms of avoiding where to be, how many players to cap a group's size at etc

Benefit: Fixing this, or at least keeping us appraised regarding progress of fixing this ongoing problem, would help cut down on some of the building frustrations amongst players

Postern Doors (reported since january 2014)

Situation: Postern doors are still bugging out - pardon the pun. but Postern Doors have become the Poster Child for the perceived inability of Zenimax to address and fix basic but very important issues - 8 months should be enough time to fix something of this importance
It has now become a standard 'joke' tactic when attacking a keep to damage all the outer postern doors so that when the defenders repair them they cannot be used by reinforcements trying to enter through them to defend the keep

Potential Solution: we know you are working on trying to fix this ongoing problem
I don't know if it would be of any help, but perhaps take a look at the coding of the postern doors in the towers at the resources
When a resource tower is attacked and destroyed, the postern door on the bottom level is destroyed as well - repairing the tower has never seemed to bug out the tower postern door when it is rebuilt

Benefit - players who are happy that after a hard ride from another keep to defend the one being attacked, aren't killed whilst trying to enter a postern wall by a gank squad that 'prep'd' the postern door to be bugged

Bonus Benefit: you get this monkey off your back that has been screaming 'they can't even fix postern doors, they can't even fix postern doors' - lot of faith restored in Zenimax if you finally get this one handled

Death Penalty

Situation: Currently there is very little penalty for dying, in many cases there are distinct BENEFITS for dying such as suicide travel (see section below) and instant refill of stam, magika and health bars during a keep defence.
Players running in a ‘zerg’, be it defending or attacking, are for all intents and purposes able to mindlessly use a forward camp/keep resurrection point like a revolving door, rendering ‘thoughtful’ strategy and tactics useless since there are no consequences to death.
Potential Solutions: I’m not suggesting anything like a full on sandbox environment where you lose all your gear and gold etc
In addition to the suicide travel solutions proposed in the section below, I believe that the following would be sufficient:
If you rez at a forward camp or keep (for which you have to be within the rez radius of the keep or the camp), you come back with 50% health, 50% mana and 50% magika.
After 30 seconds you have 60% of all your stats
After 60 seconds you have 70% of all your stats
After 90 seconds you have 80% of all your stats
after 120 seconds you have 90% of all your stats
after 150 seconds you have 100% of all your stats

If you are rez’d by another player the above times are halved

Benefits: A death penalty system would introduce a very much needed ‘risk vs. reward. aspect into the game and make it more challenging and engaging - it would add a very difficult to define ‘thrill’ to the game that is in part lacking currently

Suicide Travel

Situation: This is a currently flawed mechanic that allows large numbers of players to travel in seconds to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible to them,
Examples include being able to fast travel to keeps that would not normally be on the transitus system (enemy 'temple gate' keeps, any friendly forward camp anywhere on the map)
Negative side effects include keeping a suicide resource, usually at one of your home temple gate keeps which usually has an enemy player camping it and 'tagging' with damage every suiciding player - another form of AP farming - currently 3 of the top 10 players in one of the alliances basically spend all day at such resources - is this what getting emperor and into the top 2% tier for rewards is about?
It also negates to some extent the importance of the chokepoint gates and bridges that separate the alliances

Potential Solutions: If a player has died, he may only be rez'd by another friendly player, rez at a keep or forward camp if he is within the 'rez radius' of the keep or forward camp (with applicable temporary death penalty (see 'Death Penalty' section), otherwise he rez's at one of his home gates

Benefit: Provides more depth to the strategy of the game instead of 'ok everybody - forward camp going up on other side of the map - beam us up Scottie'
Promotes more action in the open field

Bottom Line:

allow us to help you retain and attract more PC/MAC players to Cyrodiil

allow us to help you fix the stuff that is giving this awesome game a bad reputation

allow us to help you then build a great reputation that will without doubt help boost console sales - currently most folks i talk to are in the 'omg - i' wouldn't buy ESO after everything i have heard about it'

allow us to help you change that attitude to 'omg - can't wait for ESO to come out on console - yeah they had a bad rap but i hear they're back on track and it's THE game to PvP in'

Sincerely and Respectfully

Dleatherus

Guild Leader of The Noore

Armitas

The Revenant Guild also agrees with these sentiments and suggestions.

Jaxom

/signed /notarized

ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Thanks so much for this very detailed, well-thought out and constructive write-up, The Noore! We've passed it along, in full, to the Dev Team.

Sallington

Before I go grab a cup of coffee and read this, I just want to say thank you for taking the time to write this out in such an organized and coherent manner.

Ziz

It's a *** joke "passed it along to the Dev team" this *** has been around for a year.

See you next year when this is still an issue

ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Ziz wrote: »

It's a *** joke "passed it along to the Dev team" this *** has been around for a year.

To be clear, this is not the first we're hearing of any of this and many of the points already have fixes or solutions in progress. We just wanted to make sure The Noore know we're passing this post, which they clearly put a lot of time and effort into, along to the individuals who can make the fixes and improvements they're calling out.

Nala_

none of those issues have driven away more players from pvp than aoe caps which causes zergs to roll around the game in very small balls, which causes lag, which disconnects people and lowers their fps.

aoe caps are the root of the problem driving people away from cyrodiil

Kewljag_66_ESO

The last 2 parts are very important, Death consquences, and Suicidng to Forward camps. They give very good suggestions that would make the PVP game so much better. Please consider.

Razour

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom: thank you for passing this on, in full, to the Devs.

Would you be able to make any kind of commitment by when you can share with the community the Dev's initial feedback - or - better still, could you possibly entice one of the senior team to provide that first feedback directly.

Please and thank-you.

Braidas

While were discussing cyro issues that have been brought up a million times... please allow me to get out of combat within 20 minutes, and please fix immovable/cc break. The latter should really be a priority.

Triston

Maybe they don't have the resources for it any longer?

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/elder-scrolls-online-layoffs-bethesda-zenimax/

Pixysticks

Nala_ wrote: »

none of those issues have driven away more players from pvp than aoe caps

Brandeospeedwagon wrote: »

please fix immovable/cc break. The latter should really be a priority.

These are the 2 worst parts about Cyrodiil; CC Break never working and being laggy/unresponsive, and AOE caps creating massive groups of people that lag out the server and limit the amount of impact an individual player has.

Pixysticks

Triston wrote: »

Maybe they don't have the resources for it any longer?

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/09/03/elder-scrolls-online-layoffs-bethesda-zenimax/

"Now that we are nearly 6 months post launch, we have a thriving online community in a game that runs smoothly."

Damn, what a bold claim they made in that interview.

[Besides Gina and Jessica] The ZOS mods on these forums have banned and driven away probably half the PvP community off of these forums and onto reddit and arena junkies.

Lastly, I really do love this game-- but smooth is literally the LAST word I would EVER use to describe this game.

LonePirate

Pixysticks wrote: »

Lastly, I really do love this game-- but smooth is literally the LAST word I would EVER use to describe this game.

Pixy, you may be my enemy on the battlefield in Cyrodiil; but we share this opinion as allies away from the battlefield. I could not agree more with this statement.

Pixysticks

LonePirate wrote: »

Pixysticks wrote: »

Lastly, I really do love this game-- but smooth is literally the LAST word I would EVER use to describe this game.

Pixy, you may be my enemy on the battlefield in Cyrodiil; but we share this opinion as allies away from the battlefield. I could not agree more with this statement.

zazamalek

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom‌ and @ZOS_GinaBruno‌ can you pretty please at least confirm the permastun?

More flavor, I've been *hearing* (from guildies in TS) consistent reports of the following:

• An attempt to stun break can be cancelled by stunning the person attempting it. This means that spammable mini-stuns (e.g. Sorc <Streak>) can be used to permastun. Fix: make players immune to stuns while they are stunned and/or stun breaking.
• We have no idea how, but I've had every single guildie complain about not being able to stun break (at full stamina). Some "mechanic workaround" may be being used to place players into this state, but I don't know of any specifics.

Here's the kicker, we're starting to think it might affect EP only. Again, reports from fellow guildies: one of our healers picked up Immovable (as he was being stunned/interrupted during <Rite of Passage>, even though the ability provides the same immunity), he was still getting stunned. Try as he may he was unable stop enemy Templars during this ultimate, not even by interrupting (RMB+LMB or interrupting abilities) them.

We moan a lot, but some of us have been hanging it through since early access. We just want the amazing PvP experience that we had before players figured out how to ruin it.

Also, vamp emperors. I won't call out any names, but if you want to have a dev/GM come experience how bad it gets I can point you at a campaign. Really, it's broken - to make matters worse there's a new thing with invisbats and nightblades.

Please, we want that awesome Cyrodiil that we know is there. All you need to do is mitigate the damage players are doing to your game. Heck, we could probably live without the Imperial City for a little longer.

And, once again, thanks for all the hard work. I've just made good friends in ESO and it saddens me when they are saying that they are leaving.

Columba

Agreed and thank you. I would add the impulse monkeyspam to this list. Badly broken design.

Sadly, it may be too late. 90% of my original guild is gone! fed up with the bugs and unaddressed cheating. The word on the street and in the community is not favorable.

This crew has designed a decent game, but they simply are not executing well. gW2 was not as well designed, but it runs much better.

Rallick71

Half the issues would be fixed if Batswarm had it's cost doubled (if not trippled) and Impulse didn't do more damage than Single target abilities.

Neyephe

Haderus is a joke. I agree it should not be there. There is no competition and the other sides can not do anything for the mass of AD camping the gates.

Chillrend was fun for a while... until EP started dominating. I think there is still a little action back and forth, but it is still largely EP.

Thornblade... haven't actually gone in there. Was so discouraged with the other campaigns that I joined. I do see more "scroll messages" pop up than with any of the other campaigns, but still haven't felt the desire to go in yet.

Ifthir_ESO

Pixysticks wrote: »

Lastly, I really do love this game-- but smooth is literally the LAST word I would EVER use to describe this game.

For PvP I totally agree, but PvE outside of orb glitching in trials has been pretty much issue free for me since launch.

Armitas

If I were to pick my biggest issue from the list I would say it's the response to cheating.

While the bugs are frustrating, and I have yelled at my screen and banged things I can see a beautiful game underneath them, and I see a passion for making a good MMO from ZOS. I can in fact see the transition from a diamond in the rough to a diamond.

The core of this game for me is PvP even though I enjoy both PvP and PvE equally. It is not the cheating in itself that is the biggest concern because this will occur in any game. It is the invisible response to it. While a single cheaters actions may devalue PvP at that moment, in that location, the lack of visible response to that single action devalues all PvP for a long time. There are people admitting to exploiting, even bragging about it on the forums while also having tickets sent out showing that they exploited and yet they are allowed to continue. I agree about the name and shaming policy, but the coincidence of the enforcement of the naming and shaming policy alongside the invisible or lack of action against the exploiter creates an atmosphere that the whole realm of PVP is illegitimate. If the realm of PvP is illegitimate then our actions there are valueless and that is detrimental to the future of PvP.

I can tell you have made an effort to change this in your last road ahead. I have also seen what appears to be a directed effort by moderators on the forums to re-substantiate your stance on cheating but it's not quite enough. When an intentional exploit crops up, and it's source is identified it is also necessary to make a proclamation against it. "X is considered an exploit. Those who participate in it will receive a suspension or ban. Please report anyone you feel is exploiting".

There is a current notion that the policy on cheating is to do nothing about the cheater, while fixing the capacity to cheat. This is a notion that will take both visibility and time to change. We want people to think "I better not do that or I might get banned" rather than "I better do this as much as I can before it gets fixed".

I also do not think forum communication, while wanted and appreciated, is effective enough as a tool for global communication. If you have too, send out account wide emails in or out of game.

Nazon_Katts

Excellent post indeed! Those are most of the reasons why I don't even set foot into Cyrodiil except for some night time or low pop PvE'ing. I'm just a casual PvP'er at best, but there's no incentive for me to join in and sadly plenty of reasons to stay away.

frosth.darkomenb16_ESO

Nala_ wrote: »

none of those issues have driven away more players from pvp than aoe caps which causes zergs to roll around the game in very small balls, which causes lag, which disconnects people and lowers their fps.

aoe caps are the root of the problem driving people away from cyrodiil

Quoted for truth.
The target cap is the source of many of the issues encountered in game, and getting rid of it would revert the game back to a point where fighting had a much more interesting pacing.

@Dleatherus‌ , great post, very insightful and I don't think anyone can sensibly disagree with what you have put forward.
Also, thank you for pluging my post... I really didn't think any one read it since it didn't get any response.

Sasky

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Thanks so much for this very detailed, well-thought out and constructive write-up, The Noore! We've passed it along, in full, to the Dev Team.

In a way, this still misses the point. @ZOS_JessicaFolsom‌, please make sure to get some sort of communication back from the team about these issues. And keep players apprised on these and emergent issues on a weekly (or biweekly) basis. The underlying theme in all the issues is that we simply don't get enough response from ZOS on bug progress, exploits, grey areas, etc. and that can be as frustrating as the actual problem itself.

Cody

good. maybe now ZOS will open their eyes.

synnerman

Jessica
Nala_ wrote: »

none of those issues have driven away more players from pvp than aoe caps which causes zergs to roll around the game in very small balls, which causes lag, which disconnects people and lowers their fps.

aoe caps are the root of the problem driving people away from cyrodiil

THIS, when is this going to be addressed as we were told 1 month ago that the combat team were in discussions about it.. There are several people in my guild who are going to leave if this is not addressed . When are we going to get an update as I have asked Brian Wheeler twice a week and no answers. Can you answer or is it a case that you daren't touch this impulse ability because the pvers are using it to clear the Trials??? I bet the devs are really glad they put the work into the trials only to be zerged like cyrodiil is now.

PLEASE respond. Thank you

smeeprocketnub19_ESO

Okay here's my concern with limiting campaigns to two (though I think three would be better)

Every alt I make I go to cyrodiil to do the tutorial (well I skip the actual tutorial) and get the two free skillpoints and a cute title. But alts can't home or guest in a campaign you have another character in. This is good, but two or even three campaigns mean my alts don't get their free skillpoints.

Also, we are having a huge problem with "troll camps" and people logging on alts to trash talk us and flat out spy on us. I think this is happening on all sides. There has to be some way to deal with this. We report the camps with screenshots and report the presumed spies, but they continue.

So that is sort of solved by less campaigns I think, as long as you can't fast travel to a campaign you are not home/guest in.

Also, I'd like to be able to home and guest in the campaign with an alt if the current character signed up for that campaign is in the same faction. I don't think I can do this.

demonlkojipub19_ESO

Cody wrote: »

good. maybe now ZOS will open their eyes.

Or maybe they'll continue on as they have been.

Draxys

zazamalek wrote: »

Here's the kicker, we're starting to think it might affect EP only.

Are you serious?

Anu_Saukko_Tutkija

brink of failure agrees on @Dleatherus post and thanks you. All of it on same page, well done! good job