I don't know what this myth is about instance queues, if you're in a locked campaign you can enter and leave PvE dungeons just fine. Last week I was in Thornblade EU and even during prime time me and some guildies were able to leave dungeons just perfectly fine.

Also ZOS would be silly if they would delay the IC even longer. PvP needs content, but ZOS also needs to fix the performance badly.

Aside from that, good post.

Ok sorry for keeping the myth alive, I took care of that.

Yes, PvP needs content ASAP but after the last couple of months and when I look at how ZOS is unable to solve long known problems or literally add anything useful to Cyrodiil for PvPers, I doubt the IC will add more content compared to how many problems and bugs it will add leading to even more whine and rage here asking for more content, fixes etc.

That's the main reason why I proposed the above mentioned ideas as most of them are pretty much straight forward or even using mechanisms the game is already providing today which may keep QA and possible bugs at a lower level than adding a ton of new things or a completely new area with its own problems, glitches and exploitable areas

Of course I'd be happy to see the IC someday but I doubt it will be anytime soon and so I think ZOS needs to get some content added to PvP taking way less dev time to keep us PvP players playing and ideally even paying for the game.

Well, I think they already have one team working on performance and so they should have another team at hand that's responsible for features. At least that's what I hope for....

When do you guys yelling for less animations/particles understand that none of the graphical performance is coming from a server... that's totally up to your client!
The server is mostly responsible for checking hit mechanics, damage/healing application etc. and that's what's causing issues, not a flame swirling around you...

ThyIronFist wrote: »

I don't know what this myth is about instance queues, if you're in a locked campaign you can enter and leave PvE dungeons just fine. Last week I was in Thornblade EU and even during prime time me and some guildies were able to leave dungeons just perfectly fine.

This used to be something that happened, at some point along the line it changed to not happen any more.

My wishlist:

1) Bring back forward camps:
They reduce travel times and make it more likely to have several active keep battles going on at the same time. Make them visible to enemies on the map. No camp can be built within the radius of another camp and there would be a required minimum distance to all keeps and resources. Siege weapons can damage and destroy camps. Building a camp requires a player to stand still and do nothing else for 30 seconds until the camp is built (the player building it cannot hide in stealth while doing that). Camps disappear 20 minutes after they've been built if they haven't been destroyed at that time.

2) Add an anti-zergball lightning skill, available at PvP rank 1, to the alliance war skill lines:
Zergballing makes PvP less interesting. This would be a very simple way to remove this playstyle from Cyrodiil, once and for all, which might also help in reducing lag issues that currently happen in Cyrodiil at prime time.
The skill would do damage based on how many enemies are closely together in one spot.
1 enemy by him or herself -> no damage at all
2 enemies close to each other -> very low damage
5 enemies that are close to each other -> reasonable damage
10 enemies all standing exactly on the same spot -> they instantly die from a single use of the skill

3)Balance and fix the invisibility mechanics:
Stealth should be the Nightblade's specialty. Invisibility potions are too strong and cancel many other mechanics.
Nerf invisibility potions, make Shadow Cloak last longer, make Revealing Flare actually work on all forms of invisibility (stealth, invisibility potion, Shadow Cloak, Clouding Swarm, etc.).

4) Change the capture mechanics:
- Each side can only capture keeps and resources of keeps that have a direct connection to a keep the alliance currently holds that is not under attack itself and where the alliance that owns the keep also controls at least one of the three resources of the keep. The keep does not need to be connected to a starting zone though.
For example, if the Aldmeri Dominion holds Fort Dragonclaw in a certain PvP campaign, but it has been isolated, they may still capture Fort Aleswell and Chalman Keep and the resources of these 2 keeps which have a direct connection to Fort Dragonclaw, as long as Dragonclaw is not under attack itself and as long as they still own at least one of the three resources of Dragonclaw; but they could not capture Bleaker's Outpost or Arrius Keep.
- Standardize and greatly increase the time it takes to capture enemy resources and keeps (the time it takes to switch the flag or the two flags at a keep). It should take around 3 minutes to take a resource flag and around 6 minutes to take a flag at a keep (no matter how many attackers are close to the flag).
- At least one attacker has to stay near the flag for the full duration or it switches back as soon as a defender gets near the flag.
- Reward a low amount of AP every 20-40 seconds to attacking players that are close to the flag of a resource or keep that's being captured. Reward extra points for the players that are there first and start switching the flag. Reward defenders in the same way for switching back or staying near a flag of a keep or resource that's under attack (the flag takes as long to fully switch back as it has been occupied by attackers; so if attackers were near the flag for 2 minutes and 10 seconds, defenders need to hold it for 2 minutes and 10 seconds until it's theirs again).
- Reward a moderate amount of AP to players that contribute in successfully capturing or defending a resource or keep. Increase the amount based on how many players participated in the fight on the opposing side, up to a certain maximum. (No change here except that there's a maximum amount that can be gained that way now.)

5) Change the way players earn AP from kills:
- AP gain is not shared in groups anymore!
- Give the full AP reward to the player that does the final blow that killed an enemy.
- Give AP rewards for assisting in killing an enemy to any player that did a considerable amount of damage to an enemy that died.
- Give a small AP reward for healing players that took health damage from an enemy.
- Grant AP for destroying and damaging an enemy siege weapon.
- Give a small amount of bonus AP when killing an enemy or assisting in the killing of an enemy that was also damaged by another player in your group. Also grant a small amount of bonus AP when healing a player that is in your group. That way everyone gets rewarded for playing in a group but player-skill and experience gets rewarded as well.

6) Change how the campaign score is calculated:
- Add points to the campaign score for each enemy keep or resource that's captured and for each successful defense of a resource or keep. The number of score points that your side can earn depends on the total number of players that are currently online from the opposing sides (night-capping when no enemies are online rewards almost no points in the campaign score but thanks to the new capture mechanics, people can still gain some AP by staying near flags when capturing keeps even if nobody else is online).
- All campaigns have their duration set to 14 days and end on Sunday evening somewhere between 10pm and midnight (server time).

7) Add a new currency (Siege Points) for siege weapons and forward camps:
- There would be a new currency (Siege Points) that refills slowly up to a certain maximum of maybe 1,000 points (it would take around 60 minutes by default to regain 1,000 Siege Points).
- Players could buy siege weapons and forward camps with Siege Points for various prices (better weapons cost a bit more).
- Each player would only be able to carry one siege weapon or forward camp at a time. When a player purchases a new weapon any old one he or she carries in their inventory gets deleted along with any deployed siege weapon or forward camp of that player. Siege weapons could not be put in the personal bank or guild bank anymore and would be bound.
- Siege weapon repair kits would be removed from the game.
- Repairing walls and doors would be free now but still award a very small amount of AP.
- Each resource, outpost, and keep hold by an alliance will slightly increase the rate at which players of that alliance regain Siege Points (up to around +60%).
- Siege weapons and forward camps items in the inventory now have a maximum life span of 60 minutes. The item disappears 60 minutes after a player bought it if it hasn't been used yet.

8) Change the Elder Scroll bonuses:
Each Elder Scroll should add a new PvP-specific bonus:
1-Slightly reduce the cost of siege weapons.
2-Slightly increase the rate of fire for siege weapons.
3-Slightly reduce the radius of forward camps that prevents other forward camps from being built, reduce the time it takes to build a forward camp by 5 seconds and slightly reduce the cost of forward camps.
4-When attacking an enemy keep or resource the capture timer at the flag starts with 15% of the total time completed already (reduces the time it takes to switch a flag at an enemy keep or resource by 15%).
5-Make the walls of keeps, outposts, and towers at resources stronger (they take less damage from siege weapons).
6-Make NPCs guarding keeps, outposts and resources of your side stronger (they take less damage from and deal more damage to enemy players).

9) Make siege weapons stronger:
All effects from siege weapons (reduced healing that can be received, damage over time, slowed) should be non-purgeable but the damage they deal should be (greatly) reduced.

10) Change the repeatable PvP quests:
So only one of each type (scout any enemy keep or resource, capture any enemy resource, capture any enemy keep, kill 20 enemy players of any class) can be completed per day, but add much better AP rewards for these quests.

11) Remove PvP buffs from the game:
They're not necessary in Cyrodiil PvP anymore with the new Elder Scroll bonuses (see point 8) and they create false incentives if they can affect PvE (one sided-campaigns; requirement for the best time in trials leaderboards).

12) Balancing:
There are a few mechanics right now that are clearly out of control. One of them is an overpowered hard crowd control effect that can be spammed and that the enemy cannot avoid in any way, the other four are defensive/evasive abilities that make it way too easy for some builds to avoid almost all incoming damage or escape from almost any combat without a drawback.

1. Perma dodgerolling: Many Stamina builds can chain dodgerolls for as long as they want to, now, without ever running low on Stamina. Very few skills can get through a dodge roll. Not all classes and builds have access to such skills and many of them are inefficient and have low dps. This obviously needs to be addressed.
2. Chain-casting fear: Fear is a hard crowd control effect that lets you lose control over your character for about 5 seconds. Breaking free from fear costs a lot of Stamina and grants no immunity for other fear effects. You cannot avoid being feared by blocking or in any other way. Nightblades can almost chain-cast an ability with fear effect. This obviously needs to be addressed.
3. Permanent invisibilty in the middle of a combat: Many characters, especially Nightblades, seem to have the ability to go permanently invisible in the middle of combat when they have already taken damage and have several damage over time effects on them and when they are standing right next to you. They can do this even right after they've been revealed by a Detection Potion or the Revealing Flare ability which is supposed to make it impossible for them to return to stealth for 8 seconds after they've been revealed. It's way too easy to turn permanently invisible right now for many players (not just Nightblades). Even when they are being hit by AoE skills like Caltrops or Arrow Barrage, they often remain invisible and never become visible again (until they attack someone again which can be a few minutes later).
4. Chain-casting Mist Form: This ability is still way too strong, offers increased movement speed and a ridiculous damage reduction. It's also very hard to see the mist in a large battle. The ability can basically be chain-cast so enemy players never even see the vampire pop up again (they just see the mist which can move faster than players normally can and is hard to spot in many situations).
5. Bolt Escape: Sorry to say, but this ability still is a free escape ticket from almost any combat situation and it can be spammed to travel at ridiculous speeds. It's so easy for sorcerers to get into a position where they can break line of sight with this. It's a free escape from almost any combat without any drawback to it. Even after it has been nerfed it's still way too strong on many builds. No class should have a free 100% escape ticket from most combat situations.

On top of fixing these four defensive/evasive abilities that are way too strong and the one overpowered hard crowd control effect that cannot be avoided, there should be a general adjustment made to make PvP less centered around burst damage (and burst damage only).
I would suggest to:

• Globally reduce all damage done in Cyrodiil by about 50%.
• Globally reduce Health/Stamina/Magicka Recovery in combat in Cyrodiil by about 80%.
• Increase Magicka and Stamina Cost of all skills by about 50%.
• Globally reduce the amount of healing received in Cyrodiil by about 80%.
• Reduce the health of NPCs and monsters by ~50% and the amount of damage they deal by ~25%.

With these proposed changes:

- Travelling times would be greatly reduced and fighting more spread out (there would be more simultaneous fights at several places).
- Zergballing would not be an option anymore.
- Nightcapping would not win campaigns anymore.
- Capturing a single enemy keep or resource on the other side of the map to lure in other players for the sole purpose of farming AP would not be possible anymore.
- Everyone would have a chance to earn some alliance points (even newbies who still need to learn how PvP works).
- Grouping would be encouraged. Everyone gets more AP in a group but better players could earn more AP than worse players (so skill and experience are rewarded).
- Taking resources (farms, lumbermills, and mines) would be rewarding and meaningful.
- People wouldn't hold back on buying siege weapons anymore because they want to save their AP to buy PvP gear.
- The new Siege Point system would make sure everyone can use about the same amount of siege weapons and forward camps (no matter how good or experienced they are). Repairing would not cost gold or AP anymore and players could use all their AP on gear rewards.
- Holding many keeps and Elder Scrolls would still give your side a real advantage with the reduced cost for siege weapons and faster regain of Siege Points, but it wouldn't win the campaign by itself. Capturing enemy keeps and resources and defending your own while many players are online would do that.
- There would be no incentives anymore to have one-sided campaigns.
- PvP would be more about the strategic use of skills again and not just about maximum burst damage, fear, stacking heal-over-time and damage shield effects, and overpowered evasive/escape abilities.

Lots of good ideas, but lets sort the latency out first and a lot of things will get better quick. Maybe guilds avoiding eacother and jumping campaigns due to lagg for example, that alone would solve imbalances in TB and probably make it very competetive again and all the nigth raids would be in the same place:)

I find it hilarious that I read so much about aoe caps for support skills in every other thread about Cyrodiil performance. Also this stuff about punishing groups with close to no AP and other stuff is really stupid in my opinion. Smaller groups already get more than big groups, that's enough of an incentive to me.

What we really need in my opinion:
1) less lags,
2) meaningful ranged aoe damage.

1) speaks for itself, and 2) would allow people (=pugs) to effectively engage guild trains without having to jump right into them and die instantly. Making the strongest aoe skills point blank only is really a stupid idea in my opinion. Would also help to reduce lag, since you wouldn't have to stack on top of each other to put out meaningful aoe dps. Inevitable Detonation failed to fill this role.

Many other things like removing pvp buffs from pve, changing how they work in pvp (buff up the winning factions stats, wtf! just make them gain more ap/xp) are definitely needed as well.

Things that are not okay at all:
- making siege non-purgeable: how do you want to take a keep anymore? It'll be all about sieging each other and rushing in once the defenders are all sieged to death. Needless to say that it would make them stupidly overpowerd... anyone remembering 100% heal debuff? You'd just get groups moving at the slowest possible speed, with reduced healing effectiveness and being spammed with fire siege, without being able to fight back properly.
- instagib skills