Official Discussion Thread for "The Road Ahead – June 4th"

Enodoc

Osiruz wrote: »

Will there be flying mounts?

Loving the photoshop skillz of whoever did that. The lighting is off, the character is of the wrong race, and that looks a bit like a dragon.
There will be no flying mounts.

Edit: Sorry, I realised after that sounded a bit harsh. I'm pretty sure they've said before that flying mounts don't fit with the lore of Elder Scrolls, so, while it is something that may be interesting and may indeed be awesome, I don't think it's something we can expect any time soon.

Decalin

I'm actually a little concerned about the direction this seems to indicate the game is going.

New group content / trials and super special leet loots to grind for in them to make the minority of the player base feel superior to everyone else. And a new dye system that appears to also gate by specific achievements, which looks like the popular colors will also be behind the group stuff.

Still no content to get VR 11 and 12 without grouping or grinding an insane amount.

Nothing to address the fact that "play your way" is now pretty much go resto/dest staff with light armor or go home for the majority of people.

The above also takes a nice step towards invalidating crafting other than upgrading dropped gear.

I have been pretty optimistic about the game up till now, but it looks like we may be going to follow the generic MMO raid / loot grind. Problem is, this has been done, very successfully, in many other games, and I don't think its what people were expecting with ESO. Yes, there will always be some who want the good old days back where an MMO was all about grouping all the time, and those who want to play and never actually interact with another person. Either way could be done game was designed that way from the start, but you cant keep both the "hardcore" / raiders, and the solo / casual mob happy by making the first part of the game something only the casual group enjoy and the end game something only the hardcore group enjoy.

Personally I sit between the two stereotypes, and I'm still having a lot of fun doing the quests in the VR zones, but less and less of the people on my friends list are logging in now. There is still so much potential for this game, but I really don't think that following the generic MMO formula is going to work here, if I want that, I have many other games I can go back to that already do it very well, and most of them are F2P at this point...

Vil

People seem to forget the previous road ahead letter, this one doesn' replace the previous. Link: http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-uk/news/post/2014/05/01/the-road-ahead---may-1?ref=news-list
THe may letter seemed to cover more ground of what's to come, whilst the latest one focuses on what's closer to infront of us.

Regarding dyes: No to them being tied to achievements, if they are, the said dyes should also be available through purchase or some other kind of way to unlock them. Also I am not too fond of "pink", with all this talk about immersion I would think pink players would be slightly contradictive. Have we ever seen "pink" in any TES game? Just a question.

I wish ESO had housing... I've just looked at Wildstar. I've no wish to play the game, but wish ESO shipped with housing as well. *jealous*

Rant: Why is there artwork with cloaks ingame (loading screens) if we can't wear cloaks? Remove these or give us cloaks please

Other than that I am happy to see a new road ahead letter. Keeps me hopeful about the future of the game!

Ohioastro

These sound like good, solid changes. The sheer level of over-the top screaming and complaining makes me embarrassed to be associated with the people doing it. I'll go back to running my (perfectly functional, thank you) nightblade main without spending sleepless nights worrying that - some where, some time - some other class in a game might be perceived as better than mine. (Apparently it's not enough that "some" builds with a class are quite strong - "all" builds have to be strong or it is the end of the world.)

anakaki

Rev Rielle wrote: »

I like this Road Ahead, it address a nice wide range of topics. Especially excited about Dyes that are coming. Seems they've implemented it quite well.

anakaki wrote: »

The fact that they aren't even mentioning us in the Road Ahead and merely cosmetic changes on the PTS just shows how clueless the devs are.

Do we need printscreens from thousends of people playing each class and comparing dps for them to understand the difference and poor mechanics in burst and aoe synergies with staff or whatever?

Again, as Ive said so many times before:

Why would you bring a templar when sorcerers heals just as well due to the conjunction with other class ultimate, barrier and the siege shield? This allows raids to completely ignore encounter mechanics and run straight dps on bosses (specifically in trials) where sorcerers outdmg templar with 300%+.

In addition to this they can't run out of mana due to crit surge and healing springs. Where is our magicka regen?

It's so obvious but it's like they refuse to admit they made a huge imbalance issue and goes on about the other classes.

*laughs*
On one hand you complain that between classes/skills sets the dps is not the same, then on the other hand you complain that healing between classes/skill sets IS the same. And you have the gall to throw the word clueless around.

You, my friend, are doing more damage than good to the perception of the Templar class. Sometimes not saying things is just as important as saying things. Case in point this Road Ahead re Templars.

Your not getting it. It's okay, logic is hard.

Templars and sorcers heals just as well (due to ultis, siege, barrier etc)
Templars deal way less damage than sorceres.

Mkay? If you can't see the issue in trials/grouping I feel sorry for you.

Adramelach

gougefub17_ESO wrote: »

Itemization – we’ll add gear that’s harder to acquire but more worthwhile. We're looking at gear that will make others envious when you’re wearing or wielding it—both in appearance and in stat boosts. To do this, we’ll adjust soft caps so that they don't kick in quite as quickly. We have to be very careful about how much we adjust numbers, because the greater the variance, the more people can hurt their intended builds.

This is great, as long as it's possible to continue to craft the best stuff in the game. I have spent a HUGE amount of time and points and effort in building up my crafting, just so I would NOT have to grind for hours upon hours, trying to score a particular "drop" to complete a set. It would be extremely frustrating if crafting were relegated to 'second best' because the really good stuff you can only get from farming bosses endlessly.

Mephos

nothing about temp changes.. low tier class stays low tier

Patchgrabber

Sounds great! But I still see relatively no news about improving werewolves. I've been happy with the ult cost reduction (although I still think it should be a bit lower), and I'm happy with the one bug fix in update 2 for them, but what I'd really like to see is a few buffs while *not* in ww form, like extra stamina/stamina regen or increased run speed. Perhaps some form of self heal like a morph that allows you to gain a bit of health from a pounce or something. I know you'll get to it in time, but it would be great if you could give us a taste of what might be coming down the pipe for werewolves, thanks!

Ohioastro

tino.antoninieb17_ESO wrote: »

If i go just through posts its more than obvious in what shape this game is. What concerns me even more is the future of this game.
It seems that ZOS is living in one universe and majority of players in other. People are not satisfied .

Forums do not represent overall public opinion. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but there are hundreds of thousands to millions of people playing a game like this. A handful of obsessive posters (you'll recognize their handles if you stay long enough) can create a mountain of posts without mass backing at all. There are people who just need to move on if they really hate what is supposed to be entertainment so much that they write repeated tantrums about it.

If I look over what they're doing it's extremely responsive to what players have asked for. There has been enormous progress on stability; quest glitches; bots (notice that you don't get hammered with gold spam in zone chat now? notice that resources are around?) Every list by definition has things not on it. And yet the first reaction, for far too many who post here, is to scan the list to scream and yell because <my obsession>, right or wrong, isn't on it.

Not directed at you, but definitely directed at a lot of people posting here: If nothing would please you - for your own sake - do something else.

Ohioastro

AstroCat wrote: »

Where is the alternate VR leveling system for those of us who do NOT want to have to play the other 2 factions with one character?

This is gonna be the deal killer for me if they do not give us some real VR1-VR10 content other than the 2 other faction quest lines.

Craglorn is good exp. Cyrodil (PvE) is good exp. They're boosting the dungeons. There are plenty of alternatives now - it's reasonable to expand them, but to be honest what would you like?

daswahnsinn

Another thing I've noticed is that the last update broke my achievements. Before the update hit, I completed the main story line in all the zones, of the Ebonheart Pact, leading up the Coldharbor and now the zones before Coldharbor in the achievements are greyed out like I didn't even do them. Is this going to be fixed or is this just a issue I'm having?

Adramelach

I completed the original starter islands (Bleakrock, etc.) with my 2 characters.
I did them as soon as they were "originally intended", at level 3 or 4.
Unfortunately, due to the overly tight "5 level loot range" stuff, I have regretted it ever since. My crafting skills have also suffered.
I used to try to complete an entire zone before I moved on, just so I could "get the whole story". Regrettably, I had to stop "getting the whole story".

Here's why:
1) My character was ALWAYS 5 levels higher than the zone intended ... by the time I was 1/2 way through the zone.
2) I rarely saw a gear piece drop that was an upgrade for my character.
3) I had to craft nearly everything with my Very limited materials. (Very few drops = very few items to break for materials)

Absolutely. I have a similar problem. I'm a "completionist" and also found every book, finished every location, etc. In each area... long story short, I am now half-way through Malabal Tor in terms of quests, and I'm V1. I was "forced" to level up far in excess of the quests *just to get the stuff I needed to craft*.

What I mean is, the materials are SO RARE that I was forced into endless grinding and farming to acquire the materials and improvements to craft a decent set of gear. Well, that led to XPs as I discovered entire zones in my efforts to gather the right materials, and defeated stuff in an effort to acquire hides and improvement mats.

It wasn't long before all my quests "went grey" and I out-leveled PvE completely, based on where I was.

Now I'm not sure if I finish the main story questline and migrate to Veteran Content, what will happen to all those quests that have greyed out for me. Will they "come back" as veteran content?

Ghenra

Biggest error ever in TESO, turn it in a grinding fest to get new VR levels doing boring and repetitive PvE.

GG ZOS, now we can leave this game, we don't want a korean style game.

Cya.

ub17_ESO

Valerien wrote: »

Can you please sort out the Nightbalde class quickly.

If it sucks and you make a small change its still going to be underpowered and no fun to play. I get with the DK nerfs you need to be careful not to over do it, but a week is a long time in an MMO and leaving Nightblades to be useless underpowered gimped class makes any experience with them painful. And lets face it MMO's are meant to be fun and constantly having to compensate for poor skills and lack of dps quickly gets old.

Off the Nightblade topic which is the important one, I do wonder at the levels of new content that are on offer. Happy to pay a subscription, would rather do that than watch the game go f2p where its all about cash shops. But there has to be a constant addition of new content including solo, duo, group and trial. At the moment I get the need for bug fixes and the Nightblade to be significantly improved but equally there has to be new things to do or people get bored. And much like being a little crazy to pay a sub to have the painful experience of being a nightblade, its hard to justify paying a sub to be bored. Hell you can go play a f2p game and be bored with limited new content.

In my opinion other MMOs would have charged a $50 box price for a content update the size of craglorn. I'm very pleased with the amount of things there are to do. I play quite a bit but always feel like there is not enough time to take on all the stuff ESO has to offer. Craglorn is two weeks old and your talking about new content, i dont really get it.

Aggelos

I love the dye system! Its almost identical to Guild Wars 2 dye system and that system was amazing. The one thing GW2 did well was dyes.

Falmer

Its sad for me to say as I love the game, but the Road Ahead doesn't seem to hold anything of value for me.

I see nothing about adding more content to the game for those that don't want to play with one character the whole time.

I have characters unique to each faction. I have no desire to "experience each faction" with the same character. The 'veteran' levels don't have any new content for me to experience.

IMO, the whole veteran idea of re-playing the other factions was a complete mistake. Sure, give people that option for those that want to play a single character their entire ESO lives. That, however, is only half the population. I see nothing that even states that Zeni realizes that the other have of their subscribers actually LIKE having multiple characters.

staticone

Fuxo wrote: »

Duration of PvP campaigns is 90 days. Not 180. Difficult to trust anything in the article :-)

The following is a direct copy-paste from:
\ Home News Announcements The Road Ahead – June 4th
The Road Ahead – June 4th
..."PvP Campaigns

We are now two-thirds of the way through the 90-day duration PvP Campaigns we launched with..."

Which article are you referring to?

john.economoub14_ESO

I hope that the devs really do take the time to read these responses. A lot of great information and if they really do want to listen to the community, this would be a great place to start.

I wanted to point out just a couple of personal concerns that I saw got no fan fair at all. First, now that many have worked so hard researching and getting their crafting skills to 50, what is there to look forward to? Crafting in this MMO deserves kudos to the team who planned an implemented it. It was well thought out and I for one have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I hope to see more integration of crafting into the future of ESO.

The last thing I wanted to point out was my utter dissatisfaction with provisioning. It started out strong when the game began but very soon after there were some real glaring issues including:

No purple recipes after level 30's

No late game provisioning ingredients in the other pacts

I'm not sure if this was by design or what but I can tell you that it is still painful every time I open a crate, sack or barrel and still find low level mats in VR areas.

[soapbox finished]

Thanks for the hard work and your continued attention to fixing what we are confident, will be an epic game of the year. (I would also like to throw it in the face of those who left to play that other game with cartoon graphics!)

m12d12_ESO

LEAVE THE DRAGON KNIGHT ALONE!!! I function on potions now. I'm a level 44 and I don't have the power the Sorcers or Vamps have. I don't have the build of the Templers and don't have the magic skills of the mages/sorcers. COME ON... You think DK are too strong??? PLAY AS A DK and you will be wanting to
help us not weaken us!! We truly have little defense and little ability to heal. We are used front lines and couldn't make it with healers. IF YOU WANT To Adjust DK give us some better healing and defensive skills. Or LEAVE US ALONE! I am very irritate that anyone would think we need weaked .. Good Grief.

Adramelach

Kimyrielle wrote: »

curlyqloub14_ESO wrote: »

Kimyrielle wrote: »

It's way, waaaay too much stereotypical 'endgame' content for my taste. Dungeons, raids. Oh wait, they call them trials here. Hard stuff for that minority of the playerbase that actually loves playing with sweat on the forehead all the time. Good for them. But we have seen that before...in pretty much every other MMO. If I really wanted dungeons and raids/trials and nothing else, I could play...you know...pretty much every other MMO. I tend to quit MMOs as soon as I reach 'endgame', because I don't want to grind scripted boss fights ad nauseum. But since ever WoW inflicted them on us, every MMO dev seems to act like that's the only possible way to design max level content.

I see this opinion often, and while you're certainly entitled to feel that way, the people who express this opinion never offer any suggestion about what endgame content they would like to see.

If everything else is "too stereotypical", and you don't like raids/dungoens/etc, what, in your opinion, would be good end game content? I'd really like to know, because people who have this complaint of yours never seem to have any better ideas - if you have some, please share.

I don't want to take this thread way off topic, so I will just drop the hint of that the only MMO I ever liked to play maximum level in was Star Trek Online. Why? Because they expanded the content horizontally instead of just making everything more difficult and grindy.

I still play Star Trek Online, especially when ESO is down for maintenance... so I wind up playing a lot

I have enjoyed end-game, post-50 content in Star Trek far MORE than the initial leveling, and continue to. In fact, my feeling on that game is the reverse of ESO, in that while ESO has the "core content" and then "end-game" content, I feel Star Trek has "pre-game" content in 1-50, and then "core content" after that, which I have been enjoying for months now. It stays fresh, is more of what I liked in the beginning, and I really love the episodes as they come out.

ESO devs should take a peek over there, I like what they do, especially with the EXCHANGE and econony system

staticone

NerfEverything wrote: »

Templars have been the least viable class since launch. Not even a mention?

If I hadn't unsubbed already, I would now.

I don't know how you mean, but every time I get "helped" by a Templar, they take away the fight. They swoop in with that light-spear of theirs and in one, occasionally two strikes, the battle is over. If you ask me, the Templar is way OP.

I decided to try one out myself, and he is ripping through everything like tissue-paper.

Reece82

I concur that the VR content is a little weak and the VR9-VR10 zones are virtually empty. I also do not care much about the storyline in the other 2 factions. With that in mind, I'm shocked that people are struggling to level through it. With 1 additional questing partner you should be able to knock out almost anything but dolmens and a few world bosses. This is an MMO, if you don't have at least 1 friend, you're in the wrong genre honestly.

We're 2 months in and some of you are saying "too little too late". I look back at plenty of other MMOs including WoW and you didn't see a ton of content released within 2 months of the game going live. What in the world has created such unrealistic expectations?

I am thankful that the whiners on here are a small cross-section of the ESO community. As someone already mentioned, a small group of people can create a mountain of hateful posts and whining rants. It really makes me wonder if they're being paid to stick around in a game they hate playing. The irony is they are the ones paying.
Not to take away from the constructive posts asking legitimate questions and providing feedback.
The game has its flaws but I'm astounded over the absolute rage and hatred towards ZOS. Some of you need to unplug and do something else for a while.

m12d12_ESO

Wow...I am so mad that anyone would think DK's need WEAKENED.. That I want to write another post but tooooo dang mad!

Adramelach

I'd really like to see special named items have a dynamic level, so that they stay the same level as you, or maybe they gain experience similar to special abilities so long as you've got them equipped while you gain XP. That way, if you really like the lore associated with an item (like the two handed sword you get from the king early in your Daggerfall adventures, or a full set of Lion Guard armor) you can keep using it throughout your career, improving it with craft skills as you gain the opportunity, rather than selling it for a few gp or chucking it in the decon pile.

I have thought the same thing, and absolutely agree. I always feel wierd tossing these unique "gifts" from kings and queens, and other supposedly "rare and valuable" named items in the gaping decon maw, as I attempt to feed the beast and recover yet more crafting materials. I would LOVE if I could instead take one of those named pieces and, using the crafting skills I've dumped half my points into, enhance them and keep them apace of my own level, or improve and re-sell them.

Since we can't "name" our own crafted gear, and can merely make generic, if improved, items, it would be really nice if we could "work from" some of these unique pieces to create better versions or simply keep them around for use as we level up and such.

LonePirate

Mablung wrote: »

Exclusion is never good. Items should be rare. Some achievements should be rare. Cosmetic features should not be rare.

Could you explain the logic behind stating that exclusion is bad while simultaneously supporting the existence of rare items and achievements? That's like mixing oil and water as the two stances are contradictory.

Darzil

I think there are a number of disconnects here, in player expectation and the way things are presented.

Are Veteran Levels necessary for PvP ? They seem designed to not be, hence giving limited bonuses, making Veteran Levels give marginal benefit, mainly sidegrades by additional skill points, tiny damage/stat increases from gear and softcap changes, and thus a VR1 is roughly the same as a VR12. However, the player perception seems to be that they are required to compete in PvP, and are thus a grind.

Personally I'd prefer less PvP benefit from Veteran Levels, but maybe more skillpoints, or a PvE only benefit, such that Veteran Levels are a PvE post 50 character development, whilst Alliance Levels (or whatever, not done much PvP) are a PvP post 50 character development, and nothing is gated by either post 50. (In Dark Age of Camelot terms, more Catacombs, less Trials of Atlantis)

I'll look forward to any changes, echo the Stamina/Medium/Heavy concerns, and would also like to see more solo content at endgame (Probably best I've seen were LOTRO's Skirmishes) though appreciate there will always be a grind concern with these. Would like to see crafting addressed, it's a hard balance, but the set bonuses should be more balanced with drop set bonuses, especially the sets that required 100's of days of research. We give up a lot of skill points to be a proper crafter, rather than a 'crafter with hirelings/temper expertise'.

Adramelach

KerinKor wrote: »

More content - We're going to continue providing more content on a regular basis. Veteran Dungeons, areas like Craglorn, Trials, and etc. Further, we’re going to allow dungeons to level to the group leader. This means you'll be able to go back and play any dungeon to get rewards appropriate for your group leader’s level.

@ZOS_GinaBruno, can you please ask Matt to therefore confirm that post-VR10 ESO is now firmly a 1990s group-or-die game where those who don't enjoy having to 'group up' and deal with PUG drama all the time simply to level their characters have no viable way to progress.

Group content is fine for the phat-lewt and e-peen fixated, as long as it's optional and not on a critical path it's fine, I can do it or not as I choose, but right now it seems to me ZOS intends only to provide group-only content for VR11+.

This makes me very afraid... I only just got to VR1 yesterday, and from what I have read, I am very nervous about The Road Ahead for my own play in Veteran.

I am a long-standing, dyed-in-the-wool ES player from the Daggerfall days, many years ago, and I far prefer solo PvE content and building the "story" as I go, and the stories have been great so far - it's why I like Elder Scrolls.

But I am absolutely not a typical MMO "grinder" and "grouper" and all this, and I have been very worried that the "ES" is being washed out of especially the veteran content, and the "MO" stuff is coming on strong, such that it's just like any other MMO that I've avoided for years.

I look at Craglorn and wonder why I'd bother going there? I have no use for, nor any interest in, trying to form up with a "dozen of my best buddies" to try to take on some insane Dungeon of Frustration, pimping out my DPS and showing off day-glo armor...

Speaking of which, I notice the dye in the screen shot was some black color that the player got from completing some weekly Trial achievement. I hope this isn't literal, meaning that some colors are only available to "Trial" achievements - if those trials are the aforementioned 12-person things. I have zero interest in them, and to think I'd be "forced" to endure them in order to simply get a *color* is just... ridiculous.

DonKiller

After 8 pages, i see most players not from others MMO, but directly from Single Player Games (probably)

Why none says how the Gameplay is clumsy?
The Combat is boring. (light attack+skill "FOR THE PRIORITY!", repeat until 20%. Ok EXECUTION...done)
The Swap of Weapon is broken.
Skills bugs
Priority skills useless
CD where you said "NO CD"

And you think i'm happy to see the Screenshot of Dyes system?

You all are really more interested of the Dyes? o_O
Probably i have chose a wrong Game...

Nevril

Still not a single word about Werewolves ;_;

frwinters_ESO

ShedsHisTail wrote: »

ferzalrwb17_ESO wrote: »

ShedsHisTail wrote: »

Which promises, specifically, are you referring to?
Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to see improvements.
I'm just not angry with things the way they are.

Anger rarely solves anything, it just makes me tense.

The main promise which is to "improve and fix" the NB. Originally this was a promise for the last patch (didn't eventuate) and then it was for 1.2 (and isn't happening). Alongside this we were told the viability of the DW class was being looked at (heard nothing since apart from a nerf).

Improvements did come in the last patch, and the closest thing to an actual promise we got was that Nightblades are being looked at closely and will continue to be adjusted in future updates.

So you're upset about the possibility that a "promise" won't be kept? I mean, all we've seen are PTS patch notes which are by definition subject to change. Though, agreed, I'd like to see some improvements to DW and medium armor.

So far we've had, mostly, nerfs either directly or indirectly and a couple of fixes.
Here's the only improvement I can think of off the top of my head that isn't a bugfix:
Catalyst improved to 15% per point from 10%.

I don't recall any significant nerfs but, to be fair, few of the changes they've made have had anything to do with abilities I use so I haven't really noticed them.

We're not alone now that they've decided to take the DK class apart and nerf it into the ground but that doesn't make me any happier - quite the opposite. Some of those nerfs hit general gameplay mechanics and actually hit NBs harder as well.

Which is misguided as, I'm sure you're aware, the problem lies with Weapon and Armor skills and I don't believe it's inherently related to classes at all. Personally, I think it's the imbalance between Magicka and Stamina and the fact that Staves rely on Magicka when all other weapons use Stamina that is causing the biggest upset; but I don't have any numbers to back that up.

I don't choose to be angry about it. They've just let us down. I actually have the patience, myself, to stick it out but I know most people won't so not fixing it fast enough will mean the expedited death of the game. I can't play the game if it's canned..

This is angrier than ever?
You must be a pretty chill guy.

And when it comes to nightblades, we still have a few weeks of updates before 1.2 and im sure more fixes and updates will happen to all classes between now and then. They did it before Craglorn so im sure it will happen again.