PTS Patch Notes v1.6.3

Merlin13KAGL

Please make 'solo easing' a checkbox option under settings.

Please default it to OFF and/or include the option/description in the Wailing Prison tutorial.

Some of us are persistent ***'s. determined to clear things, as intended, one way or the other.

Equally, I can see this having the opposite effect, as people will not realize the true scaling of an instance if it was auto-nerfed during a previous run on a different character.

BlackEar

Will you add achievements for either Treasure Maps or collecting all the extremely rare (epic) stolen items?

Ageless

Getting a UI error when going to Mail. Just going to mail usually doesn't activate the error, but clicking Send Mail will.
Had this in 1.6.2 as well.

assertion failed
stack traceback:
	[C]: in function 'assert'
	EsoUI/Libraries/ZO_KeybindStrip/ZO_KeybindStrip.lua:174: in function 'ZO_KeybindStrip:AddKeybindButton'
	EsoUI/Libraries/ZO_KeybindStrip/ZO_KeybindStrip.lua:287: in function 'ZO_KeybindStrip:AddKeybindButtonGroup'
	EsoUI/Ingame/Mail/MailSend.lua:48: in function 'callback'
	EsoUI/Libraries/Utility/ZO_CallbackObject.lua:104: in function 'ZO_CallbackObject:FireCallbacks'
	EsoUI/Libraries/ZO_Scene/ZO_Scene.lua:248: in function 'ZO_Scene:SetState'
	EsoUI/Libraries/ZO_Scene/ZO_SceneManager.lua:155: in function 'ZO_SceneManager:ShowScene'
	EsoUI/Libraries/ZO_Scene/ZO_SceneManager.lua:430: in function 'ZO_SceneManager:OnSceneStateChange'
	EsoUI/Ingame/Scenes/IngameSceneManager.lua:278: in function 'ZO_IngameSceneManager:OnSceneStateChange'
	EsoUI/Libraries/ZO_Scene/ZO_Scene.lua:249: in function 'ZO_Scene:SetState'

Will then get the same error on clicking Inbox.
I have to exit Mail completely and start it again to have mail without errors.

Enodoc

Ageless wrote: »

More crafting problems.
After having finished the Alchemy/Cooking/Magicka writs, I now only have the option on the billboard to do those writs.
I no longer have the option in my Journal or from the Carpentry/Clothing/Smithing billboard to learn about the other writs. No arrow either to what's her name who does these writs.

I don't think that's any different to on Live. Once you complete the "Crafting Certification" introduction, in which you are introduced to both of them, you still have to remember where the other one is to complete their Certifications.

Feynn

david.haypreub18_ESO wrote: »

Lightning Splash, Lightning Splash, Lightning Splash. They keep trying to trumpet it as the salvation of the Sorcerer class...

So.. uhm... let's see. I cast Lightning Splash (great name, by the way)... and then what? Just wait for 10 seconds (assuming you go for the higher duration morph)? While six of my other skill slots are taken up by toggles? Or do I just keep hitting my Crystal Blast key all the time while I wait to cast another Lightning Splash? Wow, that doesn't really sound like a fun class to play, does it?

Zenimax, just look at the leaderboards: Sorcerers are significantly under-represented. That's a fact, and it's a meaningful one. It either means there are fewer sorcerers in-game, or it means that Sorcerers are not doing as well as the other classes. In either case, that's not good.

I hear lots of people say that the way to go for Sorcerers is a stamina build. But that's not what the Sorcerer archetype should be. Please do not force us Sorcerers into a heavy armor stamina build to try to remain competitive. Sorcerers are supposed to be mages, spell-casters, the masters of magicka. That's what the name conveys, and that's what most Sorcerer players want to feel like when they log on. I understand many players have been felt forced into a cloth and staff build, and I understand why that can be frustrating for a Dragon*knight* or a Night*blade*, for example. But that's what Sorcers are supposed to be, in the collective imagination of all lovers of the fantasy genre. Instead you nerf light armor, you nerf Destruction staves, you force Sorcerer magicka-based skills into repetitive and boring gameplay (toggles and long-duration abilities - which also contradicts any possibility of synergizing with our main hitter, Crystal Fragments)... do you not see that means destroying the mage archetype in the game?

As the game is now, Sorcerers feel underappreciated in their groups ("what is it a Sorcerer can do that another class can't do better? what role can a Sorcerer fill that isn't better filled by another class?") and they feel reduced to "bots". That's the word that I have heard so many times, mostly from players of other classes: "We have a couple of Sorcerers in our PvP group, they are useful as Negate bots, but little else" or "Yeah, Sorcerers in 1.6 are basically pet bots." Nobody wants to be a "bot". There is no fun in that, playing as a bot means you just have one mindless task that doesn't require any skill. And you are not going to solve the issue by nerfing Negate and nerfing pets, that just means making Sorcerers even less useful.

You want to create more variety in the game, and that's a wonderful goal! I hate seeing Dragonknights in light armor going around spamming Impulse, trust me. But what you are doing instead is forcing people to shift from one build into a different build. You are not creating variety, you are just setting another trend. You are not giving people freedom of choice and you are not making choices meaningful. And remember, people want to think "Which skill/morph suits my playstyle better?" not "Am I going to do more PvP or more PvE? Because this morph is obviously better for PvP, while this other one is obviously better for PvP."

Lighting Splash is not the solution, and it's not going to be what keeps Sorcerers from re-rolling to Templars.

Ageless

Enodoc wrote: »

Ageless wrote: »

More crafting problems.
After having finished the Alchemy/Cooking/Magicka writs, I now only have the option on the billboard to do those writs.
I no longer have the option in my Journal or from the Carpentry/Clothing/Smithing billboard to learn about the other writs. No arrow either to what's her name who does these writs.

I don't think that's any different to on Live. Once you complete the "Crafting Certification" introduction, in which you are introduced to both of them, you still have to remember where the other one is to complete their Certifications.

It could of course be broken on Live as well, and when no one ever reports it or asks about it...

HyperToxic

Alcast wrote: »

HyperToxic wrote: »

All magicka build classes (except sorc) have a single target ability that you can spam that deals more damage than force pulse. Sorcs are the only class (magicka build) that is forced on using destro abilities. I don't want to use it them anymore. I want an instant cast ability that hits as hard as the many abilities that other classes have.

Not true.

Could you elaborate?
My DK gets more dps with Lava Whip than Force Pulse.
My NB gets more dps with Funnel Health than Force Pulse.
My Templar gets the new powerful channeled ability that wreaks havoc on the world.

What instant cast ability does a sorc have that you can spam that does more dps than Force Pulse? Answer: Nothing.

Hell even if you spam Crystal Fragments it’s a dps loss compared to Force Pulse.

Please do your homework. I have one of each class at vet level.

C0pp3rhead

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

Please make 'solo easing' a checkbox option under settings.

Please default it to OFF and/or include the option/description in the Wailing Prison tutorial.
Some of us are persistent ***'s. determined to clear things, as intended, one way or the other.

Equally, I can see this having the opposite effect, as people will not realize the true scaling of an instance if it was auto-nerfed during a previous run on a different character.

Yes, please. Allow us to turn off 'solo easing'.

HyperToxic

baratron wrote: »

First, the positives. Thanks for introducing difficulty easing to solo instances! Now that it's no longer possible to overlevel and come back to them later, those of us who are terrible players or otherwise limited (e.g. due to physical disabilities) need the help.

Also, thanks for all of the restacking changes. Guild Banks everywhere will thank you for them, and I may no longer need to yell at everyone who puts Almandine or Crawlers into the bank .

Now for the Sorcerer comments:

Grao wrote: »

Sorcerers no longer get cost reduction on their most used class spells, including "Surge" that already costs 3 times more magicka than its similar "Entropy". I will test the numbers, but this feels like a nerf considering the most you can get from the new passive is 12% extra Spell Power and that is an unrealistic value considering all sorcerers need Inner Light on both their bars and Crushing Shock on the main attack bar.

My main character is a Magicka-based Sorcerer and I currently use Critical Surge and Inner Light on both of my bars. In 1.6, I'll be running Power Surge and Radiant Magelight instead, but I'll still need them on both bars. Since I know hardly any Sorcerers who run more than 3 Sorcerer abilities on their bars, this does feel like yet another attempt to persuade Sorcerers that we should be using "pets".

Drazhar14 wrote: »

Expert Mage: This passive ability has been changed. It now grants 2% Spell Power for each Sorcerer ability slotted instead of 10% reduced cost to lightning spells.

Please change this back. The new passive only hurts stamina builds. The Storm Calling line is the most used one for stamina builds, so the reduced spell cost really helped since stamina builds have limited magic. The spell power bonus is useless to us.

I agree. It seems odd that the developers are giving to Stamina Sorcerers with one hand:

Bound Armaments (morph): This ability now costs Stamina instead of Magicka, gives you a bonus to stamina instead of magicka, and increases the damage done by heavy attacks.

Dark Deal (morph): This ability now converts magicka into health and stamina.

Overload and Power Overload will now properly scale their damage off Weapon Damage and Stamina in the event that they are higher than Spell Power and Magicka.

Summon Storm Atronach: Fixed an issue where this ability was only scaling off your magicka stats, but not your stamina stats. It will now correctly pick the largest value.

and taking back with the other.

Nestor wrote: »

Doubled the Critical Strike and Spell Critical values for all item set bonuses.

So they increased this last patch, then doubled it for this patch. Does this mean that Criticals are now back to where they are in Live? Or better?

I don't know, and I want to know! I only managed to download 8% of the patch during my unlimited nighttime download period though.

chrisvoyerb16_ESO wrote: »

You do not understand. I do not want to start again from the beginning. I prefer not to play. I have built characters that I like and you do not want to copy them.
I am going to cancel my subscription. Do not update if you cannot copy characters.

Um, dude, you do realise that this is the PTS as in Public Test Server? It's not the real game. Everything you do here gets deleted anyway.

The original v12 Aether gear had set bonuses of 4% on Live. This set now has a Crit Raiting of 664. This is equilvent to 3.163% crit for a V14. They doubled the values from 1.6.2 to 1.6.3 and they are not back to the live values.

FYI Inner Light has a crit raiting of 2099 and provides 10% crit on 1.6.3 The scaling factor appears to be 0.0047641734159123 for a V14.

Spell Damage on most of gear has been increased by a factor 19.66. For example Martial Knowledge on Live has set bonuses if 9 Spell Damage. On PTS 1.6.3 it has 177 Spell Damage.

HyperToxic

I tested Lightning Splash (both morphs) and what a joke - it does far less dps than what Elemental Ring provides. And sorcs will still not have any PvE AOE ability worth using.

prototypefb

so sorc surges now crit on damage shields and return health, rite?
what about NB strife/sap essence? do they return health when damaging shield?

HyperToxic

Where is the caster counterpart for to Two Fanged Snake? v10 Green Soulshine was the best caster jewelry but has been nerfed into oblivion.

Where is the good trail gear for casters – I mean weapons and jewelry? The current end game trial weapons and jewelry for casters is so bad that virtually nobody is using them.

HyperToxic

Why the major nerf hammer to Wrath of Imperium? The Spell Crit was 10 and it has been divided by 8? With a tiny addition of spell damage (half of what every other set I checked has). This set will be virtually useless by anyone with half a brain as there are better 2 piece sets – Cyrodill’s Light anyone?

HyperToxic

For PvE and Trials pets don’t work. Last sorc that had his Twilight out had it run on is own and agro a boss. Pets also steal heals from player when you don’t want them too.

TwilightDragonite

• Updated the Black and Maroon Dress icon and tints.

There is no indication anywhere that this actually exists. Was it always supposed to be in the store and just didn't work, or is this a typo? It'd be nice if there was a dress costume that doesn't glow in the dark as much as I do.

HyperToxic

Out of my four classes my sorc is my only character that needs to respect Crushing Shock to Force Pulse depending on if I’m doing Vet DSA or SO. (Because all my other classes do more DPS with their own class abilities and can have my ranged interrupt Crushing Shock on hand at all times)

HyperToxic

Only 54 unique sorcs out of 52 runs completed Sanctum in the last weekly Trial on NA Live.

The reason for this is raid leaders know that the dps checks in SO are extreme and sorc dps on avg does not compete with NB, DK or even Templar (DPS) on live. Most of this is because the sorc ultimate simply does very low to nonexistence damage and cannot be compared to the awesome utility or damage of Standard, Nova or Veil. The other part of this is because sorcs lack a weavable ability like Funnel Health or Unstable Flame and must use Force Pulse/Crushing Shock.

I’m one of the only 35 people (to date) on the NA server that as completed the Sanctum speed achievement. I play with some of the top PvE dps in the game, many of them have sorcs. The general consensus regarding sorcs for PvE is the same: shelf the sorc and level a (insert other class here)...

BTW I love Sea of Flames on my DK - but this is a nerf to all other classes now isn't it?

HyperToxic

C0pp3rhead wrote: »

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

Please make 'solo easing' a checkbox option under settings.

Please default it to OFF and/or include the option/description in the Wailing Prison tutorial.
Some of us are persistent ***'s. determined to clear things, as intended, one way or the other.

Equally, I can see this having the opposite effect, as people will not realize the true scaling of an instance if it was auto-nerfed during a previous run on a different character.

Yes, please. Allow us to turn off 'solo easing'.

I agree, I'd rather wipe a million times before ever wanting easing. I guess I'm part of the gamming generation that wants the challenge. How else do you improve? What is the point of a game if not for improvement.

HyperToxic

All of my characters (with exception of my Templar) on live feel more powerful than on PTS.

70 CP makes me like I’m V1 again but going against V14s when doing PvE. 600 CP feels right back at home. 3600 makes even the hardest content a cakewalk.

It takes 400,000 XP to earn a CP (assuming I never rest – which I don’t). The fastest grinds are 400k ~ 600k per hour (But these keep being removed). However since my characters are already end game – I will be forced to grind. Especially my main because I’ve completed the content.

But how much grinding will I be forced to do?

Lets figure I can get a VR level worth of XP a day (which is extreme).

To get 600 CP – I would need an additional 530 CP. 530 CP * 400,000 XP = 212,000,000. Divide that by a Vet Level (1 million XP) you will get 212 Vet Levels (or 212 days at 1 Vet Level a day).

To get 3600 CP – I would need an additional 3530 CP. 3530 CP * 400,000 XP = 1,412,000,000. Divide that by a Vet Level (1 million XP) you will get 1,412 Vet Levels (or 3.87 YEARS! at 1 Vet Level a day).

My prediction is as follows: ESO end game (whats left of it) is going to halt. People that don’t leave the game are going to grind. Raids are going to be composed solely of those with the highest DPS and hence CP.

Cogo

HyperToxic wrote: »

My prediction is as follows: ESO end game (whats left of it) is going to halt. People that don’t leave the game are going to grind. Raids are going to be composed solely of those with the highest DPS and hence CP.

Interesting prediction, since all that content grants exp......

You don't need to grind, but everything you get exp for counts towards your champion points....
Update 6 actually gives me more reason to do dungeons I might not otherwise do again.

Also, gives me a huge reason to be in Cyrodiil.

I am Curios about why trials will consists of the highest dps? Will not trials needs groups that got multiple ultimate, class skills and a very good teamwork when to use what? Even with the buff system, everything can be used when the buff runs out. All buffs and debuffs works with other kinds of buffs. They just dont stack until they run out.....

Isn't it more likely that trials will consists of groups who....well, starting to know eachother? Like raiding is?

I am not talking about Trial 1. Thats still damage. But Arena, other trials, Cyro and hell even some Vet Dungeons will depend far more on timing your skills and have access to several different kinds of ultimate.

Sure, it most likely takes a while for most to get the hang of it and things you used today may not work in Update 6.

I do not see any problem though?

Ageless

Have been thrown off again, without warning or explanation. I was jumping a wall. No jumping of walls allowed in the game!

Trying to relog after 5 minutes gives "Error 103 (4:5:265:0), Error 103 (4:5:265:0), Failed to obtain server connection information." Trying to relog after 7 minutes gets me logged back in.

Parrotbrain

When will live be out? We have been waiting for nearly four months now... ::drooling::

Ageless

Wait... I murdered an NPC (with thanks for the achievement) after I fireballed him by accident and he came after me with his sword drawn. Really it was self-defense. But that got my bounty up to 75 gold. I already had some 23 from an earlier accidental fireballing of an Eagle Talon. They don't like that, you know?

Now that the bounty is back down to 72, I am notorious and will no longer be killed on sight by everyone and their little sister.

Uh... so
75 gold == Murderer! Immediate Death When Near Anyone With A Weapon.
72 gold == Notorious, or No one cares, you can pay off your bounty.
70 gold == Disreputable.

What?

I may need a new manual for this game.
Notorious: famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed.
Disreputable: not considered to be respectable in character or appearance.

My bounty has since been stuck at 63 gold. 75 gold -> 63 gold was a mere 3 minutes. I've been at this 63g for the past 15 minutes now.

Enodoc

Ageless wrote: »

Wait... I murdered an NPC (with thanks for the achievement) after I fireballed him by accident and he came after me with his sword drawn. Really it was self-defense. But that got my bounty up to 75 gold. I already had some 23 from an earlier accidental fireballing of an Eagle Talon. They don't like that, you know?

Now that the bounty is back down to 72, I am notorious and will no longer be killed on sight by everyone and their little sister.

Uh... so
75 gold == Murderer! Immediate Death When Near Anyone With A Weapon.
72 gold == Notorious, or No one cares, you can pay off your bounty.
70 gold == Disreputable.

What?

I may need a new manual for this game.
Notorious: famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed.
Disreputable: not considered to be respectable in character or appearance.

My bounty has since been stuck at 63 gold. 75 gold -> 63 gold was a mere 3 minutes. I've been at this 63g for the past 15 minutes now.

That sounds a bit off... once Heat (the red bit) had decayed, the Bounty value (and the white bit) should decay at a constant rate of X gold (based on level) every 3 minutes.

ForKristSake

I am commenting on the Justice System only...

Please, please, please… You need to make the guards harder to get away from. It's way too easy to get away from the guards now. I had one chase me for about 40 meters and then he gave up. I don't know if he ate a heavy breakfast, or is just lazy and apathetic, or it's just part of the new game mechanics… but when this goes live it will be chaos if you don't make the guards much harder to get away from.

I am not this type of player, but I wanted to know what would happen if I went on a total sociopathic murdering spree. I went to a LVL1 area in Vuhlkel Guard with a VR14, where I could one-shot every single NPC. I think I killed 50 people and only one guard even saw me. Not only should the guards be harder to get away from, but they should come running if people complain that you've murdered someone. If not, players will run around and kill NPCs left and right, and low level players will have no one to pickpocket and it will completely ruin the justice system.

Also, I love what you've done with the first-person point of view, but can you please make the head-bob a little bit more exaggerated. I noticed that it was barely moving, and it was already set to max (100). Don't get me wrong, I don't want to get seasick or feel like I'm watching the Blair Witch Project, but a little more head-bob would make it more realistic. Players can always turn it down from Max or completely turn it off.

You will unleash a flood of VR level trolls if the justice system stays this way.

ForKristSake

Hey, I'm back…

When I wrote my last post I was at 53 murders. I just timed it and I killed 47 more people in 6 min 48 sec I was only chased by the guards once, and I was chased by two guards yet somehow I got away quite easily. I know it's a VR level character, but I was able to kill every NPC in the entire Fighters Guild and the entire Mages Guild in under one minute.

Please, either put in more guards and or make them come running if people witness the crime. I love the justice system, But it's way way too easy right now.

And, by the way, I don't have any gold on me. That means I could keep doing this and rack up bounties and never pay a single piece of gold bounty. As long as I stay outside the law and don't care about keeping my stolen goods, then I'm not paying the 51k bounty I currently have.

Maybe the guards should take the bounty from your bank.

Ageless

ForKristSake wrote: »

Maybe the guards should take the bounty from your bank.

But then also, when you've killed 100 people, the bounty shouldn't decrease at all. If you're a mass-murderer by choice, there should be no option that you can log off and wait 24 hours (say), then log back on and be care free, bounty gone. Although if Enodoc is right -- and I don't see why he or she wouldn't be -- and the decrease rate is 1 credit per 3 minutes, then it takes about 283 hours to get rid of a 51K bounty.

pvpaddict42

HyperToxic wrote: »

DK Ultimate "Standard of Might" provides awesome damage and awesome mitigation for the caster - this mitigation stacks with everything. This ultimate also reduces incoming healing on the enemy, it also provides a damage buff to the caster.

Templar Ultimate "Nova" provides awesome damage and awesome mitigation for the group - this mitigation stacks with everything.

Nightblade Ultimate "Vail of Blades" provides awesome damage and awesome mitigation for the group - this mitigation stacks with everything.

Sorc Ultimate "Nagate" provides dispelling of abilities unless it is a boss fight and for how long? Instant? The mitigation for the ability is the same mitigation you get from Circle of Protection (an active ability) and does not stack with it?

How is this balanced?

Negate should provide real mitigation (that stacks with everything) and do damage like all the other ultimates. Please FIX Nagate or nobody will use it in PvE.

You forgot to mention that negate also dispels other ultimates its dropped on as well as preventing magicka attacks within the bubble. That's plenty of mitigation and it doesn't really need damage. It can also buff the members inside of it or stun the enemies inside of it. It doesn't need fixing, its simply a different tool. It has it's uses in PvE and it's all over the place in PvP.

ForKristSake

Ageless wrote: »

ForKristSake wrote: »

Maybe the guards should take the bounty from your bank.

But then also, when you've killed 100 people, the bounty shouldn't decrease at all. If you're a mass-murderer by choice, there should be no option that you can log off and wait 24 hours (say), then log back on and be care free, bounty gone. Although if Enodoc is right -- and I don't see why he or she wouldn't be -- and the decrease rate is 1 credit per 3 minutes, then it takes about 283 hours to get rid of a 51K bounty.

I did not know the bounty will go down while you are offline. But doesn't it seem like it shouldn't be so easy to kill without a guard ever coming around to check things out? Seems like it's "unrealistic" and it could profoundly effect the city environment when it goes live. You could create a new toon every day and never pay a bounty. Just run around killing, or beating people up, or whatever (you know the kind of trolls I'm talking about). It would create a very chaotic environment, especially in low level cities.

Hopefully the devs at least do not make any murder achievements above 100.

Positive note: I am glad you cannot pay the 146g to wayshrine away when you have a bounty. Maybe it was a bug, but that seemed to make sense.

HaljaNifheim

Step into one of the bars or any of the buildings that have guards standing near the door with a bounty on your head. The pay bounty dialog expires most times before you can interact and door exiting is cut off.