When/where/how does combat become challenging?

iVun3

When/where/how does combat gameplay become challenging or engaging or substantial? I have played till level 20 or 30 during (dont remember which one) when this game was on Stadia. Now I got it on pc. And I recall it being super fun, but combat was very... it felt very empty. And logging in now again, it still feels the same. Is that me doing something wrong?

Does Combat become more challenging if I level up? And if not, then are there allot of content that is challenging? Or is it like just one tiny little corner in the entire game that is challenging for 20 minutes and that's it?
Is it like other mmo's where the end game is where all the challenges are? And is there enough endgame content?

And is it possible to make solo content more challenging to make it feel a bit more substantial? Because the solo content is very enjoyable from my point of view, it feels like it's a waste to keep it void of gameplay challenge, for such an immensely perfect game, not? Why not increase dmg and hp of enemy and reduce damg and hp of player? Badebeem badeboom, and the game is perfect. Not? xD

Not sure why this is the way it is. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this normal and is there challenging gameplay on different content or level? And if so, which one?

Thanks

tomofhyrule

Assuming this is a genuine question: The overland/story content is designed so that it's accessible to everybody, including people who are not l33t gamerz. ZOS has been adding mechanics into the stories of later DLCs, but they are still intended to be for the masses.

For anyone interested in more challenging content, there are - in order - Public Dungeons, Group Dungeons, and Trials. The latter two also have normal and vet level modes, and the vet versions also come with hardmode mechanics.

Note also that self-imposed challenges are also possible. Any player can attempt to do group content (4-man dungeons or 12-man trials) with fewer than the intended number of players for additional challenge. Some people enjoy trying to solo the group dungeons on vet.

There are also two solo arenas (Maelstrom and Vateshran), both with a normal and vet mode, and the Infinite Archive is a solo/duo arena that continually ramps in difficulty until you end your run.

If, however, this is just another edition of the perennial "omg overland is too easy and I don't feel like doing content at my level so make everything harder" thread, the mods would rather you post in the stickied thread for that.

Stamicka

ESO has a great combat system in my opinion, but you wouldn't know until you get into PvP or try vet content. You won't find any challenge or reason to engage with the combat system while questing or doing overland content. Nothing really requires blocking, rolling, or putting out damage.

Even some of ESO's older vet content is pretty dated these days. If you're looking for challenge, you could try Battlegrounds once you hit CP160. I think some of the older vet dungeons would be somewhat challenging at that level as well. It's possible that you'll get grouped with someone who can make vet dungeons feel very easy though.

The veteran solo arenas have some challenge to them, especially if you do them at low CP. I would definitely recommend Vet Maelstrom Arena. It's old content, but it's well designed enough to enforce the importance of ESO's core combat mechanics.

DinoZavr

This is you, who select difficulty, you are comfortable with.

Soloing 4-man group dungeons is really challenging.
There are 26 of these (24 provided with base game and 2 with Imperial City DLC, which is free to claim).
If you are subscribed you can access 50+ group dungeons total (see some notes below, please)

You can solo Fungal Grotto 1 with level 20-ish character in average gear.
After you do this, there are DC 1, Spindle1, Wayrest 1, CoA 1... etc
Of course all of them have different difficulty and different bosses mechanics.
You can search ESO Subreddit for ESO Dungeons difficulty table
good lists are outdated, but base game dungeons have not changed since
https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/nqi09r/my_dungeon_difficulty_tier_list_agree_or_disagree/
you get something like that

thanks to redditors
(i failed to pinpoint the post this table appeared in 2020 first time to credit the author,
who summarized the results of dungeons difficulty poll, answered by ordinary players)

there are hard modes and veteran difficulty, or both when you would like more challenge.
DLC group dungeons are much harder than the base game ones.

Not all of them are soloable (due to mechanics like pressure plates in Direfrost Keep), but most of them are
Some are tricky (requiring "Precognition" skill when you get into non-breakable crowd-control like coccoon in Fg2
or avoiding to be turned into a skeleton in Blackheart Haven fighting transformed into werewolf. so, creative and fun stuff)
Tip: you search youtube for" ESO dungeon_name solo , and if there are many matches - then it is most likely soloable

Also next obvious idea is Infinite Archive (solo/duo arena) with progressively increasing difficulty, this is accessible even with the base game only.

Two solo arenas are Maelstrom (requires Orsinium) and Vateshran (requires Markarth)
base game Dragonstar Arena is soloable on normal difficulty and this is rather easy

Plus world bosses. DLC ones are challenging.

ESO does not force hard content for you. You seek it and play, what is comfortable challenge level for you.

Desiato

99.999999% of the content in this game is pick up and play ezmode. I don't know how anyone could possibly die in a non-boss overland encounter without being afk or a severe malfunction of some kind, although there are rumors in the forums that it happens.....

Even vet trials are pretty easy if one can follow guides. Difficult content in ESO comes in the form of completing hard mode trials quickly and without any deaths, also known as trifectas.

So rather than having very difficult encounters, competitive players test themselves by seeing who can complete moderately difficult content as efficiently as possible.

A problem players run into is that most of the game is so easy, most players don't really learn how the systems work, so when they try something more difficult like a vet dungeon/arena/trial, they are overwhelmed.

At the end of the day, ESO is mostly an ultracasual online rpg designed to be accessible for the average fan of Skyrim -- which, not incidentally, is one of the top selling games of all time.

ZOS_Icy

Greetings,

With there already being a thread opened on this subject here, we're going to go ahead and close this one down.

Thank you for understanding.