Infinite archive suggestions

KromedeTheCorrupt

IA suffers from player retention for various reasons.

1.) EVERYTHING is black and green and lacks any diversity of aesthetics besides 1 particular style pallet.

Fix - Add more variety like sandy beaches or dungeons like captain black heart island. Nobody wants to look as the same pallet everyday also not dark colors that are hard to even see everything in.

2.) Everything is expensive and most won’t even buy all the upgrades due to the sheer amount of time you have to sink to even get just those unlocked.

Fix - Either lower everything by half of increase the reward currency by double. It takes far too much to unlock stuff and it’s not feasible unless you login to play IA on eso and that’s it’s.

3.) IA - Visions, Verses, ect.

This makes playing IA even worse for most people. We got rolled up into the RNG powers that be. So the endless dungeon isn’t a test of your skill, gear dmg, defensiveness or healing capabilities. It’s you get focused efforts and 1 shot everything or you get small other buffs that almost all become useless in arc +4 due to the sheer amount of stupid dmg and hp mobs do.

Fix - Re work IA with no visions or verses. So we don’t have to allow on RNG to determine how far were allowed to go.

If you aren’t going to remove RNG from your dungeon at least let people pick what verse and visions they want but not count for leaderboards.

Having fun is more important rather than when we’re given content that completely ignores all of our power and gear and makes us rely on rng for how good we do. Yeah that’s such a good idea make a new arena with that and see how well the feedback is.

4.) Boring - Trash mobs/boss repeat

- the final arc boss changes until arc 4 but the mind numbing rounds of trash mobs don’t. The ever changing random boss is fine but the trash mobs are just boring and lack luster.

Fix - Some type of change to mobs the mages were a good change but it’s more or less still the same just the stakes are higher and more dangerous. Not really thrilled or fun doing the rounds rather be doing writs sometimes. Boss fights are fine though since it’s always random to keep it fresh.

5.) Drop rates, style pages

My brother was going to farm style pages until he ran it 10 times and got zero. That’s a good way to keep people away why mmo rely on rng so much is beyond me.

Sets are another thing it takes far too long to grind all the pieces on 1 class let alone 6.

Fix - style pages drop more often and 1 guaranteed at the end of the arc boss fight.

Sets drops in 1 weight that counts for all 3 weights. This is just a padded set drop rate tbh for people to play it more.

6.) No save mechanic

Fix - just add one already it’s the most requested thing for IA just disable them from the leaderboard. Everybody wins.

That’s all I got right now but people don’t really want to play something filled with RNG nothing is in our control and it feels helpless to even start playing IA when everything that makes up IA is stacked against you from the very beginning.

Necrotech_Master

the currency adds up especially when going far lol

im actually sitting on like 550k fortunes right now because i dont have much to spend it on except provisioning satchels, once you buy the upgrades theres not much to spend it on except for the rotation vendor and material satchels

the drops on the style pages are mixed, some runs ive gotten 0 and other runs ive had as many as 8 style page drops (i think im down to only like 6 style page drops left, never spent fortunes on them either lol)

for gear farming i usually prefer clearing to arc 3, that way you get 3 tho'at drops and 2 marauder drops for gear (assuming no double drops, thats 3 armor and 2 weapons per run)

they have been starting to add in more varied arena environments, the ice and fire ones have notably different color palates compared to the original arenas

for me personally i enjoy archive, its one of my favorite things to run in the game besides imperial city, its a great way to test builds

fizl101

The variety you get with different verses and visions is what i like about archives, i would hate that to go. Yes focused efforts is strong but it interesting to carry on without and see how else you can get the power

ZOS_Kevin

Thanks for the feedback, @KromedeTheCorrupt. We can pass this on. Just a few comments on some of the suggestions. Can't speak on everything, but there are a few points to note.

• EVERYTHING is black and green and lacks any diversity of aesthetics besides 1 particular style pallet.

We did add in two additional biomes this year for IA that should be generating at random. And we will add more in the future. And palate wise for styles, we will do the same. Everything won't always be the same colors. These just take time to develop. Don't have a timeline for those, but we do agree that more diversity in this area is a good thing.

• IA - Visions, Verses, ect.

This is most likely not going to change. IA was built in part with the roguelike genre of games in mind. Which have a built in element of RNG when working toward a build for your run. So that is most likely not going to change. Totally get that you may not be a fan of RNG elements. Totally fine. There are others who are and like that element of IA.

• No save mechanic

The team is aware of this. Nothing to announce at this point, but the team is aware and seeing what is possible without disrupting the intent of the game mode. But totally recognize that saving as been one of the most popular requests for IA.

Everything else are things that can be adjusted, but we will send the full list to the team for them to review and they can handle accordingly. Thanks again for the feedback!

colossalvoids

I'd like more new environments, we've got a couple new ones and it's definitely got lot better so couple more here and there would be a good thing. Not looking forward to "bright" ones in this means "friendlier" environment, sure thing visibility wise.

Prices might look higher if you're resetting first stage all the time, but if you're actually playing further more less couple days a week you soon will have more currency than things to spend it on.

Style pages drops are fine imo, you not supposed to be showered with those, you're getting more opportunities the further you go and that at least gives some feeling of accomplishment in game that showers you with stuff constantly.

KromedeTheCorrupt

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

the currency adds up especially when going far lol

im actually sitting on like 550k fortunes right now because i dont have much to spend it on except provisioning satchels, once you buy the upgrades theres not much to spend it on except for the rotation vendor and material satchels

the drops on the style pages are mixed, some runs ive gotten 0 and other runs ive had as many as 8 style page drops (i think im down to only like 6 style page drops left, never spent fortunes on them either lol)

for gear farming i usually prefer clearing to arc 3, that way you get 3 tho'at drops and 2 marauder drops for gear (assuming no double drops, thats 3 armor and 2 weapons per run)

they have been starting to add in more varied arena environments, the ice and fire ones have notably different color palates compared to the original arenas

for me personally i enjoy archive, its one of my favorite things to run in the game besides imperial city, its a great way to test builds

I’m glad you enjoy IA and respect the input. But this is for people who don’t enjoy IA as is. My suggestions are for people who hate IA for any of the reasons above. This is the data I’ve collected on the forums, guild mates and friends.

I enjoy IA myself but drop rates for armor is my biggest grip there is no need to farm all 3 weights. It’s just redundant. I also have bad luck with style pages.

KromedeTheCorrupt

colossalvoids wrote: »

I'd like more new environments, we've got a couple new ones and it's definitely got lot better so couple more here and there would be a good thing. Not looking forward to "bright" ones in this means "friendlier" environment, sure thing visibility wise.

Prices might look higher if you're resetting first stage all the time, but if you're actually playing further more less couple days a week you soon will have more currency than things to spend it on.

Style pages drops are fine imo, you not supposed to be showered with those, you're getting more opportunities the further you go and that at least gives some feeling of accomplishment in game that showers you with stuff constantly.

Thank you for your input first of all! I also have been playing since it came out. I’m still missing style pages and not many more armor pieces. I’m against showering players with everything but IMO armor weights are redundant and style pages could be a higher drop rate but I just want a guaranteed style page drop from at least arc 3 last boss.

KromedeTheCorrupt

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback, @KromedeTheCorrupt. We can pass this on. Just a few comments on some of the suggestions. Can't speak on everything, but there are a few points to note.

• EVERYTHING is black and green and lacks any diversity of aesthetics besides 1 particular style pallet.

We did add in two additional biomes this year for IA that should be generating at random. And we will add more in the future. And palate wise for styles, we will do the same. Everything won't always be the same colors. These just take time to develop. Don't have a timeline for those, but we do agree that more diversity in this area is a good thing.

• IA - Visions, Verses, ect.

This is most likely not going to change. IA was built in part with the roguelike genre of games in mind. Which have a built in element of RNG when working toward a build for your run. So that is most likely not going to change. Totally get that you may not be a fan of RNG elements. Totally fine. There are others who are and like that element of IA.

• No save mechanic

The team is aware of this. Nothing to announce at this point, but the team is aware and seeing what is possible without disrupting the intent of the game mode. But totally recognize that saving as been one of the most popular requests for IA.

Everything else are things that can be adjusted, but we will send the full list to the team for them to review and they can handle accordingly. Thanks again for the feedback!

I appreciate the acknowledgement Kev! I also would like to add my only grips were low style page drops and redundant armor weights! I would also love to see more pallet styles! Glad to hear more were added.

A lot of these points are from data I’ve collected with my own footwork so ofc take with a grain of salt!

ESO_player123

I agree that the trash packs are annoying. They are harder than the bosses and take too much time.
A save would be nice too.

I disagree on pretty much everything else.
- The randomness of the verses/visions is part of what this place is. I like them but feel that some can be safely removed as most people probably do not use them much.
- The aesthetics: it's apocrypha based, so I do not see how we can see beaches there. If changed, that would be inconsistent with the lore of the place IMO.
- Currency: I think it's not enough only if you want to buy absolutely everything in the shops (and I do not mean upgrades).

Necrotech_Master

KromedeTheCorrupt wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

the currency adds up especially when going far lol

im actually sitting on like 550k fortunes right now because i dont have much to spend it on except provisioning satchels, once you buy the upgrades theres not much to spend it on except for the rotation vendor and material satchels

the drops on the style pages are mixed, some runs ive gotten 0 and other runs ive had as many as 8 style page drops (i think im down to only like 6 style page drops left, never spent fortunes on them either lol)

for gear farming i usually prefer clearing to arc 3, that way you get 3 tho'at drops and 2 marauder drops for gear (assuming no double drops, thats 3 armor and 2 weapons per run)

they have been starting to add in more varied arena environments, the ice and fire ones have notably different color palates compared to the original arenas

for me personally i enjoy archive, its one of my favorite things to run in the game besides imperial city, its a great way to test builds

I’m glad you enjoy IA and respect the input. But this is for people who don’t enjoy IA as is. My suggestions are for people who hate IA for any of the reasons above. This is the data I’ve collected on the forums, guild mates and friends.

I enjoy IA myself but drop rates for armor is my biggest grip there is no need to farm all 3 weights. It’s just redundant. I also have bad luck with style pages.

the armor is not unique in farming all 3 weights

theres several overland sets which have 3 weights and you have to get all those drops separately

off the top of my head thats both sets from hews bane (syvarras scales and bahrahas curse), 1 set from gold coast (i think sithis touch), and the trainee set from starter zones

in this case its just adding a huge amount all at once that needs to be farmed out (7 classes of 36 pieces each)

Sarannah

Personally I am not too bothered with the IA's colorscheme, and I just find the IA fun. But am sort of against a savefunction as it disrupts the feel and flow of the IA itself. Namely going in and seeing how far you can go. So I'd rather see more upgrades that speed up the process of getting to the higher arcs much much faster.

My suggestions taken from another thread about the IA savefunction:
Instead of a save function, I'd rather ZOS finds a way to make the IA go faster. A way for players to move up through the arcs faster. Possibly through the use of upgrades.
Upgrade ideas to make the infinite archive go faster, especially when all of them are combined:
-A skip arc upgrade. Example: You buy the skip arc 1 upgrade for 1 million fortunes(has to be very expensive), and are allowed to skip arc 1. By buying the skip arc 1 upgrade, you unlock the skip arc 2 upgrade to be bought for 2 million fortunes. By buying the arc 2 skip upgrade, you unlock the skip arc 3 upgrade to be bought for 3 million fortunes. Etc, etc. This guarantees multiple things: The player has to have experience in the archive to be able to skip arcs. The player can only skip arcs they have bought the upgrades for. The player has a reason to gather massive amounts of fortunes, where the extra fortunes gains from starting in later arcs no longer matters. And the player is able to build up arc skips, the more they play the archive. (This upgrade should ofcourse exclude players from a leaderboard run, and not sure on how to handle visions with this upgrade active(maybe a new set of randomly granted visions every 24h for the skipped arcs, so we can't reset it every time to get better visions))

-An upgrade to have a 25% chance to get an avatar verse each time you can select a verse in arc 1-3, without having unlocked that avatar fully yet. Should be 500k fortunes. To allow players to get through the arcs faster. A similar upgrade for arc 4-6 for 1 million fortunes, arc 7-9 for 1.5 million fortunes, etc, etc. You can only buy the higher arc avatar verse upgrades if you have all the lower ones. So to buy the arc 4-6 avatar verse upgrade, you have to have bought the arc 1-3 avatar upgrade. And so on.

-An adjustable IA upgrade which would allow us to spawn all three groups of monsters in a stage at once, up until the arc we set it at(including the marauders!). This would still have players start over every run, but would allow us to move through the *for that player* easier arcs much much faster. A fair price for such an upgrade would be 1 million fortunes. For example: The new upgrade "IA overload" allows the player to right click and set any number from 1-99. After setting this number, all arcs up to and including that number now have the monsters in those stages spawn all three groups at once. If a player sets IA overload '5', all arcs up to and including arc 5 will spawn all three groups of monsters in stages instantly. The advantages of this type of upgrade are: 1: The players themselves can choose up to which arc they find the IA easy. 2: Arcs go by much much faster. 3: Nothing has to be changed or saved in the IA, as nothing except the monster spawnrate is changed. 4: A save function would no longer be needed. 5: This would be fair with fortune droprates in mind, noone would be able to gain massive amounts of fortunes due to re-starting at a very high arc.

- After every boss stage, let us select a verse and a vision instead of only a vision. This will help speed up our progress in the archive quite a bit, as we won't have to clear a round without a verse active.

-A fourth vision and fourth verse choice every time we get to select one of either.

-Make repairs from the merchant in the IA free. (small timesaver)

*Note: The costs of all the above upgrades should be increasingly high, as they also allow for gaining fortunes much faster. And the upgrades should always have an option to turn them completely off.*

MidniteOwl1913

It's good that ZOS is adding some additional colors to the palate. It really is visually boring and tiring. Personally I'm not a fan of IA, I don't like the all the trash that drops nothing and just seems to be there to make it take longer.

Also the 4th cycle bosses in the first couple of arcs are often harder than Tho'at this is a design flaw in my opinion. And the dragon should be the challenge, not the tiny platform.

Dithieon

One thing I would like to see is a bigger selection of Leads to buy. Maybe another Filer Merchant just for Leads in the IA loot table.

Caligamy_ESO

For me the biggest gripes are no saves, or picking up where you left off. We killed ourselves off the other night in Arc 7 because we simply didn't have the time to continue. The other is with the introduction of the ice and fire arenas we got even more verses and visions without any sort of reroll or banish options that every other roguelike out there does have so it is rather difficult to form any sort of cohesive build that plays off the visions and verses within.

I am done collecting every set piece in there but I still run it with friends and I've purchased everything you can get from the upgrades sections and am still sitting at half a mil currency spending it mostly on leads, mask styles, and the occasional script affix or companion gear. There's not much to do with it otherwise.

katanagirl1

Having leads drop from only the side areas is a real limitation if running solo is the only option. I FINALLY got the first Apocrypha Clothing station this week. I haven’t finished the Ayleid Torc or whatever it is, and have only one of all the individual leads except the large light diffuser. It’s been said that leads drop from the Tho’at chests but I don’t think I have got a single lead from one.