ESO needs consistent balance and tuning updates (not just big patches)

QB1

ESO's biggest strength as a game is customization, the ability to build almost anything you can image and make it work. But for way too long everyone has been running the same stuff (same sets, same skill lines, etc) because we don't get regular tuning or balance updates.

Tons of class abilities, passives, and older sets have been left untouched for years. The result is a meta that gets stale and drives players away in both PvE and PvP.

We desperately need consistent, smaller scale balance passes throughout the year. Not asking for constant nerfs or total reworks, just active maintenance:

-Lightly buff old or forgotten skills/sets so they’re worth revisiting
-Adjust overtuned skills/sets to prevent runaway metas

Without consistent tuning, we end up in long stretches where the same handful of builds dominate in PvE and PvP and it drives people away from the game. When a gun, skill, or build becomes clearly overtuned in a live service game like Call of Duty, Rivals, Apex, etc., devs typically push out hotfixes or balance patches within days or weeks, not months or years.

All that said, this is still one of the best games of all time! I like that the team has been soliciting community feedback with the recent surveys and everything they've been doing. Please keep it up and look into regular, active balancing/maintenance!

Renato90085

what mean desperately?
we no any balance change for the next 6 months

Zodiarkslayer

The Devs should work on a consistent framework for performance of skills first.

Most of the imbalance issues stem from the fact that some skills get to combine multiple effects and others are simple and one dimensional.

Other skills suffer from useless effects, that blow their power budget on the infamous spread sheet. Take movement speed reductions or stuns for exsmple, which are useless, if not in PvP (Bosses are all immune and any monsters that isn't a Boss dies from one or two skill casts anyway).

BasP

Yeah, I definitely agree. I’d really to see smaller balance adjustments happen more consistently, maybe once a month or so. I’m not a fan of the current model where we only get four opportunities a year for potential combat changes.

The bigger, more impactful changes could still be reserved for those PTS cycles. But small adjustments, like increasing the damage of an underperforming skill such as Twisting Path by 10%, could easily be made in between in my opinion. It’d help keep the game feeling more responsive and better balanced overall.

CP5

One of the problems with frequent small updates is having those updates checked by the companies who manage the other platforms. When I played Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, the developers there got around this because their weekly patches were purely server side value changes. Things like damage numbers, fire rate, ability cooldowns, could all be changed without needing to patch the game directly. Setting this up if it isn't already would take time, but the ability to buff half a dozen things that are under performing every week, and reigning in over performing things before they become oppressive, made the game feel comfortable to play. In the end, almost everything had a place because the developers could constantly tweak values. Doing that here to maintain balance between major changes would be amazing, but it isn't easy if they don't already have a way to do this.

QB1

BasP wrote: »

Yeah, I definitely agree. I’d really to see smaller balance adjustments happen more consistently, maybe once a month or so. I’m not a fan of the current model where we only get four opportunities a year for potential combat changes.

The bigger, more impactful changes could still be reserved for those PTS cycles. But small adjustments, like increasing the damage of an underperforming skill such as Twisting Path by 10%, could easily be made in between in my opinion. It’d help keep the game feeling more responsive and better balanced overall.

Exactly this

QB1

CP5 wrote: »

One of the problems with frequent small updates is having those updates checked by the companies who manage the other platforms. When I played Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, the developers there got around this because their weekly patches were purely server side value changes. Things like damage numbers, fire rate, ability cooldowns, could all be changed without needing to patch the game directly. Setting this up if it isn't already would take time, but the ability to buff half a dozen things that are under performing every week, and reigning in over performing things before they become oppressive, made the game feel comfortable to play. In the end, almost everything had a place because the developers could constantly tweak values. Doing that here to maintain balance between major changes would be amazing, but it isn't easy if they don't already have a way to do this.

yeah i have no idea how much of a lift it would be for them to do this. But if it's possible it would be a night and day difference

QB1

If any devs are reading this and aren't sure where to start, here ya go:

NERF merciless resolve and deep fissure. Every single pvp build uses these skills since subclassing update and it's absolutely horrible.

NERF arcanist beam. Every single PvE dps uses this and for months (or really since the release of arcanist) players have been complaining on here that every dps has to be a beam build. Makes no sense why this hasn't been adjusted

DaveMoeDee

No thank you. Longer periods of no change is far better.

QB1

DaveMoeDee wrote: »

No thank you. Longer periods of no change is far better.

how so?

preevious

I agree. Some things stays overtuned for too long, while others are forgotten.

The main problem, though, is that PVE and PVP use the same skill lines, and we cannot balance one without unbalancing the other. It's quite hard to pull that off right.

valenwood_vegan

It would be nice if more resources were being put into eso, but I wouldn't expect any combat changes or adjustments, or anything really, until the next quarterly update in Feb / March.

Dalinar4

I would even be happy with consistent balancing passes. If I new at the end of every month there would be half a dozen small changes made it would give me a great deal of hope.

RebornV3x

This game is 10 years old it should need very few very subtle balance changes at this point with a clear vision and direction. The whole motto of "play how you want" is a double edged sword in terms of balance.

They need to be BUFFING less used skills to give more choice half the skills in this game are useless when was the last time anyone used Trapping Webs for example. Nerfing is lazy and should be used sparingly.

QB1

RebornV3x wrote: »

This game is 10 years old it should need very few very subtle balance changes at this point with a clear vision and direction. The whole motto of "play how you want" is a double edged sword in terms of balance.

They need to be BUFFING less used skills to give more choice half the skills in this game are useless when was the last time anyone used Trapping Webs for example. Nerfing is lazy and should be used sparingly.

Agree for the most part but there are certain skills that absolutely need tuned down, ie. merciless resolve, deep fissure in PvP, arcanist beam in pve

preevious

QB1 wrote: »

RebornV3x wrote: »

This game is 10 years old it should need very few very subtle balance changes at this point with a clear vision and direction. The whole motto of "play how you want" is a double edged sword in terms of balance.

They need to be BUFFING less used skills to give more choice half the skills in this game are useless when was the last time anyone used Trapping Webs for example. Nerfing is lazy and should be used sparingly.

Agree for the most part but there are certain skills that absolutely need tuned down, ie. merciless resolve, deep fissure in PvP, arcanist beam in pve

I don't know about pvp, but that is absolutely right. Beam brings to much for too little investents. it's the swiss army knife of skills. Should be brought down a little.

lostineternity

I've been playing other mmos and ESO situation is terrible. While other mmos provide extra fixes, balances of crucial issues in a few days and constant rebalance every few weeks, in ESO we can wait for fixes months (hello subclassing) or even years.

QB1

lostineternity wrote: »

I've been playing other mmos and ESO situation is terrible. While other mmos provide extra fixes, balances of crucial issues in a few days and constant rebalance every few weeks, in ESO we can wait for fixes months (hello subclassing) or even years.

Yup it’s unfortunate

React

QB1 wrote: »

If any devs are reading this and aren't sure where to start, here ya go:

NERF merciless resolve and deep fissure. Every single pvp build uses these skills since subclassing update and it's absolutely horrible.

I was all for the OP until this comment.

They shouldn't be nerfing a single thing until they buff the underutilized lines. The game is obviously in an extremely rough spot balance wise, and it isn't because a few things are overperforming - it's because the vast majority of things are underperforming, and we're left with a homogeonized and stale environment where the meta combinations are extremely pronounced. If they nerf the things that are strong before buffing the things that are weak, they'll sap the last bit of fun straight out of the game.

Sure, things like assassination, aedric spear, and animal companions might be a bit too strong in certain ways. Restoring light is arguably too strong defensively. Some people might say that storm calling is too strong given all that it offers.

But that is 4-5 lines out of the 21 total class lines in the game. Not even a quarter of the total lines. They need to be focusing on substantially buffing the underperforming lines first and foremost, something they should have started immediately following subclassing. After things are brought up to par with the skill lines that actually feel good to use, then they could consider nerfing things if they're still standing out at that point in time.

It'd be tragic if the first real balancing they did post-subclassing was to gut the few things that are fun to use.

QB1

React wrote: »

QB1 wrote: »

If any devs are reading this and aren't sure where to start, here ya go:

NERF merciless resolve and deep fissure. Every single pvp build uses these skills since subclassing update and it's absolutely horrible.

I was all for the OP until this comment.

They shouldn't be nerfing a single thing until they buff the underutilized lines. The game is obviously in an extremely rough spot balance wise, and it isn't because a few things are overperforming - it's because the vast majority of things are underperforming, and we're left with a homogeonized and stale environment where the meta combinations are extremely pronounced. If they nerf the things that are strong before buffing the things that are weak, they'll sap the last bit of fun straight out of the game.

Sure, things like assassination, aedric spear, and animal companions might be a bit too strong in certain ways. Restoring light is arguably too strong defensively. Some people might say that storm calling is too strong given all that it offers.

But that is 4-5 lines out of the 21 total class lines in the game. Not even a quarter of the total lines. They need to be focusing on substantially buffing the underperforming lines first and foremost, something they should have started immediately following subclassing. After things are brought up to par with the skill lines that actually feel good to use, then they could consider nerfing things if they're still standing out at that point in time.

It'd be tragic if the first real balancing they did post-subclassing was to gut the few things that are fun to use.

For the most part, I agree with all of that. Would love the other 17 skill lines being buffed but I think merciless and likely the other skills mentioned will still need tuned down at the end of the day.

Can't have a game that is just constant buffs, right? Or idk maybe you can. It's not that I want stuff getting nerfed all the time -- skills ONLY need tuned down when they are massively overperforming. I think it's okay to be able to do both. Other games do it just fine