TLDR ENTIRE THREAD
I pose it is actually hard to determine who is ranged or melee in this game in the current state and therefore ZOS should not be considering basing stats should on if you are "ranged" or "melee". More can be read in the rest of the thread.

I've posted this in the feedback thread, but I keep coming across the same line in multiple PTS threads "it is ok for X class or X weapon to have less of X because they are ranged." and also the possibility that this is what ZOS are thinking too. I don't know if ZOS are taking this direction but if they do, it is slightly worrying since I don't think you can determine accurately who is ranged/melee with the game in its current form.

I pose it is actually hard to determine who is ranged or melee in this game in the current state and therefore stats should not be based on if you are "ranged" or "melee". The only way you could call someone "ranged" was if ZOS took all the melee distance class skills out of their trees and only allowed them to equip a weapon that has also had every melee distance skill taken out of its tree. Therefore, saying a class or weapon is ranged or melee is only accurate if they have none of the opposite type as a skill.

Conversely, you can't call someone melee unless all ranged distance skills have been taken out of their class and they are only allowed to equip a weapon that has no ranged distance skills in it either.

Many people would assume that I am a ranged player because my main is a sorcerer, equips a staff and plays in light armour. However, I actually spend the majority of my time in PVE in melee range because there are more AOE situations than single target situations and I use a melee distance AOE skill from my weapon line.

Here is my original feedback. This is only my opinion, which I would like to ensure that ZOS hears. I'm not claiming to be right or an expert or anything. If you wish to post your own feedback for ZOS in the comments below, please do, however I ask that people please try to be respectful of one another and not resort to insults/personal attacks.

PS when I speak of DPS I mean over an encounter(if that makes sence)

angelyn wrote: »

@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_JessicaFolsom‌ @ZOS_EricWrobel

Feedback on the loss of stats due to someone deciding that I am "ranged"(PVE).

There has been much talk of ranged players and melee players and how ZOS is possibly thinking it should affect your DPS/other stats (with ranged providing less of X than melee). I'm not sure if this is the approach you are going to take, however this is some feedback

The assumptions that I'm coming across is that people who use staves only play at range(and the inevitable assumption that they are probably magicka players). This isn't correct. There a skill on the Destruction staff which only works if you are in melee range-Ie Impulse.

If any magicka people use the impulse skill at all, then they will play both in melee range and at a longer range. So I don't think that a staff is strictly an "range" weapon, and surely if that's the things are going, then do bows have the same stats(ie DPS/spell power/weapon power?) as staves? ( I don't know if bows have a close range ability like impulse)

And that's assuming that magicka players use staves only..however magicka players could equip any weapon, which may require range(bow), melee(2 hand) or staff(both melee range and long range)

On a side note if I am a destruction staff user in light armor, I am doing well providing DPS and surviving at melee range. Therefore, I do not think that I should be penalised in DPS/protection etc because someone assumed that the weapon I equipped or the class that I am is ranged, and that because of that, I need to do less damage and die easier as I will never be in melee range,experiencing the same risk as someone who is "melee". Personally as a sorcerer using destro staff(both class and weapon assumed to be ranged) I spend a large (if not the majority)amount of time in melee range ie crit surge/impulse/thundering presence combination, since there are more AOE PVE than single target situations in the game (eg typical dungeon). In addition, there could be people using a ranged skill like a melee eg crit surge/lightning flood/thundering presence combination. So if you are going to base stats on dividing your players into ranged or melee, make sure that the division is accurate.(Although I don't see how that would be possible anyway)

SUMMARY
So as long as there is a skill on the weapon/class tree that requires you to be in melee range(example Impulse on Destruction staff, Thundering presence on sorc tree and any similar skills on Bow etc), I don't think it is fair that the weapon/class should be lesser in some way(IE less DPS etc) simply because it is assumed that it is a ranged only weapon/class.

With the way the weapons/classes are now, I think stats should be comparable. However if you are going down the route of"ranged players" have reductions in DPS/protection/stats etc due to the fact that they are assumed to be ranged(and have no risk), then any time they are within melee distance to an enemy they should be getting a bonus,since they are taking the same risks as someone else, and getting less stats as a reward.

And quoting from another thread -I'm still mega confused as to why a staff will provide less spell power than a sword..