Official Discussion Thread for "Lost Depths DLC & Update 35 Now Available On The PC/MAC PTS"

ZOS_Kevin · July 2022

Official Discussion Thread for Article, "Lost Depths DLC & Update 35 Now Available On The PC/MAC PTS"

"See what is next for your Legacy of the Bretons adventure and test out the upcoming Update 35 patch by logging into the Public Test Server now!"

TechMaybeHic · July 2022

ZOS logic: "We don't want you staring at DOTs and buffs so we doubled duration. We also added a set that removes a random buff for you to watch for"

Wild_child434 · July 2022

I like how Slayer and Courage got added to the dummy to try and hide the dps loss [snip]. I am not a fan of these changes, every class I have tried in order to get what I consider adequate damage they are turning into DoT cooking Spam builds with not much dynamic now that almost every single skill is 20 seconds with exception of rune, caltrops and maybe entropy?

I am all for nerfing DPS but you have now forced us into a spam meta in order to compete and be relevant in endgame HMs and trifectas.

In no way has anyone who actually parses in endgame gained damage on a parse like you suggest we may see, it is completely the opposite and the only ones who may see that likely aren't the ones doing your testing for you.

[snip]
[edited for profanity bypass & minor baiting]

Avishag · July 2022

I wont ever be getting a mythic again. I just realized I can't enjoy this game any longer. Whatever makes you happy in it, IT WILL be made trash in a few weeks. I don't feel motivated anymore. There is no progression, it's just tiring.
In this game everyone should just do furnishing, since they can't take that away and ruin it every few weeks..

QueuesAsTanks · July 2022

I don't know if accurate feedback on damage between Live / PTS will be possible now that the trial dummy's buffs don't match Live, but I've lost 20k DPS minimum across eight parses (and almost certainly more than that with the PTS dummy buffs taken into account). That effectively puts a firm end to my Rockgrove Hard Mode dreams, and might end up disbanding a prog group for same. I assume that the heal-over-time changes may also be unbroachable hurdles for the Bahsei HM fight, at least for us.

That's a real bummer for me. I've met some hilarious people and have time and fond memories invested, and these runs are a highlight of my week. I don't think I'd leave the game over it but I'm certain a few friends might take a break due to frustration, and wind up not returning.

I think also that the bi-annual change sledgehammer makes it very tough to bring old players back into the game and up to speed, at least when then changes are so pronounced as to make previously doable-with-practice content now impossible on paper. Folks are less likely to return to ESO if they need to completely rebuild their old character every six months. Personal problem, I know, but my Discord friends list looks like a graveyard of people I haven't played ESO with in months because they got sick of rebuilding from scratch.

miawmiaw1337 · July 2022

The changes are so bad that i quit all my raid groups and cancelled my subscription. If those changes are going forward i dont see any point in doing anything other than questing, exploration, housing and normal mode content. The effort required to do veteran content is just too much. Farming mythics for days only for them to be nerfed into the ground after a month. All the massive frequent changes will actually widen the dps gap because casual players cant be bothered to change their builds all the time. A healthy game has small dps increase every update and also slightly harder new content every update to allow more casual players to finally be able to do old content they were unable to do. These massive nerfs to healing and damage will only lock out casual and veteran players from content that they were able to do before. These changes make no sense.

WittyWindwalker · July 2022

I posted this under Combat Mechanics but I feel the need to post it again here:

I'm a week one player on Xbox NA. I almost never post on the forums. However, I don't really think I can help but put up my thoughts on this.

1. The floor will not likely be raised except for only the very newest of players.
2. This will make end game content (ie veteran hard mode dungeons, trials and arenas) MORE difficult for the average player.
3. PvP will be worse for it
a. Nerf to dots will make burst damage even more essential than it already is.
b. All three new PvP sets are poorly thought out for the aggregate.
c. Nerfs to classes will not make balance but make it more difficult for lesser skilled players.
d. One bar build, certainly has helped struggling players, is gone with Oakensoul changes.
4. Remember the complaints about the Morrowind changes?
5. Sorcerer single target annihilation. There's a nerf and then there is destroy the class. What the heck? Not even close to reality here.
6. Stamina Sorcerer nerfed 6 feet below 6 feet of ground.

In summary, my thinking on this is that this will actually cause the reverse to happen of what was intended. End Game players, both average and "elite" will suffer. This is not the way to raise the floor. I don't have the answer of how to do it, but I am sure that this will result in loss of enthusiasm from a broad range of players, myself included.

Brightuatha · July 2022

Plenty of games out there, sure you want to impose something on us that we do not want?

Wild_child434 · July 2022

[snip]

[snip] People are angry and rightly so given the "reason" given about why changes are being made to combat instead of just saying what your actual goal with this is. If you put even 30 minutes of testing or thought into these changes you would realize how bad they actually are for the life of the game and even more so the life of endgame. Yet you are steadfast in saying its to help new players which is such a laugh and everyone from low to mid to high end knows it now after seeing PTS results on the first day.

We called it when we read the combat preview notes and then confirmed it yesterday with the PTS. We knew what would happen cause we know the game and the game mechanics. [snip]

I really hope Microsoft steps in and helps get ZOS back on track cause I love this game and only want to see it get better and have harder mechanical content like we are seeing in VDSR which I have been absolutely loving.

[edited for bashing & discussing moderator action(s)]

EozZoe1989 · July 2022

i thinnk its going be good,,
the new changes will bring people togther again.. multiplaying in a online game is for the making of friends and doing some things togther.. the thing is can also be solo but latley everything is in this game,, sorry to say but its trye people becoming antisocial and i noticed,, it was hard to find a group in the game for the event .. half way though.. i found one parcel one think it was called really nice group.. and they loved teaming up,.,
people missing out all iam saying about this,,
just beacuse not powerful anymore does not mean can not have fun ,, people can team up for world bosses and do things.. and solo is still in game for other things. this a good thing..

WittyWindwalker · July 2022

I went on the PTS tonight.

I really wish I had something constructive to say but I don't.

See my previous notes. That's all. I'm with the overwhelming and vast majority of players on this one.

Do NOT do this to us.

bDfish0781 · July 2022

I can’t believe the overwhelming response to these changes. It actually brings me joy to see our community come together to voice our anger. Don’t change the game to the level you are thinking of changing it. So many of YOUR well respected streamers have voiced their anger and still ZOS is ignoring us. If these changes go live, the game will be dead

wolfsilver00 · July 2022

[snip] I uninstalled PTS and if this changes go live, Im uninstalling the game too and taking off my subscription. There is no discussion to be had, you always do this.. [snip] Remember last time you nerfed everything? Yeah I remember too.. And you had to buff everything then.. And now you nerf everything again, but harder. [snip] And the results? Why are we having to discuss this *** again, [snip] instad of looking at the actual concerns of the players you just do whatever the *** you want and then tell us "Lets have a discussion"

Im tired of this man, im tired of paying for a service [snip]. There was a lot of *** that needed balance and you managed to miss them all except oakensoul.. And dont even get me started on mother *** oakensoul.. [snip]

[edited for bashing]

Oshea_OK · July 2022

Zos,

This is my first post. I am an average player, and after seeing content creators (Brah.. and Hack) show dps loss, on builds meant to help average players such as me, I was concerned.

I download and tried the update myself.
Just tested my Oakensoul Mag Templar Build (Orders Wrath and Plaguebreak) on the PTS and I went from 40k dps to 27k dps. That is a huge loss for me. Oakensoul was making the game fun for me.

If this patch is to help the average player, then it is not working .

Before oakensoul I was getting about 30-32k dps. With oakensoul now, I am getting 40-42k dps. I was finally able to solo some harder worldbosses. With major heroisim I felt like I was contributing much more in dungeon runs. I was finally thinking about doing my fir normal Trial run.
However, as this patch 35 stands, all that will be taken away from me.

I will give a few thoughts.
1. Oakensoul does not need to be nerfed. For Pve, it is doing exactly what you say it was intended to do for average players. As the patch stands it hurts me as an average player. If crit damage is causing a problem in Pvp, then simply stop battel spirit from working with it.
2. Dots and heavy attacks help me as an average player, because they are easier to use. This patch nerfs both. Dots and heavy attacks need much more dps, if your goal is to help people like me.
3. The longer dots do make it easier, but the huge dps loss make it harder. Thus, make dots do more damage. Even as an average player 20 sec is a little long. Maybe 15 seconds would be a good compromise?
4. Area of effect dots, need to tick every second, if not more, to help with dps, for average and new players. 2 seconds makes it harder for less skill players, like myself, to make it work.
5. The long dots means more of a focus for spammables. However, the only spammable that is say to use for someone like me is on the Templar. All classes will need a good spammable, it not more than one. And because of the heavy use for spammables, the ablity to 2 or more spammables that can work off each other, ( example, stacking status effects) should be a consideration. This would also give meta players a chance to work with master of it.

mashugana · July 2022

Thank you ZOS for these changes. I love ESO but I stink at the combat - I just do not have the dexterity to bar swap and do two to three actions per second. These changes mean I can use Oakensoul and a one bar build and still be helpful in dungeons. I thought I'd never even SEE trials because I'd be a hindrance to the team. Now I may get to see that content.

I understand some players frustration. But please know that for some of us this is amazing and will keep me more engaged, and subscribed, for a good long while.

Thank you from a very happy, but clumsy, nerd.

joaotextor · July 2022

I've been playing with my first alt for the past month, a Magicka Necromancer, and I'm overwhelmed with the amount of Buffs and DoT's I must keep active. I almost don't have time to hit my spammable.

So, this increased DoT duration is welcome. However, I hope those changes does not impact the real DPS on vet trials, which I'm aiming in the near future, as well as solo content (Maelstrom Arena, Vateshran Hollows, etc). Don't care if gets a little more difficult, as long as it does not become impossible.

Let's wait and see the reviews on veteran content with this new changes.

ZOS_Kevin · July 2022

Hi All, we have a brief update regarding U35 combat changes. You can check out the comment here.

anvilbert · July 2022

First I am not a high end elite player,you nerfed us into the ground with the CP change and crit cap. I stuck around. I just lost 5k dps with the new cp changes. Now your going to nerf us into beginner level again. I have spent literally several hundred $ in real world money into this game, between 3or4 yrs playing , hours practicing just to reach 69k dps, if you follow through with this nerf I will no longer be able to participate in end game vet content that I've enjoyed for yrs. Your attempt to balance between elites and casuals is an unreachable goal. I WILL NOT purchase anything else further if you do this .I will be saying goodbye to all my friends and moving on because the game will be unplayable at that point. I am a 60 yr old disabled person whom you claim to be helping ,but all you are doing is cutting off your nose in spite of your face. Iam from the original gamer generation and I won't be the only one you lose. I am infuriated at your lack of connection to the players who log in every day . There will always be a gap between elites and casuals that you can not close . But nerf us into ground WILL NOT fix this it will only cost you fan base.

Mudslinger · July 2022

I have been a ESO plus player/member since the first beta , I have never stopped playing one time , I'll be 61 years young , I have arthritis's in both of my hand and I would say that I am a average player , I have seen all the homogenizing of ESO since the old vet levels when ESO was a much harder game then , it has always been my opinion that PVE and PVP should be separate in the game meaning that skills and armors should not work the same in both environments most MMO's that I have played are this way , also Mythic and hybridization in the game has been hurting the game as well there no class identity's anymore and weapons and armors being used both by magical classes and stam have all brought this homogenized type of game , and now with update 35 , from my personal testing this is not a good patch , not only lowering the ceiling but it also lowers the floor, in fact I would say it down right jerks the rug out from average and below average players , Vet dungeon hard-modes and Trials are going to be even harder for them to obtain ! Please reconsider what your planning on doing in this patch , Wardens are a complete waist of time now

Mudslinger · July 2022

If you really wanted to help the newer and lower level players , you could lower the RNG on getting gold mats from refining and lower the cost of mats to upgrade gear, the price of gold mats has skyrocketed out of sight even for vet players its out of hand , and having to change up your builds every two to three months make it even more difficult for the newer players.
Hybridization of the game has homogenized it to a point to that there is little to no difference between a mag and a stam character , yes i know ESO play the way you want, LOL not if I want to run vet trials and have to carry a minimum dps requirement , a mag DK and a stam DK will both be wearing medium armors , kilt, daggers front bar and maelstrom staff on the back , with little to no change in the skills . Gone is the ESO I came here 8 years ago to play mages no longer wear light armors and only use staves , it is so mundane now and only going to get worse !

Mudslinger · July 2022

also along the lines of gold mats , why are we so penalized for deconning gold mats