Don't be afraid of Trials like me (A thank you to community and ZOS)

Idelise · August 14

"Don't run trials, community is toxic. Even worse than in WoW lmao"
"Even on normals, you will get kicked unless you have an optimal build."
"With sub-optimal build, you will be a burden."
"Where do you think you are going? Do you REALLY need that toxic experience?"
"You are already running dungeons - trials is just that but with A*holes."

These comments kept me from ever trying trial content despite playing ESO (on and off) since its beta.
I never tried, I never bothered - following the feedback of fellow players who were doing more advanced content than myself. I did everything else - crafting, dungeons, PvP, housing and even RP. But never. NEVER have I touched trials. I am a rather anxious person irl, and usually after a hard day at work, I didn't need that kind of negative experience in my life - life is hard as is to not have to deal with stress in a HOBBY. Thus, I believed these voices, I never tried...
As I gradually grew bored of the game.

Yesterday, I finally tried a trial. After 10 years! I used the new Group Finder feature (thank you ZOS, it is a blessing for anxiety-riddled people like me who now do not need to look for people in zone chat). I ran it with my boyfriend and quickly gathered a group for the trial. The trial (on normal) was set as a learning experience - and, knowing the constraints, even those in our team who knew the mechanics were patient and offered help in learning the tactics. The trial itself, to someone bored of dungeons (after running RDN and pledges every day), was a breath of fresh air I needed to regain some love of the game. People were nice, supportive and helpful - and I haven't experienced a single show of toxic experience from anyone.
The trial itself (Lucent Citadel) was a unique and different experience, that made me both gasping in awe (when you turn into a wisp and have to fly upwards, that was cool!) and also gave me a new motivation to enjoy the game.
The party's behaviour (everyone was kind and polite!) was nowhere near what I was warned about for the last 10 years.

The only regret I have is that I haven't tried trials sooner - but it will change! I am planning to now explore that (previously) locked-out part of ESO experience.
For those of you who might have been afraid or unwilling to try out the 'endgame' content (like me) and may be getting bored with the game, I want to say:
- A normal Trial experience is nowhere near as hard as people paint it. Nor does it feel like a 'dungeon but hard'. It is a completely new experience that I can recommend to everyone
- do not be afraid of the community - most people genuinely want to help or are here to farm content
- try and experiment! I have seen a lot of posts that are negative and focus on x or y changes that 'take away' the fun of the game. Some of which I agree with (ex. trader changes) - but there's also a lot of good that I think we are not giving ourselves a chance to sit down and appreciate. Who knows, maybe by giving something unusual a try, you will learn to appreciate the game anew?

Anyways, that's my far-longer-than-intended post!
Thank you to ESO community - and thank you to ZOS for giving us cool content. And sorry I missed out on it for so long.

So yeah. Don't be afraid to explore new content that you'd otherwise not do.
Don't be afraid of Trials (like me)*

*I suck. Don't be me.

MorganaLaVey · August 14

Yea, i had a similar experience when i started PVE. (2017)

In zone chat and guilds they told me, only toxic elitists play normal dungeons and they kick me immediately if im not perfect.
In normal dungeons they told me, only toxic elitists play veteran dungeons and they kick me immediately if im not perfect.
In veteran dungeons they told me, only toxic elitists play veteran DLC dungeons and they kick me immediately if im not perfect.

I tried to form a group for Vet DLC in guild and zone chat but everyone told me its not posible for me to do them.
After a month i just used groupfinder and got a nice group to complete the DLC dungeon. When i told my guildmades about it they called me a liar because my CP is to low and my gear is not golden and stuff like that. So i had to leave many guilds and remove people from my friends list

Same in the raid guild i was in. We run vMoL as a beginner raid and had a vMA expert who liked to get newbs to flawless title. (only takes a few runs if you know how)
Those newbs got bullied by higher level players in other guilds where they said the newby bought the vMoL skin and flawless title with real life money because its not possible to have them for new players. Its a real problem in this game.

DragonRacer · August 14

Really depends on who you run into, there are absolutely snobby tryhards out there (in dungeons as well as trials), but there are also plenty of good groups within guilds or trial guilds themselves that enjoy teaching new people and helping people to progress towards achievements/titles/skins they want. For the REALLY good players who have accomplished basically everything in ESO, this is their new endgame - they view it as "I have done everything, so what else is there for me to do but help other people get to where I am?"

A year ago, I was the same as you - been on the game 9-10 years, feared the "toxic endgame community", never thought I'd be capable of trials. Then a trading guild I am in started up normal trial learning groups and now I'm part of the training team there with the occasional dip into vet trials.

freespirit · August 14

@Idelise I am really happy you enjoyed yourself!

There are many lovely people who run Trials, it's not entirely impossible you won't run in to an idiot now and then but when you do, remember your first positive experience!

You have a whole new world to explore...... take a minute now and then to look at your surroundings, there are some truly amazing and beautiful Trial settings.

There really is no Trial you cannot try on normal! 💕

Vulkunne · August 14

Idelise wrote: »

"Don't run trials, community is toxic. Even worse than in WoW lmao"
"Even on normals, you will get kicked unless you have an optimal build."
"With sub-optimal build, you will be a burden."
"Where do you think you are going? Do you REALLY need that toxic experience?"
"You are already running dungeons - trials is just that but with A*holes."

These comments kept me from ever trying trial content despite playing ESO (on and off) since its beta.
I never tried, I never bothered - following the feedback of fellow players who were doing more advanced content than myself. I did everything else - crafting, dungeons, PvP, housing and even RP. But never. NEVER have I touched trials. I am a rather anxious person irl, and usually after a hard day at work, I didn't need that kind of negative experience in my life - life is hard as is to not have to deal with stress in a HOBBY. Thus, I believed these voices, I never tried...
As I gradually grew bored of the game.

Yesterday, I finally tried a trial. After 10 years! I used the new Group Finder feature (thank you ZOS, it is a blessing for anxiety-riddled people like me who now do not need to look for people in zone chat). I ran it with my boyfriend and quickly gathered a group for the trial. The trial (on normal) was set as a learning experience - and, knowing the constraints, even those in our team who knew the mechanics were patient and offered help in learning the tactics. The trial itself, to someone bored of dungeons (after running RDN and pledges every day), was a breath of fresh air I needed to regain some love of the game. People were nice, supportive and helpful - and I haven't experienced a single show of toxic experience from anyone.
The trial itself (Lucent Citadel) was a unique and different experience, that made me both gasping in awe (when you turn into a wisp and have to fly upwards, that was cool!) and also gave me a new motivation to enjoy the game.
The party's behaviour (everyone was kind and polite!) was nowhere near what I was warned about for the last 10 years.

The only regret I have is that I haven't tried trials sooner - but it will change! I am planning to now explore that (previously) locked-out part of ESO experience.
For those of you who might have been afraid or unwilling to try out the 'endgame' content (like me) and may be getting bored with the game, I want to say:
- A normal Trial experience is nowhere near as hard as people paint it. Nor does it feel like a 'dungeon but hard'. It is a completely new experience that I can recommend to everyone
- do not be afraid of the community - most people genuinely want to help or are here to farm content
- try and experiment! I have seen a lot of posts that are negative and focus on x or y changes that 'take away' the fun of the game. Some of which I agree with (ex. trader changes) - but there's also a lot of good that I think we are not giving ourselves a chance to sit down and appreciate. Who knows, maybe by giving something unusual a try, you will learn to appreciate the game anew?

Anyways, that's my far-longer-than-intended post!
Thank you to ESO community - and thank you to ZOS for giving us cool content. And sorry I missed out on it for so long.

So yeah. Don't be afraid to explore new content that you'd otherwise not do.
Don't be afraid of Trials (like me)*

*I suck. Don't be me.

Hmmm. Running the Trial was a personal victory for you, which is great and I'm glad that everything turned out well. However, I think most of what you said regarding the hazards of running Trials still holds true.

Its not something that's going to change. I mean, recently I ran nHoF and I'm thankful my Tank pulled thru however the reason I was successful was because I was prepared for that experience. If my Tank went in there unprepared or I ran into a Trial group with stronger expectations and my Tank was not prepared then I would have been toast.

Again, I'm glad things went well for ya but especially with those 'starting out' with Trials or 4 man runs, I would advise remaining cautious and doing everything possible to prepare for any difficulties you might face. It's like I've run Trials and 4-man groups for a very long time and there's always that one time. There's always that one person you know who makes life hell for everyone. And neither experience or bravado or great expectations will suffice for not being able to do your role or coming prepared for what might happen. Nothing is guaranteed and no group can be relied upon to meet everyone's expectations, yet you should be prepared in a sense that no one needs to ask.

That's how you really achieve success with group content. Be the solution, never part of the problem. Trust your instincts cause its wild out there.

autocookies · August 14

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El_Borracho · August 14

Very happy for you. The raid community needs to grow. Next step, find a guild!

A lot of people have the fears you did going in. As far as the toxicity rumors, that was true maybe 5-6 years ago. Most of that has dissipated because the players who really like running trials have joined guilds that suit their needs, whether that be score pushing or just clearing veteran content. Group finder has also helped by setting parameters up front. Nobody is score pushing in group finder.

In recent years, I think the only time I have seen toxic group members is when they run an event that includes double drops in a trial. In those instances, its the garbage player(s) looking for carries who are the toxic player calling out tanks and healers for "killing them."

If you run enough trials, you can immediately tell who knows mechanics, who has a rotation, and who is actually trying. There is no hiding it. Most players who run trials will ask the group generally if everyone knows mechanics. That is your chance to speak up and the raid leader will explain it to you. I've found the players who do not speak up are the ones who are later upset that the "elitist" group kicked them "because they were not up to their standards." Its a self-fulfilling prophesy for them. Don't be shy.

Last tip, know your limitations. VDSR is probably the hardest non-hard-mode trial for players to learn mechanics. But once you dip into harder veteran trials, its a good idea to watch some videos on top of running the trial on normal multiple times. And again, best bet is to join a guild that does prog (progression) runs that teaches mechanics. Enjoy!

Soarora · August 14

The endgame dungeon and trial communities really are not as toxic as they are made out to be. There are toxic people, but a lot of people do want to help newbies, as long as the newbies want to learn. A few bad apples don’t ruin the bunch, if you run into clearly toxic individuals don’t let them get to you, they usually don’t know what they’re talking about.

Nilandia · August 14

Congratulations on having the courage to take the chance! I'm glad your first experience with trials was so positive!

A couple years back, I was in the same place. I'd played solo since beta, but I was getting a bit bored. A friend pretty much had to drag me into my first normal dungeons and trials. I had way more fun than I thought was possible, and I kept coming back for more. I honestly wondered why I'd waited so long.

Over time, I met more people and made more friends. I wanted to see how far I could go, so I started into harder content. As I started doing vet trials, I was shocked at how helpful everyone was. Sure, there were the occasional jerks, but you get them everywhere. But it was by no means the toxic environment I'd been led to believe I would find.

So long as you're genuinely trying to learn and you're putting in an honest effort to do your part and to improve, you'll find most people are more than happy to help you.

Welcome to trials! I hope to see you around sometime!

Stafford197 · August 14

Yes that tends to be how it goes. We are all part of the one singular ESO playerbase - we do quests, housing, farming, dungeons, trials, PvP, or any number of things. And so as a result of this, you then also have to understand that you’re dealing with people in the real world.

You will find everything from new friends, to bad actors, to intense ego, and also just regular competition. In harder / more competitive content, you tend to find more people who are serious because that’s often necessary to succeed in that facet of the game.

FYI the “skill level” of players usually reaches a plateau to where trifectas can be progged at a reasonable pace but require much focus anymore. The group gathers to hang out for a fun night of raiding and banter while simultaneously doing their roles without much thought.

In all the time I’ve raided, it’s always a small few people who are constantly involved in toxic drama which makes a whole group look bad. Most good PvPers and PvEers are just normal people playing video games like everyone else, with maybe extra free time on their hands.

Desiato · August 14

My experience was similar. Upon joining a normal pug trial that was new to me, I would always state that was the case and ask if it was okay. It always was. The typical response was "of course!"

Entirely through the group finder, I was able to build a collection of trial gear and began to optimize my builds. It is customary at the end of a trial for players to offer drops they don't need to other players, which helped streamline this process. As my collections filled out, it felt good to be able to give items to other players who were starting their journey or looking for particular items.

Normal and vet trials drop the same sets, except in most cases the vet versions are "Perfected" which means the 5 piece bonus has an extra stat attached like a regular crit or resource bonus. So the normal versions are almost as good. The perfected and non-perfected versions work together with the extra bonus only becoming active when using 5 perfected. HRC, AA, SO, MOL and HOF don't have perfected versions, so the normal and vet drops are the same. The only difference is purple gear and yellow jewellry drop from the vet versions.

From there, I joined some vet trial discord communities for new players that were extremely welcoming. Mechanics are important in vet trials, so preparation and more optimized builds become necessary. With the gear foundation provided by normal trials, builds were no problem to complete. There are countless players in discord communities willing to offer advice.

Many trial communities feature training trials in which very patient raid leads carefully explain mechanics, boss fights and trash pulls. There is zero tolerance for toxicity and I didn't witness any. There were times like when we spent 2 hours wiping on the first vDSR boss and no one complained and the RL remained patient throughout.

With all that said, I will add that almost all vet trial gf pug raid leads are looking for players who understand the mechanics and have prior clears. Vet trial gf pugs are usually for farming gear, not learning trials. They should not be joined blind. The thing to do is participate in training groups to become familiar with a trial and get a clear before joining farm groups.

After a few months I'm comfortable with all vet trials. This process featured zero commitment outside of arriving at trials I signed up for on time. I haven't faced any toxicity or been kicked from a group.

As a bonus, having strong trial builds and a better understanding of mechanics makes vet dungeons and arenas much easier.

Charlesce · August 14

In normal trials, literally noone cares if it's your first time (and if they do they're being a ridiculous worrywort).

It's in some vet trials with mech-wipe mechs where people get "toxic"ish. Like for example Vet Dreadsail Reef is one vet trial where you need almost all 12 people to thoroughly understand all mechs to the point where they're not just knowledgeable, but also well practiced on said mechs, otherwise the group will wipe continually at the drop of a hat. In a trial like that you might get people being particular about "no first timers allowed", but there is literally zero normal trials at the time of this writing where newcomers are a problem at all.

If you ever get any problems in normals about not having meta gear, or it being your first time, or too low of a level, you're in a bad group, and it's rare that you'd find a group so uptight about a normal. You may get asked what sets you're wearing out of a desire to coordinate, but if you ever get told you need to change sets on a normal, or even kinda pressured to, it's probably a bad group and doesn't speak for the majority of normal puggers out there.

Idelise · August 14

A small update: I did run 2 more trial runs today and everyone was super nice, patient and friendly!
They even helped me complete my trial set which I am very grateful for!

Honestly, all of this gave me a new motivation to enjoy the game. Sure, every place has some bad apples, but it's nowhere near as bad as I was made to believe!

darvaria · August 14

Well ... I'm terrified of even trying to run trials. Haven't done one since getting Olo. Think I've waiting too late. But I did like raid in WOW. ONY to Naxx to Icecrown. Went back to 2 versions of classic WOW to enjoy those again.

I'm afraid of Trial guilds on ESO. I just know they won't accept me.

Desiato · August 14

darvaria wrote: »

I'm afraid of Trial guilds on ESO. I just know they won't accept me.

You don't have to join a guild. One can participate in normal trials exclusively through the group finder without issues. Beyond that, there are discord communities with no membership requirements.

The concept of the trial guild has become something of a outdated concept from what I've observed.

Instead of being part of highly structured guilds, most trial players are part of loosely structured Discord communities that feature a combination of open trials and core groups. They basically have no membership requirements other than reading the rules and agreeing to them. Individual raid leaders will set the requirements for events they run.

Core groups have effectively replaced trial guilds for the most part and are an optional part of the trial experience. They are usually for players looking for a particular kind of experience, such as greater coordination and optimization for the purpose of completing hard modes, trifectas or quickly farming gear.

zaria · August 14

Desiato wrote: »

darvaria wrote: »

I'm afraid of Trial guilds on ESO. I just know they won't accept me.

You don't have to join a guild. One can participate in normal trials exclusively through the group finder without issues. Beyond that, there are discord communities with no membership requirements.

The concept of the trial guild has become something of a outdated concept from what I've observed.

Instead of being part of highly structured guilds, most trial players are part of loosely structured Discord communities that feature a combination of open trials and core groups. They basically have no membership requirements other than reading the rules and agreeing to them. Individual raid leaders will set the requirements for events they run.

Core groups have effectively replaced trial guilds for the most part and are an optional part of the trial experience. They are usually for players looking for a particular kind of experience, such as greater coordination and optimization for the purpose of completing hard modes, trifectas or quickly farming gear.

Now its an major difference between normal trials and achievement runs in recent dlc trials.
Later has serious requirements but so does any sport at higher level.

And faking roles in trials does not work but you can single tank and heal most normals.

LannStone · August 15

Do you need voice for normal group finder, or is it all through typed chat?

MidniteOwl1913 · August 15

I ran a trial for the first time when it was the endeavor. I too thought it was fun and was surprised at how nice everyone was. The guy running the trial had the patience of a saint, maybe 2 saints... He was wonderful.

Since I have looked to see if there were any trials on normal and haven't seen any during the time I play. Late for the US early for the rest of the world...

Maybe one day...

alpha_synuclein · August 15

LannStone wrote: »

Do you need voice for normal group finder, or is it all through typed chat?

On PC group finder runs are done via ingame chat. Guilds often use discord for voice, but it's rarely mandatory if the run is normal.

alpha_synuclein · August 15

Thank you for making this thread! I'm very happy to hear that you had a fun experience.

Trials are great, but they tend to have very bad "press" due to some negative opinions being circulated at nauseam. It's really good to hear the other side

darvaria wrote: »

I'm afraid of Trial guilds on ESO. I just know they won't accept me.

There is no need to be afraid, but it's good to know what kind of guild you are looking for. A lot of guilds dedicated exclusively to trials will focus on vet stuff and progression-style playing, usually with some requirements for joining. If that is not your jam, more social/casual oriented guilds might be something that you will connect better with. And a lot of guilds that do normal trials routinely at some point tries to dip their tails in vet, and these runs are usually very much beginner friendly. There are also lots if guilds that do dedicated training runs, with experienced raid leads that will explain mechanics.

And as @Desiato pointed out, if you're on PC a lot of action now is happening via Discord. Guild finder in game is quite limited, but it can be used for the initial search. And if a guild looks ok it's worth to join their Discord. Most guilds don't expect you to be active there (especially on voice chat), but once you're in it will be easier to find more communities to your liking, even if the first one turns out to be a miss.

Also, there are several eso discords that are more informational, like ESOU or Healers Heaven, that have a lot of build info and such, but there are also channels where you can find guild advertisements from very different guilds or prog groups looking for members. Besides being source of voice chat for PC people, Discord is much better guild finder than the actual guild finder

El_Borracho · August 15

darvaria wrote: »

Well ... I'm terrified of even trying to run trials. Haven't done one since getting Olo. Think I've waiting too late. But I did like raid in WOW. ONY to Naxx to Icecrown. Went back to 2 versions of classic WOW to enjoy those again.

I'm afraid of Trial guilds on ESO. I just know they won't accept me.

You don't join a guild blind or cold or whatever. I would not recommend joining a guild who spams area chat. Joining one based on recruitment on this site can be okay, but the best way to find a guild you like is to run trials in group finder. Most of the players in there are in guilds and they are running a pug for fun. If you like the players, either wait for them to post guild invites, which is very common, or ask if they are in a guild.

StarOfElyon · August 15

Definitely look for a chill guild that does everything in the game. They're less likely to be tryhards.

Idelise · August 16

Honestly, for normal trials, you may as well pug them - I am not in any trial guild, just a few trading ones, and I haven't done any content with my guildies, beyond my immediate friends.
You can pug stuff if you don't feel like putting yourself through the pressure of applying to a PvE guild. As I said above, people are kind and patient! Occasional bad actor might happen but it's an exception, not the rule!

CoronHR · August 16

trials are awesome! they're the best content imo and with 12 players, it can be fun. i've run into some toxicity in vet trial runs, especially when players join who don't have a clue and ruin it for everyone else. but normal trials are usually pretty chill and a great way to learn some mechanics (not all though--vet mechanics are something different)