The Azureblight Situation, from someone who runs in a "ball" group.

FarthestSix883 · September 25

For starters, I have run Azureblight since the set was released. I have run the set in PvE as well as in PvP. I also regularly run in a ball group in Grey Host Cyrodiil. I initially began running the set because of Xynode Gaming's "Nature's Bounty" build for an off meta good time in dungeons. Then I discovered it can be intermittently effective in PvP. The set has been adjusted since its release and I have continued to run it for a multitude of different reasons in different content. I have never considered Azureblight to be a meta or must-have set. However, this idea recently became amplified because of Lucent Citadel. This is the result of making mob heavy encounters and adjusting to the content. The set is objectively not good in all encounters of the game. This can also be said for a set that has long been in the meta yet is the polar opposite of Azureblight in reference to Relequen. If you're looking for endgame dps, there are objectively better sets to run than Azureblight. That is why a nerf of this magnitude is beyond overkill and will ruin a niche set that has just really found its place in the meta, where we have had other sets that have been stacked for such a long time. I understand the use of it right now isn't probably what the devs want and adjustments are wanted to be made, but a simple solution would be to make it to where the first person to apply a stack of Azureblight to an enemy is the only one who can build the stacks until the pop.

Now for the PvP side of things. As someone who plays in the dreaded/hated ball groups, if the current nerfs go through, solo or small-scale players will lose one of the few sets that actually applies pressure to us in a Cyrodiil where that is pretty hard to do when not in a big group. I myself, when not in a group, will use Azureblight to help apply pressure to ball groups. I have seen complaints/posts about the set being used to melt a single player. I find this to be silly because the set is dominantly built off AoE attacks and in a Cyrodiil where movement is king, it just simply means you either chased the Azureblight-user into a tight space where the set should thrive, or you willingly stood in their AoE's. If it is an Arcanist beam that is building the stacks, you can just simply bash them. If the PvP changes go through, non-ball/comp group players are effectively being thrown to the wolves. "But the set is being abused by 12 mans!" Okay and? You can abuse anything with a set group of 12 people wearing matching builds. Nerfing sets because of this would be a dangerous and slippery slope to go down. As someone on both sides of the coin, I have never run the set because I thought it was better than others sets or because I felt it gave me more damage or an advantage. I used it for a fun unique set option that is different from Coral, Relequen, Pillar, etc etc.

TechMaybeHic · September 25

Man...even your sentences stay stacked tight.

tsaescishoeshiner · September 25

For context, there were complaints on PTS about Azureblight in the new 8v8 battlegrounds, and it was nerfed the following week. (Of course, we don't know if it had been on the "rework" chopping block for a while and PTS finally bumped it up the list.)

I hope there are more ballgroup counter sets added to make up for it, but one-sided BG matches aren't that fun.

FarthestSix883 · September 25

TechMaybeHic wrote: »

Man...even you sentences stay stacked tight.

This made me lol XD

Hapexamendios · September 26

I've never used Azureblight and these nerfs will guarantee I never do.

Rkindaleft · September 26

This is purely a PvE perspective but if they were so concerned about it they should have just added the "to monsters" and left the rest of it alone.

I will admit it was strong in specific encounters but Azureblight was simply a tool to be utilised because Zenimax keeps designing fights that require high levels of cleave damage to make them smooth. Reef Guardian HM, Ansuul HM, Bahsei HM to an extent, most of Lucent Citadel... The knot phase and Xoryn are likely about to get extremely challenging on hard mode with how much cleave damage is needed and many groups are likely going to go through significant reprog. The change made to it on PTS pretty much makes it unviable for nearly all the encounters it's useful in as there will pretty much never be enough enemies to get it to it's cap outside of trash pulls.

Nobody was complaining about the set in PvE and now it's going to the trash heap with the other 90% of sets in the game that are never used.

darvaria · September 26

They are intent on ruining anything that counters ball groups. ZOS needs to quit introducing and changing sets. Of course, the best counter to a ball group is .... well you know you might need to get to the bank real quickly.

FarthestSix883 · September 26

Hapexamendios wrote: »

I've never used Azureblight and these nerfs will guarantee I never do.

yeah won't be worth it haha

FarthestSix883 · September 26

Rkindaleft wrote: »

This is purely a PvE perspective but if they were so concerned about it they should have just added the "to monsters" and left the rest of it alone.

I will admit it was strong in specific encounters but Azureblight was simply a tool to be utilised because Zenimax keeps designing fights that require high levels of cleave damage to make them smooth. Reef Guardian HM, Ansuul HM, Bahsei HM to an extent, most of Lucent Citadel... The knot phase and Xoryn are likely about to get extremely challenging on hard mode with how much cleave damage is needed and many groups are likely going to go through significant reprog. The change made to it on PTS pretty much makes it unviable for nearly all the encounters it's useful in as there will pretty much never be enough enemies to get it to it's cap outside of trash pulls.

Nobody was complaining about the set in PvE and now it's going to the trash heap with the other 90% of sets in the game that are never used.

You have quite literally hit the nail on the head and are exactly correct. We have enough sets in the game that aren't worth running. If you don't want Azureblight to be used so much in PvE, quit making mob heavy encounters that require an unrealistic amount of cleave.

BahometZ · September 26

To iterate, many of the toughest fights now in trials are cleave fights. (And some add pulls can be trickier than bosses.) If the discussion is about class balance, well some classes are better at cleave than others. If its about gearsets, about 2% of them are relevant.

Zos decide what to put in the game, they've designed the fights and the fighters. We just have to pick the best skills/tools for the job.
Thanks to the design of the latest trials, arcanists with azureblight fit the bill. Now after they designed cleave heavy fights, zos want to nerf cleave class and sets. Wow.

The fact they gave daedric prey more aoe damage last patch seems to imply zos are aware of the need for cleave. But that it could possibly help bridge the sorc gap for cleave damage in trials is laughable.

FarthestSix883 · September 27

BahometZ wrote: »

To iterate, many of the toughest fights now in trials are cleave fights. (And some add pulls can be trickier than bosses.) If the discussion is about class balance, well some classes are better at cleave than others. If its about gearsets, about 2% of them are relevant.

Zos decide what to put in the game, they've designed the fights and the fighters. We just have to pick the best skills/tools for the job.
Thanks to the design of the latest trials, arcanists with azureblight fit the bill. Now after they designed cleave heavy fights, zos want to nerf cleave class and sets. Wow.

The fact they gave daedric prey more aoe damage last patch seems to imply zos are aware of the need for cleave. But that it could possibly help bridge the sorc gap for cleave damage in trials is laughable.

agreed, sorcs have been desperate for cleave, going to need more than just the daedric prey change.

MISTFORMBZZZ · September 27

FarthestSix883 wrote: »

For starters, I have run Azureblight since the set was released. I have run the set in PvE as well as in PvP. I also regularly run in a ball group in Grey Host Cyrodiil. I initially began running the set because of Xynode Gaming's "Nature's Bounty" build for an off meta good time in dungeons. Then I discovered it can be intermittently effective in PvP. The set has been adjusted since its release and I have continued to run it for a multitude of different reasons in different content. I have never considered Azureblight to be a meta or must-have set. However, this idea recently became amplified because of Lucent Citadel. This is the result of making mob heavy encounters and adjusting to the content. The set is objectively not good in all encounters of the game. This can also be said for a set that has long been in the meta yet is the polar opposite of Azureblight in reference to Relequen. If you're looking for endgame dps, there are objectively better sets to run than Azureblight. That is why a nerf of this magnitude is beyond overkill and will ruin a niche set that has just really found its place in the meta, where we have had other sets that have been stacked for such a long time. I understand the use of it right now isn't probably what the devs want and adjustments are wanted to be made, but a simple solution would be to make it to where the first person to apply a stack of Azureblight to an enemy is the only one who can build the stacks until the pop.

Now for the PvP side of things. As someone who plays in the dreaded/hated ball groups, if the current nerfs go through, solo or small-scale players will lose one of the few sets that actually applies pressure to us in a Cyrodiil where that is pretty hard to do when not in a big group. I myself, when not in a group, will use Azureblight to help apply pressure to ball groups. I have seen complaints/posts about the set being used to melt a single player. I find this to be silly because the set is dominantly built off AoE attacks and in a Cyrodiil where movement is king, it just simply means you either chased the Azureblight-user into a tight space where the set should thrive, or you willingly stood in their AoE's. If it is an Arcanist beam that is building the stacks, you can just simply bash them. If the PvP changes go through, non-ball/comp group players are effectively being thrown to the wolves. "But the set is being abused by 12 mans!" Okay and? You can abuse anything with a set group of 12 people wearing matching builds. Nerfing sets because of this would be a dangerous and slippery slope to go down. As someone on both sides of the coin, I have never run the set because I thought it was better than others sets or because I felt it gave me more damage or an advantage. I used it for a fun unique set option that is different from Coral, Relequen, Pillar, etc etc.

Ok thanks

Stafford197 · September 27

BahometZ wrote: »

To iterate, many of the toughest fights now in trials are cleave fights. (And some add pulls can be trickier than bosses.) If the discussion is about class balance, well some classes are better at cleave than others. If its about gearsets, about 2% of them are relevant.

Zos decide what to put in the game, they've designed the fights and the fighters. We just have to pick the best skills/tools for the job.
Thanks to the design of the latest trials, arcanists with azureblight fit the bill. Now after they designed cleave heavy fights, zos want to nerf cleave class and sets. Wow.

The fact they gave daedric prey more aoe damage last patch seems to imply zos are aware of the need for cleave. But that it could possibly help bridge the sorc gap for cleave damage in trials is laughable.

I can’t even imagine if a group tried to push a Dreadsail Reef Trifecta with a whole bunch of NBs or Wardens lol. Some classes are so far ahead of others right now because pure damage is everything.

Like for Taleria it makes the fight way easier when you deal high DPS since it lets you to skip an entire Siren phase at 35% Health. Mechanics are skipped with high DPS instead of stacked. Also it’s not something we often think about with ESO, but why do Flames deal equal damage to Physical or Magic attacks… against a boss made of Water?

I think the whole issue of PvE class balance would mostly go away if content focused on moments where they each shine. EX:
• Reef Guardian minions can be manipulated by Wardens to fight for the team. Crabs guarding portals can also be lured into the main fight by Wardens after portals, making them preferable as runners.
• First boss Twins - Dragonknights are not stunned or debuffed by the Fire Orb and take far less DoT Damage from it. Wardens have the same benefit, but for Ice Orb.
• Necromancers can harvest power from any dead enemies, whether adds or bosses, to acquire up to one powerful unique ability for the rest of the trial. Potion-throwing adds can grant throwable potion AoEs which heal and reduce allied potion cooldowns. Harpy mini-boss could place huge Shock AoEs on enemies. Reef Guardian could gain a powerful poison cone, etc.
• Taleria summons a huge wave at 20% Health and the group has to shield heavily to survive. Alternatively, Templar can use a new morph of Nova, called Sacred Wall, summoning a wall of Aedric magic in front of you to block all attacks in front of it for 8 seconds. In this fight the wall also retaliates, stunning Taleria for 5 seconds and killing all of her Sirens.

Sounds way more exciting to me to have a team full of classes who all do cool stuff, instead of a team of godly cleave Arcs or DKs and everyone else is only there because they give some passive support buffs.

FarthestSix883 · September 28

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

FarthestSix883 wrote: »

For starters, I have run Azureblight since the set was released. I have run the set in PvE as well as in PvP. I also regularly run in a ball group in Grey Host Cyrodiil. I initially began running the set because of Xynode Gaming's "Nature's Bounty" build for an off meta good time in dungeons. Then I discovered it can be intermittently effective in PvP. The set has been adjusted since its release and I have continued to run it for a multitude of different reasons in different content. I have never considered Azureblight to be a meta or must-have set. However, this idea recently became amplified because of Lucent Citadel. This is the result of making mob heavy encounters and adjusting to the content. The set is objectively not good in all encounters of the game. This can also be said for a set that has long been in the meta yet is the polar opposite of Azureblight in reference to Relequen. If you're looking for endgame dps, there are objectively better sets to run than Azureblight. That is why a nerf of this magnitude is beyond overkill and will ruin a niche set that has just really found its place in the meta, where we have had other sets that have been stacked for such a long time. I understand the use of it right now isn't probably what the devs want and adjustments are wanted to be made, but a simple solution would be to make it to where the first person to apply a stack of Azureblight to an enemy is the only one who can build the stacks until the pop.

Now for the PvP side of things. As someone who plays in the dreaded/hated ball groups, if the current nerfs go through, solo or small-scale players will lose one of the few sets that actually applies pressure to us in a Cyrodiil where that is pretty hard to do when not in a big group. I myself, when not in a group, will use Azureblight to help apply pressure to ball groups. I have seen complaints/posts about the set being used to melt a single player. I find this to be silly because the set is dominantly built off AoE attacks and in a Cyrodiil where movement is king, it just simply means you either chased the Azureblight-user into a tight space where the set should thrive, or you willingly stood in their AoE's. If it is an Arcanist beam that is building the stacks, you can just simply bash them. If the PvP changes go through, non-ball/comp group players are effectively being thrown to the wolves. "But the set is being abused by 12 mans!" Okay and? You can abuse anything with a set group of 12 people wearing matching builds. Nerfing sets because of this would be a dangerous and slippery slope to go down. As someone on both sides of the coin, I have never run the set because I thought it was better than others sets or because I felt it gave me more damage or an advantage. I used it for a fun unique set option that is different from Coral, Relequen, Pillar, etc etc.

Ok thanks

YW

CP5 · September 28

Stafford197 wrote: »

BahometZ wrote: »

To iterate, many of the toughest fights now in trials are cleave fights. (And some add pulls can be trickier than bosses.) If the discussion is about class balance, well some classes are better at cleave than others. If its about gearsets, about 2% of them are relevant.

Zos decide what to put in the game, they've designed the fights and the fighters. We just have to pick the best skills/tools for the job.
Thanks to the design of the latest trials, arcanists with azureblight fit the bill. Now after they designed cleave heavy fights, zos want to nerf cleave class and sets. Wow.

The fact they gave daedric prey more aoe damage last patch seems to imply zos are aware of the need for cleave. But that it could possibly help bridge the sorc gap for cleave damage in trials is laughable.

I can’t even imagine if a group tried to push a Dreadsail Reef Trifecta with a whole bunch of NBs or Wardens lol. Some classes are so far ahead of others right now because pure damage is everything.

Like for Taleria it makes the fight way easier when you deal high DPS since it lets you to skip an entire Siren phase at 35% Health. Mechanics are skipped with high DPS instead of stacked. Also it’s not something we often think about with ESO, but why do Flames deal equal damage to Physical or Magic attacks… against a boss made of Water?

I think the whole issue of PvE class balance would mostly go away if content focused on moments where they each shine. EX:
• Reef Guardian minions can be manipulated by Wardens to fight for the team. Crabs guarding portals can also be lured into the main fight by Wardens after portals, making them preferable as runners.
• First boss Twins - Dragonknights are not stunned or debuffed by the Fire Orb and take far less DoT Damage from it. Wardens have the same benefit, but for Ice Orb.
• Necromancers can harvest power from any dead enemies, whether adds or bosses, to acquire up to one powerful unique ability for the rest of the trial. Potion-throwing adds can grant throwable potion AoEs which heal and reduce allied potion cooldowns. Harpy mini-boss could place huge Shock AoEs on enemies. Reef Guardian could gain a powerful poison cone, etc.
• Taleria summons a huge wave at 20% Health and the group has to shield heavily to survive. Alternatively, Templar can use a new morph of Nova, called Sacred Wall, summoning a wall of Aedric magic in front of you to block all attacks in front of it for 8 seconds. In this fight the wall also retaliates, stunning Taleria for 5 seconds and killing all of her Sirens.

Sounds way more exciting to me to have a team full of classes who all do cool stuff, instead of a team of godly cleave Arcs or DKs and everyone else is only there because they give some passive support buffs.

We used to have that in year 1. For example, if you afflicted a vampire with the burning status effect, they'd suffer a fire explosion instead, while flame atronachs would take less fire damage. Dwemer automaton's couldn't bleed. Things like that. But having things like that in an MMO is iffy, because, for example, if an entire trial focuses around fire based enemies, who would ever bring a fire damaged DK to that trial? Or a vampire castle, who wouldn't bring a fire based DK there? Having content to heavily sway to one build or class would make it frustrating for anyone else to engage with, play by the rules of the house, or not at all. Sadly, given the high demand for damage and the high reward for burning things down quickly, that is the house we're in, rather than one based on things like elemental weaknesses.

Stafford197 · September 28

CP5 wrote: »

Stafford197 wrote: »

BahometZ wrote: »

To iterate, many of the toughest fights now in trials are cleave fights. (And some add pulls can be trickier than bosses.) If the discussion is about class balance, well some classes are better at cleave than others. If its about gearsets, about 2% of them are relevant.

Zos decide what to put in the game, they've designed the fights and the fighters. We just have to pick the best skills/tools for the job.
Thanks to the design of the latest trials, arcanists with azureblight fit the bill. Now after they designed cleave heavy fights, zos want to nerf cleave class and sets. Wow.

The fact they gave daedric prey more aoe damage last patch seems to imply zos are aware of the need for cleave. But that it could possibly help bridge the sorc gap for cleave damage in trials is laughable.

I can’t even imagine if a group tried to push a Dreadsail Reef Trifecta with a whole bunch of NBs or Wardens lol. Some classes are so far ahead of others right now because pure damage is everything.

Like for Taleria it makes the fight way easier when you deal high DPS since it lets you to skip an entire Siren phase at 35% Health. Mechanics are skipped with high DPS instead of stacked. Also it’s not something we often think about with ESO, but why do Flames deal equal damage to Physical or Magic attacks… against a boss made of Water?

I think the whole issue of PvE class balance would mostly go away if content focused on moments where they each shine. EX:
• Reef Guardian minions can be manipulated by Wardens to fight for the team. Crabs guarding portals can also be lured into the main fight by Wardens after portals, making them preferable as runners.
• First boss Twins - Dragonknights are not stunned or debuffed by the Fire Orb and take far less DoT Damage from it. Wardens have the same benefit, but for Ice Orb.
• Necromancers can harvest power from any dead enemies, whether adds or bosses, to acquire up to one powerful unique ability for the rest of the trial. Potion-throwing adds can grant throwable potion AoEs which heal and reduce allied potion cooldowns. Harpy mini-boss could place huge Shock AoEs on enemies. Reef Guardian could gain a powerful poison cone, etc.
• Taleria summons a huge wave at 20% Health and the group has to shield heavily to survive. Alternatively, Templar can use a new morph of Nova, called Sacred Wall, summoning a wall of Aedric magic in front of you to block all attacks in front of it for 8 seconds. In this fight the wall also retaliates, stunning Taleria for 5 seconds and killing all of her Sirens.

Sounds way more exciting to me to have a team full of classes who all do cool stuff, instead of a team of godly cleave Arcs or DKs and everyone else is only there because they give some passive support buffs.

We used to have that in year 1. For example, if you afflicted a vampire with the burning status effect, they'd suffer a fire explosion instead, while flame atronachs would take less fire damage. Dwemer automaton's couldn't bleed. Things like that. But having things like that in an MMO is iffy, because, for example, if an entire trial focuses around fire based enemies, who would ever bring a fire damaged DK to that trial? Or a vampire castle, who wouldn't bring a fire based DK there? Having content to heavily sway to one build or class would make it frustrating for anyone else to engage with, play by the rules of the house, or not at all. Sadly, given the high demand for damage and the high reward for burning things down quickly, that is the house we're in, rather than one based on things like elemental weaknesses.

Why delete it instead of improving on it?

My idea is to make classes stand out, not just add Ele Resistances (which IMO should only be a 33% damage taken reduction/increase).

You mention there being issues with something like an all Fire trial though. Let’s take a Fire trial like Rockgrove HM, here’s what just some of the idea would be:
• Dragonknight flames may deal ~33% less damage to a fire boss like Xalvakka, but you likewise receive 33% less damage from all Flame effects. Absorb Bahsei’s soul after he dies to acquire his Prime Meteor ability, costing 500 Ult to deals millions of damage overtime to enemies. You also take 90% less damage from Xalvakka’s rising Lava, allowing you to fight through Lava while everyone else is dying if it comes to that.
• Sorcerer shock spells can occasionally stun bosses for a few seconds after reaching a certain Shock Damage dealt threshold. As a mage who can summon Daedra, Sorcs can also channel magic into Bahsei’s portal to Oblivion, sealing it off to halt Fire Behemoths from entering the fight for a time. You can also temporarily turn enemy Daedra to fight by your side throughout the trial.
• Nightblade can enter Oaxiltso’s drained poison pools to gain a temporary huge poison damage buff. If Oaxilto is charging at you, cast Shadow Cloak to cause the boss to continue running until he crashes into a wall, dealing high damage to him and stunning him for 5 seconds. You can also cast Path of Shadows over any area that a Haj Mota plans to move through or rise from, causing them to come back to the surface in confusion (stunning for 5 seconds). You can harvest a powerful poisons from dead creatures to use later on in the trial, granting powerful buffs to your Poison Attacks, such as causing your Poison effects to erupt for more damage, last far longer, and grant Ult.
• Templar can pierce all enemy soul-based damage shields in this trial by using Aedric Spear attacks, immediately destroying them and causing an eruption of Soul Magic to nearby enemies. Against Bahsei, your Cleansing Ritual overpowers all shadows, negating the rotating cone AoE spawned by Bahsei’s Eye Portal until the portal has been up for over 30 seconds. Standing within Cleansing Ritual while inside the Eye Portal also causes you to take less damage from ghosts and the lingering DoT effect.
• Warden deals more damage to Xalvakka and can freeze slime effects from the floor, causing them to shatter in order to negate that mechanic. Against Oaxiltso, you can convince the Frogs to fight alongside your team instead of against you to make the fight easier. Prior to Oaxiltso, you can convince Haj Mota’s to fight for you as well. Any creatures that survive will follow you for the rest of the trial until they are defeated.
• Necromancer can fight against Bahsei for control over one Flesh Atronach. Turn into a Bone Colossus ult and wrestle with the boss as he is attempting to summon the Flesh Atro. He will be held still for 5 seconds and be unable to complete mechanics as you eventually steal control of the next Flesh Atro. You are also unaffected by the Curse mechanic and can actively cleanse this mechanic from their nearby allies by casting Necro Healing abilities on them. Raise up to two dead bodies of non-boss enemies to fight for you all throughout the trial, and if one dies just find another to raise.
• Arcanist can use Glyphics to warp the world around them. Cause Bahsei’s oblivion portal to summon the wrong mobs, stop time on an active water geyser and summon multiple times later in the trial to do high deal and stun non-boss enemies. Use magic to cause (predetermined) structures to collapse onto enemies, dealing high damage at random places throughout the trial. This can occur against certain add pulls, as well as against structures in certain boss fights to deal big damage against a boss.

Things right now are all about pure damage to the point where we’ve ended up with full Arcanist comps in all content. All I’m saying is, if content was more creative and classes were more awesome, this game would be more fun. I have all the Trifectas btw so I’m not just saying this to make the game easier lol.

CP5 · September 28

I agree, though going in that direction you hit scope creep, and if every dungeon and trial has a dozen unique things for every class, not only would that be filled with bugs just waiting to happen, but it would also be very obtuse for people to learn and understand.

GLP323b14_ESO · September 28

The title led me to believe this was going to be another tea-bagger thread. 😕

moderatelyfatman · September 28

Stafford197 wrote: »

BahometZ wrote: »

To iterate, many of the toughest fights now in trials are cleave fights. (And some add pulls can be trickier than bosses.) If the discussion is about class balance, well some classes are better at cleave than others. If its about gearsets, about 2% of them are relevant.

Zos decide what to put in the game, they've designed the fights and the fighters. We just have to pick the best skills/tools for the job.
Thanks to the design of the latest trials, arcanists with azureblight fit the bill. Now after they designed cleave heavy fights, zos want to nerf cleave class and sets. Wow.

The fact they gave daedric prey more aoe damage last patch seems to imply zos are aware of the need for cleave. But that it could possibly help bridge the sorc gap for cleave damage in trials is laughable.

I can’t even imagine if a group tried to push a Dreadsail Reef Trifecta with a whole bunch of NBs or Wardens lol. Some classes are so far ahead of others right now because pure damage is everything.

Like for Taleria it makes the fight way easier when you deal high DPS since it lets you to skip an entire Siren phase at 35% Health. Mechanics are skipped with high DPS instead of stacked. Also it’s not something we often think about with ESO, but why do Flames deal equal damage to Physical or Magic attacks… against a boss made of Water?

I think the whole issue of PvE class balance would mostly go away if content focused on moments where they each shine. EX:
• Reef Guardian minions can be manipulated by Wardens to fight for the team. Crabs guarding portals can also be lured into the main fight by Wardens after portals, making them preferable as runners.
• First boss Twins - Dragonknights are not stunned or debuffed by the Fire Orb and take far less DoT Damage from it. Wardens have the same benefit, but for Ice Orb.
• Necromancers can harvest power from any dead enemies, whether adds or bosses, to acquire up to one powerful unique ability for the rest of the trial. Potion-throwing adds can grant throwable potion AoEs which heal and reduce allied potion cooldowns. Harpy mini-boss could place huge Shock AoEs on enemies. Reef Guardian could gain a powerful poison cone, etc.
• Taleria summons a huge wave at 20% Health and the group has to shield heavily to survive. Alternatively, Templar can use a new morph of Nova, called Sacred Wall, summoning a wall of Aedric magic in front of you to block all attacks in front of it for 8 seconds. In this fight the wall also retaliates, stunning Taleria for 5 seconds and killing all of her Sirens.

Sounds way more exciting to me to have a team full of classes who all do cool stuff, instead of a team of godly cleave Arcs or DKs and everyone else is only there because they give some passive support buffs.

Brilliant idea. But keep the elemental resistances for harder modes.
Normal mode: No resistances on enemies. All types of damage do the same amount regardless of the enemy.
Veteran mode: Enemies with resistances do 10% less for trash, 20% less for bosses.
Vet Hard Modes: Double those resistances. Bosses can go through phases where there resistances type can cycle or increase.

A well made Trial should be able to roughly even all these things out so that each class can still be useful but a raid group should now cover all types of damage (hence have multiple dps classes) to maximise damage.

Sluggy · September 28

You see, the problem is that people were still using the set. There's a quota for the ratio between useless and required sets and it was dropping below 100:1 so they needed to add another one to the useless side. Don't worry though, next year's dungeon patch will surely have something new that everyone needs to stay competitive while some other staple sets will be relegated to the decon pile.

soldierofzion82 · October 4

Most times, I don’t see ball groups fight each other or flip keeps. Instead, they often just farm pugs. It’s interesting to observe. Azureblight enables moderately coordinated groups to bust up or counter ball groups, but it’s not a broken set. It takes a little bit of persistence and effort. With Rush and VD and cross healing sprinkled in you can actually take down highly coordinated ball groups. You have to work at it. It keeps fights more dynamic and adds fun to the ball group VS pug VS Zerg culture. I think anything keeping ball groups “honest” helps generate FUN which is why we’re all here. I run AB on one build 3-4 nights a month. I have 3-4 other toons with different play-styles that are also fun. There’s no reason to touch this set.

Rageypoo · October 4

Sad to say but this post will do no good. Once they have their eyes set on nerfing stuff, they never change course.

A pitty really.

soldierofzion82 · October 4

If they go forward with this change, Cyrodiil will slowly die over the next 6 months until the devs do something to counter their nerfs. 😆

soldierofzion82 · October 4

Going back to the dev comments on the change to AB, PB is said to be the big boom set for PVP. PB was nerfed a few years ago and isn’t used much by anyone. Most people know not to purge unless paying close attention with an Addon. The 10s cooldown and low amount of dmg just makes it dead. Since they mentioned PB as our alternative then they should buff it to make it viable again. Even mentioning PB to justify killing AB shows a gross ignorance of where that set currently stands with the 40-50k HP shield stacking meta blah blahs that only get tickled by PB users.

LPapirius · October 4

soldierofzion82 wrote: »

If they go forward with this change, Cyrodiil will slowly die over the next 6 months until the devs do something to counter their nerfs. 😆

Cyrodiil has been dying the death of a million cuts since starting about 5 years ago. That people still log in to play in Cyrodiil is a testament to how loyal (or addicted) the PvP community is to ESO PvP.

soldierofzion82 · October 4

“Nerfed set where ball groups complained that they sometimes lost.” 🥳🤡