PC EU, I entered the fortress the moment our 24h countdown was over. I was lucky, it seems, as there were no bugs in this instance. Most of the time I had no idea what we were supposed to do and just followed the zerg. I liked the fortress overall, but I felt that bosses were too weak. The mobs they spawned were not very challenging for the most part.

I liked the chaos of it as well, and I liked that siege was falling apart fast, because it allowed everyone to have a shot, and we were many, many, many players in that instance for a very limited number of siege.

The one thing that I can’t wrap my head around is why to develop this dungeon just for one week? Wouldn’t it be better to use these resources to make phase 1 and 2 more interesting, like adding wandering bosses that someone mentioned in another thread? It just seems like a waste of time and effort because it will be gone in a few days.

Feedback- dont bring an unproven weapon into battle.
Test,test,test and when your given feedback do something productive with it.

Some of the mob spawns down on the lower level seemed to never end. I don’t know if this was intentional. It caused me to miss out on the two bosses on the bridges. By the time the ten minute mob spawn ended, players had moved on ahead of me and the whole area was empty. I had no idea where to go. The quest had some optional talk to someone back at the beginning that would not progress and was the only marker on the map, so I did not know where to go to move forward. I went back to the beginning twice before it gave me credit. I couldn’t tell you how I got there. I didn’t realize there were grappling points until much later. I got to see the last boss, which would have been cool, but had no idea where ballista parts could be found. I just started killing things, and got one repair kit, but still couldn’t use a ballista. I guess you needed more? After multiple waves of lightbringers (aren’t you only supposed to do things three times in video games? lol) it was over. I felt like I didn’t contribute much to the defeat.

I loved it, I’m very glad that Zos had the balls to do something like this. Letting the crowd of people work out how to proceed made invading an unknown portal actually feel authentic. Some of the design of the level did halt progress a bit too much with the ballista and the crystals but overall it’s satisfying after your group figured it out whether you had a role in it or not.

I would say they relied too much on ballista doing damage for the bosses and the fights sometimes dragged on too long, especially the path on the left portal, and its final boss.

Also I get why the ballista had to die after two shots, to keep everyone engaged and have something to do/cycle out people who get to shoot, but if there were other ways to damage and fight the boss this would be less of an issue. You can target and light/heavy attack spam the third boss but that’s not really enough

Biggest problem with the design is the quest arrow was not pointing to the portals so sometimes people left thinking it was over, while not realizing there’s a whole third boss ahead

I didn't like how long it took to defeat the bosses inside the Writhing Fortress. I don't see the appeal in this event returning again.

anadandy wrote: »

Comment on the siege weapons only being good for two shots. I honestly think they added this mechanic so as many players as possible could have the experience to use them and one person wouldn't sit on the siege the whole time to prevent that.

I agree. The only thing that might seem a bit strange is that they went for "defective" and "repair parts" when they could have just labelled the parts as ammunition. That would make more sense.

It felt like the pve version of zerging in cyrodill and a trial prog leaders nightmare.

Just run around kill things till you die, respawn, no idea where to go or what to do, dont even need to do much to anything if enough people present...

ESO is a MMO, and I personally believe the game needs more events designed like the writhing fortress. The design of it can be improved so it's less of a chaotic mess and a chore, but I feel that the concept of such of thing is what the game needs more of. I like how the game can be played as a solo experience, but I dislike how much the game is moving in the direction of purely a solo experience. In another thread, I mentioned that I would like to see current events like Witches Festival introduce something like this, and potentially others like New Life. Content designed specifically for mass player engagement instead of 12 (talking specifically for overland type content) is what the game needs more of. All current public incursions immediately end when there's 12 people. Sure, they drag on because more ads will spawn or the boss will have immune phases, but the ads that do spawn instantly die and the boss immediately enters immune phases. In total, these incursions last no more than 2-3 minutes and become nothing more than a grind fest that gets old fast. A long mass incursion like this, imo, is more refreshing and less of a slog.

The biggest requirement for such an event like the writhing fortress is that it can't be frequent and it can't last more than a week in order to prevent burn out.

wolfie1.0. wrote: »

Estin wrote: »

ESO is a MMO, and I personally believe the game needs more events designed like the writhing fortress. The design of it can be improved so it's less of a chaotic mess and a chore, but I feel that the concept of such of thing is what the game needs more of. I like how the game can be played as a solo experience, but I dislike how much the game is moving in the direction of purely a solo experience. In another thread, I mentioned that I would like to see current events like Witches Festival introduce something like this, and potentially others like New Life. Content designed specifically for mass player engagement instead of 12 (talking specifically for overland type content) is what the game needs more of. All current public incursions immediately end when there's 12 people. Sure, they drag on because more ads will spawn or the boss will have immune phases, but the ads that do spawn instantly die and the boss immediately enters immune phases. In total, these incursions last no more than 2-3 minutes and become nothing more than a grind fest that gets old fast. A long mass incursion like this, imo, is more refreshing and less of a slog.

The biggest requirement for such an event like the writhing fortress is that it can't be frequent and it can't last more than a week in order to prevent burn out.

One week is too short. But if they stick to the same formula of 13 to 15 days max they use for others it should be fine.

I suggested a week because normally events are very populated for the first few days, but near the end they're almost empty. With something at a similar scale to the writhing fortress that takes roughly 40 minutes with max players to complete, it would either have to be extremely well scaled to not take longer with half or less the max players, but not be too short at max players, or only be available for a short time to prevent it from running on fumes for it's last couple of days. It could also still work as a 2 phased event, but only if the first phase isn't more than a week and isn't just monotonous grinding.

I'll use witches festival as an example again since that's really the only event in the game with unique bosses. The first week can be how it normally is, but then week 2 introduces something similar to the writhing fortress. How it's implemented and what happens to the 2 boss fights will be its own topic for discussion, but it gets the point across that it adds something new in the middle of an event that gives players an incentive to do more than the bare minimum that won't overstay its welcome.

I ran this Fortress event once and only once and will likely never run it again.

I was in the area by coincidence when it opened, and I didn't bother going in immediately because as with all things ESO, I avoid places where people are flocking like the black plague. I refuse to be another locust who'll swarm content, devour everything, and leave it barren just days layer. But since this thing was limited time, I figured it was now or never and ended up going in. Some people in my guild were trying to make a group, but seeing as the instance said nothing about it being a group instance, and I figured it would be a recycled version of the microscopic Oblivion portals in Blackwood, I went in alone.

I spoke to the NPC there. "Way is blocked, pick a side." I picked a side. Ended up on a pathway, running after a billion other people. 5FPS much like I was back in Cyrodiil. Such fun. There were NPCs talking and the quest objective kept moving forward with NO action on my part, so the only thing I was doing was chasing it a mile away.

Finally managed to reach somewhere where people were blocked. A linear path with ethereal grapple points and a constant beam of damage hitting the middle corridor. What's this? The NPC kept yelling something. People kept going into the red and dying (hah!) so I did the same, trying to see if this was serious or not. It was not. It barely even hurt, but I was on a tank so it made sense. Eventually since people were all there doing nothing but die to the beam, I backtracked enough to find the one working grapple point. Now there were some enemies to kill, nice I guess I'm the first one here. Immediately swarmed by the locusts, and as always in every random normal dungeon, they ran ahead, did whatever was supposed to be done, and left me alone in the middle of some 20 enemies with no chance to kill them alone. Why are people in this game so goddamned selfish?? It's this attitude that makes me feel ever more disgusted when I need to group up for content. There's no more enjoyment in the game, there's only RUN AHEAD AT MAX SPEED.

Eventually a pair of DDs came by and killed the stuff, and again I was left to run after a quest point that kept moving with no action on my part. Some NPCs kept talking and I'd love to stay and talk but no time. Their voiced lines were already overlapping because people were just rushing and triggering everything ahead.

Ran into a dead end. No indication of how to advance apart from some NPC yelling to wait until the other side of the group opened it. So I stood there with a few more waiting. Exciting! Finally the blockage vanished.

Then I was at a place where there were some ballistae to do.... Something. Luckily there was no one else around, them bloody locusts. So I tried to figure it out. The NPC kept yelling at me to break the crystals I think.... What crystals? The ones on the top of those pillars? Tried hitting them, I believe at one point somewhere there was a damage number popping so I guessed I had hit something that was meant yo be hit. But almost instantly the way opened.... By the swarm of locusts that was probably somewhere else. Time to keep running.....

Ended up in what was the boss for that side. I had been criticising already that scaling an enemy model to 500% does not make something new and unique. But at least the mechanic of defeating it was smart. Shame it was again poorly implemented. The locusts were everywhere. There was not a single free siege weapon to do anything. People kept yelling HIT THE SIGILS!!!! As if the average ESO player would have the brains to actually play mechs instead of rushing through everything like mindless apes with their buns on fire..... But I digress. So I just stood there. Pinging the neverending waves of enemies with my frost staff while the others did stuff. Such fun. It took soooooo long........ At least there was a chest with some decent loot.

Time to go to the other side and repeat this thing....

The other side was even worse in the sense that I saw and did nothing but rush after a quest marker I never managed to catch, and didn't get to fight a single enemy. I did run past a dead infernium which was blue, I would have liked to actually see it in action but alas. (It's also telling that the most exciting thing here was a palette swap which I could have done in Photoshop in 5 minutes, but again I digress). Finally saw what was probably the boss for the branch, some old-old enemy scaled up to 500%. #Original. Didn't even get to see it properly but I think it was a bone colossus. It was dead, and at least the loot chest was there. Small mercies.

Finally the middle section was open. Got to a lake area with some islands, people were dying in the azure plasma so I stopped to watch.... I guess these floating orbs give you a shield. That's a little smart. And at least a little different. So I kept moving but it's kind of hard when people are just swarming ahead and leaving me to be swamped by mobs they don't bother killing. Freaking selfish, man. I'm a tank. I'm not even using a taunt. How am I supposed to get rid of these??

Ended up in a big lake with some floating islands and ballistae. Okay I guess we're meant to hit something again. Where's the ammo? Yes because the ballista parts are definitely not duct tape and some nails. They have to be the ammo since it gets consumed so quickly. Oh it's.... It's waaaaaaay over there. So you're telling me I have to navigate down the lake again, into a pile of enemies, to get two bolts to throw at.... I don't even know what? Yeah.... No thanks. Oh there's someone dead next to me. I picked their ballista parts which they dropped on death and aimed the thing at what I assumed was the boss. Aaaaand it flew away before getting hit. Really....? Guess I'll just stay here and wait. The others seem to be having fun and I refuse to run around like a headless chicken chasing things someone else will always be 2 seconds faster than me to do/get.

The boss died. Ping! I got a title. Uh. Wait. Was that it? No..... No animation for opening some gates, no.... Nothing? Just grab the chest, run into the next room and touch a thing. The thing by the way is beautifully made. The art department is always on point in ESO. Shame everything else just falls so far behind. I would have LOVED if they added a little something actually unique. Imagine a video section, I don't even want a studio Blur quality one. A simple cutscene where we for once in the whole game actually get to see our characters do stuff. Like the time Mannimarco drags you down in chains? That would be so, so cool. But, you know, done better.......

So I touched the thing. Back in the camp. Skordo is there. The lens is still borked, with the laser coming out of thin air because the actual lens isn't being rendered at all. "Thanks for the help let's not do that ever again, here have some pocket change and a crown."

Was.... That was it. That was it, right??? Well. I can't say I'm disappointed because it's exactly how weak as I expected it to be...... But I've grown jaded. So that's on me.


Switched to a different account, see if it's different not having the expansion. There's actually a little more quest to it in Stirk. Cool, I get to talk to NPCs and actually do something, even if it's just go here go there go there go everywhere chasing after quest markers. It is, after all, what ESO is all about. The little area with the two tiny "bosses" is interesting. They wanted to show people without the expansion how things looked on the other side, and that was cool. Pique the curiosity. See this architecture? It's what you're missing out.

Went back to Skordo. Oh you saved us, awesome, buddy! Big nice speech, made me feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside! Really did. Normally NPCs are like, oh by the divines!!!! You saved the world/map/king/whatever! Here, have some coins.......... Nice day for fishing, huh?

I also got the crown, which was odd.... But sure. I get it.

All in all. It was..... Different. It was something they tried to make new. It was poorly implemented, leaving most people with the feeling we didn't get to contribute anything other than running after the quest markers, seeing nothing of what it was meant to actually be, and oh here's the reward, given in the same manner thousands of other quests already do. No fanfare. No uniqueness. No sense of having been present at a one-of-a-kind happening.

I'm not doing it again. It was okay but..... IMO not enjoyable enough to repeat. Also, I bet going in when there's no one online is going to be a horrible, HORRIBLE slog. So as with all things ESO, it's either all or nothing. Swarms of players, or not a single soul. Even the siege camps are already mostly empty.


It would have been so, so much better if it was done like a group instance. Like a mini trial. No normal/vet variants. Just an instance for 12 people. Make people play together. Make us cooperate. Make us split up to complete smaller objectives, some stay here to hold the line, others go around to open the gate/drop the bridge. Have each player actually feel needed and useful, instead of just sitting there watching as all spots are full, and being unable to contribute apart from pinging the endless mobs that keep spawning. Make it feel like an actual coordinated group effort. Not like.... A media market in Black Friday rush.

Anyway. That is all.