Solo Siege Camp

Ingenon · November 14

Today on PS/NA I got to solo some of a siege camp. When I road up on my mount, there was one soul reaper device still standing, with one ogrim and Flesh Colossus Glosk guarding it. I attacked Glosk and was one shotted by his cleave. Laughed at myself for letting my food run out. Ate some food, and then kited around Glosk on my one bar oakensoul HA build and slowly whittled him down, while hitting him with multiple ultimates. And then got a pile of ads and Battlemaster Ongara for the final battle. I AOE'd the ads and was kiting around slowly whittling down Ongara and dumping ultimates on him when another HA build showed up and helped. It took a long time, but we finished the camp.

ZOS, please nerf the siege camps going forward. I don't think that players will be happy with doing these solo once the crowds of players are gone.

SkaiFaith · November 14

Cleared Ghishzor the proper way, doing walls mechanic, with a lot of players. First thought was - this is going to be messy in solo.
Curious about what is waiting for us on the other side of the wall, and if content will get rebalanced after the event ends. Main Camp would take ages to solo... which I would get it if it dropped unbelievable rewards, but, you know...

tomofhyrule · November 14

I think there was a rumor that the camps would go back down - it definitely feels like the bosses got a lot spongier when we went to phase 2.

I also think Ghish's health is lower once he's back on the other side of the wall where he's supposed to be.

Don't know for sure though, since PTS only tested in phase 3 and not what it'd all look like after the wall was over.

kargen27 · November 14

There should be some things that are not meant to be solo'd and should take a long time if you try. Soloing a dragon can take around a half hour or more unless you are using a really specialized build and stay solid with your rotation and mechanics. Harrowstorms if you can control the fodder can go a little quicker but still is kind of a long fight.

AzuraFan · November 14

kargen27 wrote: »

There should be some things that are not meant to be solo'd and should take a long time if you try. Soloing a dragon can take around a half hour or more unless you are using a really specialized build and stay solid with your rotation and mechanics. Harrowstorms if you can control the fodder can go a little quicker but still is kind of a long fight.

The problem is that when the crowds are gone, new players and alts can't get the quests/achievements done, which isn't a good experience. Not everyone can solo a 30M boss (or has the physical endurance to be in combat for 30 mins straight).

Sarannah · November 14

Yeah, soloing the siege camps is a terrible experience! This is me on my fresh PC NA account on a tank character soloing a siege camp(later two other players luckily came by).

Edit: This was before phase 3 had started.

tomofhyrule · November 14

I have a sneaking suspicion that, once the wall is breached, then nobody will be doing siege camps for a while.

AcadianPaladin · November 14

PvE soloist here.

When a DLC zone is new, I quickly complete the world events and world bosses while the zone is overrun with players. Then, since I can't solo them, I completely ignore them. Seems rather a waste, really.

Contrast that to the original alliance zones where I fully enjoy soloing dolmens and world bosses on a very regular basis.

I've found the same applies to alliance zone group dungeons vs DLC group dungeons. I routinely solo the former and ignore the latter.

That's why I consider the original alliance zones to be - by far - the best part of ESO and spend most of my time there.

lillybit · November 14

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I have a sneaking suspicion that, once the wall is breached, then nobody will be doing siege camps for a while.

That seemed to be what happened on PS EU today, was trying to get my gold box and was only me and one other turn up. It was unstarted when i got there and I was on the 3rd reaper when the other player got there. When we finally finished the other camp that was up at the same time was still going.

AzuraFan · November 14

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

PvE soloist here.

When a DLC zone is new, I quickly complete the world events and world bosses while the zone is overrun with players. Then, since I can't solo them, I completely ignore them. Seems rather a waste, really.

Contrast that to the original alliance zones where I fully enjoy soloing dolmens and world bosses on a very regular basis.

I've found the same applies to alliance zone group dungeons vs DLC group dungeons. I routinely solo the former and ignore the latter.

That's why I consider the original alliance zones to be - by far - the best part of ESO and spend most of my time there.

That's my strategy too. For example, when Western Solstice became available, I concentrated on getting the WBs (including WB daily achievement) done before I did anything else. I'll be doing the same for the eastern part of the island. And like you, I solo dolmens, base game WBs, and dungeons all the time. It's a shame that the DLC zone content is a write off for some players after the crowds have moved on. I do DLC dungeons because it's easy to pug them, but there's no equivalent for WBs and incursions. (forget the group finder - I want something I can just queue into.)

allochthons · November 14

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I also think Ghish's health is lower once he's back on the other side of the wall where he's supposed to be.

Eastern Ghish has half the health. 10M instead of 20M. However, the fight is harder.
At least when I did it today, once the wall mechanic started at around 75%, it ran for the rest of the fight. Wall after wall after wall after wall after wall after ...

I hope that's a bug. Because we could barely damage him, since there's no place to avoid the wall so you have to get the bubble every time. I got a sticky DOT on Ghish about once every 2 walls, and that eventually killed him, but I was exhausted by the end.

jle30303 · November 15

allochthons wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I also think Ghish's health is lower once he's back on the other side of the wall where he's supposed to be.

Eastern Ghish has half the health. 10M instead of 20M. However, the fight is harder.
At least when I did it today, once the wall mechanic started at around 75%, it ran for the rest of the fight. Wall after wall after wall after wall after wall after ...

I hope that's a bug. Because we could barely damage him, since there's no place to avoid the wall so you have to get the bubble every time. I got a sticky DOT on Ghish about once every 2 walls, and that eventually killed him, but I was exhausted by the end.

I think the reason for this IS that he has less HP.

In his Western Solstice position, what happens is: When he hits 75%, you get FOUR Firewalls, one after the other. Then they stop... until he hits 50%, when you get FOUR more, one after the other. And then they stop again, until he hits 10%, when the firewalls start again, and this time they keep coming until he's dead.

In his East Solstice position... where he has half the HP... Is it that the wall mechanic didn't stop, or is it that you managed to knock him down to the next breakpoint of 50% before 4 firewalls were complete, and down to the next breakpoint before 8 firewalls are complete, so the next lot of firewalls started immediately?

(And if the 3rd breakpoint is not "10%", but a flat "2 million HP" which is 10% in his Western location, but 20% in his Eastern location... or maybe it's actually 2.5 million HP, which would be 25% in the East and 12.5% in the West... then "75, 50, 25%" as the firewall breakpoints makes sense, and in fact it's the Western location that had the bug, of the last lot of firewalls starting too late...)

SeaGtGruff · November 15

I've had some fun trying to solo a siege camp, but some of the bosses have really nasty one-shot mechanics that don't seem to have any telegraphed warnings, or if they do then the telegraphed warnings come a fraction of a second before the attack one-shots you. Also, some bosses lay down multiple AOE DOTs that either overlap closely, multiplying their damage done, or that are very large and spread apart in such a way that there's practically nowhere to roll-dodge to-- assuming you aren't grabbed by a giant conjured hand that lifts you up and holds you in place so you can't roll-dodge, anyway.

I get that a lot of players are really OP, and that a lot of them really want to see more difficulty added into the game, but the overall balancing seems horrible-- either something is really easy and can be cleared "just by looking at it" (as some people here in the forums like to say), or something is so over-the-top difficult that no one anyone who isn't incredibly OP or part of a group that includes several OP players have has basically zero chance of clearing it.

It seems like a real shame that this game has a huge amount of really well-designed content, but the majority of it seems to be aimed at either the lowest-end players or the highest-end players, leaving average, in-between players out of luck as far as trying to have fun with the more difficult content.

Edit: corrections and additions

allochthons · November 15

jle30303 wrote: »

In his East Solstice position... where he has half the HP... Is it that the wall mechanic didn't stop, or is it that you managed to knock him down to the next breakpoint of 50% before 4 firewalls were complete, and down to the next breakpoint before 8 firewalls are complete, so the next lot of firewalls started immediately?

I've fought Western Ghish a few times now, and know the mechs, and when the walls trigger for that one. In fact, I fought him twice for the WB daily, because I didn't know there was a second one, and I didn't check the map for the arrow. /facepalm

For Eastern Ghish, the wall didn't stop. There were only 2 of us, another came a bit later, so we were definitely not burning through the health bar to the next trigger point.

The wall never stopped coming.

SeaGtGruff · November 18

I soloed a siege camp tonight-- up until the final boss, anyway.

I feel like the main reason I was able to solo the three soul reapers was because I got lucky as far as which bosses appeared. I'm not familiar enough with all of the bosses to remember which ones I got, but none of them had any really nasty one-shot attacks that I couldn't handle solo. It took a while, because my character is a bit of a wet noodle, and I didn't use a companion or combat pet to help me.

When the final boss spawned in, I knew it wasn't going to go well, because it was one of the harvester bosses. I survived long enough to kill all of the mobs, then managed to start putting a decent dent in the boss-- which took a really long time, given my character's mediocre DPS. Then someone else finally showed up, and we fought it together for a while-- until we started taking turns getting one-shot by the boss. But eventually we both got killed and the boss reset. Then the other player left and I was back to trying solo it.

After calling out for help in zone chat several times, a few other players finally showed up, and we we able to defeat the boss.

I picked up another camp quest and tried to solo that one, too-- not because I wanted to solo it, but because apparently I was the only player doing camp quests. Unfortunately, the boss that spawned at the first soul reaper was the giant flesh atronach, so needless to say, I didn't make it. I gave up and decided to wait until there were other players doing the camp quests.

I really think these siege camps can be fun to do as part of a group, even if it's just a duo, and can even be fun to try to solo-- depending on which bosses spawn in. I really hope they turn down how powerful some of these bosses are, especially if it's going to be difficult to find any other players who are interested in doing the siege camps.

kargen27 · November 18

AzuraFan wrote: »

kargen27 wrote: »

There should be some things that are not meant to be solo'd and should take a long time if you try. Soloing a dragon can take around a half hour or more unless you are using a really specialized build and stay solid with your rotation and mechanics. Harrowstorms if you can control the fodder can go a little quicker but still is kind of a long fight.

The problem is that when the crowds are gone, new players and alts can't get the quests/achievements done, which isn't a good experience. Not everyone can solo a 30M boss (or has the physical endurance to be in combat for 30 mins straight).

Again I think there needs to be content in the game that isn't meant to be solo'd. I know this is an answer some people hate but it is an MMO so some grouping with other players is to be expected. One guild I am in still does a dragon run once a week and guild members can request other runs of that type.
If everything is leveled down to individual players being able to easily solo the content that leaves players that like to group left feeling bored. There has to be a balance and there is a ton of stuff to do solo.

frogthroat · November 18

kargen27 wrote: »

AzuraFan wrote: »

kargen27 wrote: »

There should be some things that are not meant to be solo'd and should take a long time if you try. Soloing a dragon can take around a half hour or more unless you are using a really specialized build and stay solid with your rotation and mechanics. Harrowstorms if you can control the fodder can go a little quicker but still is kind of a long fight.

The problem is that when the crowds are gone, new players and alts can't get the quests/achievements done, which isn't a good experience. Not everyone can solo a 30M boss (or has the physical endurance to be in combat for 30 mins straight).

Again I think there needs to be content in the game that isn't meant to be solo'd. I know this is an answer some people hate but it is an MMO so some grouping with other players is to be expected. One guild I am in still does a dragon run once a week and guild members can request other runs of that type.
If everything is leveled down to individual players being able to easily solo the content that leaves players that like to group left feeling bored. There has to be a balance and there is a ton of stuff to do solo.

As someone who likes to solo dungeons, I... agree. Group content should be too difficult for solo by conventional means. I don't like artificial stops, like stand on these plates so something opens, instead the content should be difficult enough to discourage solo play. I wouldn't want that they start to think about solo players when designing group content because I solo for the extra challenge. My only request would be to not implement artificial stops and let me try to bang my head against the wall in case the wall gives up.

Ingenon · November 18

My opinion is that the siege camps do not need to be too difficult to solo. There are part of 2025 Content Pass content, and we players got the following "designed for group" repeatable content:

Ossein Cage Trial (12 person trial, which has mechanics that probably prevent solo completion)
Four different 4 person dungeons (some more skilled solo players have posted videos about doing several of these solo)
Six different World Bosses (DLC world bosses are challenging/impossible for some solo players)
Two different Public Dungeons (the group event boss is challenging/impossible for some solo players)

And the following "designed for solo" repeatable content:

Six different delves

Looking at the Solstice content, I think that siege camps should be nerfed so that solo players can complete them. More skilled solo players already have multiple "designed for group" repeatable content to complete for more challenge. I think that Solstice is a bit too light on repeatable content for the "not OP" solo players.

SeaGtGruff · November 18

I don't think the siege camps should be nerfed so that they're easy for everyone to solo, but I do think they should be nerfed enough to make them easier (but still challenging) for average-to-above-average players to solo.

As someone who is primarily a solo player and who is too casual to grind for everything I need to increase my DPS to what a lot of other players can output, I enjoy attempting to solo challenging bosses, and I don't mind if it takes me a long time to whittle them down due to my average-to-below-average DPS. But I don't enjoy dealing with a boss's mechanics and surviving long enough to put a fairly decent dent in their health bar, only to suddenly be one-shot by them when I'm at full health.

I don't think siege camps need an "easy mode," but I got the impression-- both from my own experiences during Phase 1 and Phase 2, as well as comments from other people in these forums-- that they had increased in overall difficulty when Phase 2 began. And if that is indeed the case (which may or may not be true, then I think it would be great if they could be put back to their Phase 1 difficulty levels, especially now that fewer players seem to be interested in doing them.

twisttop138 · November 18

AzuraFan wrote: »

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

PvE soloist here.

When a DLC zone is new, I quickly complete the world events and world bosses while the zone is overrun with players. Then, since I can't solo them, I completely ignore them. Seems rather a waste, really.

Contrast that to the original alliance zones where I fully enjoy soloing dolmens and world bosses on a very regular basis.

I've found the same applies to alliance zone group dungeons vs DLC group dungeons. I routinely solo the former and ignore the latter.

That's why I consider the original alliance zones to be - by far - the best part of ESO and spend most of my time there.

That's my strategy too. For example, when Western Solstice became available, I concentrated on getting the WBs (including WB daily achievement) done before I did anything else. I'll be doing the same for the eastern part of the island. And like you, I solo dolmens, base game WBs, and dungeons all the time. It's a shame that the DLC zone content is a write off for some players after the crowds have moved on. I do DLC dungeons because it's easy to pug them, but there's no equivalent for WBs and incursions. (forget the group finder - I want something I can just queue into.)

It can suck to not be able to complete stuff for sure. There are some dlc WBs I can't solo, I just call out in guild and get some folks down there. If it's at a off time, I'll call out in chat. Idk where you play but on PSNA it's never difficult to find someone. On the flip, I always try to answer someone's call for help, though I double dip it by dropping my guild tag at the end in chat

twisttop138 · November 18

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

I don't think the siege camps should be nerfed so that they're easy for everyone to solo, but I do think they should be nerfed enough to make them easier (but still challenging) for average-to-above-average players to solo.

As someone who is primarily a solo player and who is too casual to grind for everything I need to increase my DPS to what a lot of other players can output, I enjoy attempting to solo challenging bosses, and I don't mind if it takes me a long time to whittle them down due to my average-to-below-average DPS. But I don't enjoy dealing with a boss's mechanics and surviving long enough to put a fairly decent dent in their health bar, only to suddenly be one-shot by them when I'm at full health.

I don't think siege camps need an "easy mode," but I got the impression-- both from my own experiences during Phase 1 and Phase 2, as well as comments from other people in these forums-- that they had increased in overall difficulty when Phase 2 began. And if that is indeed the case (which may or may not be true, then I think it would be great if they could be put back to their Phase 1 difficulty levels, especially now that fewer players seem to be interested in doing them.

Agreed. There needs to be challenging content in game that is hard to solo or unable to solo due to difficult mechanics (not anti solo stuff like pressure plates) I also believe I read that the camps were getting harder as we hit phase 2 and should be back to normal at the end of the event. Maybe they make them a bit more rewarding? I know I never have problems not being able to do a mirrormoor incursion, there's always some folks doing those. If all else fails, as for help.

AzuraFan · November 18

kargen27 wrote: »

Again I think there needs to be content in the game that isn't meant to be solo'd.

There already is. They're called trials and dungeons (yeah, I know people can solo dungeons, but a lot of people can't, or can't solo all of them).

twisttop138 wrote: »

It can suck to not be able to complete stuff for sure. There are some dlc WBs I can't solo, I just call out in guild and get some folks down there. If it's at a off time, I'll call out in chat. Idk where you play but on PSNA it's never difficult to find someone. On the flip, I always try to answer someone's call for help, though I double dip it by dropping my guild tag at the end in chat

There are DLC WBs I can't solo. That's fine. I'm not really complaining about that. I'm more worried about the difficulty creep in overland. DLC WBs have what, 2M or 2.5M health, or at least the earlier DLCs have that. We maybe creeped up to 4M in later DLCs. Now we have 6M and 9M in Eastern Solstice? That's what I don't like. People have been asking for an optional more difficult overland (which I support), but this isn't optional. It makes me wonder what's next. Overland mobs being a slog?

Anyway, if the game is changing so that I'll need a meta powerful build in overland, I'll be sad because I enjoy ESO. OTOH, it'll make it easier to leave.

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

It seems like a real shame that this game has a huge amount of really well-designed content, but the majority of it seems to be aimed at either the lowest-end players or the highest-end players, leaving average, in-between players out of luck as far as trying to have fun with the more difficult content.

Exactly. But ZOS has always struggled with who its target audience is, one reason for why every major update seems to result in a segment of the playerbase leaving.

ivaylo.krumoveb17_ESO · 12:55AM

Yeah, thats a norm after the phase 2 ended. People are sick of doing this insane grind and if you still miss a bone fragment, well, GL and HF.

Necrotech_Master · 1:10AM

allochthons wrote: »

jle30303 wrote: »

In his East Solstice position... where he has half the HP... Is it that the wall mechanic didn't stop, or is it that you managed to knock him down to the next breakpoint of 50% before 4 firewalls were complete, and down to the next breakpoint before 8 firewalls are complete, so the next lot of firewalls started immediately?

I've fought Western Ghish a few times now, and know the mechs, and when the walls trigger for that one. In fact, I fought him twice for the WB daily, because I didn't know there was a second one, and I didn't check the map for the arrow. /facepalm

For Eastern Ghish, the wall didn't stop. There were only 2 of us, another came a bit later, so we were definitely not burning through the health bar to the next trigger point.

The wall never stopped coming.

both gishzor bosses can be "cheesed" avoiding the walls

the event spawn with 24 mil hp near the daily camp you stand near the stairs of the temple ruins going into the water

in the normal spawn, stand on the stairs in the north side of the arena

personally i feel the wall mechanic is a little punishing, the only other boss that previously had some kind of killer wall mechanic is the faun boss in high isle (glemyos wildhorn), which was much easier to avoid as it used a similar mechanic to the walls in depths of malatar dungeon

the walls for gishzor i think are overly punishing because they happen approx every 10-15 seconds or so, and are basically 1 shots (i have survived a couple of times on a tanky toon with shields and dodging through the wall to take as few ticks from it as possible, but not something that can be done consistently)