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Do you like subclassing? Simple Yes or No poll.

SwordOfSagas
SwordOfSagas
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Seems to always be a lot of subclass hate post so lets see what happens. Does majority hate it or does the minority.
Edited by SwordOfSagas on 21 November 2025 01:11

Do you like subclassing? Simple Yes or No poll. 289 votes

Yes I like it
48%
Furyoustohopka_esoKatelinssewallb14_ESOWhiteCoatSyndromeXaemylloaganb16_ESOJackWilmslowDanikatDiatonicflizomicaSotha_Silgary.mcleodeb17_ESOivaylo.krumoveb17_ESOIdinuseElvenheartThunderclapAvalonRangerDagoth_RacSmokedpyrotech 139 votes
No I don't
51%
NestorAttorneyatlawlKikazarukrez23alenae1b14_ESOSluggyArctosCethlennKitLightningThalmarChili_PepperKilthor69DenverRalphyTX12001rwb17_ESOTaylord900MasterSpatulaSheridanEverdeenJigsaw5DeimusLord_Hev 150 votes
  • LunaFlora
    LunaFlora
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    Yes I like it
    i love Subclassing ^_^
    miaow! i'm Luna ( she/her ).

    🌸*throws cherry blossom on you*🌸
    "Eagles advance, traveler! And may the Green watch and keep you."
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    PlayStation and PC EU.
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  • NoticeMeArkay
    NoticeMeArkay
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    No I don't
    Seems to always be a lot of subclass hate post so lets see what happens. Does majority hate it or does the minority.

    I'd have no issues with it if the amount of subclasses was limited to 1 rather than 2.
  • Radiate77
    Radiate77
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    Yes I like it
    I don’t think this poll is going to have the desired outcome you want.

    These forums are a small subset of the actual playerbase. More than 90% of the people who used to participate here have either been banned, or no longer use this place to communicate.

    Compared to older threads, each of our newer ones only receive a fraction of the interaction that they used to, and most of the people who are left over are all unhappy about one thing or another.

    Edit: If I’m wrong, I welcome that. That said if people don’t want to see others trample over their favorite systems, they should speak up.
    Edited by Radiate77 on 21 November 2025 01:27
  • SummersetCitizen
    SummersetCitizen
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    Yes I like it
    Radiate77 wrote: »
    More than 90% of the people who used to participate here have either been banned, or no longer use this place to communicate.

    100% this.
  • SwordOfSagas
    SwordOfSagas
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    Yes I like it
    Radiate77 wrote: »
    I don’t think this poll is going to have the desired outcome you want.

    These forums are a small subset of the actual playerbase. More than 90% of the people who used to participate here have either been banned, or no longer use this place to communicate.

    Compared to older threads, each of our newer ones only receive a fraction of the interaction that they used to, and most of the people who are left over are all unhappy about one thing or another.

    You are definitely right, most make a forum account so they have a place to air their dislikes about the game without offering any constructive advice. Zos should never make critical changes to the game based on these forum threads, only the participations numbers in game.
  • Erickson9610
    Erickson9610
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    Yes I like it
    Radiate77 wrote: »
    I don’t think this poll is going to have the desired outcome you want.

    These forums are a small subset of the actual playerbase. More than 90% of the people who used to participate here have either been banned, or no longer use this place to communicate.

    Compared to older threads, each of our newer ones only receive a fraction of the interaction that they used to, and most of the people who are left over are all unhappy about one thing or another.

    You are definitely right, most make a forum account so they have a place to air their dislikes about the game without offering any constructive advice. Zos should never make critical changes to the game based on these forum threads, only the participations numbers in game.

    100% this.

    I initially made a forum account to report a bug I had encountered, but I use these forums to pitch ideas and talk about the game. It never crossed my mind to try to reach the devs on Reddit or the Steam forums because these are the official forums, where feedback is (in my mind) most likely to be seen.

    But still, you're right in that a specialized subset of people actually use these forums — fewer still actively use them. We don't represent the majority of players, but I still hope the feedback we have is equally valid.
    PC/NA — Lone Werewolf, the EP Templar Werewolf

    Werewolf Should be Allowed to Sneak
    Please give us Werewolf Skill Styles (for customizing our fur color), Grimoires/Scribing skills (to fill in the holes in our builds), and Companions (to transform with).
  • thegreatme
    thegreatme
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    Yes I like it
    Subclassing (+ Skill Styles) literally brought me back to playing the game and having fun again.

    I've been having a blast turning my NB main into a NB/Warden/DK with the Nocturnal skill styles to have something not only thematic to my character but also much better at DPS than I've ever achieved before.

    Same with my Warden tank now running Warden/DK.

    And my Nocturnal-themed healer that I previously made as a Templar to build into a vet Healer being more thematic with the purple/lilac skill styles + subclassing as Templar/Warden/Necro. Not only is she now visually thematic to a Nocturnal character, but I can heal through things like vet March of Sacrifices and vet Kyne's Aegis no problem, and I'm not even running endgame trial gear on her yet.

    And my Deadlands daedra themed DK/NB assassin brawler. That one's been pretty fun as well.

    I'm sure I'll find other combinations I like once I play around with a few more of my toons, after I fine-tune what I'm currently playing with exactly to my liking. Really happy with the change honestly.
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  • TX12001rwb17_ESO
    TX12001rwb17_ESO
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    No I don't
    Have not touched Subclassing, have not done the quest on any character, I have zero intention of interacting with it.
  • spartaxoxo
    spartaxoxo
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    Yes I like it
    Radiate77 wrote: »
    I don’t think this poll is going to have the desired outcome you want.

    These forums are a small subset of the actual playerbase. More than 90% of the people who used to participate here have either been banned, or no longer use this place to communicate.

    Compared to older threads, each of our newer ones only receive a fraction of the interaction that they used to, and most of the people who are left over are all unhappy about one thing or another.

    You are definitely right, most make a forum account so they have a place to air their dislikes about the game without offering any constructive advice. Zos should never make critical changes to the game based on these forum threads, only the participations numbers in game.

    Tales of Tribute, Curated Drops, the companions Sharp and Azandar, Wandering World Bosses, reverted the planned change of removing all unique ultigen sources from class skill lines on PTS, home tours, activity finder, add-ons on console, Scribing, the upcoming opt-in overland difficulty increase...all things that appear to be their response to feedback on the forums prior to implementation.

    I don't think we have to be the majority of players to have valid feedback and good ideas have come from the forums.
    Edited by spartaxoxo on 21 November 2025 02:40
  • spartaxoxo
    spartaxoxo
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    Yes I like it
    I like subclassing as a system because it makes for some pretty fun builds. I especially enjoy what it's done for pickup groups in group content and roleplaying.

    I dislike that the current balance of subclassing has had a detrimental impact on endgame activities and that so many of those players are unhappy with their gameplay experience.

    I like subclassing but do feel it needs balance changes.
  • AlienatedGoat
    AlienatedGoat
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    No I don't
    I want to like it, I really do. But I can't overlook the glaring issues with subclassing, such as the loss of class identity, the even more rigid meta (hi beam builds), and the weird "balance" attempts that inexplicably tried to nerf skills/ultimate rather than actually balancing subclassing. Taken in that context, I can't say that I like subclassing as it stands now.
    PC-NA Goat - Bleat Bleat Baaaa
  • Soarora
    Soarora
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    No I don't
    Subclassing removed how I liked to theorycraft yet also didn’t go far enough for my roleplay characters.

    And yes, the forum is biased but the gist I get from endgamers on the trial side is the current meta isn’t great because it’s not fun and it hasn’t been fun since before arcanist. The gist I get from dungeon endgamers is some of us hate subclassing because we don’t want to do it or hate the power creep associated with it and some of us utilize it and enjoy the power or the new way of theorycrafting.
    Edited by Soarora on 21 November 2025 05:39
    PC/NA Dungeoneer (Tank/DPS/Heal), Trialist (DPS/Tank/Heal), and amateur Battlegrounder (DPS) with a passion for The Elder Scrolls lore
    • CP 2000+
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      View my builds!
  • MashmalloMan
    MashmalloMan
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    Yes I like it
    Yes, but not in the way they implemented it and I think many people fall into this category. ZOS basically dropped a nuke on the game and didn't have the deceny to provide shelter, food, or water for the starving in the underground shelters.

    It is appauling how slow they are with developement on a major, game changing, core combat feature. For some reason, U47 and U48 was nearly abscent of any meaningful changes outside of 2 minor nerfs.

    What subclassing needs to do is introduce build variety by first making the core class combinations matter. For the most part, DPS skill lines are good, but DPS skills in support lines are dead. So for example, they could add "combo" effects to them to make pairing multiple lines advantageous because outright adding equal DPS passives to those lines won't cut it, it would inflate them out of their budget.

    Eg. Haunting Curse deals a dot or applies major breach to enemies who've been hit by a Storm Calling or Dark Magic ability within the past 4 seconds.

    The design philosophy should be to buff, not nerf, avoid punishing currently strong combinations, figure out why they're strong and reward combining unique idea's to bring them up to par. In addition to combo effects, consider swapping some skills around that are currently in lines they probably shouldn't be in. I'm not saying all of them, but some of them need to swap around.

    And this "combo" idea shouldn't be limited to pure classing, it is the easiest, and the first place I'd implement it, but it should be extended outwards in a more vague way for subclassing too.

    Eg. If I want to make a Pet Tamer, the most obvious and intuitive option should be to stack Pet Skill lines, but currently it just punishes you for trying. Daedric Prey should buff all pets, but Daedric ones a bit more. Maybe consider making Flame Skull, Boneyard, Cliff Racer, and Flies deal "pet damage". It would make sense, introduce some build diversity, while doing absolutely nothing to players who don't care to build into a pet playstyle, they'd continue playing the same way they always have.

    Pets are an obvious one, but you can extend outwards to other obvious areas. For example, ask yourself when using the current 21 skill lines, what combination should make the best: Pyromancer (fire mage), Cyromancer (frost mage), Aeromancer (air mage), Electromancer (shock mage)... etc.. etc. Do passives support that? Are they specific and strong, or vague and inconsequential. For all of these but frost, I'd argue the current +5% is inconsequential, leaving little to no incentive to actually match elements, not to mention many lines have a mixed bag so it's usually impossible to optimize for any way. 8% for dual elements and 15% for single elements (or types like dot for Necro) seems fair and fun to me.

    These are idea's the dev team should be asking themselves because right now, subclassing has created this hodge podge of mix matching skill lines that have nearly nothing to do with one another in both pvp and pve from a fundamental style and fantasy perspective. Just combine the highest damaging skills and passives, or the most ult gen, or the most support and defense with utility. Those are all fine to exist becasue we have that freedom, but if niche, specific fantasy's can't be strong, can't be even decent, in fact, most of them are outright terrible, than you get a situation like we're in now. You give up on experimenting, and you follow the meta because it's vastly stronger.
    Edited by MashmalloMan on 21 November 2025 06:04
    @MashmalloMan - PC NA

    PC Beta - 2400+ CP
  • Orbital78
    Orbital78
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    Yes I like it
    Yes but some lines, including ultimates need love. Being able to fill in gaps in builds is nice.

    I think they should have given us custom colors for all the skills though.
    Edited by Orbital78 on 21 November 2025 06:05
  • BretonMage
    BretonMage
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    It's not a yes/no situation for me, and probably for a large portion of the community. I think a lot of us like the idea, but don't like the issues of balance and the muddying of class identity.

    Like: Increase in DPS
    Dislike: No true freedom if you value your performance
  • iGuavaTH
    iGuavaTH
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    No I don't
    I don't like it the way it was implemented. I do like the idea though.

    I have a few alts subclassed, but I don't want to do it for my main who was born in 2016, It would feel wrong for him to be anything but a pure nightblade, which means that I will always be far, far behind on DPS with him.

    I took a long break after Markarth so getting back in early this year was confusing already to say the least, between CP 2.0, AWA, hybridization, subclassing and spell crafting. I'll take my time figuring things out, so maybe I will like it in the end.
  • Gabriel_H
    Gabriel_H
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    Other:

    There is nothing inherantly wrong with the concept, though I would have preferred actual sub-classing - further specialization, rather than the mutli-classsing system ZOS came up with.

    However, while taking the number of builds in low/medium-end content from 1,000 to 10,000 it took the number of builds in high-end content from about 6 per role to 1 per role.

    While some of the blame for that falls on raid leads, ZOS created the system that allows it. It needs adjusting.
    PC EU
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  • Estin
    Estin
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    No I don't
    No, It wasn't implemented right at all and needed more time to be properly balanced before it was released. Instead, we were given an unfinished system and have to deal with its effects for who knows how long until we get whatever solution ZOS comes up with on their own rather than from feedback.

    Subclassing isn't going to be a quick fix. The entire thing needs an overhaul, and I would rather it not be in the game while it's being overhauled, but the longer ZOS waits, the more impossible it would be to remove it because too many players would have gotten used to it.
  • KalevaLaine
    KalevaLaine
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    No I don't
    Nope. Hate it. Almost all my chars are useless in any way now or they feel useless. Was thinking about to quit the game. I play just pure and left a trial gruop cuz they wanted to play me this way.
    i TurNeD inTo A mARtian 👽 // PC EU seit 2020 (3600CP) // PS EU von 2015-2020 (1250CP)

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  • Tariq9898
    Tariq9898
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    I don’t mind subclassing as a system. I care more about gameplay balance. As of right now, there are lots of gate keeping when it comes to attending even the most non-serious, gear farm, vet trial runs. The comment above me is an example 👆🏼

    Right now, the delta between sub and pure class are astronomical. This is not the same as pre-subclass times when a pure class was dominant and flavor of the month because that difference was small. The flavor of the month pure class wasn’t outperforming everyone by 40k DPS. Huge difference, they are not the same.

    There needs to be more incentives to stay pure. This is what’ll bring more variety. And this is coming from someone who’s been enjoying subclassing.
    Edited by Tariq9898 on 21 November 2025 09:55
  • SolarRune
    SolarRune
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    Yes I like it
    Every vote I've seen on this across here and Reddit has shown a very similar pattern; the only real conclusion is that it's just a divisive change, with broadly speaking as many people enjoying it as not.

    I was initially very sceptical, but as I generally run in support roles, where the build diversity has been lacking for many more years than DD, it has brought an interesting element to build variety and allows raid leads to move buffs/debuffs around the group. To the point where I think I've actually changed groups during the season towards someone who has enjoyed it on the whole.

    I really hope supports do get some new meta-disruptive sets over the next couple of years, without taking away the current options. The last few updates have just narrowed the expected or interesting play styles for supports because of nerfs.

    One of the issues is players' perception of what having particular lines means. I've been made aware of even more ridiculous gatekeeping in the group finder. I've heard from multiple guildies who have been kicked from a group, with the reason given that they are not running the arc DD line, which I find infuriating.


  • Sarannah
    Sarannah
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    Yes I like it
    Yes, 100%!

    But I do feel more attacks should be reworked to be up-to-par with the meta attacks like fatecarver/puncturing strikes/etc. And pure classes need something special to bring them up to meta levels, maybe a special class ultimate or a special class transformation or something like that. (personally I would love pure class permanent transformations that grant some general bonusses to damage/survivability)
  • Yudo
    Yudo
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    No I don't
    Nope. It killed the R in RPG for me.
  • frogthroat
    frogthroat
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    No I don't
    It completely removed class identity and made the meta even more narrow than it used to be. No, I don't like it. But I use it to stay relevant.
  • colossalvoids
    colossalvoids
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    No I don't
    Majority of people who do care about the integrity and combat are definitely more skewed into the no camp by the nature of it. Vast majority of people though, who care more about creating their own flavour and ease of use for those, "accessibility" and genuine accessibility etc. are definitely more into the yes camp, yet again by the very nature of it.

    For me it's a no - less distinct identity, visual, gameplay one and one just making sense in-universe, less replayability resulting in less fun.
    Edited by colossalvoids on 21 November 2025 11:28
  • Renato90085
    Renato90085
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    No I don't
    In the past few months, in zone/guild/stream chat ,I've seen far more criticism than praise about subclass
    main criticism is balance suck and FX very conflict
  • twisttop138
    twisttop138
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    No I don't
    Radiate77 wrote: »
    I don’t think this poll is going to have the desired outcome you want.

    These forums are a small subset of the actual playerbase. More than 90% of the people who used to participate here have either been banned, or no longer use this place to communicate.

    Compared to older threads, each of our newer ones only receive a fraction of the interaction that they used to, and most of the people who are left over are all unhappy about one thing or another.

    Edit: If I’m wrong, I welcome that. That said if people don’t want to see others trample over their favorite systems, they should speak up.

    It doesn't matter if people "trample". No poll or post on these forums is going to make Zos so something if they don't want to. If it worked, we'd have no more hip flaps and shoulder pads, the crown store would just be all stuff you could buy directly etc. None of this matters beyond people liking to express themselves.
  • Getsugatenso
    Getsugatenso
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    Yes I like it
    It's good, but it needs to be balanced and the existing sets in the game need improvement to allow for more build options, as well as more difficulty levels in the world to utilize the very strong buildings.
  • Orbital78
    Orbital78
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    Yes I like it
    Nope. Hate it. Almost all my chars are useless in any way now or they feel useless. Was thinking about to quit the game. I play just pure and left a trial gruop cuz they wanted to play me this way.

    That is just end game mindset period. Before subclassing you were already required to run specific classes and builds most of the time. If the raid lead knew you cooked with dk or necro they might have made an exception.

    We were clearing content like vDSR with 80k DPS, requirements of 120-150k is kind of silly but let them spend the time looking for people wanting to do old content at those levels.
  • SolarRune
    SolarRune
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    Yes I like it
    Yeah I'm not sure I would hold balance as a reason not to like subclassing- it's not like there were no complaints about balance before subclassing was brought in. I think most would agree that element needs work.
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