Sorcerer Suggestion: Add inspection mode

Pinja · April 9

So there’s been a good few times that I’ve made a build to think that I’m the strongest only to be routinely humbled by a 1vX’er. Some builds seem so good on paper only to fail in combat to better builds or lack of practice. I’ve put together many builds, invested hundreds of gold mats, and still get somewhat disappointed when one of my created builds fails. To the average player creating a good build on their own can be difficult and there is always going to be something stronger. I learn and experiment with skills I notice and know my enemies cast based off of the animations and recaps, but between skill styles and subclassing, it’s gotten even harder to tell what people are running.

It would be a nice addition if we could view other players build’s through an inspection mode that would have a UI somewhat like an armory slot. A way to view a player's skills, champion, character sheet, and armor load out. This will help players learn builds, detect cheating, and lower the barrier to entry for Pvp and PvE.

I am a pvper and there’s been plenty of times that I’ve passed a build to a newer player or came across someone who put together a build from Youtube and it was out-dated or didn’t work. I then spend hours dueling them to fix and refine it, only for them to quit or take a break a few days later after they get wrecked in a 1vX. Thing about PvP is that even when you reach top tier performance, fighting other players of top tier should be an even 50/50 win loss. That means you can put months or even years into a build just to occasionally win against certain players. Even then there’s Tiers of players that are hard to beat because of meta or patch advantage. It would be nice to see what people are running so we can build counters.

I know many want to keep their builds a secret, but if a build is too strong it has been shown in past moderation that they can be bannable. There were instances where running sets in combination like elf bane, grothdar, and flame blossom led to bans because of the unintended strength. Even something as simple as Cleaver Alchemist and Seeker Synthesis did the same. I’m not pointing this out to say the inspection mode can lead to bans, but if a build is strong enough to be worth hiding it’s either soon to be nerfed or might be considered an exploit.

For many players originality is already out the window, they use YouTube or blog builds. I myself haven’t been able to parse past 86k in PvE. An inspection on a godslayer would give me some points of reference on what to run.

The inspection UI could be done like a trade, and or an option in the death recap.

Lixiviant · April 9

Nope. I create my down builds, good or bad, and don't feel like having someone spying on me.

NxJoeyD · April 12

Pinja wrote: »

So there’s been a good few times that I’ve made a build to think that I’m the strongest only to be routinely humbled by a 1vX’er. Some builds seem so good on paper only to fail in combat to better builds or lack of practice. I’ve put together many builds, invested hundreds of gold mats, and still get somewhat disappointed when one of my created builds fails. To the average player creating a good build on their own can be difficult and there is always going to be something stronger. I learn and experiment with skills I notice and know my enemies cast based off of the animations and recaps, but between skill styles and subclassing, it’s gotten even harder to tell what people are running.

It would be a nice addition if we could view other players build’s through an inspection mode that would have a UI somewhat like an armory slot. A way to view a player's skills, champion, character sheet, and armor load out. This will help players learn builds, detect cheating, and lower the barrier to entry for Pvp and PvE.

I am a pvper and there’s been plenty of times that I’ve passed a build to a newer player or came across someone who put together a build from Youtube and it was out-dated or didn’t work. I then spend hours dueling them to fix and refine it, only for them to quit or take a break a few days later after they get wrecked in a 1vX. Thing about PvP is that even when you reach top tier performance, fighting other players of top tier should be an even 50/50 win loss. That means you can put months or even years into a build just to occasionally win against certain players. Even then there’s Tiers of players that are hard to beat because of meta or patch advantage. It would be nice to see what people are running so we can build counters.

I know many want to keep their builds a secret, but if a build is too strong it has been shown in past moderation that they can be bannable. There were instances where running sets in combination like elf bane, grothdar, and flame blossom led to bans because of the unintended strength. Even something as simple as Cleaver Alchemist and Seeker Synthesis did the same. I’m not pointing this out to say the inspection mode can lead to bans, but if a build is strong enough to be worth hiding it’s either soon to be nerfed or might be considered an exploit.

For many players originality is already out the window, they use YouTube or blog builds. I myself haven’t been able to parse past 86k in PvE. An inspection on a godslayer would give me some points of reference on what to run.

The inspection UI could be done like a trade, and or an option in the death recap.

IMO I think this would be a bad idea.

The main thing that a feature like this would do is just encourage people to build the meta, more than what’s already out there.

Build and theory crafting is about trial & error, learning and exploring what’s available and then working out how that fits into the scope of how or what you’re trying to play.

Mind you, different people have different play styles and that affects builds quite a lot. Someone you see in Cyrodill or BGs that’s running leaderboards might have a build, you then go copy it, and you could fail miserably.

A build inspector would be even further muddied by the lack of overall balance that doesn’t really exist in PvP as well as a questionable MMR.

Games like ESO aren’t built for a “here’s the winning solution on a silver platter” type of game. There’s a lot of nuance to get used to, especially with PvP and especially since subclassing.

Sure, read what other have shared, look at what works for players in videos or posts but, ultimately, you’ll need to sort out what works for your play style.

Even if you do decide you want to build the current meta, there’s tons of resources online that will basically walk you through it and explain much more clearly than what any inspection feature in-game could do.

Renato90085 · April 12

Isn't this just ESO log how working?
but i dont think zos that this can work in pvp

Vaqual · April 12

Most of the essential information of a build can be derived from ability and set animations, VFX, play patterns and content/purpose. On top of that you get death recaps in PvP listing various damage sources. I actually prefer that it isn't fully transparent and I like piecing together the info based on the clues the game is giving.
Many choices are also completely optional or exchangeable, e.g. Pains Refuge being a top tier CP against DoT pressure or in outnumbered fights, while providing 0 value against many burst combos. Other things like enchantments or gear traits fully revolve around player ability and preference, e.g. getting away with minimal sustain for a maximized damage output.

You can still adjust your build based on the performance in the first encounter and your general experience. If such a system would exist I'd strongly prefer an opt-out option.