U50 Feedback Thread for Combat Refresh: Werewolf

ZOS_Kevin · April 13

This is the official feedback thread for Combat Refresh changes for the Werewolf coming in Update 50. After you have a chance to try out different combat scenarios, let us know what you think of the current balance and changes.

Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:

Do the refreshed abilities correctly portray the mechanics of the ability?
Are there any key Werewolf changes that you enjoyed?
Are there any key Werewolf changes that did not feel great?
Is there anything else you would like to share about the Werewolf changes?

tomofhyrule · April 13

I just wanted to start by putting a bug in the art team's ear...

We know that U50 will not include any models beyond the new male and female werewolves, and that it is not currently being discussed to have others. I do agree that the primary target should be to add the basic black/white recolors, and I hope that the team is considering churning out other possible colors like a true brown or a true grey (the old unmorphed wolf color was a desaturated beige that satisfied neither of those colors) since about the only character customization available to players who use werewolf form is the skill style of the transformation, so it would be good to have a lot of options there.

However... I would hope that premium werewolf skill styles that give us alternate beast forms would be considered now that the refresh is here.
It was mentioned that new models would require new rigs and animations, but we have a lot of examples in game currently of Polymorphs that are useable for players despite not sharing the same model as standard humanoids - see the digitigrade hooves of the Minotaur, or the tree stump legs of the various Spriggans, or the three-fingered hands of the Atronachs. They were each rigged for those models, but then they animate with the standard humanoid skeleton so they can still do all of the animations in game.

It would be amazing if the team would consider premium models for alternate beast forms. While Elder Scrolls lore does list several werebeasts, the best option would be something that could be done like the above - a different model that could still reasonably use the werewolf animations. In fact, the two alternate werebeasts that have actually been seen in the series were derived from the werewolf as well: Daggerfall had (playable!) wereboars that used similar sprites to the werewolves, and Skyrim had werebear enemies that used all of the werewolf animations - enough so that mods could easily make the werebears playable simply by replacing the model.

I'll even point out the fact that ESO technically has werebears in game, at least in a fashion. Dagrund the Bulky, the third boss of the March of Sacrifices dungeon, is canonically a werebear and references it frequently in his dialogue... he just never transforms.

There doesn't seem to be much noise on the forums or anywhere about wereboars, but werebears do seem quite popular here and other places (and I'm asking a bit selfishly for myself, since I have a character who is canonically a werebear himself). A werebear model, rigged to use the basic werewolf animations, would be perfect for me, and bonus points if it also includes bear sound effects instead of the standard wolf ones. Not only that, if the model for werebears existed, it could end up like the Spriggan polymorph becoming Nazaray - give it to Finn's team and it could end up being a boss in a Dungeon so the model doesn't go to waste (and also more Dungeons would be incredible).

That kind of thing is also a perfect addition to the Crown Store or Premium Tomes - we see that the more involved Skill Styles tend to end up in there, and I know I for one would pay for it immediately. And, like the Spriggans, that's something that a model could be made once and then several recolors could be sold. I desperately need a standard brown bear, but I'll bet there are people who would also like a black or polar bear variant.

In conclusion:

Thank you

I'll be back in a few days after I've played with the werewolf to talk about the combat feel.

CP5 · April 13

I have to say after spending twenty some odd minutes on pts testing things out and:

The sneaking alternative is satisfying, springing around to ambush npcs, the fact you can chain to a second npc is brutal in a fun way.

The aesthetics are pretty decent, better than what the still frame made them look like. I'll miss the jazz hands bashing animation, but sprinting around upper cutting is equally humorous so no loss there.

The abilities seem interesting, and I look forward to trying them out in dungeons with friends, and the fact that the ultimate is easy to jump into and out of, it seems like the werewolf transformation is a much more comfortable 'mode shift' rather than 'I'm stuck like this now, better make the most of it', so I anticipate switching in and out of form mid fight seems a lot more useful. I also enjoyed the passive synergy between the sorcerer class masteries and the form, which is a nice touch, though some classes are far more dependent on their skills to use them as much.

I will just have to see if the in form ultimate triggers gear sets and passives, because that could be a fun utility for the werewolf to provide, if they can build up that Fury quickly that could be a solid role in group pve content, but overall I am very happy with the direction of this refresh, and like tomofhyrule said, if you can work skins into this system, I'm not saying the current model is bad, but if I'm spending more time using this ultimate... Regardless, I enjoyed it.

Inari Telvanni · April 13

I have mentioned this in a thread, but I'd like to point out that Werewolves used to be able to use emotes during wolf form. This was later removed, and while it was disappointing, it made enough sense- you were not able to stay in wolf form long enough to find any use in them.

However, with the refresh, you can stay in wolf form outside of combat indefinitely. A big bonus for roleplayers and screenarchers would be if we had access to these emotes again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-xJBkv9zxY

Kazajhan · April 13

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

[*] Is there anything else you would like to share about the Werewolf changes?
[/list]

To be quite honest, the pictures I've seen of the morphed form with that obscene glow are so over the top that...I don't think I'd like to play werewolf. Have the PTS all downloaded and everything, but if werewolf means having that garish of a toon, whether I see it or others see it...then I don't know if I want to spend the time testing a combat system for a part of the game that I loved, but wouldn't want to play.

Kaz treads the line between light and dark, and I have his normal Khajiit form set up with hints of his werewolf bleeding through, using antlers and markings and the Borealis Wolf Pelt. He wears some red tattoos, but they're my choice, and they don't glare in the dark. Maybe if there was something subtle like the different colors of Berzerker and Pack Leader, maybe if they were gradations in the skin, maybe if the alternative wasn't green...

coop500 · April 13

After giving it a try, I can say that I largely overall enjoy and/or find anything I dislike acceptable, save for two aspects.

Firstly: The White werewolf having pink skin and white claws looks very off-putting. At least the nose should be dark colored like the other colors, and the claws should be black/dark colored as well.

Secondly: The glowing markings for the two morphs. I knew this was coming for the sake of PvP, but they're so distracting and takes away from an otherwise fairly decent model, and stand out garishly so, especially the red berserker ones. Could something be done about this?

IncultaWolf · April 13

I actually like the glow markings a lot, but maybe having a skill style to tone it down similar to what was just done to molten armaments for the people who don't.

MaverickWerewolf · April 14

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE--

Please let us run on our two hind legs for normal (non-sprint) run speed like the original model. But not with that walk animation that's currently in. That looks awful and not menacing at all.

Give them a new, menacing, two-legged normal run speed animation - they really need one.

I like the sprint being on all fours, like the original ESO model, but please I do not want to be running on all fours all the time. I am a werewolf, not a wolf. I want my normal run speed to be on two legs, like it was before the model update.

The way the animations would go from two legs to four between normal run speed to sprint speed was perfect. It looked and felt so cool swapping between the run animations for sprinting. Why change this?

Restore the way that worked like on the original model. I beg.

And I also beg: please do not give the white werewolf a pink nose. Making all white werewolves albinos is just bizarre.

Otherwise, I think the model looks pretty cool.

TX12001rwb17_ESO · April 14

Why do you need the markings anyway? why do others need to know what Morph your using? you don't have any indication of what skills lines subclasses players are using.

MaverickWerewolf · April 14

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Why do you need the markings anyway? why do others need to know what Morph your using? you don't have any indication of what skills lines subclasses players are using.

I wondered this myself. Why is it necessary for PvP to ruin the visual look of the werewolves with big glowing marks, when no other build has dead giveaways like that?

If I'm a werewolf hunting in the woods, it's going to be pretty hard to hunt and stalk my prey if I'm a glowstick. Kind of ruins a lot of RP.

If nothing else, why not just leave the marks enabled when PvP is enabled but turn them off otherwise?

coop500 · April 14

MaverickWerewolf wrote: »

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Why do you need the markings anyway? why do others need to know what Morph your using? you don't have any indication of what skills lines subclasses players are using.

I wondered this myself. Why is it necessary for PvP to ruin the visual look of the werewolves with big glowing marks, when no other build has dead giveaways like that?

If I'm a werewolf hunting in the woods, it's going to be pretty hard to hunt and stalk my prey if I'm a glowstick. Kind of ruins a lot of RP.

If nothing else, why not just leave the marks enabled when PvP is enabled but turn them off otherwise?

I agree wholeheartedly. And every other class/build, well you'll find out after you engage, and the same can be said for werewolves. Do they have the 2 direwolf companions, or not?
Legit no reason to have these neon markings at all, it's just cartoony looking. And even if you must have them in, Battlespirit exists as a 'is PVP enabled?' coding and PvE could be free of this at least.

Xarico · April 14

The new movement and attack animations, model, freedom of going in and out of the ultimate, and the Slaughter attacks are all extremely satisfying visually and in regular gameplay. I would be very happy if what is currently on PTS reached the live services unchanged (in terms of aesthetics and the general feel of playing as a werewolf - I'm not knowledgeable enough to comment on PvP or high tier PvE balance).

Edit: deliberated if I should even write this because I don't wish the dismiss the preferences of other users or to appear antagonistic, but I strongly prefer the current PTS animation for running on all fours even outside of sprint and would be sad to see it replaced with a more human-like animation.

Vulkunne · April 14

Most of this is just great.

However, what's the deal with the colorful highlights though? I understand the glowing eyes, but I think the highlights are too dominant and tacky. I hate to be this way about it, but the highlights ruin the work you did on the model. That bright red on the arms of the berserker and those rainbow colors on the Pack Leader are not a benefit to the look and feel.

Really wish you'd consider dropping the highlights or making them less bright. It's sad that everything else looks great except that one thing. But this is same reason why I refuse to run the banner for scribing, because the effects are over the top and the bright spinning makes me nauseous, even though it's a great idea. This will also all blur together and look sloppy terrible when you have a bunch of WWs together.

Ya'll do good work but then you kill it with these tacky visual effects that are completely unnecessary.

luckiestlycan · April 14

Okay, so, I love what I'm seeing so far; the animations, the model, the abilities, the Dodge animations are so cool, I'm so happy we can finally bite things, the new heavy attack actually looks so much better now, the fury mechanic is so much fun, I love the swrilling VFX on the roar, the increased height feels so empowering, and the slaughter kills are actually to die for I love the so much! Honestly, killing it so far, that being said I do have a few things I want to touch on.

- The Transfromation VFX: Personally, I really like the current Visceral bloody VFX the werewolf transformation has, it really feels like the monster is bursting out from under the skin! The new one clearly takes inspiration from skyrims black wispy smoke transformation, and although I do love the Skyrim werewolf it's transformation effects weren't one of it's selling points, all that to say is I personally prefer how the old transformation looked; and I would even argue the current bloody transfomation just fits better with the new vibe of focusing on bleed damage, fury, the brutal slaughter kills and really leans into the grusome monster aspect that I'm really digging with this refresh.

- Pounce Animation: Pounce for me is the most iconic Werewolf ability, I've always loved how fast and powerful it felt with the high leap up and arcing down onto your target, it really felt like a supernatural monster crashing down on their quarry. I love how it's been changed mechanically, the Greymoor update really made it alot harder to use for a long time with Carnage, but I don't love how it's animation has changed; It feels slow now, it's got almost no upwards lift to it and is just a vertical leap towards the target, and it just doesn't feel nearly as cool as the old one did. You don't swiftly pounce into the air and come crashing down on your quarry anymore, you just slowly leap at them, and I think it's a shame because the old one did it so well! Though the current Leap itself I don't think was mechanically any faster at getting to it's target than the new one, but because it had the werewolf character traverse more space in it's arc upwords before coming down in the same amount of time, it allows for the Werewolf to be faster to make up for the air time. I think much like the current Transformation VFX, I don't think this one needed changing, & I understand it's most likely not as simple as just using the old animation but if there is a way to keep the spirit of the current pounce alive I personally believe it will feel a lot better to use than the new pounce; it's unfortunatley gone from the most visually appealling ability to now the least visually appealling ability in the Werewolf roster.

- Glowing Markings: So to preface, I want to clarify I actually really like the markings themselves, I think they're a really fun way to differentiate the morphs. My issue is with the glowing, and I think that seems to be most peoples issue with them too. Personally, I think just having the markings be body paint without the glow would be enough to identify a difference between morphs; especially when one of the morphs also already has a pair of Dire Wolves to help tell them apart. But if the Glow is needed for fairness in PVP (though I personally think this is still redundant), as others suggested, making it only glow when in PVP zones would be a wonderful compromise (Though personally I'd still like the marks to be there in PVE zones, just not glowing). And at the very least, if the glowing for some reason absolutley has to stay, can we atleast tone it down on the Berserker? It is so obnoxiously bright, and the glowing eyes have got to go, it just does not look good. The Pack Leader Morph is at an acceptable level of glow for this minimum, and they don't have glowing eyes which I'm so happy for because the glowing eyes really do look bad.

- Hircines Bounty: Again, the VFX are letting it down, it does not need a glowing orb to appear above them when they howl. It just feels really intrusive.

- Devour Sounds: I saved this one for last, as there seems to be a lotta audio bugs atm and I'm not sure if this could be just because of bugs, but the new Devouring from my testing has lost a lot of it's visceral squelchy sound to it and sounds a lot quieter; personally I prefer the old devouring sounds, but again audio seems bugged atm, and I was playing a fem character and from what I've been seeing in other posts that might be the issue too.

- Stop killing my Puppies T-T: Please ZoS, it's been a decade of pupper slaughter, can we pretty please transform back from our Pack Leader Werewolf form and not have our two Direwolves die on us? Like, I'm happy to sacrifice the extra in human form Stamina recovery if we can keep the puppers in human form, just something to spare them from the instantaneous death beams XD

I might come back with another post with more i wanna touch on later, but rn it's almost 3am and I can't think of anything else, I hope this feedback is usful, considered and hopefully acted on. I've been a Werewolf main my whole time playing ESO, I've been hoping that Werewolves would get the love they deserve for years, and I'm so happy to see it finally happening; at this point I'm just hoping that some of these lil creases can be ironed out before launch of Update 50!

ItsYourFuneral · April 14

Where is the "Awoooo"... that was one of my favorite parts on the WW. Overall, it seems to be heading in the right direction but the Awoooo call is a linchpin for me, heal or no heal. Doesnt matter... Return the Awooooo

SneaK · April 14

Do you get class masteries while in WW form?

Wuuffyy · April 14

ItsYourFuneral wrote: »

Where is the "Awoooo"... that was one of my favorite parts on the WW. Overall, it seems to be heading in the right direction but the Awoooo call is a linchpin for me, heal or no heal. Doesnt matter... Return the Awooooo

tested briefly without sound on earlier so I may not have realized this. If awoooo gone, please return awoooo- I am super serious on this as it is verrr important

Freelancer_ESO · April 14

Initial WW Feedback:

Do the refreshed abilities correctly portray the mechanics of the ability?

I would say generally yes. It might be beneficial to put something on Gnash to tell people how to taunt with it.

Are there any key Werewolf changes that you enjoyed?

I definitely enjoyed using Slaughter. Occasionally the long range ones looked a little odd but, it is definitely fun.

Are there any key Werewolf changes that did not feel great?

The glow on the visuals doesn't really align with my fantasy as a WW. The red at least looks kinda cool but the green on Pack Leader combined with it's default white fur looked pretty bad to me.

I would say at least initially that the Ultimate tuning feels a little odd for a creature of Hircine. When I'm doing regular Overland stuff I'm gaining Ultimate significantly faster than I was losing it to the point I was leaving WW form to use a regular Ultimate once I got to 500. When I was fighting harder npcs without adds to feed on I was finding that my WW form was losing Ultimate and occasionally dropped.

Is there anything else you would like to share about the Werewolf changes?

The new WW isn't necessarily that much like the old WW. That isn't necessarily bad as the old had some issues but, if you run the same approach on everything over the next couple years you might start to bleed some of the longer term players as the game gradually stops being what they liked.

The new WW has enough of a power increase that it can be hard to tell if it feels better because it is stronger or if it feels better because the design is more appealing.

Shapeshifter's Chain, Vykosa, and Salvation might benefit from some adjustment if the time exists.

Deafening Roar provides Major Cowardice for 15 seconds which makes Vykosa's 8 seconds every 15 unnecessary on a WW and as Major Cowardice has become more common it isn't that great on a non-WW.

Salvation isn't any good on a non-WW and the 33% discount doesn't seem as impressive when the Ult only costs 100.

Shapeshifter's Chain partially draws the value on the WW by reducing ability cost. But, as the cost for many WW abilities are lower the Mythic isn't delivering as much value.

coop500 · April 14

SneaK wrote: »

Do you get class masteries while in WW form?

Yes they do work!

ItsYourFuneral wrote: »

Where is the "Awoooo"... that was one of my favorite parts on the WW. Overall, it seems to be heading in the right direction but the Awoooo call is a linchpin for me, heal or no heal. Doesnt matter... Return the Awooooo

If you're playing a female, all beast audio seems broken (magic effects play but no howling, growling, grunting, stuff like that)
However, even the male howling is much quieter than even the direwolf companions howling. Hearing them side by side is depressing.

WuffyCerulei · April 14

I am gonna be firm on the ultimate drain in most boss battles in ESO won't be feasible with the lack of corpses to eat in them. It's a very limiting factor in end-game content. I would assume it also would be in PVP if there isn't enough things dying to consume. The drain either has to be lower, or just put back on the timer. Or update a mythic or set to lower that drain to a manageable state in end-game content.

Suggested from my friend: Update Shapeshifter's Chain to address the ridiculous Ultimate drain, as well as do more for the Werewolf.

Panderbander · April 14

Berserker ultimate drain is the number one priority in my opinion. It's nigh impossible to maintain the form when you're alone or the only werewolf in a group now.

Wuuffyy · April 14

It has absolutely taken some 'getting used to' but I love the majority of changes from animations, to aesthetics (fur, model, etc.), to balance (yum, buffs).

Is there anything else you'd like to share regarding the changes to the Werewolf mode?

(basing it off this question since I can proceed with list below)

A few points:

1) PLEASE make sustaining berserker werewolf solo more viable. It's okay-ish with fury (second ult) on CD however feels MUCH rougher going into a fight without max ult already.

1.5-> buff the Salvation set to 600 wep/spell in werewolf with VERY GENEROUS sustain for werewolf form

2) MINOR RESOLVE (plzzzzz, it's 2026). Throw this into either into a passive or as a damage morph if you feel it will overload 'tank' skills (most damage dealers have ready access to minor resolve through vigor).

3) The oomph on audio cues. The werewolf 'grunts' sound more like zombie noises so to speak (someone said this in this way so I find it funny to relay the same but honestly it didn't seem super far off); the healing howl (awooooo) feels VERY weak auditory wise (but I imagine some of this is related to ongoing audio bugs which the team does know about).

Erickson9610 · April 14

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

This is the official feedback thread for Combat Refresh changes for the Werewolf coming in Update 50. After you have a chance to try out different combat scenarios, let us know what you think of the current balance and changes.

Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:
Do the refreshed abilities correctly portray the mechanics of the ability?

Are there any key Werewolf changes that you enjoyed?

Are there any key Werewolf changes that did not feel great?

Is there anything else you would like to share about the Werewolf changes?

I have a lot that I want to talk about regarding this refresh, so bearwolf with me here:

My first impression is that the mechanics are not plainly explained. While I do see some mechanics repeated in several places (Werewolf Transformation and Blood Rage both explain how Rampage works) I had to look between several abilities to figure out what Blood Hunger does and where it's sourced from. It also took me some time to discover that the old Werewolf Transformation timer bar is a meter to show you how much Fury you have accumulated.

My current understanding is that, at least for a PvE damage dealer build using Werewolf Berserker, we want to use Carnage (Feral for single target, Brutal for AoE) and Bloodclaws as DoTs, use Hircine's Rage and Ferocious Roar as buffs, and Bloody Gnash as our spammable... or we can use Claw Fury as a channeled spammable and use Bloody Gnash as an execute spammable at 25%. For tanking, we want to use Pack Leader, Feral Pounce/Carnage, Hircine's Fortitude, Deafening Roar, Rip And Tear (casting this while Bracing to taunt enemies), and Bloodclaws.

To me, that divides PvE Werewolf into three playstyles:

Single Target DD (Bloody Gnash)
Channeled AoE DD (Claw Fury)
Tank (Deafening Roar + Rip And Tear)

There are plenty of key Werewolf changes that I enjoy. I love the Slaughter mechanic, especially that I can Slaughter enemies back-to-back. This really reminds me of the rampages I would go on in TES V: Skyrim, and I love all of the animations I've seen from this mechanic so far.

The model and animations look great! I also like the ability to change our fur color via Skill Styles, although I wish the Black fur color was a bit darker, to differentiate itself from the Ashen fur color. I was looking for both grey and brown fur color styles, assuming grey was Ashen and brown was the color when you didn't use a Skill Style, but I was surprised to find that there are only three colors, and our default color continues to change with the morph we pick, and we can equip a style that makes us look exactly as the morph we pick would've made us look anyway. I don't like how these styles are tied to a Dynamic Encounter which presumably won't be available until Season One — this will be a long wait. I hope we get the "Hircine's Hunter" style in the meantime.

I appreciate the Stealth Detection and the "PvE sneak" that we have now, as they're both thematic to werewolves being hunters. I like that Spaulder of Ruin was updated to proc off of Prowl as well. I haven't tested it yet, but I'm hoping Rampage lets us get away without a bounty if there are no witnesses, because I think Sacraments and Heists would be fun to do as a Werewolf. I still found that several monsters spotted me from a long distance away, though. I know it's not within the vision to give us proper sneak, but other PvE content like March of Sacrifices still won't let us complete it as a Werewolf, and there are still the old sneaking animations in the game (even an actual "prowling" animation when you toggle walk with weapons sheathed while invisible):

I would be happy to have PvE content like March of Sacrifices modified to let Werewolves complete it, even if we won't get to use sneaking in PvP. It would be nice to have the actual prowling animation be active while we're Prowling.

Other things I like include Pounce/Carnage being separated by distance, Hircine's Rage finally scaling off of offensive stats, and, of course, no time limit to the transformation out of combat. I spent several hours socializing with some friends in Werewolf form the entire time on the PTS, and this is the sort of experience I'm excited to have more of on the Live server. The in-form Ultimate is pretty cool, too — although when you use it while wearing Balorgh, it instead credits you for the rate of which Werewolf Transformation drains, rather than 1000 (the cost in Fury, or even whatever your current Ultimate value is). It's nice that bonuses which were specifically made to reduce the cost of Werewolf Transformation (Salvation, Shapeshifter's Chain, and Pack Leader's Bone Broth) affect the Ultimate drain rate. It's also nice to see the "supernatural regeneration" werewolf trope being represented by Pack Leader's "Enduring Rampage" Ultimate granting them a huge amount of extra Health Recovery.

Also, thank you for giving Werewolves a unique +6% damage done for allies via their Feeding Frenzy synergy. I hope this is enough to make them desirable in competitive groups, in both PvE and PvP.

Specifically for pain points, I think the biggest offense is how the change to Blood Rage makes it impossible to sustain Werewolf when you have no other Werewolves or dire wolves in your group. On Live, you can sustain Werewolf as a Werewolf Berserker so long as you continually hit the enemy and proc Blood Rage while you have Call of the Pack learned. On the PTS, you will eventually lose form if you don't have additional external sources of Ultimate Cost Reduction (i.e., Imperial's "Red Diamond", Templar's "Restoring Spirit", Sorcerer's "Power Stone") or Ultimate Generation (i.e., Nightblade's "Catalyst", Nord's "Stalwart", Emperor's "Authority"). This is a glaring issue for solo players who are stuck in combat who have no corpses to feed on nearby and are not equipped with Pack Leader, Werewolf friends, or an Ultimate-generating build.

While I was initially put off by the red/green markings depending on your morph, I recognize why they're there. I like that the Werewolf Berserker has glowing eyes just like in the ability icon. And I love that, with the existing Verdant Green Skill Styles for Rending Claws and Roar, you can make a green-themed Werewolf (Pack Leader, Hircine's Fortitude, Roar w/ Verdant Green, Rending Claws w/ Verdant Green) or a red-themed Werewolf (Werewolf Berserker, Hircine's Rage, no Verdant Green Skill Styles).

Another pain point I have is that Werewolf still has no crosshealing ability. Werewolves are supposed to be group-oriented, yet they lack the most important part of a group composition in their build. I'm also a little disappointed that we still have lifesteal in our toolkit, rather than a proper heal over time. Also, the loss of Disease Damage and Major/Minor Defile is felt, since that was part of our burst in PvP. Heavy Attack spam builds are also gone.

Overall, thank you for making this refresh a reality. This feels like a completely new game, in a very positive way. I've been telling a whole lot of people about this rework because it's genuinely the most exciting thing coming to this game in my eyes. It is giving a positive first impression for people who haven't played the game yet, so I hope issues like the unclear mechanics are sorted out so they'll want to stick with it.

As always, I have to ask, since these are on my wishlist and all:

Can we get a Scribing Grimoire for the Werewolf skill line? Something that interacts with the other abilities that opens up new gameplay possibilities. I would really love to have the option of replacing one of my Werewolf skills for a Werewolf Scribing skill that expands my build options, such as an ability that could crossheal, grant buffs which I otherwise lack (like Minor Resolve), or utilize Scripts like Class Flourish or Wayfarer's Mastery to create unique effects. For instance, a Scribing ability which placed an effect on the Hunting ground would even allow us to use certain sets we couldn't before, like Dark Convergence.
Can we get a Werewolf Companion? I think having a Companion who can transform into a Werewolf would be really cool. Not only should they count towards Call of the Hunt (helping address the pain point about it now being harder to maintain form as a solo player) but they could have all of the updated visuals for the model and abilities.
Can we get Werewolf added to Vengeance soon? I'm not sure how the new Werewolf would be optimized for this campaign, but a lot of us Werewolf players want to be able to play as a Werewolf in any experience, and Vengeance currently lacks it.

We already have Werewolf Transformation Skill Styles, and we have as close to sneaking as we're (likely) going to get. We got so many other cool things like cinematic kills and an infinite timer out of combat. I hope you'll continue to consider Werewolf in the future as more balance updates happen! I'm running out of things to ask for!

Callosum · April 14

After trying the werewolf on the PTS, I’m actually very positively surprised. It looks much better than what we had previously seen before the PTS. This is, of course, a pleasant surprise.

That said, in the future it would really help if we could get proper previews of visuals and animations before the PTS, ideally in video form. Seeing the werewolf in motion makes a huge difference. Static images, especially awkward frozen poses, can make things look strange when they actually look fine in-game. This can easily lead to misleading feedback.

I was initially very opposed to the markings and glowing eyes based on the forum screenshots. However, after playing on the PTS, they look much better than I expected. Still, I don’t think glowing eyes and those types of markings should be permanent.

Suggestion: The glowing eyes and markings could instead appear when you reach 1000 Fury and Rampage is ready to be activated. Then, when you actually enter Rampage, the visuals could be extended or intensified further.

I think that would look really cool!

Radiate77 · April 14

Would like to see a unique interaction with Balorgh when worn by Werewolf, where Fury counts towards the proc.

Catariah · April 14

First of all, I'd like to say that the new werewolves look amazing, and I’ve never had this much fun running around as one of them!

I also have a few points of feedback:

1. Broken feet: I’ve noticed a bug where the feet bend in a very unnatural way on uneven terrain when Foot Inverse Kinematics is enabled (see pictures below).

2. The white variant: It looks great, but it has a completely different vibe from the old version of the white werewolf. It feels like a true albino (no pigment in the fur or skin), while the old one looked more like a white morph of a gray wolf, with a black nose and slight gray undertones. I’d suggest renaming the current "White" skin to "Albino" and adding a new "White" version that more closely resembles the original look.

3. Female model: Some players have trouble telling the male and female apart, even when looking at comparison pictures. The female's thick fur actually makes her look larger, which can be a bit confusing. Since female wolves are naturally smaller than males, I’d suggest making the female model a bit smaller to make the distinction clearer.

4. Visual effects: While I love the glowing red eyes, the permanent glowing red stripes on the arms feel a bit over the top. Would it be possible to remove them?

Thank you for all the hard work!

Xarbokk · April 14

While I like most of the update, the glowing marks just seem out of place. Instead of feeling like a feral beast, it feels like a mystical being

Decimus · April 14

Only had time to test the animations and how skills feel to weave on target dummy, a bit of early feedback:

Big fan of most of the changes and animations, particularly Pounce feels vastly improved. I also like that you can choose to build around a channeled AoE playstyle, this provides some variety in WW builds.
As others have already mentioned, it'd be nice to have the glow as an opt-in skin for werewolf.
Jump animation (not Pounce, just normal jump) looks a bit floaty and could use some work.
Claw Fury - love the concept, but the animation could use some work in my opinion.. perhaps also additional visual effects based on how many Blood Hunger stacks are active since this massively affects the skill's damage?

Overall, good job ZOS!

This_0ne · April 14

Are there any key Werewolf changes that did not feel great?

Ultimate morphs with glowing effects!

Sordidfairytale · April 14

coop500 wrote: »

SneaK wrote: »

Do you get class masteries while in WW form?

Yes they do work!

It sort of goes without saying though, only if the class mastery passive does not require a class ability to work. For instance DK Inexorable Descent will work, but DK Wildfire Embers will not because it currently only procs from Class DOTs. (Although Pyrebrand light attacks will still generate Wildfire Embers in WW form.)

coop500 · April 14

Something I dislike that I discovered: Dynamic Encounters and the new werewolf update not coming out at the same time, and thus locking those skill styles behind an even longer wait time than we're already waiting for the werewolf update to go live.

I don't like this, please consider putting the skill styles in something else so we don't have to wait so long just to have the color we prefer to have.

*And please do something about the ugly glowing effects too.*