Hi everyone! Welcome to our Update 50 PTS summary for week 2. Like our
Week 1 summary, this post compiles a high-level summary of the Update 50 PTS – Week 2 top feedback points and issues. The purpose of these weekly PTS summaries is to give you visibility into the main pieces of feedback and most prominent bugs we are tracking. Of note, due to the issues we ran into Monday with the PTS Week 2 update and not opening until Tuesday, we did lose some time for PTS bug reports and feedback. As such, this week’s summary is a little lighter in some areas.
Please continue to share your thoughts with us on these summaries. We’ll evolve and optimize them over time with considerations given to team bandwidth, contents, and the right level of detail. Thanks!
Challenge Difficulty
- Challenge Difficulty in Player Houses [Bug]: Challenge Difficulty modifiers were incorrectly allowed in player housing, including when interacting with target dummies. This was not intended, and player housing will no longer allow Challenge Difficulty modifiers. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
- Vestige Difficulty – Unusually High-Damage Critical Strike from Light Attack [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We identified an issue that was resulting in some light attacks hitting unusually high damage numbers while on Vestige Difficulty. We identified that the underlying cause of this is related to calculations in the code. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3. (Related discussion.)
- Unusual Behavior with Certain Item Sets & Challenge Difficulty [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We observed unusual behavior with how some item sets interact with Challenge Difficulty. This ended up being due to the same underlying cause as the above issue. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3. (Related discussion.)
Separating Players by Challenge Difficulty Setting [Feedback]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We have seen your questions and feedback about separating players by Challenge Difficulty setting, so the only players you’d see are those on the same Challenge Difficulty setting as you. Much of this feedback is grounded in concerns that players on lower difficulty will affect players on higher difficulty in overland content. There are two main reasons why this is not possible.
- Reason 1: Our game is an MMO and we want players to play together, see others, interact with the world, soft group, etc. Separating players would run counter to that ethos.
- Reason 2: We cannot do this from a technical standpoint. Creating instances of each zone would be hugely detrimental to the game's technical health and adversely affect the entire game, not just the zones with instances.
We are still looking at your feedback, and this was identified when the system was developed but one thing to remember is this is not fundamentally different from the experience currently on the live servers. Players opting in to Challenge Difficulty will have a better experience most of the time, but in high traffic areas you may see a greater mix of lower- and higher-difficulty players. We have an additional post with more detailed technical info
here.
Class Mastery
- Conservation of Energy [Bug]: This passive was not applying healing via Bolt Escape and its morphs, as it should. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
General Feedback and Suggestions [Feedback]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We are currently reading through all your feedback and suggestions for Class Mastery. We're aware that certain classes are lagging a little behind, some are too far ahead, and that some passives related to support and tank roles feel too low in comparison to DPS roles.
In PTS Week 3, we’ll be taking a pass on class mastery values and effects, largely focused on bringing up the effects of the classes near the bottom (Necromancer and Nightblade) while gently toning down the power of the high end (Sorcerer). The main focus is on adding new effects or power increases to support and tank class masteries. For example, Arcanist’s Ink-Scribe's Verve will trigger a group wide source of Major Force after activating, while Necromancer’s Veil’s Forfeit will extend the duration of any source of Major Vulnerability you apply. Thank you for the ongoing feedback and data!
Combat
- Empower [Feedback]: Thanks to many of the discussions and breakdowns of popular use cases, we’re making some adjustments to the values for certain effects that saw a reduction in power after the combat calculation changes with Damage Done to Monsters. Most of these are not huge bumps in power that immediately make them as strong as they were in all cases (since the loss of power is still highly subjective to many factors) but should help them feel more competitive with other bonuses. Empower is the most notable increase, going from 70% to 100% - but will come with a stipulation that the damage bonus will no longer apply while the effect holder has Battle Spirit, to correct some of the extreme damage possible against players in PvPvE situations. We are also not increasing every bonus, namely Velothi, as its power offered is still quite dense even after the changes.
Dynamic Encounters
- Farm Aflame [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. Completing the Teldur's End quest in Auridon currently prevents participation in the Flowervine Farm Dynamic Encounter. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
Favors
- Rewards [Feedback]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We have seen your feedback that the rewards for Favors don’t feel substantial enough. We are finalizing some options, and you will see them in a later PTS Week.
Item SetsAerie’s Cry [Bug]: We are tracking an issue where if multiple players have Aerie's Cry equipped and attack the same target only one player will have the set bonus applied properly. We have a fix going in with PTS Week 3 so that this set's damage over time can now stack between multiple wearers of the set.
For added context, we did this to remedy a design conflict with the set that stated you dealt bonus damage to targets with Aerie's Cry, but only after applying the DoT, while also stating a target could not have more than 1 instance of the DoT. This created a case where the tooltip explained something that was not possible. This stipulation has been removed entirely, not only fixing that issue, but also greatly improving the usability with multiple wearers. This does mean the recipient could have multiple sets of eagles dive-bombing them, so we will be keeping an eye on feedback around both balance, performance, and the amount of VFX/SFX.
Player Experience Improvements
- Motif Sourcing: We fixed some typos for Motif Sourcing. These fixes will be in PTS Week 3.
- Path to Adventure [Bug]: We made some improvements to Path to Adventure clarity and flow. These fixes will be in PTS Week 3.
Sheogorath Questline
- Animation and Voice-Over improvements [Feedback]: We have gotten some feedback on missing voice-over lines (VO) and some regarding animations quality. We are going back to add in more intricate animations, and some missing VO lines to improve the questing experience. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
- Sheogorath Questline Ending [Bug]: We have worked to resolve some issues with Sheogorath ending up in some odd places toward the end of the quest. What can we say, he likes to throw a little madness wherever he goes! This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
Tamriel Tomes
- End-of-Season Experience [Patch Notes Error]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. It was mentioned in the initial Update 50 PTS patch notes that the end of Season experience would be available for testing on the PTS. While that is true, it’s not on the PTS quite yet. It will be available in PTS Week 3, starting on April 30 when the U50 PTS Season ends. (Related post.)
- Swapping Between Owned Tomes [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. This bug is caused by how we use character copy on PTS. The intention is that everyone on the PTS has both the Update 49 and Update 50 PTS specific Premium Tomes owned and should be able to swap between them using the top left button on the Tome screen (the little book with an arrow icon). However, due to how we use character copies, the characters are not recognizing the U49 Tome. This will continue to happen for the remainer of PTS. However, this will not be an issue on the live server when Update 50 launches. (Related post.)
- Weekly Challenge Rerolls for Gold [Patch Notes Error]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. Currently you cannot reroll Weekly Challenges for gold, despite being mentioned in the initial Update 50 PTS patch notes. This option will be available in PTS Week 3. (Related post.)
Thieves Guild
- Codex Caper Quest [Bug]: When doing this quest, it was difficult to sneak through the estate, especially for players without Thieves Guild skills or Champion Skills. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
- NPC Appearances – Lion Guard and More [Feedback]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We’ve seen your feedback related to the appearance of NPCs you’ve encountered during the Thieves Guild content (and beyond.) For example, wishing the Lion Guard NPCs used the new Lion Guard Captain uniform. We are working on some outfit updates for key NPCs and a few factions based on your feedback. We have also seen the related request for broader NPC makeovers across the game. While our main focus right now remains on Season One content, we hear you and will keep this request and your suggestions in mind! (Related post.)
- Quests – General [Bugs/Feedback]: We have updated several instances of Thieves Guild quests to fix issues where clicking through the quest dialogue too quickly would result in the quest NPC not moving to the next part of the quest, and updated quest assists to help better guide players to quest NPCs. These fixes and improvements will be in PTS Week 3.
- Racing Into Nowhere Quest [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. Interacting with an incorrect item in the Relic Gallery during the staff puzzle presents a portal to another area. Taking the portal currently blocks quest completion. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3. (Related post.)
Vengeance Campaign (Cyrodiil)
- Campaign Options for Live Servers [Feedback]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We hear your feedback and concerns about Cyrodiil queues on the live servers in relation to having only Gray Host and Vengeance campaigns open. We also acknowledge the concerns related to Blackreach and desires from some players to retain a non-Vengeance campaign option that is not faction locked. We will be paying close attention to queue times and population flow when Update 50 launches and will adjust as needed.
Veterancy
- General UI Feedback and Suggestions [Feedback]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We are continuing to read your general feedback and suggestions about the Veterancy UI. Thank you and keep it coming!
- Rewards – Vengeance Perks [Feedback]: We have been reading your feedback about the Veterancy rewards, including a desire to have less Vengeance-specific rewards or alternate options for those who do not wish to play in the Vengeance campaign. We’ve also seen some confusion about whether the Veterancy system is only for those who play in the Vengeance Cyrodiil campaign. To clarify, the Veterancy rewards are things you can earn by participating in any PvP mode, be it Cyrodiil, Imperial City, or Battlegrounds. The only Veterancy reward that is Vengeance-specific is the passive perks. We added those to Vengeance because the available builds there are so paired down compared to the full builds players can use in Gray Host and other “traditional” Cyrodiil campaigns. They’re to give a little more build variety in Vengeance. While we are not making any major changes to the Veterancy rewards at this time, we do welcome feedback and suggestions for future Veterancy seasons.
Werewolf Refresh
- Animations – General [Bugs/Feedback]: We are polishing up various animations as feedback and bugs are called out. You will see some of these in PTS Week 3. Please continue to let us know your thoughts!
- Feral Cruelty Passive [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We're aware of the issue where Rank 2 of Feral Cruelty fails to grant its Weapon and Spell Damage. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
- Grappling Hook & Werewolf Model [Bug]: There is a bug where the Grappling Hook visual is missing when players interact with a grappling point while in Werewolf form. This will be fixed in a later PTS Week.
- Werewolf Model Feet Bending/Distorting on Certain Terrain [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. We are working on a long-term fix for an issue where the new Werewolf model’s feet can bend/distort in an unintended way when traversing across certain uneven terrain while Foot Inverse Kinematics is enabled. In the short-term, we disabled Inverse Kinematics for Werewolves in PTS Week 2. The long-term fix will not be ready for the Update 50 PTS cycle. (Related post.)
Glowing Markings for Ultimate Morphs [Feedback]: The team has some changes coming in PTS Week 3 for the markings on the Werewolf Transformation ability and its morphs. Originally, these markings were intended to provide an obvious differentiation between the Werewolf Transformation morphs, outside of the visual cue of the dire wolves on the Pack Leader. We wanted to make this differentiation between morphs obvious not only for better PvP readability, but because we received a lot of feedback from the Update 49 Dragonknight refresh that stronger visual delineations between morphs is appreciated.
However, we have heard your feedback and we have made the following changes to the Werewolf markings:
- The markings will now only become visible when Rampage is ready to cast, and they will remain visible for the duration of Rampage being active. Once Rampage is over, the markings disappear.
- The markings can still be used as a visual aid to differentiate between the base ability and its morphs when they are visible, but they now also serve the purpose of better conveying when the Rampage ability is ready to cast. This will allow you to not have to look at your ability bar and notice the Ultimate icon change-over when Rampage is available to use.
- For those who wish to keep the markings visible outside of combat, you can build up Fury until Rampage is ready to activate and then leave combat. This will allow the markings to remain visible indefinitely or until you decide to cast Rampage.
- A blue version of the Pack Leader markings has been added to the base Werewolf Transformation ability. Since we have now tied the markings to providing a visual representation of Rampage’s functionality, we wanted to ensure that the visual messaging remained consistent on all forms of the ability and was not exclusive to the morphs.
- The intensity of the Berserker morph markings has been decreased.
Please continue to provide us with feedback on the markings, especially after the above changes are implemented in PTS Week 3 – we want to hear what you think!
Whitestrake’s MayhemTrade Bars and PvP Rewards [Feedback]: Thank you for your feedback about the removal of Trade Bars from Whitestrake’s Mayhem. While our earlier note in the Update 50 Week 2 Patch Notes was accurate, it didn’t give enough context about our goals and thought process.
Our broader goal is to take different approaches to both new and existing events. Removing Trade Bars from Whitestrake’s is part of that experiment. But this decision wasn’t made in isolation. Instead of having them tied to the event, we worked to incorporate them in a broader approach.
With the rollout of the new Veterancy system, the goal is to have the possible Trade Bars earned in Whitestrake’s and add them to the new reward system. Instead of being locked to a limited‑time event, they’re part of a year‑round system, with fresh Trade Bars available each Veterancy Season. With Veterancy servicing the reward structure for PvP players, we believe Whitestrake’s can take on a new role. Rather than being one of the only PvP‑focused moments on the annual ESO calendar, it will become a time‑limited spotlight. A frenzy of action that draws attention to PvP and ramps up the mayhem for a short burst of carnage and riches!
That's how we see this tradeoff: more frequent Whitestrake’s events, paired with steady, year‑round PvP rewards through Veterancy. As we mentioned previously, the plan is to run Whitestrake’s in August and November this year, and then roughly once every three months starting in 2027. As always, we’ll continue to review feedback, but we hope this gives a bit more clarity on why this change is happening.
Impresario PTS Issue: The way Whitestrake’s appeared on the PTS wasn’t ideal. A data issue prevented the Impresario from going live when the event did. Which meant you didn’t get to see their enormous lineup, including every Whitestrake’s style motif from previous years. This will be fixed in time for when the event returns in August.
Pelinal's Boon Boxes PTS Issue: Another issue kept the updated “glow‑up” versions of Pelinal’s Boon Box rewards from going live with the event on PTS. Because of this error and the Impersario one, you didn’t have the full picture of what we’re planning. That lack of context made it hard to see where we're aiming to land with the updated event.
Here, in its entirety, is the "Boon Box Reward" section straight from the Whitestrake's Mayhem Help entry in our tutorials. These are the rewards you can expect to see from the event in August, and all runs of the event going forward into next year.
Pelinal's Boon Box Rewards*
Every Pelinal's Boon Box contains a number of Tel Var Stones. You may also find within:
- War Torte Recipe, Dissertation, and Thesis (extremely small chance, more below)
- Breton Terrier Mammoth Bones, fragments for the Alliance Breton Terrier (small chance)
- Transmute Crystals
- Crafting materials, including rarely the ingredients for War Torte recipes
- PvP consumables such as repair kits, forward camps, and siege weapons
- Outfit style pages for the Alliance and Akaviri styles
- Style items for the Alliance and Akaviri styles
- Unbound outfit style pages for Tava's Goshawk, Truth in Wisdom, Arkay Unending Cycle, Ayleid Lich, Dovah's Du'ul, and Sancre Tor Sentry
- Coldharbour siege weapons
- Prismatic Runestones
- Books of Pelinal housing items
Each Pelinal's Boon Box has a chance to drop one recipe: Colovian War Torte, Chef Arquitius's Torte Dissertation, or Chef Arquitius's Lost Thesis. All three War Torte items are represented in Pelinal's Boon Box, though the dissertation and thesis will be much more rarely seen than the recipe. Finding one of these items is so rare that you can consider them to be a "jackpot" reward for odds of acquisition.
*These will fluctuate over time and is not meant to remain as a set list. We will make adjustments over time. But we wanted to make sure you had a full scope of what these boxes will entail as of right now.
We hope this update gives you a better view of our plans for this event. Just like you heard from the livestream last month, we have a lot of new initiatives coming in the year ahead. Thanks again and keep up the great feedback!
Miscellaneous
- Dismounted While Passing through Daggerfall City Gates [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. You may be dismounted when passing through the Daggerfall city gates and other bridge assets in Glenumbra while mounted. We are investigating if this happens when passing under other types of fixtures. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3.
- Trial Motif Achievements [Bug]: This is a carry-over from last week’s PTS Summary. There is currently an issue where several Trial motif achievements were not moved into their associated trials with the achievement reconsolidation including Craglorn Trials, Maw of Lorkhaj, Dreadsail Reef, Sanity's Edge, Lucent Citadel, and Ossein Cage. This will be fixed in PTS Week 3. (Related post.)