The devolution is telling us something

OmegaXtc · May 2014

So I've been very much enjoying myself with ESO. I don't mind the bugs and the gameplay is pretty enjoyable. I'm a hair away from V10. I was chatting with a guildie yesterday about grinding in Craglorn and farming dungeon bosses etc and he brought up a good point. Doesn't the fact that people are spending hours repeating the same 30 seconds of gameplay until they feel sick say something about the game we are playing? It struck me a bit as my last 7 hours of gameplay had been watching netflix on one monitor while my basal ganglia auto-pilots through farming content on the other.

This isn't a knock against the game as I am having fun and it's not the worst grind I've ever had, but it does say something about the lack of variety of effective ways to advance your character.

Swordguy · May 2014

people are like water, they always find the path of least resistance.

Srugzal · May 2014

You may think this says something about the game, but in my opinion, this only says something about the way you're playing it. However, to each his or her own.

McDoogs · May 2014

Veteran Quest rewards should be tripled at least imo and the current farming spots left alone. Also VR10+ mobs should have their vp doubled(1.1 did not change these mobs vp).

Make farming bosses, grinding mobs, and questing all roughly equivalently time-efficient so people who value their time have a real choice on how to advance their veteran levels.

GreySix · May 2014

Swordguy wrote: »

people are like water, they always find the path of least resistance.

Valid point: A wise commander attacks his enemy's weakest points, vice his strongest.

Catches_the_Sun · May 2014

Srugzal wrote: »

You may think this says something about the game, but in my opinion, this only says something about the way you're playing it. However, to each his or her own.

Well said. I wonder what these games, ie dungeon boss exploiters & grinders, will do once they do reach their level cap. They clearly don't enjoy the game.

Tavore1138 · May 2014

Gotta say I started to enjoy this game a lot more when I stopped caring about my levelling about half way thru VR... now I just play...

mutharex · May 2014

SuraklinPrime wrote: »

Gotta say I started to enjoy this game a lot more when I stopped caring about my levelling about half way thru VR... now I just play...

I don't even know what level I am most of the times... i just have fun

hamon · May 2014

Srugzal wrote: »

You may think this says something about the game, but in my opinion, this only says something about the way you're playing it. However, to each his or her own.

i dont think its that simple. if folk feel the best way to advance is simply faming anomylies even tho its really boring. It does say something about the game.

If there were ways to feel a proper pace of advancement that was really fun and rewarding folk would do it . Even if it wasnt quite as fast.
yes some folk will always choose the fastest method even if it is painfully boring.

But most would trade a bit of effieciency for a large chunk of enjoyment.

however the trade of for most is trade off effieciency for soemthing that isnt that enjoyable and quite frustrating . So the logical choice is farm anomylies..
so it is a sad endictment of the state of vet mode imo. when folk would rather farm anomylies from vet 1 -vet 12 . than do the old grind through the other 2 factions.

Laura · May 2014

I agree but I have to tell you i was enjoying the questing, the only reason I did the grind was so I could get to 12 and be the best raider I could be.

Now I just do the craglorn questing and stuff on my own time without feeling rushed. I went back and finished reapers march last night (i'm EP so that is the last zone)

I totally absolutely 100% agree there should be more ways to level (that's one of the ES tenants and I think that it would be welcome by both the MMOers and ESers) but there are multiple reasons why one would take the fastest route.

Anastasia · May 2014

OmegaXtc wrote: »

So I've been very much enjoying myself with ESO. I don't mind the bugs and the gameplay is pretty enjoyable. I'm a hair away from V10. I was chatting with a guildie yesterday about grinding in Craglorn and farming dungeon bosses etc and he brought up a good point. Doesn't the fact that people are spending hours repeating the same 30 seconds of gameplay until they feel sick say something about the game we are playing? It struck me a bit as my last 7 hours of gameplay had been watching netflix on one monitor while my basal ganglia auto-pilots through farming content on the other.

This isn't a knock against the game as I am having fun and it's not the worst grind I've ever had, but it does say something about the lack of variety of effective ways to advance your character.

Or it says a LOT about the type of player who chooses to make a choice to do that kind of repetitive gameplay as opposed to the bulk of the population who are spending time learning their characters well and exploring the world, enjoying the outstanding questing or PvP in this game and mixing it up with all the other fun choices of game play along the way. Note also the majority of the population is NOT yet in veteran or above content.

Good, interesting data I believe about specific types of players.

I'm certain once they reach it, the interactivity between a larger pool of players will make that content 'different' than the isolation being felt among those players currently spread thinly throughout upper level content. Of course, by the time the bulk of us 'reach' it, the game will have been out longer, and there will have been changes and additional new content made available. ;o)

Good journeys.

Tankzo · May 2014

OmegaXtc wrote: »

Doesn't the fact that people are spending hours repeating the same 30 seconds of gameplay until they feel sick say something about the game we are playing? It struck me a bit as my last 7 hours of gameplay had been watching netflix on one monitor while my basal ganglia auto-pilots through farming content on the other.

Wow, I think this is more a comment on how you are choosing to play this game vs the content of the game.

I am playing the game and going through each zone getting all the achievements I can and I am at level or above level for each zone. (Reaper's March excluded. This was the first zone I went into under-leveled (v4 at entry, 182K V points at entry, v5 was 185k))

zeuseason · May 2014

I do agree with this for the most part. I have several characters in vet ranks and, looking back on my sessions, I seem to just keep my early original builds and play on, 30 seconds at a time. My DK even, I tried to mix up my abilities just to level somethings I *might* use in the future and cause I have quite a few extra skill points, and my build sucks. It's no fun, I do crap damage, and it's unpractical.....so I end up going back to darn-near my build at level 10. It gets pretty darn tedius using the exact same 2 or 3 abilities all the time.

I think this might, in part, be because of only 5 abilities at a time, but of those 5, 2 are usually utility or rare occasion ones, so really you are only using 3.

OmegaXtc · May 2014

Regarding how telling this is of how I choose to play the game...

I will certainly go back to the other zones and do their quests for skill points, but I am an efficient, goal-setting gamer. My first goal being level cap, then sky shards, then BiS Gear. It will be easier to achieve all of my other goals in this game, once V12 is out of the way. It's the way I approach everything and has always served me well. For this game, it happens to mean bouncing between two waypoints every minute for 40 hours.

CTraveler · May 2014

I'm taking my time leveling my characters. Some days I just log in to simply be in the game and take in the sights, not even doing any questing.

None of my chars are vet rank and my Nightblade is currently the highest at LV26. Everything else just sort of cascades down from there. ^^;

wrlifeboil · May 2014

SuraklinPrime wrote: »

Gotta say I started to enjoy this game a lot more when I stopped caring about my levelling about half way thru VR... now I just play...

Ignorance is bliss only works for a while.

felixgamingx1 · May 2014

You pleople keep saying "it's the way you're playing" the game is the same for everyone some can read all 100000 lore books. But if you did, do you really think that's worthy $16.04 a month? Sure let me pay so I can read 2 page books all day long.

epoling · May 2014

Every game I have played has had a certain percentage of players who think this is the way to go. It doesn't say so much about the game as the people who just prefer to grind the same spawns over and over. The OP has stated he wants to get to max level first. In my experience the folks more concerned with leveling are the ones who tend to grind mobs more in any game.

SoulScream · May 2014

I felt a little sad seeing the Craglorn grind zergs and for me I won't pay 15 bucks a month to do that. It amazes me with all the players there it's sometimes tough to find a questing group. I still have a lot of the zone left to play.

twistedmonk · May 2014

the tolerance for mind-numbing repetitive task is a trait of a lot of MMO gamers

something that game makers exploit.

wrlifeboil · May 2014

twistedmonk wrote: »

the tolerance for mind-numbing repetitive task is a trait of a lot of MMO gamers

something that game makers exploit.

Maybe not. Is it a surprise that so many mmos that launched with huge expectations flopped after a few months?

SoulScream · May 2014

I wish there were a better place for players that want to grind/zerg then quest mobs in Craglorn. I was in a little group fighting and the zerg came, then I didn't get credit for the quest boss. My jaw dropped!

Milanna · May 2014

OmegaXtc wrote: »

It struck me a bit as my last 7 hours of gameplay had been watching netflix on one monitor while my basal ganglia auto-pilots through farming content on the other.

If you play the game for 7+ hours straight I am not surprised you are bored with it...

spinedoc · May 2014

Anyone who says they are not following the dopamine releasing ding of levels or new items is BSing IMO, that's all the "I wander around and smell the flowers" people. BS. You guys are just as addicted to that little release of dopamine as the rest of us. It's a matter of degrees though, some are addicted more than others. Some are also addicted to other things, some may be addicted to the ding of crafting levels, or the release of dopamine when they get a new piece of furniture for their house in other MMO's, etc.

The trick is to make this as palatable and innocuous as possible. If you are in one spot clicking a button so repetitively you have to watch netflix with the other 99% of your being then it's not masked so well. Level 1-50 grind is masked very well and is quite enjoyable. VR levels are not and that's when you begin to question yourself and wonder why you are doing something that is so boring and unsatisfying you have to split your attention. I think it's at this point that the game will lose subs, although I never underestimate the power of the "ding".

ShedsHisTail · May 2014

Srugzal wrote: »

You may think this says something about the game, but in my opinion, this only says something about the way you're playing it. However, to each his or her own.

Agreed 100%.
There's no rule that says you have to hit the level cap to have fun. If I find myself getting tired of a particular grind or character mechanic or whatever, I make an alt or explore a new new outlandish build or something else.

The game is only as entertaining as you make it. If you're spending your time absentmindedly grinding just so you can reach an arbitrary level cap so that you can then complain that there's nothing for you to do... That's kinda your fault.

For me, I know the game doesn't have a whole lot to offer at end game right now; so I'm not super eager to get there. I'm playing more than one character and seeing the sights along the way and really enjoying it.

hk11 · May 2014

spinedoc wrote: »

Anyone who says they are not following the dopamine releasing ding of levels or new items is BSing IMO, that's all the "I wander around and smell the flowers" people. BS. You guys are just as addicted to that little release of dopamine as the rest of us. It's a matter of degrees though, some are addicted more than others. Some are also addicted to other things, some may be addicted to the ding of crafting levels, or the release of dopamine when they get a new piece of furniture for their house in other MMO's, etc.

The trick is to make this as palatable and innocuous as possible. If you are in one spot clicking a button so repetitively you have to watch netflix with the other 99% of your being then it's not masked so well. Level 1-50 grind is masked very well and is quite enjoyable. VR levels are not and that's when you begin to question yourself and wonder why you are doing something that is so boring and unsatisfying you have to split your attention. I think it's at this point that the game will lose subs, although I never underestimate the power of the "ding".

Thats me. Always looking for the next neat drop or skill.

In ESO I already have all my main skills by around 30 so I start burning out a little.

gurluasb16_ESO · May 2014

As a Templar I simply cannot properly level in Vet content atm due to the issues with the class. So Anomalies are the only way for me to level right now.

The_Drexill · May 2014

I've played a lot of MMO's. Veteran content not only is the furthest thing from a grind comparatively, but all in all... it makes me wonder if Zenimax didn't mess up by trying to cater to the Non-MMO crowd.

I mean this board is nothing but whining and crying about things that are honestly old news to anyone that's played an MMO before. Your game has bots you say? This is where that Willy Wonka meme comes in I think.

For real though... when you start complaining, temper your frustrations with reality. Look around at other (RELEASED) games and compare them subjectively. Was there any point in Aion, WoW, Rift, TSW, AoC, DAoC, etc, etc... where you felt they had a better questing experience or better... anything? There's bits and pieces, sure- WoW and Rift had better raiding, Aion was great if you needed a nap, Tera had fluid and fun combat that simply didn't work in the grand scheme of things, DAoC had unmatched PvP mechanics....

I guess my rant is saying.. the only thing that makes ESO look awful, is the false promise that something will be better. We always think the next one is the one, for sure... but in reality, it's going to have its major flaws the same. The difference for me in ESO, is that I have the options.

felixgamingx1 · May 2014

Not to mention you have the same item in 300 different lvls couldn't you be a little more creative and name items individually to make then more unique !?

What kinda made me mad at this whole situation was I was counting on this game to keep me busy while I tediously waited for titles like Watch Dogs, MGS5 etc... ZOS/Bethesda let me down.