It does seem a bit weird that they are adding challenge difficulty so that elite players can enjoy easier content, and solo dungeons so that casual players can enjoy harder content, and generally making ESO more accessible...

And then the big flagship event of the year, replacing new dungeons and new zones, is tailored to the top 1% of players?

we had some folks in a group tonight die and were dead when the boss died that did not get credit and could not loot. this needs to be fixed please. in no way is that fair.

I was able to do 80-90% of the duneripper boss solo, two people jumped right at the end, it's very reasonable for someone to do solo.

Also, to give more feedback, I don't mind that this was made with a group in mind.

That would be fine.

BUT, it seems as if it was made with *premade* groups in mind. Because as mentioned in my earlier comment, the zone I was in was dead 2 out of 3 times.

Chat was dead in all three instances I went in. (well, I did see someone looking for a group. and I asked for a group).

But, I could see a ton of people in the nightmarket itself! They just weren't in my instance in the district I went to.

As stated above, even with a large group to follow, it was confusing and, since it didn't seem like an official group, just random players runnning together, it meant that you had to hope you could do quest objectives while others were killing enemies, because once the enemies were down ,the group moved on. Often not in the direction I wished they would, but I was fine with that.

I am going to try again, as I want the rewards, but, it just doesn't seem like it is going to be that fun, at least not without a dedicated group (and one that is okay with hauling someone around that likely will die if one of the neutral creatures that may or may not be in the zone sneezes on her)

Bottom Line Up Front: Not a fan.

___________________________________________

I'm going to go on a personal anecdote for just a bit. Back in 2018, I was playing Elder Scrolls Online and World of Warcraft. I gave up on World of Warcraft.

I realized a sad truth: I WAS OLD. I couldn't keep up with World of Warcraft. I had a full time job as a business office monster, two additional Master degrees that I was working on, a fiancee, and other things that I wanted to do. I didn't have the time anymore to run normal dungeons, then heroic dungeons, then heroic key dungeons, then raids, then this, and then that while grinding reputations. WOW was a second job masquerading as a game, and Teenage-Ingel would have loved it. 32 year old Ingel couldn't do it. Couldn't handle the game's insatiable hunger for my cash and time.

Now Elder Scrolls Online... that was a different beast. No gear treadmill. Could play at my own pace. The vast majority of content could be done solo, so my irregularly-timed play sessions wouldn't be a problem. Only thing that I'd miss out on were vet dungeons and trials since I wouldn't have the availability necessary to roll with a hardcore guild. Fine. Fair enough.

Your game isn't a different beast anymore, ZOS. You've turned Elder Scrolls Online into a second job. In the past month alone, you've given me a FOMO battlepass chorelist (that I can pay real money to have permanent access to... except that my tome points are still FOMO because HAR HAR), a FOMO event, a FOMO Golden Pursuit chorelist, and now a FOMO event that is a "public dungeon 12-person trial" fusion that COMES WITH ANOTHER FOMO GOLDEN PURSUIT CHORELIST. Of course, the new FOMO Golden Pursuit chorelist does not sync up with the FOMO battlepass chorelist in any way, shape, or form. Because why would it? My time is too delicous, apparently. Gobble gobble.

It's neverending grind and busywork. I have six hours at most each week to play this game. At most. I can't keep up with all this, and I don't really want to. I have a full time government job, a dog with Lymphoma who has 3 to 6 months left to live, a wife who is struggling through "in vitro fertilization" complications and needs emotional support (she is the fiancee from earlier in the story. We got hitched), and a desire to do other things. Read some history, study more math, play Crimson Desert here or there when a moment presents itself. You get the idea.

The Night Market feels like a clear sign that I'm not the audience for this game anymore. It makes Craglorn from 2015 look downright charitable. I don't have the time to join a guild and slot into a trial group. I literally don't have the time. I get home at 4:30 pm on a good day, walk the dog, make dinner, spend an hour with the wife, walk the dog again because some of the cancer medications are steroids that make him have to pee a lot, exercise for an hour, check my emails, and then it's near 9:00 pm. I have to go to bed at 10:30 pm after walking the dog AGAIN (thank God we live near a park). There's no way that I can squeeze in hours for a time-limited FOMO event that requires a well-coordinated trial group. And where would I find a group that starts reliably at 9:00 pm and willingly ends at 10:00 pm? Even if I did, what if the dog pees in the house or starts having seizures again? "Take care of it, BABE. I gotta earn these new shoulder-pads." And all of this BEFORE any kids (which we'll have, one way or the other. If current efforts fail, we get to do full on surrogacy. The wonders of middle age never cease).

Honestly, screw this. At this point, I'm gearing up emotionally to cancel my account. Working myself up to it. The Night Market format is one that you've shown clear interest in pursuing further, and it's just not for me. I had assumed that excusion zones would be built like the Writhing Wall public dungeon, dumping people into swarms and sending them through a curated psycho-adventure. I had time for THAT. It was kind of clunky and goofy, but I had time enough for a thirty minute scripted romp through madness. Not this. Not a public dungeon trial with no dungeon finder funcionality... not that you'd want to use dungeon finder for something this over-tuned. Wait 50 minutes for a fake tank who gets one shot by the mobs at the front entrance. Have three people quit in frustration immediately. Go back to the queue. :-P

This kind of thing is why I quit back when Craglorn was advertised and didn't come back until Vvardenfell. "Oh, the endgame zone is a place I can only visit with three other people. That sounds awful. I'll never have a reliable group, my schedule is too crazy, and eh. Had a good run." This is WORSE than that, and Craglorn also wasn't surrounded by this live service nightmare fuel.

I am so disappointed with the direction that you have taken this game. I understand the monetary reasons behind what you're doing, the corporate reasons behind what you're doing, and the psychological reasons behind what you're doing (especially this one. Forcing people to group and form regular schedules around each other locks said people into the ecosystem. Leaving isn't just abandoning your characters and account. No, you're also leaving your friends behind. Makes the opportunity cost of flitting away MUCH higher, in theory). I get it, but I have no room for this kind of stuff in my life. None. Those days passed a long time ago.

I'm so disappointed. But hey, at least you have a core aficionado group who seems to love this new format. They'll be thrilled by your new focus and ecstatic to complete more chorelists. Always more chorelists.

Also, why would you ever add quests that require specific locations and activities to something like this? Players can't reliably solo this nightmare and large zerg groups aren't going to reliably deviate from their swarm path to help you complete a daily. It's just... oi vei. Ugh. Makes me wonder why you didn't include different versions of Night Market scaled for solo, 4 person, or 12 person. Then people could choose how to engage with it and at least get these done reliably. Just incredible.

Edit addition: again, just... ugh. What a disappointment. I'm going to go do something else and ignore this until the weekend. I just don't have it in me. I'm not going to weasel into a group that I have to leave in media res, and I'm not going to squeeze in hours by going to bed at midnight. I'm rubbish at work if I try that. Can't handle late nights anymore, because getting old sucks.

Edit addition addition: too many typos. Sorry. I'm exhausted. Normally I'd unwind by playing Elder Scrolls Online, but this game has just been a source of stress as of late. Maybe I'll go look at Crimson Desert for half an hour.

Pcgamer wrote: »

Im very suspicious of those that can solo the night market cos i have done vet group content and this place in on a whole other level. Anyway, without actual proof from posters on these forums it's just heresay.

I haven't explored too much yet, but at least the trash groups and the Calamitous Duneripper were doable without preparation. It was fun enough, but I'll have to explore more to make a definitive statement. Difficulty was probably comparable to a Harrowstorm or a Dragon so far.



(build and screenshot directory cropped)

templar_heal wrote: »

amiiegee wrote: »

NO

Any reason?

Tension.

Some players may be looking over their shoulder, because they might get got, or they might get, another player.

Some players might be overly confident, in a warzone, and get humbled.

It's a distinct feeling unique to these quests that would be lost if it could just be rushed without any care whatsoever.

You could make a PvE only version, but then it just becomes another quest checklist.