ESO Live - Ask Us Anything!

ZOS_JasonLeavey

Hey all,

Below are the Ask Us Anything questions and answers from the 8/28 episode of ESO Live. Enjoy!

@Mrskinskull: Would it be feasible to offer extra storage slots as a perk of ESO plus?
We have a plan in the works to bring a feature to our ESO Plus members that we internally call ‘Crafting Bags’. These would allow Plus Members to carry enormous quantities of crafting materials.

@Apav: Will you add more mounts to the game that can only be purchased with gold? Not being able to buy every every mount that comes to the crown store for a limited time breaks my completionist heart.
We currently do not have plans to implement more mounts to be acquired by spending gold. As we add new mount types, we will try and keep one or two variants on the store permanently so that more people can enjoy them.

@Darkheart: What is the reason that we need 10x as many materials to craft V16 armor as V15?
The notion here is to establish some parity between obtaining VR16 gear through other means such as Tel Var Stones, Trophy Vaults, Dungeon Drops, etc, with crafting as to provide a comparable challenge when attempting to acquire the most powerful equipment in the game.

@Nighn_9: Will all activated trophies be visible to other players one day? As of right now some are, but most aren't.
Some of these are set up this way for potential performance impacting reasons, but we can take another look at them and see if any of them are safe to change to public visibility.

@CaptainObvious: Will there be a purpose to any of the legerdemain items?
We absolutely plan to expand on both the number of these items, as well as their functionality. We can’t say too much at this time, but it is definitely in the works.

@NewBlacksmurf: With or after the release of IC would it be possible to allow merchants at the crafting stations to sell racial pieces, like stones, required for the purple racial motifs, but instead of gold sell them for Tel Var Stones?
We will definitely continue to evaluate what types of items can be added or adjusted at the Tel Var vendors, but at this time we are not planning to add rare style items to them.

@Nighn_9: I understand that ZOS is working towards letting us dye our shields, but are there any plans at all to let us dye weapon color?
This has been subject to a lot of internal discussion at the studio, but at this time, there are no plans to allow weapon dyeing.

@Petraeus1: Why can't I loot any container nor interact with any prop in those prettily decorated Outlaws' Refuges?
These locations are set up this way to avoid confusion and exploits with the Justice System in balancing the risk/reward of criminal acts in Refuges, such as whether or not players receive bounty from stealing from other thieves. (Is this too leading of an answer to the “where’s Justice PvP” follow up questions?)

@Naslu: Are we going to get new passive trees with Dark Brotherhood and Thieves guild like legerdemain skills, or are new active skills coming in/ or mixed trees with active and passive skills?
This is something we’re actively working on, so while we can’t say much at the moment, you will likely be hearing more about this in the coming months.

@Apokh: Why is the option "kick from guild" one of the first options in the context menu on the roster?
We’ve positioned that option at the top because we’ve placed the most commonly used options first for player convenience.

@Dullahan: Not really a question, but I think it would be a good idea to get a notification up in the top corner or something when you get a mail. Instead of having to go into the menu to check if you have mail.
We also think this is a good idea. The feature is currently being developed!

@LitoraScitor: Will the scrolling combat text include the display of buffs and debuffs? As much as I like the idea to display effects on the health bar, it gets confusing fast in dense combat.
Yes, we want to show this information as well. It won’t be part of scrolling combat text, but will have a presence on the HUD.

@Spectral_Lord: Are there any plans to give eyebrows and beards its own color grid? When you pick, for example, a very light hair color, the eyebrows and beard are barely visible.
We don’t have any plans to adjust those settings within the color grid at this time.

@BJsnow404: What is the meaning of Tel Var? I would really like to know what kind of stones I'm collecting.
Beredalmo the Signifier says, “The name is adapted from the Ayleidoon for ‘silver star’—which is appropriate, as Tel Var Stones are small magically-imbued fragments of the White-Gold Tower splintered from the structure, and the Tower was built by the Ayleids.”

@Randolphbenoit: How tall and old is great tree Elden Root at the heart of Grahtwood? And how did it become a city?
Beredalmo the Signifier says, “The greatest graht-oaks of Valenwood are older than history itself, dating back to the Merethic Era, when the Elves ruled all Tamriel. The mighty walking trees of that time were centers of mystic energy, so the Wood Elves built their settlements among their branches, and were one with the Green.”

@Randolphbenoit: We seen Zombie Werewolves but has there been Zombie Vampires in the history of lore?
Beredalmo the Signifier says, “The former is a case of a lycanthrope becoming a lower sort of undead, which would seem consistent with what I know of necromancy, at least as practiced by the Ayleids, who are my specialty. I would think a Zombie Vampire would be two kinds of undead in one, which sounds impractical.”

RDMyers65b14_ESO: With 2.1 dropping on 8/31 for PC, the 30 day campaign on Azura's Star will not be completed. Will you end the campaign early to send out the campaign rewards or will the campaign wipe happen and the rewards won't happen?
Campaigns will be force ended, and rewards will be granted based on the status of your characters on the leaderboard at that time and Tier status.

@Muizer: For PvP, would you consider allowing people to sign up with another faction for a session at a time? With the proper precautions/limitations to prevent abuse, the possibility of signing up as a mercenary with another faction could help players regulate population imbalances.
We are looking at removing the restrictions of alliances on accounts and campaigns, but no information on this just yet.

@silky_soft: PvP campaigns: when we will get a list of what servers have which rule sets and which ones will be CP locked?
None will be introduced for IC, but in the future when we introduce these Campaigns, we’ll let everyone know.

@Psychobunni: Will PC players be able to continue to use 3rd party controller programs, or will they be forced into the console model when controller support is added to PC?
When controller support goes in, it will be a toggled option – if you want to use a controller and the console UI natively, you can turn it on. If you don’t, just keep the option off and nothing changes from the current setup. Please keep in mind that we don’t officially support any 3rd party programs, nor do we test with these programs.

@Traigusb14_ESO2: What does clicking on a pinion at a dark anchor actually do? Does it just heal you? Do you get a buff? People seem to think not clicking on them until everything dies gives you better loot... and/or a better chance at generals spawning... is that true?
Interacting with a pinion gives you a buff that boosts damage of all participants by 10% for 30 seconds, also restoring resources to full (HP, Stam, Magicka). Once all 4 pinions are interacted, the next stage in the event is triggered. Generals are random (with zone factored in some), not based on how many monsters you kill.

@Sixuponthelot: In the last ESO Live episode, Creative Director Rich Lambert said that the reason there will not be raids larger than 12 people for PvE is because, "there is too much stuff going on [in larger groups]." Why don't they take this view with PvP, especially considering the current performance issues and pain train meta in Cyrodiil?
If it were only that easy! Restricting group size to 12 in Cyrodiil won’t stop people from grouping into larger groups. Groups follow groups, solo players follow groups. It’s a safety in numbers kind of thing. We restricted the group size in trials because we had the ability to do so.

@R3DTHR3AT: Why doesn’t ZOS remake loot from AA & HRC, make it more useful, change their bonuses etc.? Do you not want to scale them to VR16?
It’s not as simple as just bumping up the item power in these trials. The trials themselves would have to either scale or be re-tuned to max level, either of which is not a trivial amount of work. We’ve chosen to work on a new trial instead.

@Turelus: Will the new music coming with Imperial City and future updates be available for free download or purchase?
The new music the talented audio team has created for the Imperial City is great, and we think you’ll agree. The team is hard at work on creating even more new music! Right now, there is over 90 minutes of new music coming with our next DLC game pack! The new music from Imperial City and beyond will absolutely be making an appearance on digital platforms like iTunes, Spotify and more in the near future, so you’ll be able to enjoy the new tunes both within and outside of the game.

@Tholian1: I love the ESOTU dynamic theme for the PS4. Are more themes planned in the future?
We love the ESOTU dynamic theme for PS4, too! Our amazing art team went the extra mile to re-create the Dark Anchor screenshot, turning it into a full-blown high resolution animated theme. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check it out on the PlayStation Network. As for more themes down the road, we’d love to do more another one and release it alongside a future DLC game pack.

silky_soft

ZOS_JasonLeavey wrote: »

@silky_soft: PvP campaigns: when we will get a list of what servers have which rule sets and which ones will be CP locked?
None will be introduced for IC, but in the future when we introduce these Campaigns, we’ll let everyone know.

So you are confirming CP caps and catch up are a long way off?

BigM

@Mrskinskull: Would it be feasible to offer extra storage slots as a perk of ESO plus?
We have a plan in the works to bring a feature to our ESO Plus members that we internally call ‘Crafting Bags’. These would allow Plus Members to carry enormous quantities of crafting materials.

This brings up more questions than answers. So what happens to the items if you unsub? How can it be fair if you lose the items?

This has to be one of the most stupid ideas in gaming history! Really once you sub and get this option, you will have to stay subbed so you never lose the items, right?

Majia

@BigM I doubt you would lose them if you unsub. My guess: they will put it the stuff in some mail and send it to the players mailbox. So the player has ~30 days time to accept the mail and handle it otherwise (with bank/inventory/twink/sell them step by step).
Or like in DaoC (when you lost your house): special NPC where you can go and get your stuff back what was inside.

Zaldan

BigM wrote: »

@Mrskinskull: Would it be feasible to offer extra storage slots as a perk of ESO plus?
We have a plan in the works to bring a feature to our ESO Plus members that we internally call ‘Crafting Bags’. These would allow Plus Members to carry enormous quantities of crafting materials.

This brings up more questions than answers. So what happens to the items if you unsub? How can it be fair if you lose the items?

This has to be one of the most stupid ideas in gaming history! Really once you sub and get this option, you will have to stay subbed so you never lose the items, right?

easy solution would be for them to turn the bags into containers in your inventory or mail them to u, like the containers u can buy with random armour/weapons in from npc merchants if your subs ends.

mrskinskull

BigM wrote: »

@Mrskinskull: Would it be feasible to offer extra storage slots as a perk of ESO plus?
We have a plan in the works to bring a feature to our ESO Plus members that we internally call ‘Crafting Bags’. These would allow Plus Members to carry enormous quantities of crafting materials.

This brings up more questions than answers. So what happens to the items if you unsub? How can it be fair if you lose the items?

This has to be one of the most stupid ideas in gaming history! Really once you sub and get this option, you will have to stay subbed so you never lose the items, right?

Wo w first of all thanks for the insult. Very knee jerk.

And secondly, how does storage work when your guild membership drops below ten members?

There is a system in place that would allow you to get items out without putting items in.

As in calm down, this will likely be a very positive perk.

And you're welcome.

Geez,

BigM

mrskinskull wrote: »

BigM wrote: »

@Mrskinskull: Would it be feasible to offer extra storage slots as a perk of ESO plus?
We have a plan in the works to bring a feature to our ESO Plus members that we internally call ‘Crafting Bags’. These would allow Plus Members to carry enormous quantities of crafting materials.

This brings up more questions than answers. So what happens to the items if you unsub? How can it be fair if you lose the items?

This has to be one of the most stupid ideas in gaming history! Really once you sub and get this option, you will have to stay subbed so you never lose the items, right?

Wo w first of all thanks for the insult. Very knee jerk.

And secondly, how does storage work when your guild membership drops below ten members?

There is a system in place that would allow you to get items out without putting items in.

As in calm down, this will likely be a very positive perk.

And you're welcome.

Geez,

First off this wasn't directed toward you, it was directed toward the answer. But then you should have seen that and understood what was said.

Mix

I have two questions:

1. Will Argonian horns ever be allowed to clip through helms? I used a mod "horns are forever" in Skyrim to allow them to do this because I just cannot rationalize horns...folding..up under my helmet.

2. Will there be a costume that is just Cadwell's hat (his cooking pot)? So we could be seen wearing a cooking pot for a helm but the rest of our gear would be whatever we have equipped? I love his helm, but the soul shriven rags get a bit boring:p

Darlgon

ZoS_GinaBruno wrote:

Postern doors on keeps and keep doors will no longer have a half-second delay after you interact with them. Note that you will still be able to interact with doors while in combat.

@ZOS_BrianWheeler (I gave up on typing Eric Wrobels name, it just wont come up.)

Ok.. never mind.. Great, you are NOT blocking using doors in combat. Awesome.

ZoS_GinaBruno wrote:

Increased the level of dropped items by one; this will ensure dropped and crafted items are equal in power.

Why are you making crafters useless? Isnt that why our gear got the +1 in the first place, WAY back in the Meolithic Era before launch?

Ghrimn

Beredalmo the Signifier says, “The name is adapted from the Ayleidoon for ‘silver star’—which is appropriate, as Tel Var Stones are small magically-imbued fragments of the White-Gold Tower splintered from the structure, and the Tower was built by the Ayleids.”

Ghrimn of Elder Wood says, "I apologize for the intrusion but doesn't Var mean ‘Mouth’ in Ayleidoon? I assume that it does since Molavar (Mola being the shortened version of Molag) means ‘Fire Mouth’. And it doesn't mean ‘silver star’ in Ehlnofex either. Tel Var in Ehlnofex literally means ‘Life Tower’. So my question is: Why do you, Beradalmo the Signifier, say that Tel Var is adapted from the Ayleidoon for ‘silver star’?"

Vac333

would like to see a full expansion,
make use of the world map, new classes and races
are you working on this, is this an item on the projects board?

AshTal

Wow that was a load on non answers - oh well always hope for next time.

1) Can you please explain the logic of Argonian health buff, it went from 3 to 6 but the Nord went from 3 to 9. Why did the Argonian health buff get less of an increase than Nord? Are you aware that Argonian buffs are the worst in the game (No one likes the potion passive and healing bonus is insanely under powered) and did the people who told us they would be improved in open beta get fired for liking Argonian's or is there disappearance unrelated to this? As a tie it wouldn't it be insanely easy to tie this into champion points if to get 12% health bonus (imperial) costs 40 champion points, and 9% healing received (Argonian) costs 20 champion points clearly the Argonian one is under powered even by your own calculations so tie the bonus directly into champion points? When will Argonians have better racials?

2) Will we ever see better solo content with interaction between more than one NPC not having to stand and listen to a group conversation and then speak to each person in turn. Will we see improvements to Cadwell Silver and Gold so they actually continue the story rather than start it again as some kind of dream?

3) PvP still seems very very broken but I will save my questions on this till we get 2.1 onto the EU server.

4) There seems to be two lines of thought on the Argonian race, some claim they need the Hist tree to have hatchings other claim that Argonains can be born away for them hist. Which is correct and why do some believe that the Hist Tree is necessary for hatchlings?

Vac333

Add UI customization plz
the addons we have from the community are great, but they are not always updated so do not work all the time and they still do not cover all features, like notice information positions, at least add option to move UI elements,
but a full feature fully customizable UI like most MMO'S, built into the game would be much more stable

Tholian1

Thanks for answering my question about the themes. I look forward to new ones in the future.

Iluvrien

Will the VR15-16 crafting materials be available as standard harvesting nodes outside the PvP zones?

I am not talking about Dungeon drops. I am not talking about Guild Store provision through other players. I am not talking about the PvE material in IC. I am talking specifically about harvestable nodes in the wild, similar to those that exist in the 1-50 level zones for each faction.

Will these exist?

...and if not, why not?

MissBizz

With the incoming changes to the UI, it was voiced that people were concerned of being forced into these changes. We were fortunately met with a response saying everything added would be optional.

Our Health/Stam/Magicka bars now show at ALL time if we have an active effect (such as a food buff) on - even when you have health bars completely turned on in the game settings.

Why was this change not optional?

[EDIT] And why does is a drink not considered an "active effect" - AKA doesn't force your stat bars on. (If that's a bug, please leave it alone unless we get an option button )

Ace_of_Destiny

Question:

Will ZOS ever bring back the Loayalty Pet system?
(Console players want to know. )
(At least this one does. )

Arato

I'm asking again:

Will veteran ranks be increased for Wrothgar/Orsinium or will it remain VR16 so that PVE players who don't want to buy a PVP dlc can catch up?

Bloodsignal

Regarding the text chat discussing for consoles: I think it would be a good idea to have an Application where player can text chat. Everybody has an Ipad, Iphone, or an Android device so it will be easy to chat. It won't ruin your or other player's interface while playing. Like a second screen.

That app could be used as a map or something like that, same as seeing your combat logg, buffs and other interesting UI. But still voice chat works fine for me. The only downside is grouping up with randoms. If you have an active guild it isnt a problem.
Is this something for the future???

HeroOfNone

When Daedra die on Nirn, do they leave a body behind or disorients back into oblivion over time? As we know their spirit returns an eventually reforms (unless trapped in a piece of armor) but little is talked about their mortal shells.

If their bodies do remain behind, do Bosmer have a recipe or cookbook on them (they cook just about anyone else)?

mrskinskull

Bloodsignal wrote: »

Regarding the text chat discussing for consoles: I think it would be a good idea to have an Application where player can text chat. Everybody has an Ipad, Iphone, or an Android device so it will be easy to chat. It won't ruin your or other player's interface while playing. Like a second screen.

That app could be used as a map or something like that, same as seeing your combat logg, buffs and other interesting UI. But still voice chat works fine for me. The only downside is grouping up with randoms. If you have an active guild it isnt a problem.
Is this something for the future???

I would like this feature as well.

Even without text,would there be Any chance of a skyshard, mage book app in the future?

Kama_Son_Of_Dharma

Why has spelldamage been nerfed? pre patch rings of cyridiils light at vr14 gave 171 spelldamage and vr14 martial knowledge in legendary quality gave 179 spelldamage now it just gives 120 something.

GreenSoup2HoT

Why have you added Major Brutality to Hidden Blade instead of making a universal ability to increase Major Brutality for all the Weapon Classes to use.

Hidden blade was given Major Brutality to resemble the two hand skill momentum. Shouldn't Bow or Sword/Shield get the same treatment?

Many player's use Bow and Duel Wield and have no use for a long ranged ability such as Hidden Blade when they have a Bow dedicated for their range attack's.

Acrolas

Why does killing a non-combat animal lock you into combat far longer than a combat mob does?

Gidorick

Why is ESO's Imperial City rotated about 30 degrees counter-clockwise in comparison to Oblivion's Imperial City?

mrskinskull

Is there any chance of introducing a hunger mechanic by way of an optional skill line?
Something similar to the vampire feeding mechanism, stages of hunger and well fed etc.
If it were an optional skill line that had to be chased similar to vampire or werewolf, casual uninterested players would not be bothered by the extra mechanic.

If not standard hunger by way of a 'survivalist' skill line, than a darker option by way of a 'cannibal' skill line might easily fit into the lore.
Thanks.

Mulcibur

Would it be possible to show costumes on the character select screen?

silky_soft

When is CP catch up and cap starting?

keonimeyer

In the future, will we be able to transfer our console characters over to the pc?

Domino44G

Ok, here's a question...

When will city guards be leveled in such a way so that when some $&#% decides to go on a murder spree, he can't just turn into a werewolf and kill all of the guards, as well. Part of the challenge of being the bad guy is that the guards will want to destroy you. However, if your Veteran rank makes you a God compared to the guards then, what's the point. The guards need to be hard core, vet level fighters, not pushovers. There must be consequence or this is just GTA. I watched some Vet wipe out at least twenty people in Shornhelm today. When the guards went to attack him, he killed them as if they weren't even there. I mean, come on! If somebody wants to be a serial killer in this game, don't nerf the guard skills and give it to the psycho for free. Make them hide, stalk and work for it. What's the point of a Justice System if the lack of guard skills makes it impossible to get caught/punished? It's just God Mode at that point...