How Is The Gear Progression In ESO?

Vanchatron

I just uninstalled GW2 because of the lack of any form of progression really. I got all my ascended gear/weapons and made my character look exactly the way I want, so I have no use for grinding skins anymore and it seems that's all there is left for me in that game.

I have a level 49 Nightblade in ESO and am highly considering reinstalling the game. Having never gotten to "endgame" in ESO, I am just curious if there is any form of gear progression. I know about the Champ system which is of course a great way to keep progression on a character, but is it hard to get the best gear in the game? To be honest, I really hope so. Once I hit level 80 on GW2, I just went and bought all of my gear from the auction house and that was it... No more progression.

Will ESO keep me progressing long term, and allow my character to become more powerful?


Thanks guys.

Jaxsun

There is no gear progression, the champion system offers some progression but I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Edit: When you reach VR14, you can instantly craft gear with set bonuses. You can also immediately start running the end game PVE and PVP that will allow you get the other gear sets that come from vendors, drops from bosses or loot containers. I understand that the instances for the PVE gear have a terrible system for handing out gear. You may get the bonus you want on the piece of armor you want, head, chest, foot, etc. but it may be medium instead of light. So, I'd say it can be difficult to get the gear you want but I haven't tried to do end game PVE. The pvp sets are all bind on equip so you can buy them from other players. The end game PVE sets are bind on acquire.

coryevans_3b14_ESO

Jaxsun wrote: »

There is no gear progression, the champion system offers some progression but I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Yes there is, just not a treadmill style (yet) like wow.

Getting certain pieces though is very RNG based so it can be mind numbingly frustrating sometimes.

Also, I like the champion system. I'm 200 or so points in (not that far compared to some) and I really like some of the choices. After putting a bunch of points in something and getting (after 30 or so on a few) having that 10 percent bonus to a stat (for instance in my case, 2h phys dmg) is really nice. I think some folks were hoping for a much bigger bonus. I like it the way it is.

Jaxsun

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

There is no gear progression, the champion system offers some progression but I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Yes there is, just not a treadmill style (yet) like wow.

Getting certain pieces though is very RNG based so it can be mind numbingly frustrating sometimes.

I have not played WoW so I don't know what that was like. There is gear that drops from certain things but no progression. I think the OP is talking about what happens in ToR. Where you have tiers of gear to grind out doing instances at different levels of difficulty and once the majority of the population attains that gear they release a new set of higher quality gear. I quit playing ToR because of it.

coryevans_3b14_ESO

Jaxsun wrote: »

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

There is no gear progression, the champion system offers some progression but I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Yes there is, just not a treadmill style (yet) like wow.

Getting certain pieces though is very RNG based so it can be mind numbingly frustrating sometimes.

I have not played WoW so I don't know what that was like. There is gear that drops from certain things but no progression. I think the OP is talking about what happens in ToR. Where you have tiers of gear to grind out doing instances at different levels of difficulty and once the majority of the population attains that gear they release a new set of higher quality gear. I quit playing ToR because of it.

You just described wow

Jaxsun

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

There is no gear progression, the champion system offers some progression but I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Yes there is, just not a treadmill style (yet) like wow.

Getting certain pieces though is very RNG based so it can be mind numbingly frustrating sometimes.

I have not played WoW so I don't know what that was like. There is gear that drops from certain things but no progression. I think the OP is talking about what happens in ToR. Where you have tiers of gear to grind out doing instances at different levels of difficulty and once the majority of the population attains that gear they release a new set of higher quality gear. I quit playing ToR because of it.

You just described wow

Then I would have grown to resent WoW too. Although, I still would have resented ToR because it killed SWG, which is the best video game evaaaaaaah!

coryevans_3b14_ESO

Jaxsun wrote: »

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

Jaxsun wrote: »

There is no gear progression, the champion system offers some progression but I'm undecided on whether I like it or not.

Yes there is, just not a treadmill style (yet) like wow.

Getting certain pieces though is very RNG based so it can be mind numbingly frustrating sometimes.

I have not played WoW so I don't know what that was like. There is gear that drops from certain things but no progression. I think the OP is talking about what happens in ToR. Where you have tiers of gear to grind out doing instances at different levels of difficulty and once the majority of the population attains that gear they release a new set of higher quality gear. I quit playing ToR because of it.

You just described wow

Then I would have grown to resent WoW too. Although, I still would have resented ToR because it killed SWG, which is the best video game evaaaaaaah!

lol agreed

Vanchatron

Lol, many thanks guys. It at the very least sounds better than the progression in GW2, which is pretty much non existent. Until the expansion of course, but who knows what that's gonna be like.

On a totally unrelated note, how is the population in game these days? When I left it was booming

coryevans_3b14_ESO

Vanchatron wrote: »

Lol, many thanks guys. It at the very least sounds better than the progression in GW2, which is pretty much non existent. Until the expansion of course, but who knows what that's gonna be like.

On a totally unrelated note, how is the population in game these days? When I left it was booming

It's dropped a bit since the ESOTU launch, but still higher than it was 6 months ago. Gonna take a bit of a hit with console launch though. I'll bet though that first week or two (or 3 or 4) folks will be playing on PC waiting for the console version to be fixed.

timidobserver

This game has more gear progression and gear uniqueness than GW2. You will get different gear that has different advantages from going various content. Also, assuming it is still accurate, Paul Sage mentioned that we will eventually has seasonal gear.

DDuke

Don't be fooled by these posters, the game has almost zero gear progression & one of the worst forms of itemization in history of MMORPGs.

Once you hit VR14, you craft/purchase your BiS gear in less than five minutes, that is the sad truth.


Most of the drops from end game PvE have not been worth using since they got released, and after 1.6 what used to be the only decent upgrade to your crafted gear (Vicious Ophidian) is strictly worse than Hunding's Rage (yes, a crafted set).


Master's Weapons are currently probably the only rewarding aspect in the game (well, atleast the bow is for stamina DPS), though you can do just fine without them.


Luckily, we've been promised seasonal gear & actual incentives to do high end content.
Though that was a year ago, so I'm not sure how lucky we are.

Welcome (back) to ESO.

Makkir

To be honest I am hoping it stays this way. I am not a fan of rendering gear useless every time a new expac comes out.

timidobserver

DDuke wrote: »

Don't be fooled by these posters, the game has almost zero gear progression & one of the worst forms of itemization in history of MMORPGs.

Once you hit VR14, you craft/purchase your BiS gear in less than five minutes, that is the sad truth.


Most of the drops from end game PvE have not been worth using since they got released, and after 1.6 what used to be the only decent upgrade to your crafted gear (Vicious Ophidian) is strictly worse than Hunding's Rage (yes, a crafted set).


Master's Weapons are currently probably the only rewarding aspect in the game (well, atleast the bow is for stamina DPS), though you can do just fine without them.


Luckily, we've been promised seasonal gear & actual incentives to do high end content.
Though that was a year ago, so I'm not sure how lucky we are.

Welcome (back) to ESO.

I'd like to see a new VR14 purchase a full set or Morag Tong, Martial Knowledge, Sun Gear, or any of the top performing dps gear atm.

You apparently haven't played GW2 or you would understand what the OP is asking about. ESO isn't a gear grinder, but it has much more gear progression than GW2.

DDuke

timidobserver wrote: »

DDuke wrote: »

Don't be fooled by these posters, the game has almost zero gear progression & one of the worst forms of itemization in history of MMORPGs.

Once you hit VR14, you craft/purchase your BiS gear in less than five minutes, that is the sad truth.


Most of the drops from end game PvE have not been worth using since they got released, and after 1.6 what used to be the only decent upgrade to your crafted gear (Vicious Ophidian) is strictly worse than Hunding's Rage (yes, a crafted set).


Master's Weapons are currently probably the only rewarding aspect in the game (well, atleast the bow is for stamina DPS), though you can do just fine without them.


Luckily, we've been promised seasonal gear & actual incentives to do high end content.
Though that was a year ago, so I'm not sure how lucky we are.

Welcome (back) to ESO.

I'd like to see a new VR14 purchase a full set or Morag Tong, Martial Knowledge, Sun Gear, or any of the top performing dps gear atm.

You apparently haven't played GW2 or you would understand what the OP is asking about. ESO isn't a gear grinder, but it has much more gear progression than GW2.

You can easily purchase all of those off just by saving gold while leveling up. Heck, you can grind the gold for those sets in two days by opening chests in goblin cave, or just purchase the gold off some shady website.

Easily acquired BoE gear =/= gear progression


And yes, I know GW2 is bad when it comes to gear (which is why they have notoriously bad player retention), but ESO is even worse in my honest opinion.

Atleast Ascended gear requires some form of effort to acquire (from what I've heard, I quit GW2 way before that stuff), which you can't really say about the crafted gear/PvP BoEs/Martial here in ESO.


Also worth noting is that GW2 was designed to have no end game, while ESO does have that.
It just happens that the end game in ESO isn't really worth running, at all.

AssaultLemming

Itemisation is pretty bad right now. You can craft or purchase the best gear with only a few exceptions. There are specific two piece sets from dungeons that are locked behind RNG that some people like, personally I make my builds without them. There is little to no incentive to do end game raids because the gear is sub par to more easily available gear. The meta right now is a mix of PvP, BoE, and crafted gear. Almost no desirable BoP gear and so not really any gear progression.

I recently re geared my PvP nightblade and basically with enough gold (albeit quite a lot) I have basically a finished character.

Champion point progression is nice, but I just mostly go about my business getting champ points as a side effect.

There are still some exceptions, master's weapons are very nice for some great builds and these drop from challenging content, but on the whole Itemisation is very poor.

timidobserver

DDuke wrote: »

timidobserver wrote: »

DDuke wrote: »

Don't be fooled by these posters, the game has almost zero gear progression & one of the worst forms of itemization in history of MMORPGs.

Once you hit VR14, you craft/purchase your BiS gear in less than five minutes, that is the sad truth.


Most of the drops from end game PvE have not been worth using since they got released, and after 1.6 what used to be the only decent upgrade to your crafted gear (Vicious Ophidian) is strictly worse than Hunding's Rage (yes, a crafted set).


Master's Weapons are currently probably the only rewarding aspect in the game (well, atleast the bow is for stamina DPS), though you can do just fine without them.


Luckily, we've been promised seasonal gear & actual incentives to do high end content.
Though that was a year ago, so I'm not sure how lucky we are.

Welcome (back) to ESO.

I'd like to see a new VR14 purchase a full set or Morag Tong, Martial Knowledge, Sun Gear, or any of the top performing dps gear atm.

You apparently haven't played GW2 or you would understand what the OP is asking about. ESO isn't a gear grinder, but it has much more gear progression than GW2.

You can easily purchase all of those off just by saving gold while leveling up. Heck, you can grind the gold for those sets in two days by opening chests in goblin cave, or just purchase the gold off some shady website.

Easily acquired BoE gear =/= gear progression


And yes, I know GW2 is bad when it comes to gear (which is why they have notoriously bad player retention), but ESO is even worse in my honest opinion.

Atleast Ascended gear requires some form of effort to acquire (from what I've heard, I quit GW2 way before that stuff), which you can't really say about the crafted gear/PvP BoEs/Martial here in ESO.


Also worth noting is that GW2 was designed to have no end game, while ESO does have that.
It just happens that the end game in ESO isn't really worth running, at all.

I guess you are welcome to your opinion even though it makes no sense within the scope that the OP created for this thread. The gear in GW2 is streamlined across the whole game. The Beserker that you get in Ascalonian Catacombs is going to do the exact same thing as the Berserker you pick up in Arah. It is going to do the exact same thing that your crafted Berserker does. The gear is pretty much static across that whole game, which is why I left it for ESO.

In ESO there are a variety of gear pieces that do different things. I know people have the memory of a fish sometimes, but before the whole console development started and PC development stalled, we had a number of gear progression additions/changes from trial gear, to pvp gear, undaunted gear(I've done tons of dailies on two toons and still don't have every shoulder set) , master's weapons(still don't have a master's inferno staff), V14 PvP gear, COA gear, new traits, new crafted sets, legendary DSA jewelery, and so on. This may not be much, but it is a great deal more inside of a year than GW2 has done in multiple years.

Then there is the whole RNG trait thing that will make it take forever to get what you want sometimes.

It is the goal/strategy of ArenaNet not to have much vertical progression in their game. ESO has had stalled development due to console, but ZOS has demonstrated no problem with vertical progression. I think that overall answers the OP's concern.

Gidorick

Makkir wrote: »

To be honest I am hoping it stays this way. I am not a fan of rendering gear useless every time a new expac comes out.

Same!

MCMancub

ESO's system is really great. There's gear to obtain that isn't so ridiculously easy to get that it's boring (I had all my Ascended gear crafted before level 80 in GW2...) so there's at least some progression at "end-game". But at the same time there isn't an endless grindfest of getting the next tier of gear.

Makkir

One more thing to note that's interesting enough...the Meta changes frequently so there's always demand for different gear/set combinations. When nirnhoned is adjusted, it might change yet again what sets/traits are viable for certain classes (Though it'll probably still be nirnhoned).

I like the environment and setting changing to inspire players to use different sets, rather than adding new content that discourages players like myself, who quit the WoW scene after obnoxiously raiding for 10 years to continuously replace gear. It's a welcomed change of pace and is one of the reasons I came to this game. New content is always welcome of course, but I think there are a lot of ways to introduce new content without just simply increasing player levels and gear levels.

Joy_Division

Duke is right.

ESO has the worst gear/itemization mechanics I have experienced and I have been playing RPGs since the 1980s. 95% of what you get in game, even the alleged high-end "reward" gear that drops from the game;s most difficult content, is trash that does not offer an interesting or different way to build your character.

Most of the posters in this thread are not reading your question, but instead are giving you their opinion of the state of affairs in ESO.

You asked: " it hard to get the best gear in the game?" Absolutely not. It's so mind-numbingly easy it is a joke. The day you hit VR14 - actually V12 - is the day you can have just about everything you need.

As for ESO progressing allowing your character to become more powerful, that remains to be seen. The champion system means you will always accumulate power mo matter what you do (though grinding zombies and spiders somehow grants more power than actually doing the intended content in the game which is ridiculous), but this has nothing to do with gear, finishing quest-lines, gaining achievements, or completing challenging content; in fact, if you do these sorts of things, your character progression will be sluggish. I am hopeful that the next patch will address the current 95% of the gear is crap problem in ESO and offer more interesting alternatives to character progression than nuking zombies, but my confidence wanes everyday ZoS fails to communicate to its customers their plans for the game's future.

And to get back to you original question, the current progression currently is NOT tied to gear. Your magicka NB will still be rocking her purchased 2 rings of cyrodiil light, 4 pieces of martial knowledge that you got in a single day from Upper Craglorn, 2 pieces of crafted Torug's Pact, and whatever other mix and match 2 piece spell damage you see fit to wear.

KanedaSyndrome

Non existant. No interesting gear tbh. Craft your gear and that's about it.

nimander99

There is gear progression in this game? Since when?

All joking aside, I'm sure others have said this already, but the real progression is char based i.e Champion System (which is awesome imho) 3600 points of pure levely and stat boosty goodness

TheBull

No real gear progression, but you will spend real time and a lot of gold making new set while your play style progresses.

coryevans_3b14_ESO

DDuke wrote: »

Don't be fooled by these posters, the game has almost zero gear progression & one of the worst forms of itemization in history of MMORPGs.

Once you hit VR14, you craft/purchase your BiS gear in less than five minutes, that is the sad truth.


Most of the drops from end game PvE have not been worth using since they got released, and after 1.6 what used to be the only decent upgrade to your crafted gear (Vicious Ophidian) is strictly worse than Hunding's Rage (yes, a crafted set).


Master's Weapons are currently probably the only rewarding aspect in the game (well, atleast the bow is for stamina DPS), though you can do just fine without them.


Luckily, we've been promised seasonal gear & actual incentives to do high end content.
Though that was a year ago, so I'm not sure how lucky we are.

Welcome (back) to ESO.

Pretty sure this guy does not have a BIS geared toon. Or even a vr14 to be honest.

coryevans_3b14_ESO

Joy_Division wrote: »

Duke is right.

ESO has the worst gear/itemization mechanics I have experienced and I have been playing RPGs since the 1980s. 95% of what you get in game, even the alleged high-end "reward" gear that drops from the game;s most difficult content, is trash that does not offer an interesting or different way to build your character.

Most of the posters in this thread are not reading your question, but instead are giving you their opinion of the state of affairs in ESO.

You asked: " it hard to get the best gear in the game?" Absolutely not. It's so mind-numbingly easy it is a joke. The day you hit VR14 - actually V12 - is the day you can have just about everything you need.

As for ESO progressing allowing your character to become more powerful, that remains to be seen. The champion system means you will always accumulate power mo matter what you do (though grinding zombies and spiders somehow grants more power than actually doing the intended content in the game which is ridiculous), but this has nothing to do with gear, finishing quest-lines, gaining achievements, or completing challenging content; in fact, if you do these sorts of things, your character progression will be sluggish. I am hopeful that the next patch will address the current 95% of the gear is crap problem in ESO and offer more interesting alternatives to character progression than nuking zombies, but my confidence wanes everyday ZoS fails to communicate to its customers their plans for the game's future.

And to get back to you original question, the current progression currently is NOT tied to gear. Your magicka NB will still be rocking her purchased 2 rings of cyrodiil light, 4 pieces of martial knowledge that you got in a single day from Upper Craglorn, 2 pieces of crafted Torug's Pact, and whatever other mix and match 2 piece spell damage you see fit to wear.

Well, I have also been playing MMORPGs since the 1980s like every other person that has ever posted on a MMORPG forum. This game has a better gear system than most. This guy wants the WOW treadmill system.

Kildayen

Joy_Division wrote: »

Duke is right.

ESO has the worst gear/itemization mechanics I have experienced and I have been playing RPGs since the 1980s. 95% of what you get in game, even the alleged high-end "reward" gear that drops from the game;s most difficult content, is trash that does not offer an interesting or different way to build your character.

Most of the posters in this thread are not reading your question, but instead are giving you their opinion of the state of affairs in ESO.

You asked: " it hard to get the best gear in the game?" Absolutely not. It's so mind-numbingly easy it is a joke. The day you hit VR14 - actually V12 - is the day you can have just about everything you need.

As for ESO progressing allowing your character to become more powerful, that remains to be seen. The champion system means you will always accumulate power mo matter what you do (though grinding zombies and spiders somehow grants more power than actually doing the intended content in the game which is ridiculous), but this has nothing to do with gear, finishing quest-lines, gaining achievements, or completing challenging content; in fact, if you do these sorts of things, your character progression will be sluggish. I am hopeful that the next patch will address the current 95% of the gear is crap problem in ESO and offer more interesting alternatives to character progression than nuking zombies, but my confidence wanes everyday ZoS fails to communicate to its customers their plans for the game's future.

And to get back to you original question, the current progression currently is NOT tied to gear. Your magicka NB will still be rocking her purchased 2 rings of cyrodiil light, 4 pieces of martial knowledge that you got in a single day from Upper Craglorn, 2 pieces of crafted Torug's Pact, and whatever other mix and match 2 piece spell damage you see fit to wear.

I agree with everything you wrote in this post.

And before the haters comment... Last year I completed every quest in the game. My V14 Sorc has completed every dungeon, trial, vet/hard mode in PVE. I don't PVP much but I was forced to start because of the dead progression on the PVE side. My Sorc is almost Alliance War Rank 19. It's been a while since I checked, but I think I have around 13k Achievment Points. I might have somewhere around 90 days /played.

I have put my time into this game.

The lack of new content was one thing that made me stop playing a few weeks ago. More importantly, the lack of unique gear/set items. All the gear is boring. It all looks the same. It is super easy to get. I want to know that from all my hard work I can have something unique from what others have in this game. ZOS doesn't believe in that though.

This game is boring, broken, and nothing more than an investment into nothingness if you are an end-gamer like me.

If you aren't hardcore, you will probably love it in ESO land.

Zorrashi

"Best Gear" is highly subjective especially considering that the game puts less importance on gear than in most games. Few gear requirements are considered absolutely mandatory for success though there are several sets that can help enhance your character's build in certain areas. That being said, there are a few 'choice sets' that do exist within the game and many consider them 'hard' to obtain though it is only in an rng sense. Dedicate the time and hit the right places and odds are you will find them. It will be tedious, but hardly mandatory in most cases.

So while gear based progression may be considered lacking, character based progression still exists and it continually increases your stats and skill point numbers all throughout your playthrough if you are willing to put in the time.

DDuke

coryevans_3b14_ESO wrote: »

DDuke wrote: »

Don't be fooled by these posters, the game has almost zero gear progression & one of the worst forms of itemization in history of MMORPGs.

Once you hit VR14, you craft/purchase your BiS gear in less than five minutes, that is the sad truth.


Most of the drops from end game PvE have not been worth using since they got released, and after 1.6 what used to be the only decent upgrade to your crafted gear (Vicious Ophidian) is strictly worse than Hunding's Rage (yes, a crafted set).


Master's Weapons are currently probably the only rewarding aspect in the game (well, atleast the bow is for stamina DPS), though you can do just fine without them.


Luckily, we've been promised seasonal gear & actual incentives to do high end content.
Though that was a year ago, so I'm not sure how lucky we are.

Welcome (back) to ESO.

Pretty sure this guy does not have a BIS geared toon. Or even a vr14 to be honest.

Pretty sure I've been VR14 for what.. 8-9 months now? You can check my videos if you dont believe me


I'm also pretty sure I have every single useless set from Sanctum Ophidia collected (along with achievements for both Time Trial & Hard Mode). In fact, you can find me in the Sanctum Ophidia leaderboards if you look for it (Decimus is the name). That, plus every Undaunted shoulder piece & helm and most likely every "rare" armour set in the game (OCPD, so I'm collecting stuff).


But those are not BiS gear, as mentioned quite a few times.

What I'm wearing is: 5x Hunding's Rage, 4x Morag Tong, 2x Shadow Walker rings & Blood Spawn shoulders and it is undoubtedly best gear for PvP damage focused build. For PvE, I have the option to switch for 5 pieces Ravager (of which I also own 6 or 7 parts) for optimal DPS.


Suggestion: do some research before making sweeping statements. I even have my character & Veteran Rank on my signature, so it shouldn't be that difficult.

lachlannlindsayrwb17_ESO

I will throw my 2 septims and run away. The itemization feels very Diablo style IMO and I like it! Means I can try out different builds with different gear which I have obtained or crafted. I think they should move forward with this idea and start seasons to add different and new sets like Diablo 3 seasons.

*turns around and legs it*

Danikat

Part of the problem with simply debating whether ESO's system is 'good' or 'bad' is that it really depends on your opinion of what makes a good gear system, so without clarifying that first it's hard for anyone to know what you (general you, not a specific poster) mean when you say ESO has a good or bad system.

For example I'm pretty much the opposite of the OP: my preference is a game with either no gear progression or one where I don't notice it. If I'm periodically finding new and better things to equip but can continue to do all the content in the game at my own pace regardless of what I'm wearing then I'm ok with it. As soon as I'm locked out of content (either literally or because it requires extremely high stats) because I haven't been grinding equipment at the required rate I'm likely to lose interest in the game.

(Although a wide variety of equipment that allows me to experiment with different builds is good.)

So what the OP considers a good progression system would probably be a terrible one in my opinion.

But it sounds like ESO is pretty good for me.