Video of soloing in IC, why I love IC, and theorycraft on how to keep IC relevant.

Huggalump

(note: TLDR version posted at the bottom :P)


Now I’m not a great pvper…. But no matter what your stance on IC is, you gotta admit it looks like fun in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTWmVzStj9A

This Imperial City DLC got a lot of negative feedback from PVE and PVP players alike. While I understand their perspective, I have a lot of fun in IC. I think IC’s foundation is fantastic and unique in the MMO landscape.

Now here’s what makes it fun for me... I currently live in Korea. This means I play at funky hours and usually the population is low. This is good! I hate soulless zergs and I hate the mindless, mass pvp in Memorial District.

You see, recently Sypher held a panel discussion on the state of pvp. I’m sure a lot of you saw it. At one point, they talk about how disappointed they are in IC and they talk about how very soon IC will be empty. This is an extremely easy problem to solve, and the solution kills two birds with one stone.

This is the main problem with IC: It was released in the wrong order. They should have released Orsinium first, then IC.

IC should never be the main zone. It should be a side zone. An FFA grind zone where the rewards are time consuming instead of RNG based… and there’s the risk of losing your time by getting ganked. For example, once Orsinium comes out, IC will be in a great place. If you want to go through all the Orsinium content and dungeons and quests and all that, that’s great. You’ll enjoy your time and get some good rewards to make it worthwhile. However, if you’re a freak like me who loves MMOs but shuns groups, who likes to log on and log off on a whim with no responsibility to other players… IC can offer the same or similar rewards.

All they need to keep IC relevant is to continually scale IC mobs and rewards with the current state of the game. So when some massive expansion pack comes out, everyone will move into that… but IC will remain that little, optional grinding spot on the side. The alternative area where you can also get the rewards if you put in the time. All they have to do is keep IC’s rewards competitive.

This keeps IC relevant, just moderately populated, and it’s so simple to implement. I hope this is the direction @ZOS takes it, because IC is a great concept.



TLDR: Keep IC relevant by always scaling up the mobs and rewards with each new DLC and expansion, because IC is pretty fun when its not heavily populated.

Molag_Crow

Ouch, that part where you get blown up by Camo Hunter... dat stone loss. Are you a Vampire by the way? I got hit for 13k by it last night and it almost made me want to cure Vamp upon the list of other things wrong with being a Vampire, like bugged mist form etc etc.

I dunno about scaling up the mobs and rewards in IC though, the grind is a nightmare!

Huggalump

CrowsDescend wrote: »

Ouch, that part where you get blown up by Camo Hunter... dat stone loss. Are you a Vampire by the way? I got hit for 13k by it last night and it almost made me want to cure Vamp upon the list of other things wrong with being a Vampire, like bugged mist form etc etc.

I dunno about scaling up the mobs and rewards in IC though, the grind is a nightmare!

No I'm not a vampire. Not entirely sure how he did that much damage. For the moment, we'll just assume he has 2k CP and blame that :P

And yes, the grind is huge... but that's the point. IC will be a side zone, not the main zone. If you don't like the grind, you can stick to the main zone (Orsinium, for example). You can do dungeons with some buddies and rely on RNG drops. That'll be a totally viable form of progression. But for someone like me, I don't mind the grind, so I'll avoid dungeons and stick to creeping through IC.

This, imo, is where IC's strength is. As an alternative zone.

Alucardo

It looks like you got REALLY unlucky and camo hunter procced on you twice - that's what caused you to turn into flames. I thought you were vamp too when I saw that death recap

Huggalump

Alucardo wrote: »

It looks like you got REALLY unlucky and camo hunter procced on you twice - that's what caused you to turn into flames. I thought you were vamp too when I saw that death recap

Yeah, it was pretty crazy. But that's just the nature of the game, nothing you can do but laugh when you lose a ton of stones like that.

Also, for any novice IC soloers.... That place where I died is BY FAR the most common place I get ganked. The most common place to get ganked for any faction is the deepest sewer ladder in your zone.

Huggalump

I fixed the video so it should be available on all devices now.

Goofy that I can't use a song on a video I don't make money from

zornyan

Huggalump wrote: »

Alucardo wrote: »

It looks like you got REALLY unlucky and camo hunter procced on you twice - that's what caused you to turn into flames. I thought you were vamp too when I saw that death recap

Yeah, it was pretty crazy. But that's just the nature of the game, nothing you can do but laugh when you lose a ton of stones like that.

Also, for any novice IC soloers.... That place where I died is BY FAR the most common place I get ganked. The most common place to get ganked for any faction is the deepest sewer ladder in your zone.

I too love the city, both the sewers and the districts, it's intense , it's fun, and when I'm picking up scraps/claws etc I know I'm working towards some loot, yes there is some rng, but also picking up stuff to decon gave me enough mats to make vr16 gear in under a week.

zornyan

Oh and the oh *** moment when you run through a tunnel and a banner man is right there, about to annihilate you. Love it.

Huggalump

zornyan wrote: »

Huggalump wrote: »

Alucardo wrote: »

It looks like you got REALLY unlucky and camo hunter procced on you twice - that's what caused you to turn into flames. I thought you were vamp too when I saw that death recap

Yeah, it was pretty crazy. But that's just the nature of the game, nothing you can do but laugh when you lose a ton of stones like that.

Also, for any novice IC soloers.... That place where I died is BY FAR the most common place I get ganked. The most common place to get ganked for any faction is the deepest sewer ladder in your zone.

I too love the city, both the sewers and the districts, it's intense , it's fun, and when I'm picking up scraps/claws etc I know I'm working towards some loot, yes there is some rng, but also picking up stuff to decon gave me enough mats to make vr16 gear in under a week.

Do you usually play like I do, running around solo?

Egonieser

I enjoy grinding IC for XP on my now v12 nightblade. Running with camo hunter and silver shards is so easy it's unbelievable. You only need 3 skills and DPS is insane, even at low ranks. Also the battleleveled 36k HP helps loads.

Huggalump

Egonieser wrote: »

I enjoy grinding IC for XP on my now v12 nightblade. Running with camo hunter and silver shards is so easy it's unbelievable. You only need 3 skills and DPS is insane, even at low ranks. Also the battleleveled 36k HP helps loads.

Yeah, I just started using camp hunter I'm there and I can't believe I wasn't using it before.



Anyhow, I really thought this thread would create more discussion. Is everyone just content with IC becoming irrelevant when the game progresses?

nimander99

I think a big portion of the community played IC because it was new and offered the only form of pve progression...

CP5

The problem for me in the IC isn't that I can't enjoy it for what it offers. I have had a few very enjoyable pvp and pve fights in it, but for when i'm on these good fights are so few and far between that a vast majority of my time in Ic is just frustration. Grind grind grind, zerg runs in and takes what was made, rinse repeat. Or there are those who have very strong burst builds who want you to know full well how quickly they can kill. I don't care at all for the stones or the rewards tied to them, it is just that IC is so heavily bogged down by design that many likely don't see it as that enjoyable in the long run.

Huggalump

nimander99 wrote: »

I think a big portion of the community played IC because it was new and offered the only form of pve progression...

Yeah, that's absolutely true. This is what led to massive zergs that everyone hated, and this is why I think they should have released Orsinium first and followed up with IC. It would have given us a zone for more standard MMO progression (Orsinium) and an alternative zone for more solo/small group focused play (IC)

CP5 wrote: »

The problem for me in the IC isn't that I can't enjoy it for what it offers. I have had a few very enjoyable pvp and pve fights in it, but for when i'm on these good fights are so few and far between that a vast majority of my time in Ic is just frustration. Grind grind grind, zerg runs in and takes what was made, rinse repeat. Or there are those who have very strong burst builds who want you to know full well how quickly they can kill. I don't care at all for the stones or the rewards tied to them, it is just that IC is so heavily bogged down by design that many likely don't see it as that enjoyable in the long run.

Yeah man, I hate those zergs too. But that's why I attribute my time zone to why I like IC. I don't play at the same time those zergs run through... and so it's a really fun zone to me.

But the burst gankers... ya that's always gonna be there. That's the nature of world pvp. However, as long as they choose to scale IC rewards and mobs up along with whatever DLC or expansion, you'll never have to go to IC if you never want to. But it will give those gankers and solo grinders an outlet to do their thing.

tinythinker

People largely went to IC for novelty and mats/gear. Unless you are a grinder or ganker, once you've completed the map (locations discovered, quests done, achievements filled out, etc) and got your new gear, there is little reason to return. Those who can wait for new mats & gear, don't need to complete everything, and don't like grinding/ganking have no reason at all to go. So I would not at all be surprised if, after a couple of new zones come out, IC is largely abandoned. Maybe the devs thought there would be a huge interest in a harsh grind/gank atmosphere when they were designing it. Who knows? But you seem to like to have the place to yourself so it shouldn't make a difference for you unless it isn't updated with newer stuff to grind for.

Stikato

As someone who waited for IC since before launch even, I will be glad to leave it behind in its current state. The original concept of it (gated, district control) was stripped out, and replaced with idiotic grinds, in order to create a must-buy for anyone who wanted to continue to progress in any meaningful way.

Never have so many (in eso) waited for so long, for such a disappointment.

Looking forward to doing pve in Orsinium, and my pvp back in Cyrodiil.

Huggalump

tinythinker wrote: »

People largely went to IC for novelty and mats/gear. Unless you are a grinder or ganker, once you've completed the map (locations discovered, quests done, achievements filled out, etc) and got your new gear, there is little reason to return. Those who can wait for new mats & gear, don't need to complete everything, and don't like grinding/ganking have no reason at all to go. So I would not at all be surprised if, after a couple of new zones come out, IC is largely abandoned. Maybe the devs thought there would be a huge interest in a harsh grind/gank atmosphere when they were designing it. Who knows? But you seem to like to have the place to yourself so it shouldn't make a difference for you unless it isn't updated with newer stuff to grind for.

right, that's exactly my point. It will be far more empty than it is during the peak hours now... and that's good. And them updating newer stuff to grind was exactly my point :P

Stikato wrote: »

As someone who waited for IC since before launch even, I will be glad to leave it behind in its current state. The original concept of it (gated, district control) was stripped out, and replaced with idiotic grinds, in order to create a must-buy for anyone who wanted to continue to progress in any meaningful way.

Never have so many (in eso) waited for so long, for such a disappointment.

Looking forward to doing pve in Orsinium, and my pvp back in Cyrodiil.

Ahhh ok. This is expectation for what IC was supposed to be isn't something I can relate to. I played the open beta, but then didn't buy the game until it went buy2play. I wasn't aware of those former IC goals. I get that would be a bummer seeing all that stuff fall through.

Huggalump

Is this already the plan for IC? Do they already plan on scaling the mobs and rewards with each new progression DLC/Expansion?

Kuroinu

I haven't played in Imperial City yet, but I so want it to be like what you have experienced during lower populated times. This is how Imperial City should play.

Dalsinthus

I really enjoyed your video. I often play IC solo as well and am a primarily ranged build - Bosmer Stamina NB.

I'm curious about your build. I would love to go bow on both bars, but I feel like my DPS would really suffer without Rally for the Major Brutality buff. Have you found this to be an issue?

Kuroinu

Dalsinthus wrote: »

I really enjoyed your video. I often play IC solo as well and am a primarily ranged build - Bosmer Stamina NB.

I'm curious about your build. I would love to go bow on both bars, but I feel like my DPS would really suffer without Rally for the Major Brutality buff. Have you found this to be an issue?

It looks like he's a Sorcerer and therefore has Critical Surge, which also provides Major Brutality.

Huggalump

Riko_Futatabi wrote: »

Dalsinthus wrote: »

I really enjoyed your video. I often play IC solo as well and am a primarily ranged build - Bosmer Stamina NB.

I'm curious about your build. I would love to go bow on both bars, but I feel like my DPS would really suffer without Rally for the Major Brutality buff. Have you found this to be an issue?

It looks like he's a Sorcerer and therefore has Critical Surge, which also provides Major Brutality.

exactly. It's a new build I just started using, double bow and critical surge for brutality. It's working great for me so far, and I love how it synergizes with absolutely everything my character has, from stealth attacks to the khajit crit buff to bow crit buffs to surge heals.

I'm still refining it, but who knows, maybe my next video will be a build video and I'll explain how it works.

Kuroinu

Yeah I love Critical Surge. If you can get your Crit% to a point where it's reliably sustaining your HP whilst attacking it's a lot of fun!

Eleusian

MMO history DLCs are relavent till the next DLC. Sorry Zeni wants continued purchases

willymchilybily

I am still expecting stones to be able to buy cyrodil gear one day ie cyrodil vendor in ic who accepts stones or AP or buy AP. For better or worse this could keep it relevant.

Huggalump

Eleusian wrote: »

MMO history DLCs are relavent till the next DLC. Sorry Zeni wants continued purchases

If they continue to release DLC and keep IC relevant, they'll see more DLC purchases because future new players will still have a reason to buy IC

MLRPZ

Woa, a stam build with no silver bolt or camo hunter ??? are we playing the same game ?

Dracane

I don't understand, why people don't like the Imperial City. I never had so much fun in pvp.
It's the best thing, this game currently has to offer in my opinion.

It's making me sad to see the city perish since many weeks and I think it's getting worse every day.
I wish, Zenimax would do something to keep this great DLC alive. It was time consuming and it's well designed, why would you watch such a masterpiece perish ? Sadly, Zenimax gave the City the final hit by splitting the cost of Tel Var stone items into half with the coming update , making it even easier to get everything, so people can ignore the city even faster.

Very very bad step.

So @OP thanks for your feedback, always happy to see positive voices.
PS: Khajiit with double I