Official statement from ZOS about grinding and VR16 gear material requirements

Vildebill

This is not gonna be a thread ranting about the RNG, the grind or the material requirements for crafting VR16 gear, there are already enough of those to get the picture of what people are thinking about it.

I want to know if there has been any official statement from ZOS why they have chosen to change the material requirements so drastically, why all new sets is BoP and why the sets drop with a random trait. I think i read something about the materials, that it should be equal hard to craft end game gear as to get if from drops, but that doesn't explain why they made it so much harder in the first place. The only thing i can think of is that they don't want people to get IC and Orsinium gear when they haven't bought the DLC:s, but that only explains the BoP part. When VR12 and VR14 was introduced it wasn't like this. Is the enormous amount of grind required to get new gear a compensation for lacking end game content?

Can someone please shed some light on this? Someone from ZOS care to answer?

Thanks!

Tors

Removal of VR ranks means they need to set new limits to how armour is equiped by people.


Look to such terribad systems as WoW.

These are the baby steps before they implement things like item level requirements to enter specific raids etc.

The whole infrastructure needs to change before they can just bring everyone to the same level 50.



So the new BoP requirements for everything are the first in the baby steps.

Also it doesent hurt that people are forced to play more to get stuff, upping the addiction

Tors

Zos wont answer unless you name somone ingame, post a picture of a kitten or ask a really inane question about what their favorite vegatable is

Scyantific

BoP items is pretty much a blatant attempt to force everyone to buy the new and shiny DLC so that they can get geared up, or in the case of style materials like Malachite, Akaviri Goldscales, and Mercenary Laurels, a blatant way to get people to spend money in the cash shop.

There was a post by the German community manager on the forums (that I'm not going to waste my time looking for) that pretty much said "Yeah we made the Laurels and other new style mats BoP because we want the option to throw them up on the cash store later down the road."

Xendyn

Tors wrote: »

Zos wont answer unless you name somone ingame, post a picture of a kitten or ask a really inane question about what their favorite vegatable is

Well then, this should do it

Helgi_Skotina

Why should get good gear be easy? If it would be like that, everyone ould have it. IRL not everyone drives a ferrari, most people use something cheap. It should be here the same.

Rook_Master

All the items from DSA were BoE, and Maelstrom really isn't much different. There should be no reason all the drops are BoP.

The RNG combined with BoP just makes me sad. You know how sad it is to decon new v16 blue set pieces because you already have that one?

Maotti

To be honest the VR ranks are better off being kept then removed.

Scyantific

Helgi_Skotina wrote: »

Why should get good gear be easy? If it would be like that, everyone ould have it. IRL not everyone drives a ferrari, most people use something cheap. It should be here the same.

The system before IC was fine as is. PvE players made money selling the good stuff from trials/DSA/crafting to PvP players, and PvP players made money selling the good stuff from AP vendors to PvE players. Not a single person complained about the system because it was a good system and it kept people happy and doing whatever they wanted to focus on.

Making everything account-bound immediately starting with the Imperial City dungeons and continuing with Orsinium is Zeni's not-so-subtle (read: blatant as f***) way to force people to buy the DLC/sub into ESO+ to keep up with the latest good gear rotations.

MissBizz

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.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2199957#Comment_2199957

That's likely what you read before. I really don't think the drop thing is a "new" issue, if it is an issue. As far as I care to remember, all group dungeons/trials etc. sets have always been BoP (Oh, except that time ZOS oopsied and made trials stuff BoE - that got changed tho).

Does it kinda suck? Yes. Did it really change from previous? I don't think so.

Vildebill

MissBizz wrote: »

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.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2199957#Comment_2199957

That's likely what you read before. I really don't think the drop thing is a "new" issue, if it is an issue. As far as I care to remember, all group dungeons/trials etc. sets have always been BoP (Oh, except that time ZOS oopsied and made trials stuff BoE - that got changed tho).

Does it kinda suck? Yes. Did it really change from previous? I don't think so.

Thanks, that's it. But like i wrote above, that doesn't explain why they made it so much harder in the first place.

Not all gear in trials is BoP, just the Mage/Serpent/Warrior ones, which seems OK. Like the worm cult/hircine/ebon sets and the 2-3 stats like ansur, earthforge etc. This time they made ALL of them BoP. In DSA all sets aren't, just the master ones. And the sets have never had random traits before, so i would say this is a pretty big change.

UltimaJoe777

Xendyn wrote: »

Tors wrote: »

Zos wont answer unless you name somone ingame, post a picture of a kitten or ask a really inane question about what their favorite vegatable is

Well then, this should do it

I shall raise your kitten with this one!

MissBizz

Vildebill wrote: »

MissBizz wrote: »

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.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2199957#Comment_2199957

That's likely what you read before. I really don't think the drop thing is a "new" issue, if it is an issue. As far as I care to remember, all group dungeons/trials etc. sets have always been BoP (Oh, except that time ZOS oopsied and made trials stuff BoE - that got changed tho).

Does it kinda suck? Yes. Did it really change from previous? I don't think so.

Thanks, that's it. But like i wrote above, that doesn't explain why they made it so much harder in the first place.

Not all gear in trials is BoP, just the Mage/Serpent/Warrior ones, which seems OK. Like the worm cult/hircine/ebon sets and the 2-3 stats like ansur, earthforge etc. This time they made ALL of them BoP. In DSA all sets aren't, just the master ones. And the sets have never had random traits before, so i would say this is a pretty big change.

Unfortunately I don't follow, as worm cult/ebon etc. IS BoP so I'm not sure what set's are not. You are right about the traits, I forgot about that. I levelled slowly so I wasn't in end game stuff early on. I believe the random trait nonsense started with monster sets? It is lame, yup.

Conquistador

They really screwed up the game with these bind on pick-up style materials. Big time cash thirst on their end. They should feel ashamed because unfortunately, people will buy them.

Tholian1

Helgi_Skotina wrote: »

Why should get good gear be easy? If it would be like that, everyone ould have it. IRL not everyone drives a ferrari, most people use something cheap. It should be here the same.

IRL, many people have these things called jobs, families, mortgages. People shouldn't have to quit their jobs in order to have enough time to make any progress in the game. So a no lifer can devote 12 hours a day to get the best stuff within a month, and the players with a life that can only spend an hour a day in the game need to wait a year to get the same stuff?

deadlock007

Tors wrote: »

Removal of VR ranks means they need to set new limits to how armour is equiped by people.

Ah yes the removal of vet ranks only to be replaced by longer grinds. This is only one example of how the game will be when they remove them for good. Better hope you pick the right set too because you can't respec your gear at the shrine.......

k2blader

Tors wrote: »

Also it doesent hurt that people are forced to play more to get stuff, upping the addiction

I dunno about others but the forced grind for mats lessens my desire to play more. Might be different if really awesome AP gear to increase my fun in PvP was available.

Tyrix

If they hold onto the dreadful vr then they should atleast lower the experience tremendously.

usmcjdking

The grind is not that hard by any means. Nor does it take a lot of time.

But most importantly, it SIMPLE ISN'T REQUIRED.

LadyNalcarya

Vildebill wrote: »

And the sets have never had random traits before, so i would say this is a pretty big change.

Sanctum Ophidia sets had random traits if i remember correctly. ^^

Vildebill

MissBizz wrote: »

Vildebill wrote: »

MissBizz wrote: »

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.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/2199957#Comment_2199957

That's likely what you read before. I really don't think the drop thing is a "new" issue, if it is an issue. As far as I care to remember, all group dungeons/trials etc. sets have always been BoP (Oh, except that time ZOS oopsied and made trials stuff BoE - that got changed tho).

Does it kinda suck? Yes. Did it really change from previous? I don't think so.

Thanks, that's it. But like i wrote above, that doesn't explain why they made it so much harder in the first place.

Not all gear in trials is BoP, just the Mage/Serpent/Warrior ones, which seems OK. Like the worm cult/hircine/ebon sets and the 2-3 stats like ansur, earthforge etc. This time they made ALL of them BoP. In DSA all sets aren't, just the master ones. And the sets have never had random traits before, so i would say this is a pretty big change.

Unfortunately I don't follow, as worm cult/ebon etc. IS BoP so I'm not sure what set's are not. You are right about the traits, I forgot about that. I levelled slowly so I wasn't in end game stuff early on. I believe the random trait nonsense started with monster sets? It is lame, yup.

I'm talking about Footman's fortune, Destruction Mastery, Healer's Habit, Arhcer's Mind, Martial Knowledge, Dreugh King Slayer, Storm Knight and all other sets that drops in DSA, Trials etc. that isn't BoP.

KoshkaMurka wrote: »

Vildebill wrote: »

And the sets have never had random traits before, so i would say this is a pretty big change.

Sanctum Ophidia sets had random traits if i remember correctly. ^^

Yeah Vicious Serpent, Eternal Warrior and Infallible Mage are random trait ones, not the others like Quick and Poisonous Serpent


Still no answer from ZOS on the original question though, can someone enlighten us? @ZOS_GinaBruno ?

Tors

One of the fantastic things about ESO, and that which set it aside from other MMORPGs was the crafting/gearing system.


Players had choice, armour was not the be all and end all of everything.



Yeah you had to pay for stuff. Want a yellow healers ring VR14, yes you can, but it will cost you 300k.

This meant that people played to whatever playstyle they wanted. They could pick and choose armour and have multiple sets if they wished, allowing them to try different things.

The playerbase was a lot more varied, there were obviously cookie cutter moulds people used, but on the whole, if you wanted to wear somehting, at any level, the choice was yours.


Now you need to do the same dungeon over and over and over and over and over.


This has turned (or is about to turn) ESO into a WoW clone. A WoW clone with terrible lag in PvP and 10 minute loading screens.


Was to go Zos

malchior

I received 2 blue armours of different sets from Maelstrom, they were both BoP. So no, it's not the same as DSA.

Rook_Master wrote: »

All the items from DSA were BoE, and Maelstrom really isn't much different. There should be no reason all the drops are BoP.

The RNG combined with BoP just makes me sad. You know how sad it is to decon new v16 blue set pieces because you already have that one?

Tors

malchior wrote: »

I received 2 blue armours of different sets from Maelstrom, they were both BoP. So no, it's not the same as DSA.

Rook_Master wrote: »

All the items from DSA were BoE, and Maelstrom really isn't much different. There should be no reason all the drops are BoP.

The RNG combined with BoP just makes me sad. You know how sad it is to decon new v16 blue set pieces because you already have that one?

I think @Rook_Master meant that the dungeons themselves rather than the loot system are comparable

Vildebill

Anyone from ZOS care to answer?

Jitterbug

Tors wrote: »

what their favorite vegatable is

is it a plush guar?

Minnesinger

The crafting mats come really slow. Since the release of Orsinium I have been deconstructing all gear I don´t need. Yet I have around 450 ancestor silks compared to 2 new full sets from Maelstrom. Let alone I have deconstructed lots of set items that are BoP. Shame to do away with purple vr16 Briarheart pieces I could use on my stam toon. This makes it ultra slow to gear my alts. 7 active toons of which I have managed to gear 1. Personally, I don´t like how slow it is to gather even decent gear.

Kryank

It takes 940 mats (if I remember right) to make a full set of armour, I can farm around 100 silk , 50 ore, 50 wood per hour (I focus on silk and pick up the others if I see them) I think this rate is fine if you farmed for a couple of hours a day you would have a full set including weapons in under 5 days. I think that time scale is more that fair.

Khenarthi

You can

Minnesinger wrote: »

The crafting mats come really slow. Since the release of Orsinium I have been deconstructing all gear I don´t need. Yet I have around 450 ancestor silks compared to 2 new full sets from Maelstrom. Let alone I have deconstructed lots of set items that are BoP. Shame to do away with purple vr16 Briarheart pieces I could use on my stam toon. This makes it ultra slow to gear my alts. 7 active toons of which I have managed to gear 1. Personally, I don´t like how slow it is to gather even decent gear.

You should be able to bank that VR16 Briarheart gear, on your personal bank, and pick it back up with your stamina character...

Lithium Flower

So farming materials for two hours every day for a week for one set of gear is reasonable in your opinion? This is not counting doing dungeons, pledges, maelstrom for the BoP pieces. When do you get to play the game like you want to and get some actual entertainment out of it?