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Returning to ESO - The long read.
Solanum
✭✭✭
I understand many of us have the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to reading a thread unless it's a topic we are concerned about and interested in. If title and the wall of text have not scared you off yet, allow me to inform you what this thread is about.
Fun in the game, some of the issues I've encountered and how I believe we can fix them.
I am hoping that it's possible to discuss the matter as a whole without focusing too much on a single issue.
First of all, it hasn't been all bad, this game is absolutely brimming with potential in my opinion. Some of the things I absolutely love;
When I started playing ESO back in ye good ol open beta days I expected this to be the open world MMO that would replace my old favorite "Ultima Online" but sadly enough, I ran into many issues that made me decide not to play the game anymore, despite the game no longer requiring a subscription. Here is my list:
Below I'll tend to each topic, but first I'll post a very inspirational picture of a woman about to take her great green scarf on an adventure. You know, to prepare you.
Good, that obviously helped make my presentation so much more credible and inspiring, now back on topic:
When ESO was about to get released there were a lot of amazing ideas in regards to the gameplay, which got me almost as excited as the lady with her great green scarf.
Well, play how you want to play did not work in the start, go staff and dress or go home was how it started. But over the years a measure of balance slowly rose where stamina became somewhat viable, and even going plate wasn't the worst choice in the world anymore. (*coughs* as long as you are a dragonknight *coughs*)
Though even with the near infinite amount of possibilities, only two hands full of builds seem to prevail in PVE and PVP. And this makes a lot of sense.
Most people throw a high damage ability on their bar, and some of the near obligated skills that come with their class (too good to pass on, for example a dragonknight his green dragons blood, reflective scales, burning talons, flamewhip, and so forth)
It feels as if we are struggling to put the bare necessities on our bars where we have no room for any skills we would consider fun or interesting. Outside of a few really good skills most others seem disappointing to say the least.
Here is a picture of Bob, taking a brief break after this piece of ranting.
Bob shortly after learned that sitting in this meditative stance on the hard concrete got his behind cold, his suit dirty, and that his colleagues would regard him as an annoying hippy instead of the calm and peaceful individual he intended to be. This upset Bob greatly.
Back on topic, during beta and when playing a new character I felt less restricted in my builds, despite having fewer options available to me. This puzzled me greatly until I realized I had fewer choices as I leveled up. Passives are the reason behind this.
On low level I had to make choices which passives I'd prioritize, and they would have a major impact on my gameplay. On higher level, I had plenty of points so my response was a very natural one:
The same goes for the champion points system, we just want to grab everything.
And with our rather small bars I believe passives are extra important.
So why not give us a very limited amount of points allowing us to "supercharge" a small and fixed amount of passives or even active abilities, to encourage build variety and allow for a tool to make less used skills viable again?
Perhaps these passives could also do something interesting for our light and heavy attacks, or maybe we could invest these supercharge points into passives especially made for our light and heavy attacks?
I would really love to discuss the option of supercharged passives/attacks/abilities. That said, onto the next topic!
BUGS
Long ago leeching strikes should steal 5% worth of health, of course due to a bug it only took about half of that.
This bug persisted for quite a while before it was fixed. Well, before they actually adjusted the tooltip to match the far lower amount of health being stolen.
Together with the Nirnhoned bugs and what seemed to be a bug in regard to maces, I've grown to fear that the current combat mechanics make anything percentage related very troubling for the developers.
But also other issues, like the latency in Cyrodiil, and mysterious framerate problems take rather long to address.
If the developers of this amazing game are struggling with the current system in place, would it be an idea to give the whole thing a great overhaul, allowing for easier development and easier fixing?
ESO has many great things going for it, and I wish those working on it, and those playing it all the best.
The game stopped being fun in it's current state a long time ago for me, and the champion point system made me feel obligated for a long time to play.
I am really hoping for major changes and would gladly return despite the disadvantage and power gap, if only the game was fun again.
[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Cursing & Profanity]
Edited by ZOS_Alex on December 16, 2015 4:28PM Fun in the game, some of the issues I've encountered and how I believe we can fix them.
I am hoping that it's possible to discuss the matter as a whole without focusing too much on a single issue.
First of all, it hasn't been all bad, this game is absolutely brimming with potential in my opinion. Some of the things I absolutely love;
- The graphics rock, and make sure for a very immersive atmosphere
- Amazing sound, which helps a lot as well
- Some of the best quests I've seen in an MMO with great dialogue
- Stunning landscapes and architecture
- TES Lore
- The very best crafting system I've seen in any MMO
- Absence of pay to win mechanic.
When I started playing ESO back in ye good ol open beta days I expected this to be the open world MMO that would replace my old favorite "Ultima Online" but sadly enough, I ran into many issues that made me decide not to play the game anymore, despite the game no longer requiring a subscription. Here is my list:
- Game-play issues
- Bugs
- The speed at which the above are fixed.
- Power difference due to championpoints
Below I'll tend to each topic, but first I'll post a very inspirational picture of a woman about to take her great green scarf on an adventure. You know, to prepare you.
Good, that obviously helped make my presentation so much more credible and inspiring, now back on topic:
When ESO was about to get released there were a lot of amazing ideas in regards to the gameplay, which got me almost as excited as the lady with her great green scarf.
- Play how you want to play, the options are endless
- Light and heavy attacks deal damage, skills are awesome tools
Well, play how you want to play did not work in the start, go staff and dress or go home was how it started. But over the years a measure of balance slowly rose where stamina became somewhat viable, and even going plate wasn't the worst choice in the world anymore. (*coughs* as long as you are a dragonknight *coughs*)
Though even with the near infinite amount of possibilities, only two hands full of builds seem to prevail in PVE and PVP. And this makes a lot of sense.
Most people throw a high damage ability on their bar, and some of the near obligated skills that come with their class (too good to pass on, for example a dragonknight his green dragons blood, reflective scales, burning talons, flamewhip, and so forth)
It feels as if we are struggling to put the bare necessities on our bars where we have no room for any skills we would consider fun or interesting. Outside of a few really good skills most others seem disappointing to say the least.
Here is a picture of Bob, taking a brief break after this piece of ranting.
Bob shortly after learned that sitting in this meditative stance on the hard concrete got his behind cold, his suit dirty, and that his colleagues would regard him as an annoying hippy instead of the calm and peaceful individual he intended to be. This upset Bob greatly.
Back on topic, during beta and when playing a new character I felt less restricted in my builds, despite having fewer options available to me. This puzzled me greatly until I realized I had fewer choices as I leveled up. Passives are the reason behind this.
On low level I had to make choices which passives I'd prioritize, and they would have a major impact on my gameplay. On higher level, I had plenty of points so my response was a very natural one:
The same goes for the champion points system, we just want to grab everything.
And with our rather small bars I believe passives are extra important.
So why not give us a very limited amount of points allowing us to "supercharge" a small and fixed amount of passives or even active abilities, to encourage build variety and allow for a tool to make less used skills viable again?
Perhaps these passives could also do something interesting for our light and heavy attacks, or maybe we could invest these supercharge points into passives especially made for our light and heavy attacks?
I would really love to discuss the option of supercharged passives/attacks/abilities. That said, onto the next topic!
BUGS
Long ago leeching strikes should steal 5% worth of health, of course due to a bug it only took about half of that.
This bug persisted for quite a while before it was fixed. Well, before they actually adjusted the tooltip to match the far lower amount of health being stolen.
Together with the Nirnhoned bugs and what seemed to be a bug in regard to maces, I've grown to fear that the current combat mechanics make anything percentage related very troubling for the developers.
But also other issues, like the latency in Cyrodiil, and mysterious framerate problems take rather long to address.
If the developers of this amazing game are struggling with the current system in place, would it be an idea to give the whole thing a great overhaul, allowing for easier development and easier fixing?
ESO has many great things going for it, and I wish those working on it, and those playing it all the best.
The game stopped being fun in it's current state a long time ago for me, and the champion point system made me feel obligated for a long time to play.
I am really hoping for major changes and would gladly return despite the disadvantage and power gap, if only the game was fun again.
[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Cursing & Profanity]
11
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WalkingLegacy✭✭✭✭✭
✭Great post OP.
I too am curious why it takes so long for this dev team to fix things. I wonder if it is the custom/hero engine they use or poor project management.
I wish we could have honesty and insight. If the parent company has a million dollars to give away they definitely have enough money to beef the team up to square away the seemingly never ending list of bugs and broken mechanics, lag, and engine problems.2 -
Gidorick✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭WalkingLegacy wrote: »I too am curious why it takes so long for this dev team to fix things. I wonder if it is the custom/hero engine they use or poor project management.
Combination of both I think, maybe throw a bit of "inability" or "inexperience" in there for flavor.
Did you see the Armchair Developer segment on underwater environments? They acted like underwater swimming was this HUGE chore to add to ESO. A feature that most games have... that Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim... heck even Redguard Adventures had... is too much difficult for the ZOS team to add.
So yea, I'd throw in "inability" into the mix.Edited by Gidorick on December 16, 2015 4:15PMWhat ESO really needs is an Auction Horse.
That's right... Horse.
Click HERE to discuss.
Want more crazy ideas? Check out my Concept Repository!3 -
Siluen✭✭✭✭I want the OP to return to ESO.
I agree that there are a lot of wonderful things in this game that other MMO's cannot hold a candle to, but they are sadly marred by the issues touched upon here.1 -
Honestly the whole issue with bugs in ESO seems to be familial trait of the elder scrolls games.0 -
iNSiPiD1✭✭✭WalkingLegacy wrote: »I too am curious why it takes so long for this dev team to fix things. I wonder if it is the custom/hero engine they use or poor project management.
Combination of both I think, maybe throw a bit of "inability" or "inexperience" in there for flavor.
Did you see the Armchair Developer segment on underwater environments? They acted like underwater swimming was this HUGE chore to add to ESO. A feature that most games have... that Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim... heck even Redguard Adventures had... is too much difficult for the ZOS team to add.
So yea, I'd throw in "inability" into the mix.
Here is a link to that url if anyone missed it:
https://youtu.be/uxigt8ipK1g?t=4314 0 -
ShadowHvo✭✭✭✭✭
✭Please buff Leeching Strikes )=
Ahm, wait, this post wasn't about leeching strikes? oh..
Well, yeah, whilst I don't agree all entirely about the passives, I do heavily agree that there should be more diversity in the usefulness of certain abilities. In general it would be very nice with faster fixes for bugs, and faster changes for the gamesystem when its needed.
As we can see with the Nirnhoned trait, unlimited blocking, unlimited *** o' lightin' and the still ongoing animation cancel issue that a vast amount of players complain about. Despite that Zenimax claimed it is intended after it was discovered, I like many others believe they only said so because they had no immediate fix for it. This game has been advertised as a very visual game, and is like so presented as such, yet the awesome visuals of ESO is thrown out the window the moment a guy is able to use 6 abilities, whilst only making a single animation. <-- That goes 100% utterly against the direction Zenimax intended, and the gameplay advertised.
In general, slow fixes and these "Oh, but thats how it was supposed to be" while all are very well aware they only say so to cover up a bug they don't have an immediate work-around for, is something that is really killing the fun for a whole lot of people, including myself at times.
While I will continue to play the game because I frankly really really like it, but like the OP, I will be unable to call it my true love MMO until things like animation canceling and major lag in PvP is fixed, both of which is the biggest offenders of my fun being ruined.
please buff leeching strikes..
Have a very nice day.Nighren - The Shadow StrikerLeader of Bloodlines-- EU --
Want to roleplay in elder scrolls online? Check out eso-rp.com1 -
Solanum✭✭✭Thanks for the replies everyone,
if they have a million bucks to throw around on an advertisement lottery sort of thing I'd expect they would have the money to fix the current issues.
Or perhaps they could at least give us some insight on why things are taking so long an when actual changes will be made?
Some knowledge on their future plans would help a lot in my opinion as well.0 -
QuebraRegra✭✭✭✭✭
✭WalkingLegacy wrote: »Great post OP.
I too am curious why it takes so long for this dev team to fix things. I wonder if it is the custom/hero engine they use or poor project management.
I wish we could have honesty and insight. If the parent company has a million dollars to give away they definitely have enough money to beef the team up to square away the seemingly never ending list of bugs and broken mechanics, lag, and engine problems.
Take the mil, hire some decent devs, fix the bugs and work on proper balance in PVP... Or just give away a million in an effort to publicly shift the focus away from the issues.
1 -
Volkodav✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭WalkingLegacy wrote: »Great post OP.
I too am curious why it takes so long for this dev team to fix things. I wonder if it is the custom/hero engine they use or poor project management.
I wish we could have honesty and insight. If the parent company has a million dollars to give away they definitely have enough money to beef the team up to square away the seemingly never ending list of bugs and broken mechanics, lag, and engine problems.
It is neither the Devs nor ZOS who are giving away the money. It is their sponsors and publishers who cough the funds up.Edited by Volkodav on December 17, 2015 11:25PM1