PTS Update 18 - Feedback Thread for Cloudrest Trial

ZOS_GinaBruno

This is the official feedback thread for the Cloudrest Trial. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:

• Did you enjoy this new Trial?
• How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?
• Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?
• Which combination of bosses did you try?
• What level and build was the character you used?
• Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?
• Do you have any other general feedback?

Apherius

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Lord_Eomer

Trial looks interesting but Sets are far weaker than existing trials sets.

I usually run trials for Sets and this one seems least important for me.

MaxwellC

The trial sets are extremely underwhelming and I honestly don't see the point in running this trial if the sets remain as they are currently.

xiaiceyan

We have done normal with 6 people without problem, wiped for normal hm because there’s probably a minimum number of players required for mechanics. It’s a fun trial with many unique mechanics. We haven’t nailed down all of the mechanics but every one of the group members has something to do during the hm. It’s been a while we had this much fun in a trial after vmol.

But the sets it offers is prohibitively weak and underwhelming and utterly useless in any content that a capable group would be willing to invest the time in. As many streamers and players have complained, I would again raise the concern for these so called trial sets. They do not belong here, at least the way it performs now.

I also find the hit box for the monsters a bit funky I the trial, namely the vine thingy, and zumaja. I will update as my group go for vet runs and clear normal hm.

xiaiceyan

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

• Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?

To follow up the previous post, I would ask for improvement to be made regarding fighting Z’Maja during the shadow realm mechanic phase. We've only fought in the normal difficulty HM with 6 people, and we decided to send me and a sorc (both max CP mag sorc) down through the portal. Z’Maja in the shadow realm is grayish and the color scale is also gray. It is very difficult to see the telegraph for Z’Maja's heavy attacks and her interruptible channel, or tell them apart.

In shadow realm HM, because of the size of the arena is quite large, it is also difficult to spot the single jump pad that allows players to jump to 2nd floor and escape Z’Maja's AOE mechanics, if one player is at the other side of the room. The pad color is not very bright and it can be obstructed by the portal in the middle of the room. (This is not a problem in normal fight when we only engage Z’Maja alone, as there are multiple pads available). The time between pad spawn and Z’Maja's AOE mechanics is quite short, we are only able to follow the mechanics using sorc bolt escape, I'd imagine the scenario turns even more difficult for non-sorcs (although this AOE is not lethal in normal, I bet it is in Vet).

I would like to ask for a QoL adjustment for the fore-mentioned mechanics, maybe add a vertical light beam for the pad, adjust the time between jump pad spawn and AOE, and also adjust Z’Maja's telegraph to be more visible.

Dinsjre

Did you enjoy this new Trial?
Yes, especially the two layered fight with the shadow-realm.
How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?
I would see the difficulty between HoF and AS.
Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?
complete first on normal the whole trial and then on veteran the first boss on the left side
Which combination of bosses did you try?
didn't tried any combination at the endboss
What level and build was the character you used?
cp750 template NB tank
Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?
No, each mechanic was possible to detect after some tries including the hints in the death-recap.
Do you have any other general feedback?
please rework the sets.

MaxTM

Did you enjoy this new Trial?
Yes I think the mechanics are really on point this time and its a lot of fun, yet really challenging

How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?
I would say difficoulty wise on normal mode its on par with the other modes except that you cant really solo it, which made a certain raidbuddy of mine sad :P but anyways I think the difficoulty is at a perfect level because you can feel the learning curve and a clear on HM will feel super satisfying

Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?
We did complete Normal Mode with 4 and 6 players, veteran with a raidteam

Which combination of bosses did you try?
Only 1 by 1 and +3 in NormalMode and VetMode

What level and build was the character you used?
Magicka Nightblade, 2 Valkyn Skoria, 5 Julianos 5 Mechanical Acuity

Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?
Obviously HM, but i enjoyed the difficoulties of the weapon swap mechanic, PLEASE dont change it

Do you have any other general feedback?
I think this trial is a really good proof that developement has actually happened. The mechanics are fun to play it's not just some DPS race with a boss thats not moving an inch. I think this trial is gonna be loved by a big part of the community because of the communication and mechanics people need to play around.
I think this is a great trial and im looking forward to beating the HM!

Princess_Ciri

[*] Did you enjoy this new Trial?

Yeah I did, need to spend more time doing the trial before I can say how it compares to others, but first impressions are overall positive. Still not a fan of 'mini trials,' I was hoping for one around the same length as vHoF. However the mechanics are interesting and i'm going to enjoy figuring everything out! The Gryphons look amazing, I want to adopt all of them and retire to a Gryphon farm when I am old.

[*] How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?

I haven't done normal so I can't comment on that. As for veteran, I have only done vet +0 so I will be basing my comments on this. I felt that it was harder than vAS +0 (because it requires better group co-ordination, although for my group this wasn't such an issue, I can see it causing problems for less experienced groups), harder than vAA and vHRC but probably easier than vSO and definitely easier than vMoL/vHoF. I'll have to write an update once I've tried +1/2/3.

[*] Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?

Only vet.

[*] Which combination of bosses did you try?

Haven't combined any bosses yet, i'll edit this when I do

[*] What level and build was the character you used?

cp750 Magicka Templar healer, using spell power cure and worm. Gonna try spc mending and earthgore later though.

[*] Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?

The tanks took a lot of damage from certain mobs, and seemed to get a big healing received debuff, which made things challenging. But once we figured out where the damage was coming from it was manageable. In general though, in +0 there were not too many mechanics that felt overly difficult once we figured out what we needed to do. I expect (and hope) the mechanics from side bosses +1/2/3 will make it a lot harder though.

[*] Do you have any other general feedback?

I loved that you can read books around the trial that give you hints towards trial mechanics. I went in by myself at first to have a look around and discovered them, so that was fun.

Also the shadows that kill people when they try to resurrect allies is a really punishing mechanic, but it's a good one. I like the team-work aspects of the trial.

I do think the trial rewards could be improved though. 4 undaunted plunder for the final boss, and some underwhelming sets from the side bosses is pretty meh. Unique rewards from the trial (like the vAS HM polymorph) or reworking the sets so they might actually be used would be nice. I can't see any of the sets being used much as they are.

code65536

Please make the light spears (where we dissipate the orbs) more visually distinct from the levitation pads in the shadow realm of the main boss. Twice now, I've tried to levitate using a spear when the spear spawned close to a levitation pad.

beetleklee

Did you enjoy this new Trial?
-Yes, I like the interesting mechanics and the focus on teamwork, big improvement from Asylum.

How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?
-Haven't done HM yet, or even +1, but the Wekynar bosses seemed decently challenging, maybe a bit harder than Craglorn bosses but easier than vMoL. Mostly because of the individual mechanics, the fire one wiped a lot of people who were too spread out. People got a hang of the ice and lightning mechanics easily.
Last boss is tougher and almost on par with vMoL Twins or Rakkhat with how much your team needs to work together. If some people aren't killing shades before rezzing or bottom group messes up, it can mean a wipe.

Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?
-Only vet +0.

Which combination of bosses did you try?
-Nothing yet.

What level and build was the character you used?
-750 template MagDK, and another with my 666 StamDK (was yesterday and didn't realize my template was wiped and didn't have enough time to make a new 750 character before I needed to raid with my guild)

Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?
-During the phase where the red conal AOE appears on the last boss, sometimes one would spawn under me downstairs in the Dark realm after I used Wind of the Welkynar and jumped back down, causing me to teleport back upstairs. There hasn't been any mechanic I felt was "unfair," at least so far, though I do feel the tank's healing debuff from certain mobs is pretty punishing.

Do you have any other general feedback?
-The hitbox on the Griffon bosses is wonky. I'd be right standing behind the Griffon right at its back legs, as a melee DPS, and my melee skills would be greyed out and I couldn't use them. The hitboxes definitely need to be adjusted as it happened a lot to me. It happened a bit on Z'Maja too, but not as much.

Alcast

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

This is the official feedback thread for the Cloudrest Trial.

First off, lets not forget that this is not a Full Trial but rather a MINI-Trial. I fully expected a Full Trial for a new chapter like Summerset. Even before entering the MINI-Trial most of us already felt a stab into our hearts, because we all knew how Asylum Sanctorium ended up. Having mostly bad experience and memories of Asylum Sanctorium MINI-Trial, the "hope" for this MINI-Trial to be different, was not that big, because we already knew that we would get a similar setup, aka here you have the mainboss and lets just stack more mini bosses on top of the mainboss and voila.

Nontheless, I do think Cloudrest is a better MINI-Trial compared to Asylum Sanctorium. Mechanics are more fun and thought through. My main problem with those kind of encouters is, that you only fight the same bosses over and over again, so it can get very frustrating when you keep wiping on the same (and only) encounter, especially in hardmode.

• Did you enjoy this new Trial?
  Again, this is a MINI-Trial. I did not enjoy the new Trial because there is none, this is a MINI-Trial.
  Now for the Mini-Trial, I do think it is far better designed than Asylum Sanctorium, I do like most of the mechanics.
• Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?
  Veteran, Veteran +1, Veteran +2 so far. I do like the difficulty of the veteran Cloudrest. The difficulty of +1 was also nice and challenging. After that (+2 and +3) it kind of becomes again similar to Asylum Sanctorium MINI-Trial, a huge overlap of mechanics party. Sure we can deal with it, but there will only be a handful of groups that will reliable clear this similar to Asylum HM.
• What level and build was the character you used?
  https://alcasthq.com/eso-magicka-nightblade-build-pve/
• Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?
  Most of the issues we had was not directly the MINI-Trials fault but rather the potato PTS servers fault. We had mechanics happen before we even could react to them because the latency from playing on EU to the PTS Server which is located on NA is just a joke.
  I think most issues come with +2 or +3 where you have to deal with shock, frost and fire mechanic at the same time AND the mini bosses on top of that. Frost synergy is not reliable working atm (at least not with EU ping) sometimes you die before you can even drop the synergy off, fire mechanic stacking does not work propperly because the latency again just decided you did not stack but on my screen there were 4+ people around me, but server says nono you gonna die because there is nobody around you! Shock mini boss shockballs stun you through block, which can be a pain if you combine it with the frost synergy, you will die if you get synergy, want to drop it off but then you get stunned through block from the shock ball (which feels has like a 10m stun radius)
• Do you have any other general feedback?
  Again, I can not express enough how disappointed I was when I heard that this was a MINI-Trial, I expected a FULL TRIAL for a new chapter.
  Feels like Asylum Sanctorium was planned as a Full trial for Summerset, but got scrapped because someone had the Mini trial idea, then there was not enough time to create another FULL TRIAL so we just got another MINI-Trial aka Cloudrest.

swaggasm

Did you enjoy this new Trial?
Yes and no, was expecting a full trial for Summerset chapter rather than a Mini-trial.

How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?
I think the difficulty for the most part works well with each iteration, getting slightly harder but not out of reach. In my opinion like Asylum Sanctorium very few groups will be able to reliable or consistently clear the Veteran +3 version for awhile.

Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or Both)?
Normal +3, Veteran +0, Veteran +1 and Veteran +2 so far.

Which combination of bosses did you try?
All 3 in normal, all +1’s, all combinations of +2.

What level and build was the character you used?
CP750 Template Magicka DragonKnight, 2 Valkyn Skoria, 5 Burning Spellweave, 5 Mechanical Acuity, 1 vMA Inferno. CP750 Template Magicka Nightblade, 2 Valkyn Skoria, 5 Burning Spellweave, 5 Mechanical Acuity, 1 vMA Inferno.

Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?
Mechanic wise everything is fairly straight forward, from grabbing the frost, to stacking for fire, to not bar swapping if you had voltic overcharge, to going into shadow realm ect(even with AUS ping).

Would like to see a QOL change where the spears and jump pad in the shadow realm were a little easier to see.

Wasn’t sure if the shock balls from the shock mini-boss, were intended to stun through block. Similar to how an iteration of the hunter-killer fabricants shock orbs would stun through block but than was changed to allow blocking to negate the stun.

As of right now +1 and +2, you do not have to focus the mini-bosses at all you can focus on the mechanics and just attack the main boss. The mini-bosses in +1 and +2 are just hinderances at best. Even with +3 after some more time getting used to mechanics, if this is similar to the previous versions with the only alterations being a 3rd mini-boss, perhaps only again just focusing on mechanics and attacking the main boss while ignoring the mini-bosses is possible.

Do you have any other general feedback?
As of right now a lot of the mini-bosses in +1 +2 and +3 are bugging out at times, where they either do a sheathing weapon animation or they are stuck in the air not attacking. In both of these instances they can be damaged.

The trial sets themselves even Perfected versions seemed lacklustre for the most part and not something that will be commonly used in a majority of builds compared to say some of the sets from earlier trials. Would like to see some of these get changed to be enticing to want and have a use in either PVE or PVP.

I do hope that the future of trials in ESO isn’t going to be strictly this format with a single encounter where you can choose the difficulty compared to say the Craglorn trials, Maw of Lorkhaj and Halls of fabrication, where you have multiple different boss encounters and trash.

Love Wizard

Did you enjoy this new Trial?

Yes, and no. I feel this trial brings some unique mechanics on the board, and requires coordination, and communication more than other trials does, however, it still lacks the complete trial experience.

How did the difficulty compare to existing Trials on Normal and Veteran versions?

The normal version is pretty easy with an experienced raiding group, but I guess it could be a challenge for newer players. The veteran version has some difficulty, but with +0 its a walk in the park.

Did you complete Normal or Veteran (or both)?

Yes, normal, veteran, +1 and +2.

Which combination of bosses did you try?

Main + ice, main + ice and fire, killed both, and hardmode, down to 30%.

What level and build was the character you used?

Fully levelled magicka nightblade.

Were there any mechanics you had difficulty with?

The mechanics throughout the trial is generally fine, and quite entertaining. I for one really enjoy the explosion mechanic where you have to stack, and the barswap mechanic. However, on hardmode with all 3 alive, and running at the same time, it can get quite hectic, and things can overlap and generally make your life pretty difficult. However, I feel the way it is right now is pretty fine.

Do you have any other general feedback?

I honestly would love to a see a full scale trial again, I dont think the likes of asylum sanctorium and cloudrest will be a popular trial, just because of the way it is designed. I really like how you can customize your fight in veteran though, you can pick and choose what you want, and do as you please. However, the experience of clearing trashpacks, and just going from boss to boss can be quite refreshing. Sitting in the same boss room, time and time again, with the same mainboss, gets very dull and repetive. I would love to see some more time being put into the actual trial, and develop potentially two more bosses, and add in some trashpacks, alongside with some more lore for the roleplayers.

NyassaV

Better sets and give the bosses slightly less health. Max health does not mean it's harder, just means it's longer and more annoying. Though it's a step up from before