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Upcoming Racial Balance Changes for Update 21

  • Tommy_The_Gun
    Tommy_The_Gun
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    To summarize, we decided to focus more on racial balance this update because racial choice was one of the larger outliers to our core mantra of the game - freedom. We wanted to expand the horizon for choice and present players with a self-reflecting question of “What is my playstyle or ideal build?”, providing options to help reach that individual answer. Now, instead of having a single race that focuses almost exclusively on a specific playstyle, you can pick based on a personal level.

    Goals & Process
    1. Allow more effective options when picking a race for each role in tanking, healing, or damage dealing.
    2. Equalize the overall power that each race provides by using our set bonus efficiency system, which compares the total amount of power that a bonus provides under equal terms.
    3. Retain and enhance the unique feeling and gameplay patterns that each race allows.
    4. Improve the sense of progression that the racial passives provide when leveling up.
    5. Achieve the above goals while still obeying our rich and structured lore and storytelling.
    The intentions were correct. But in the end you did not achieved your goals. I would even dare to say that the racial rebalance is a total opposite of your goals. Almost all races are actually more limited now and further shoehorned into one role, often without even being bis or even close to bis at that role.

    What I am trying to say is: try to look at all 10 races separately and without any bias or favouring specific race, then again look at your original racial rebalance goals and try to place a " ✔ " check mark to all of your goals at each race. If you cant do this then it means that you still have job to do, until you actually can place that " ✔ " check mark.

    This is at least my opinion. But seeing varius forum posts it seems that I am not the only one, but rather 70% seems to think that way.
    Edited by Tommy_The_Gun on February 26, 2019 4:22PM
  • Asardes
    Asardes
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    I've realized that changes aren't that great. About 500 max stat less for DD/healer build, which is almost inconsequential.
    Beta tester since February 2014, played ESO-TU October 2015 - August 2022, currently on an extended break
    vMA (The Flawless Conqueror) | vVH (Spirit Slayer & of the Undying Song) | vDSA | vAA HM | vHRC HM | vSO HM | vMoL | vAS+1 | Emperor

    PC-EU CP 3000+
    41,000+ Achievement Points before High Isle
    Member of:
    Pact Veteran Trade: Exemplary
    Traders of the Covenant: God of Sales
    Tamriels Emporium: God of Sales
    Valinor Overflow: Trader
    The Traveling Merchant: Silver


    Characters:
    Asardes | 50 Nord Dragonknight | EP AR 50 | Master Crafter: all traits & recipes, all styles released before High Isle
    Alxaril Nelcarion | 50 High Elf Sorcerer | AD AR 20 |
    Dro'Bear Three-paws | 50 Khajiit Nightblade | AD AR 20 |
    Veronique Nicole | 50 Breton Templar | DC AR 20 |
    Sabina Flavia Cosades | 50 Imperial Warden | EP AR 20 |
    Ervesa Neloren | 50 Dark Elf Dragonknight | EP AR 20 |
    Fendar Khodwin | 50 Redguard Sorcerer | DC AR 20 |
    Surilanwe of Lillandril | 50 High Elf Nightblade | AD AR 20 |
    Joleen the Swift | 50 Redguard Templar | DC AR 20 |
    Draynor Telvanni | 50 Dark Elf Warden | EP AR 20 |
    Claudius Tharn | 50 Necromancer | DC AR 20 |
    Nazura-la the Bonedancer | 50 Necromancer | AD AR 20 |

    Tharkul gro-Shug | 50 Orc Dragonknight | DC AR 4 |
    Ushruka gra-Lhurgash | 50 Orc Sorcerer | AD AR 4 |
    Cienwen ferch Llywelyn | 50 Breton Nightblade | DC AR 4 |
    Plays-with-Sunray | 50 Argonian Templar | EP AR 4 |
    Milariel | 50 Wood Elf Warden | AD AR 4 |
    Scheei-Jul | 50 Necromancer | EP AR 4 |

    PC-NA CP 1800+
    30,000+ Achievement Points before High Isle
    Member of:
    Savage Blade: Majestic Machette


    Characters:
    Asardes the Exile | 50 Nord Dragonknight | EP AR 30 |
  • A_Silverius
    A_Silverius
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    Give Bosmer stealth back please.
    All over Tamriel, theres a sudden spike in Bosmers getting caught for their crimes. A sad day indeed... #FightForYourRite Give Bosmers back our stealth!
  • SahrotChurasu
    SahrotChurasu
    Soul Shriven
    Put simply, I don't think these changes have changed all that much. When it was announced that the racial passives were going to be reworked sometime this year, with the goal being to allow for greater build diversity, I had hoped that meant the issue of having racial bonuses set to either all Stamina or all Magicka would be addressed. Bretons, for example, have racial passives that are only of use to Magicka builds; there are no bonuses to anything Stamina-related, and you'd be put at a significant disadvantage if you wanted to make your Stamina-focused character a Breton. It's the same way with Redguards and Stamina builds - if you want to create a Magicka-focused character, Redguard passives will not help you much at all.

    It seems to me like this may be the biggest barrier to overcome in working toward this idea of giving every race a fair chance at every role. An issue, for example, is that healing is primarily Magicka-based; if you want to heal, you're best off picking a race with Magicka-related bonuses, which, naturally, leaves the races with only Stamina-related bonuses off the list. Tanking, on the other hand, remains (for the most part) Stamina-based, because blocking with a shield costs Stamina, and most tanking-relevant skills cost Stamina, so the races to pick for tanking have Health and Stamina-related bonuses, plus a little resource return. The Argonians and Bretons are the "sturdiest" of the Magicka-focused races, but their passives are not structured toward tanking to quite the extent Nord or Imperial passives are - they would better serve the group as healers.

    It was my hope that we would get something like morph options for racial passives, or something to that effect, that would give players the option to make a Redguard Magicka Sorcerer, for example, or a Breton Stamina Nightblade, without being at a significant disadvantage in terms of (at least) attribute bonuses. Ideally, it seems like racial passives ought to strictly be the "flavor" parts of what we have already. A Breton, for example, ought to have its current spell resistance bonus that doubles when affected by a debuff - that's a great "flavor" bonus. But then, it might have a choice of either Magicka or Stamina Recovery first, a reduction to either Magicka or Stamina cost second, and perhaps a choice of either 2000 Magicka or 1000 Stamina third. To keep in line with the backgrounds of each race, traditionally magically-inclined races could be given a chance at a higher-than-average base Magicka, as always, but they wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a Stamina role, either.

    The idea may be unpopular, and there are good reasons to be against it, but I'm not the biggest fan of the old-fashioned way of setting races apart in RPGs stat-wise by relying on stereotypes. In this series, it's easy to see that there are warriors, wizards, and all kinds of people in every race. The average Breton may be more inclined to learn magic than the average Nord, to get back to my earlier example, but that Breton is just as likely to join the Lion Guard, or any of the other military orders that are just as large a part of their culture as any school of magic. Why is that part of their culture not reflected in their stats? It would almost be easier, or it might make more sense, to not include bonuses to attributes at all, in my opinion, because the people of Nirn are like the people of Earth, mostly. Culture is more important than race in shaping the average citizen.

    Anyway, I decided to weigh in on this because in a perfect world, all of my characters would be Orcs. They're my favorite race, and there's a strong tradition in Orcish culture of wise-women, shamans, and alchemists practicing what might rightly be called hedge magic. This part of their culture can't be seen in their stats from Morrowind or Oblivion, though, and neither can it be seen in ESO - or at least, not yet, despite the fact that there are more Orc NPCs than ever practicing magic.

  • Silver_Strider
    Silver_Strider
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    Put simply, I don't think these changes have changed all that much. When it was announced that the racial passives were going to be reworked sometime this year, with the goal being to allow for greater build diversity, I had hoped that meant the issue of having racial bonuses set to either all Stamina or all Magicka would be addressed. Bretons, for example, have racial passives that are only of use to Magicka builds; there are no bonuses to anything Stamina-related, and you'd be put at a significant disadvantage if you wanted to make your Stamina-focused character a Breton. It's the same way with Redguards and Stamina builds - if you want to create a Magicka-focused character, Redguard passives will not help you much at all.

    It seems to me like this may be the biggest barrier to overcome in working toward this idea of giving every race a fair chance at every role. An issue, for example, is that healing is primarily Magicka-based; if you want to heal, you're best off picking a race with Magicka-related bonuses, which, naturally, leaves the races with only Stamina-related bonuses off the list. Tanking, on the other hand, remains (for the most part) Stamina-based, because blocking with a shield costs Stamina, and most tanking-relevant skills cost Stamina, so the races to pick for tanking have Health and Stamina-related bonuses, plus a little resource return. The Argonians and Bretons are the "sturdiest" of the Magicka-focused races, but their passives are not structured toward tanking to quite the extent Nord or Imperial passives are - they would better serve the group as healers.

    It was my hope that we would get something like morph options for racial passives, or something to that effect, that would give players the option to make a Redguard Magicka Sorcerer, for example, or a Breton Stamina Nightblade, without being at a significant disadvantage in terms of (at least) attribute bonuses. Ideally, it seems like racial passives ought to strictly be the "flavor" parts of what we have already. A Breton, for example, ought to have its current spell resistance bonus that doubles when affected by a debuff - that's a great "flavor" bonus. But then, it might have a choice of either Magicka or Stamina Recovery first, a reduction to either Magicka or Stamina cost second, and perhaps a choice of either 2000 Magicka or 1000 Stamina third. To keep in line with the backgrounds of each race, traditionally magically-inclined races could be given a chance at a higher-than-average base Magicka, as always, but they wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a Stamina role, either.

    The idea may be unpopular, and there are good reasons to be against it, but I'm not the biggest fan of the old-fashioned way of setting races apart in RPGs stat-wise by relying on stereotypes. In this series, it's easy to see that there are warriors, wizards, and all kinds of people in every race. The average Breton may be more inclined to learn magic than the average Nord, to get back to my earlier example, but that Breton is just as likely to join the Lion Guard, or any of the other military orders that are just as large a part of their culture as any school of magic. Why is that part of their culture not reflected in their stats? It would almost be easier, or it might make more sense, to not include bonuses to attributes at all, in my opinion, because the people of Nirn are like the people of Earth, mostly. Culture is more important than race in shaping the average citizen.

    Anyway, I decided to weigh in on this because in a perfect world, all of my characters would be Orcs. They're my favorite race, and there's a strong tradition in Orcish culture of wise-women, shamans, and alchemists practicing what might rightly be called hedge magic. This part of their culture can't be seen in their stats from Morrowind or Oblivion, though, and neither can it be seen in ESO - or at least, not yet, despite the fact that there are more Orc NPCs than ever practicing magic.

    It had first appeared to be going that direction in 4.3.0 but was never fleshed out. Magic Redguard does benefit from the weapon ability cost reduction and Dunmer/Khajiit just got fully opened to both specs. Original Spell Recharge passive would have opened up Stamina Altmer but that was changed into a meaningless utility passive, leaving Stam Altmer in the dark again. The rest of the races just sort of got the short end of the stick in that regard as well. They had a shot and blew it.
    Argonian forever
  • SahrotChurasu
    SahrotChurasu
    Soul Shriven
    Magic Redguard does benefit from the weapon ability cost reduction and Dunmer/Khajiit just got fully opened to both specs. Original Spell Recharge passive would have opened up Stamina Altmer...

    Yes, thank you! I meant to say that these new changes have clearly improved the situations of a few races - namely Khajiit, Bretons, Imperials, and Redguards, to my eyes. The Khajiit seem to have received the most positive changes, but it seems to me that Bretons, Imperials, and Redguards received only clear improvements to what they had before, too, whereas the other races were not so lucky - and a few were particularly unlucky.

    The Argonians, for example, have been further restricted to a healing role, because where they used to have a bonus to both Healing Done and Healing Received, they now have only an (albeit larger) improvement to Healing Done. And, for whatever reason, they no longer have a resistance to poison damage, and their bonus to Max Health is smaller than it was before.

    An attempt was made to push the Nord race further into the tanking role, but the only good thing they've gotten is a way of generating Ultimate when taking damage. Their bonus to Max Health is small, their bonus to Max Stamina is mediocre, and their "flavor" passive that used to reduce incoming damage has been turned into a simple bonus to resistances. A tank will probably be either pushing or past the resistance caps, so what was a useful passive before has been made less useful.

    The new Dunmer passives are a more complicated case. On the one hand, their bonuses to Max Stamina and Max Magicka are now equal, only slightly below the maximum possible bonus (2000), and they've got an equal bonus to both Spell Damage and Weapon Damage, too. The issue, though, is their Resist Flame passive. It takes the place of what could be (and is, in the non-hybrid races) a passive to give them better sustain, either in Magicka or Stamina, so they're still a little behind the others. I don't mean to say that they aren't in a better place - they certainly are, on the Stamina side especially - but it's not perfect. And, to sort of get away from the stats, I think it's a little disappointing that they've lost their flair for Fire Damage.

    On the same note, it's a little disappointing to see that the Bosmer have lost their stealthiness, but I understand the idea behind their changes, I think. They're hunters, so the stealth detection bonus does make sense, but the bigger issue is that their unique bonus will not be useful to end-game players, who are likely pushing or past the penetration cap. Still, the stealth thing is a little bothersome, because you'd think the smallest race would have an easier time sneaking around!

    The Orcs now share the maximum possible bonus to Max Stamina (2000) with Redguards, Imperials, and Wood Elves, but to set them apart as the "berserker" damage-dealing race, they've been given a bonus to Weapon Damage and a way of returning health by dealing damage, too. All in all, their situation is the same or better, but it's a little sad to see that their "oddball" bonuses - their bonus to healing received, and their bonus to melee attack damage - have been replaced. They've kept their main "flair" bonus (to sprint speed), and functionally, they're about the same now as they were before, but something about the old bonus specific to melee damage did more to make them feel unique. Healing Taken was a rarer bonus, too.

    With the Altmer, not much has changed. What used to be a bonus to elemental damage is now a bonus to Spell Damage, which is an improvement for Altmer Magicka Templars and Nightblades, in fairness, or any build that makes use of non-elemental damage, but their new Spell Recharge passive is not much of an improvement. It would be a great passive if Stamina Altmer builds were a thing, but the rest of the Altmer passives are still only relevant to Magicka, so they're not.

    That brings me back to the idea in my earlier post. If the goal is to create build diversity, it seems like the biggest thing to tackle, at the core, is the issue of having Stamina-designated races and Magicka-designated races. There can't be much in the way of diversity if there's a clear divide between the two. If you want to create a Stamina DPS character, for example, your options are: Redguard, Orc, Imperial, Bosmer, Dunmer, Khajiit, or Nord. Some are more optimal than others, because of differences in either sustain or pure damage, but that's 7 of the 10 races with bonuses relevant to Stamina, which is great! The issue, though, is that you'll likely never see an Argonian, Altmer, or Breton Stamina character, because those races don't have any passives to benefit Stamina builds. Of the 7 Stamina options, 5 (Redguards, Orcs, Imperials, Bosmer, and Nords) have the same issue: none (or very few) of their passives are useful to Magicka builds, so chances are you'll never meet a Magicka character from that half of the race roster. Or, if you do, that player has accepted to play at a disadvantage.

    I'm not sure how to fix the problem, but these changes have allowed for a little more build diversity. As mentioned in the comment I quoted above, Stamina and Magicka options have been improved for the Dunmer and Khajiit, but I fear a few races have become more restricted - namely, the Argonians and Nords. I'm just not sure how much can really be fixed, or how much more build diversity can be created, without changing a few things at the core of how these racial passives were designed.

  • Mecanista
    Mecanista
    Soul Shriven
    code65536 wrote: »
    RIP Dunmer.

    Unless you intend to play a hybrid, there's absolutely no reason to pick Dunmer over Altmer for a mag class.

    In the current patch, Dunmer-vs-Altmer was a question of damage-vs-sustain. With the high amount of fire damage at play, Dunmer did slightly higher DPS than Altmer, but Altmer had better sustain. Dunmer had 9% max mag (6%+3%) vs. Altmer's 10%, so that was not a substantial difference.

    Now with these proposed changes...
    1. The magicka deficit between Dunmer and Altmer is larger.
    2. Replacing Dunmer's higher flame damage with weapon damage (useful only for a hybrid) means that Dunmer now does less DPS than Altmer (as they have the same spell damage bonus).
    3. Dunmer doesn't have Altmer's sustain.

    So whereas in the past Dunmer lost sustain in exchange for slightly more damage versus Altmer, now they've lost sustain and lost damage. So... why would anyone pick Dunmer?

    Suggestion: Give Dunmer fire abilities an additional X spell damage. It would make them once again a meaningful alternative to Altmer and is consistent with their lore background.


    That's what you get for worshiping false gods and Daedra.
    Jokes aside, I thought the Dunmer would get the upperhand, but then I realized that Weapon damage isn't Staff damage.
    They totally gave the Altmer the "Master Race" title for magicka users.
    "You picked the wrong house, fool!"
    - Dwemer Centurion
  • keto3000
    keto3000
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    This passive should be renamed so its not confusing:

    Elemental Talent: 4% Fire/Shock/Ice damage → Increases your Spell Damage by 258.
    “The point of power is always in the present moment.”

    ― Louise L. Hay
  • Lady_Alec
    Lady_Alec
    Soul Shriven
    I'm so frustrated my wood elf thief character I worked so hard to make a sneaky thief can no longer sneak to save her life. Stealth was my thing and it's extremely frustrating that the game play style I worked very hard to build up has been made so much less effective due to this change.
  • Cundu_Ertur
    Cundu_Ertur
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    Lady_Alec wrote: »
    I'm so frustrated my wood elf thief character I worked so hard to make a sneaky thief can no longer sneak to save her life. Stealth was my thing and it's extremely frustrating that the game play style I worked very hard to build up has been made so much less effective due to this change.

    You may like this thread:
    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/459007/wood-elf-bosmer-losing-stealth-passive-an-open-letter

    edit to add: quite agree, too.
    Edited by Cundu_Ertur on March 15, 2019 9:25PM
    Taking stealth away from the Bosmer is like taking magic away from the Altmer, making Nords allergic to mead, or making Orcs pretty.
  • Koronach
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    Lady_Alec wrote: »
    I'm so frustrated my wood elf thief character I worked so hard to make a sneaky thief can no longer sneak to save her life. Stealth was my thing and it's extremely frustrating that the game play style I worked very hard to build up has been made so much less effective due to this change.

    I hear you, I didn't like Argonian passive changes. I'm over all of them except the removal of poison resistance. It bothers me because it's part of their identity and it's cemented into ESO's lore in lore books and NPC dialogue. They claim they reviewed the lore and wanted to preserve the established lore, you kind of failed here. These examples kind of show the failure to preserve established and cemented lore within ESO.

    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/462221/argonians-losing-their-resistance-to-poison-an-open-letter/p1

    This should be fixed because that is clearly broken. If they want the passives to be unique give Argonians disease resistance, immunity, and some poison resistance to match the lore (Immune to Knahaten flu and Llodos plague but only states poison resistance) and Bosmer poison resistance, immunity, and some disease resistance. This makes them different and more lore friendly since they don't want races having the same exact passives.
    Edited by Koronach on March 15, 2019 9:54PM
  • GrumpyDuckling
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    As always, we’ll be closely monitoring this thread, and are very excited to hear your feedback on the matter!

    Did that monitoring include Wood Elf feedback? I ask because it doesn't seem like it. Here is a quick recap of what you pushed to live:
    • You gave a 10% top speed bonus after a roll dodge to an agile race. Agility is not the same as top speed.
    • You decided to remove sneak passives, which directly contradicted the in-game description of the race.
    • You removed the sneak passives just before the TG and DB event (not great timing).
    • You offered a small note about the future of sneak through a class rep thread, without an ETA or details.
    • You mentioned how enemies of Tamriel can't be bothered to sneak, but then created a stealth detection passive.
    • You decided that the action of performing a dodge roll creates a 6 second boost to penetration power.
  • zyk
    zyk
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    Lady_Alec wrote: »
    I'm so frustrated my wood elf thief character I worked so hard to make a sneaky thief can no longer sneak to save her life. Stealth was my thing and it's extremely frustrating that the game play style I worked very hard to build up has been made so much less effective due to this change.
    I don't have any Bosmer characters, but I feel for you.

    I've said this before, but I'll say it again.

    There are times when changes are necessary to solve a significant issue in a game. It's never pleasant to have something taken away, so you hope the devs only do this when absolutely necessary.

    The Bosmer stealth passive was not game breaking or OP in any way. This change was COMPLETELY whimsical and unnecessary. I think the ZOS execs responsible for allowing this change should be ashamed of themselves for taking something away from characters that players have thoughtfully developed over years.

    I'm shocked that ZOS was not responsive to the concerns about Bosmer passives before the changes went live. It paints them as very stubborn and kind of heartless IMO.
  • Jaraal
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    As always, we’ll be closely monitoring this thread, and are very excited to hear your feedback on the matter!

    Did that monitoring include Wood Elf feedback? I ask because it doesn't seem like it.

    They most certainly have been monitoring feedback. Snipping texts out of posts, deleting posts, issuing warnings, closing and reopening threads on the subject.

    The level of excitement however, remains hidden. But I'm sure there are Bosmers everywhere trying to detect it.

    RIP Bosmer Nation. 4/4/14 - 2/25/19.
  • Koronach
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    The only feedback they listen to, are the top 1% Streamers/Class reps. They don't care about race or lore just padding those numbers to attract new subscribers. ZoS, destroying lore and peoples enjoyment of pve, pvp, and rp for the top 1%.
    Edited by Koronach on March 15, 2019 11:39PM
  • Jaraal
    Jaraal
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    Koronach wrote: »
    The only feedback they listen to, are the top 1% Streamers/Class reps. They don't care about race or lore just padding those numbers to attract new subscribers. ZoS, destroying lore and peoples enjoyment of pve, pvp, and rp for the top 1%.

    Seems like that would backfire on them, as the other 99% are buying the vast majority of houses, outfits, mounts, pets, etc. How many casual role player dollars are they willing to sacrifice in order to make a few elite PvPers stop complaining? And yet, even PvPers are saying a lot of these racial changes are garbage. Three meter "stealth detection", when they can actually see you first? Really?
    RIP Bosmer Nation. 4/4/14 - 2/25/19.
  • markdeloma
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    Well I don't understand why bethesda sell Imperial race? It's the weakest and most boring class (especially for magic classes)
    Head of Emerald Turtle
  • JediCody
    JediCody
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    To summarize, we decided to focus more on racial balance this update because racial choice was one of the larger outliers to our core mantra of the game - freedom. We wanted to expand the horizon for choice and present players with a self-reflecting question of “What is my playstyle or ideal build?”, providing options to help reach that individual answer. Now, instead of having a single race that focuses almost exclusively on a specific playstyle, you can pick based on a personal level.

    Goals & Process
    1. Allow more effective options when picking a race for each role in tanking, healing, or damage dealing.
    2. Equalize the overall power that each race provides by using our set bonus efficiency system, which compares the total amount of power that a bonus provides under equal terms.
    3. Retain and enhance the unique feeling and gameplay patterns that each race allows.
    4. Improve the sense of progression that the racial passives provide when leveling up.
    5. Achieve the above goals while still obeying our rich and structured lore and storytelling.
    The intentions were correct. But in the end you did not achieved your goals. I would even dare to say that the racial rebalance is a total opposite of your goals..

    Nords and Imperials and now more viable than ever for Tanking.

    Stam DPS is no longer shoehorned to being nearly only Redguards. Orc, Khajit, and Dark Elf are all separated by an incredibly small fraction of absolute DPS.

    MagDPS is won't be exclusively High Elfs anymore.

    Healers on the other hand, yea, I can see your point.

    One final note I consider is that each race is supposed to have its' flavor. Redguards are naturally attuned to be martial artists'. High Elfs are naturally attuned to being a caster. And so on. It's like the real world... you can be 5'9 and be great at basketball, hell, you could be in the NBA, but the dude that is 6'6 already has a built-in natural advantage. I also don't expect a woman to squat 315 lbs. to depth., but she can absolutely make it happen via hard, tough work... but a male will always have an easier time doing it reaching that number.

  • max_only
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    @ZOS_Gilliam We appreciate your work here and though I’m generally pleased with the changes, the loss of Bosmer Stealth in exchange for detection pains me.

    When I have played any Elder Scrolls game in the past, the first thing I do at race selection is to pick a stealthy race and then and the first thing I do in game is try to find out how to join the Theives Guild and when done I move on to the Assassin / Dark Brotherhood / Morag Tong, etc.

    The immersion of the world along with the ability to open containers and pick up most every item (particularly if it wasn’t mine) was something key in the gameplay for me.

    Being able to choose if I wanted to fight or if I wanted to sneak past an encounter is why I choose the Bosmer race at launch when I created my character.

    The addition of the Justice System (which was quite a wait) and the Theives Guild and Dark Brotherhood really brought this gameplay loved from the single player games to ESO and it’s been great.

    What concerns me now beyond how it impacts the gameplay I have come to enjoy, is how it will impact new players coming to the game.

    I know I’m not alone in the love of this play style and for new players coming to the game, the only option the character creation screen is going to really suggest if this change happens is Khajiit.

    Leaving one race with an affinity for stealth gameplay isn’t expanding choice, it’s limiting it for those looking for a similar play style

    My preference would be for the Bosmer to retain their stealth bonus. As has been suggested, the detection isn’t helpful when many inhabitants of the world “cannot be bothered to sneak” and would result in the only racial passive with no PvE purpose.

    If that doesn’t happen I feel a better choice than what is presented, is to remove the Stealth affinity from all races and move it into the Legerdemain skill line. At least this way you are not funneling every new player who is looking for this play style into a single race.

    Thank you for your time.


    Well said. Some more publicity/streams on the topic couldn’t hurt either.
    #FiteForYourRite Bosmer = Stealth
    #OppositeResourceSiphoningAttacks
    || CP 1000+ || PC/NA || GUILDS: LWH; IA; CH; XA
    ""All gods' creatures (you lot) are equal when covered in A1 sauce"" -- Old Bosmeri Wisdom
  • max_only
    max_only
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    JediCody wrote: »
    To summarize, we decided to focus more on racial balance this update because racial choice was one of the larger outliers to our core mantra of the game - freedom. We wanted to expand the horizon for choice and present players with a self-reflecting question of “What is my playstyle or ideal build?”, providing options to help reach that individual answer. Now, instead of having a single race that focuses almost exclusively on a specific playstyle, you can pick based on a personal level.

    Goals & Process
    1. Allow more effective options when picking a race for each role in tanking, healing, or damage dealing.
    2. Equalize the overall power that each race provides by using our set bonus efficiency system, which compares the total amount of power that a bonus provides under equal terms.
    3. Retain and enhance the unique feeling and gameplay patterns that each race allows.
    4. Improve the sense of progression that the racial passives provide when leveling up.
    5. Achieve the above goals while still obeying our rich and structured lore and storytelling.
    The intentions were correct. But in the end you did not achieved your goals. I would even dare to say that the racial rebalance is a total opposite of your goals..

    Nords and Imperials and now more viable than ever for Tanking.

    Stam DPS is no longer shoehorned to being nearly only Redguards. Orc, Khajit, and Dark Elf are all separated by an incredibly small fraction of absolute DPS.

    MagDPS is won't be exclusively High Elfs anymore.

    Healers on the other hand, yea, I can see your point.

    One final note I consider is that each race is supposed to have its' flavor. Redguards are naturally attuned to be martial artists'. High Elfs are naturally attuned to being a caster. And so on. It's like the real world... you can be 5'9 and be great at basketball, hell, you could be in the NBA, but the dude that is 6'6 already has a built-in natural advantage. I also don't expect a woman to squat 315 lbs. to depth., but she can absolutely make it happen via hard, tough work... but a male will always have an easier time doing it reaching that number.

    Your assessment is missing 3 races. So Tommy the Gun is still right, they didn’t achieve their goals.
    #FiteForYourRite Bosmer = Stealth
    #OppositeResourceSiphoningAttacks
    || CP 1000+ || PC/NA || GUILDS: LWH; IA; CH; XA
    ""All gods' creatures (you lot) are equal when covered in A1 sauce"" -- Old Bosmeri Wisdom
  • JediCody
    JediCody
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    @max_only

    Right on, I see your point.

    That said, better balance has been achieved. I don't really see how it can be objectively argued that balance was better before this update.

    A quote I am fond of is the following: "All perfection in this life has some imperfection bound up with it."

    I for one applaud and am proud of @ZOS_Gilliam and ZOS for making these changes that have vastly improved diversity in ESO.
    Edited by JediCody on March 27, 2019 5:52PM
  • Koronach
    Koronach
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    JediCody wrote: »
    @max_only

    Right on, I see your point.

    That said, better balance has been achieved. I don't really see how it can be objectively argued that balance was better before this update.

    A quote I am fond of is the following: "All perfection in this life has some imperfection bound up with it."

    I for one applaud and am proud of @ZOS_Gilliam and ZOS for making these changes that have vastly improved diversity in ESO.

    Not when they claim they want to preserve established lore and break it. All for a stupid reason such as not wanting shared passives.
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