PTS Update 21 - Feedback Thread for Zone Guide

GrumpyDuckling

• From the Zone Guide, you can press a button on the bottom of the screen to guide you to the location of your next uncompleted activity from the ordered list above (excluding Skyshards and Shalidor’s Library Books).

Oh, come on! Obviously console players want to be able to use Zone Guide for Mage's Books (and Skyshards). Why exclude these? It would make leveling Mage's Guild far less annoying on console.

Please, please, please reconsider this.

Jayne_Doe

Enodoc wrote: »

Dominoid wrote: »

kirgeo wrote: »

Hello, i seem to have found a problem, There is a quest in Grahtwood: Trouble of the tree that says not completed. I cannot find the quest giver where the locator points to. I have completed all the other story quests here and in every other zones.


Please add the NPC or remove the quest from the tracker if it is missable.
Please add the side quests too if it is possible. Lot of people would appreciate it.

I have the same issues. According to the uesp, it is unavailable once you've completed "The Honor of the Queen". The quest is nothing but a bread crumb quest to get you to Eldenroot. It would be nice if I don't have to stare at an 8/9 in the Zone guide. Ya know OCD completionist and all. ;-)

As the creator of the UESP list, this was the first issue I noticed too. I'm compiling a list of all missable quests that have been added to the tracker, as well as all chained quests that have not, and will be posting specifics when I can.

CyberOnEso wrote: »

I think the system is a good idea and definitely helps encourage newer players through the zones. My biggest suggestion, and one I think you should seriously consider is you should reward players for 100% completing the zone, it gives players something they can progress towards and keeps players coming back to the game feeling like they are progressing.

This is certainly a nice idea, but tying into what others have said, would require all side quests, dungeon quests and dailies for a zone to be listed too, as well as a clear indication of quests that are missable.

@Enodoc Have you checked Shadowfen? I remember back at launch that there were several quests in Shadowfen that were missable if you didn't do the quests in a very specific order. They were all "breadcrumb" quests. They eventually reduced the number of quests required to get the zone quest completion achievement (it was at a high 62 at launch, iirc). I'll take a look this weekend on my main that I know missed several of those missable quests in Shadowfen.

GlassHalfFull

I checked the Zone Guide for Auridon, it shows I have 0/1 for Toothmaul Gully. When I look at the Journal->Achievements for Public Dungeons, it shows me having completed every public dungeon, including Toothmaul Gully.

Merchrus

1. Yes
2. Nope
3. Overall, it is a really great addition to the game. This has been needed for a long time. There is one thing that would be super useful is a "Start/Continue Alliance Storyline" button that shows up no matter what zone you're in. That would make it easier to jump into your alliance quests, especially for new players who are just getting dumped into the new expansion and don't even know where to go for their specific faction.

IntelligentAmsomniac

Zone guide is easy to find, kinda hard to miss actually given that I couldn't find a way to turn it off. I have characters that aim to complete everything, some that only do certain types of activities and then there are those that only do trials or PvP. For those aiming for total completition, the guide is great, for those that'll never quest or complete zones, it's an annoyance on the side of the map. Definitely needs an off switch! But a great addition to the game

Miscellaneous feedback
There should also be some kind of small reward for completing a zone (at least the parts listed in the zone guide). I think a new title would also be in order for those that complete all the objectives of the zone guide, something like Obsessive Completitionist, to match the effort required. The single zone completition reward could be anything really: transmute crystals, crown gem, mimic stone, new color, title for alliance completition of the zone guidex3, even just some gold. It's more about the thought than actual reward, to make it feel more like an accomplishment.

I'm curious, why are there no trials or arenas listed in the zone guide? Was this intentional, so that soloing would be feasible (assuming one can solo all world bosses)?

With this being a clear quality of life feature, I finally expected you to add skyshard and lorebook locations to the map. I can't emphasize enough how disappointed I am that's not the case. Game's old now, we've all had to gather them multiple times, we can check online to see their locations or use addons (though not those on console), there's literally no reason not to add them. Unless it's because your game couldn't handle that, and if that's the case, then it's a problem that should get fixed ASAP. If you're worried about balance/exploration, or some players not wanting to know their locations, make enabling them on the map a toggle in options after we reach level 50. You can also show us only the lorebook and skyshard locations we've already picked one up with one of our characters if you don't want to reveal them all.

Side quests within the zone should definitely be included into the zone guide as those out of the way, tucked into a corner quest givers are the ones that are easiest to miss. They should have their own marker and category to not dilute the major quests that are included already. Reason being, the main quest and alliance story keep telling you what to do and where to go next, but there are no pointers for some of the funniest quests in the game. Granted, most of them are just fetch this or kill that, but that's not good enough a reason to ignore them in my opinion.

dovakiin5574

Very nice, now I won't get lost! A toggle for side/optional quests would be nice. Also a cute little "Zone Complete" somewhere when you complete a zone would also be appreciated. Thank you

WitchyWarrior

I was so happy when I saw this was going to be added!
I figured I'd wait to check it out when it went live...
However,
Tonight I was bored so I thought I'd go find the last few books & notes I may have missed in zones I haven't been in for a while. Went to the Rift which I completed everything over 4 years ago. AT LEAST I THOUGHT! Went into Fellowstone Hall & there is a quest marker! I am big into finishing everything in every zone so I was surprised I missed it.
Anyway, I thought this would be perfect to see how the zone guide works.
Logged onto PTS and was SUPER Disappointed because it didn't show the missing side quest.
Now I'm all kinds of flustered because it's 2:30am and I feel the need to go back through each zone I finished years ago to see what else I may have missed.

TL;DR
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE ADD SIDE QUESTS AS WELL!!

feyii

I haven't tested the zone guide a lot, yet, but 2 things I would like to point out.

The first is, as already mentioned by multiple other peole here, please also add side quests to the zone guide. They are a lot easier to miss than main story quests. The latter can actually only be missed, if you never ever read the dialogue.

The second thing I noticed is, that Stuga is marked as a main quest giver. While she is the starting point for the Wrothgar main story, it is rather confusing to see her marked this way in Vulkhel Guard/Davon's Watch/Daggerfall. This will probably simply lead people away from the the zone they wanted to do at the time.

For such cases (there are probably more), it might be good to change the icon somehow, maybe through a different colour, to make it obvious it is a different main questline.

Beardimus

CyberOnEso wrote: »

I think the system is a good idea and definitely helps encourage newer players through the zones. My biggest suggestion, and one I think you should seriously consider is you should reward players for 100% completing the zone, it gives players something they can progress towards and keeps players coming back to the game feeling like they are progressing.

It doesn't matter if the rewards are smallish but make them significant enough for newer players. I.E: 5000 gold per zone or something.

I would also consider adding rewards for completing 5/ 10/ 15... zones and have these rewards be substantial and something to aim towards.

I sort of agree. When I started I did it all per zone. And was gutted when i realized the achievement points were worthless / pointless!!

Beardimus

LOREBOOKS

I never thought I'd say it as I played 3 years as a completionist and enjoy exploring the game anew. Times more limited for me now and on a pure pvp toon it's a daunting task on console to spend hours with a map / laptop

Arunei

@ZOS_GinaBruno
Please add side quest tracking as well. I had assumed upon hearing about the Zone Guide feature in the stream that this would be one of the things included, as a lot of quests can be extremely hard to find, not to mention a lot of the side quests need to be done in a certain order before you can trigger the next.

Elsonso

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

This is the official feedback thread for the new Zone Guide. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:

• Were you able to easily find this feature?
• Did you run into any bugs or issues?
• Do you have any other general feedback?

1) Yes, from the panel when first entering the world. However, once off that page, the first place I looked for it was in the Journal.

2) No bugs or issues

3) Suggestions: Make it so that it can be accessed from the Journal. Provide an overview of all zones so we can quickly identify places where the zone is not completed.

Enodoc

Alik'r Desert
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• Rise of the Dead
• The Impervious Vault
• In Search of the Ash'abah
• Morwha's Curse
• The Initiation
• Ash'abah Rising
• Tu'whacca's Breath
• A Reckoning with Uwafa
• Alasan's Plot
• Amputating the Hand
• Restoring the Ansei Wards

Issues

1. Risen From the Depths, Gone Missing, March of the Ra Gada, Trials of the Hero and Imperial Incursion are all marked in-game as "part of the zone story". They are each an important part of the overall story of the Withered Hand (including the red herrings dropped by Shiri, which is integral to the story), so this is definitely correct, and yet they are missing from the Zone Guide. They are not missable and are all part of the main chain of quests through the zone, so they all need to be added.

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• Risen from the Depths
• Rise of the Dead
• The Impervious Vault
• In Search of the Ash'abah
• Morwha's Curse
• The Initiation
• Ash'abah Rising
• Tu'whacca's Breath
• A Reckoning with Uwafa
• Gone Missing
• Alasan's Plot
• March of the Ra Gada
• Trials of the Hero
• Imperial Incursion
• Amputating the Hand
• Restoring the Ansei Wards

Enodoc

Bangkorai
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• A City in Black
• Imperial Infiltration
• Heart of Evil
• The Parley
• Storming the Garrison
• Hallin's Burden
• The Lion's Den
• A Thirst for Revolution
• The Shifting Sands of Fate
• Trials and Tribulations
• To Walk on Far Shores

Issues

1. Beyond the Call is a non-missable quest that is part of the quest chain between Evermore and Jackdaw Cove. It's marked with the new Story Quest marker as "part of the zone story", but is missing from, and therefore needs to be added to, the Zone Guide.

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• A City in Black
• Imperial Infiltration
• Beyond the Call
• Heart of Evil
• The Parley
• Storming the Garrison
• Hallin's Burden
• The Lion's Den
• A Thirst for Revolution
• The Shifting Sands of Fate
• Trials and Tribulations
• To Walk on Far Shores

Jayne_Doe

I found a bug with the Bankorai zone, with the points of interest (I think these are the ones with the eye icon). It showed a completion of 6/7 in the summary, but when I clicked on it to see what I had missed, it showed the pathfinder achievement as completed in March of 2015 and all 7 names were in bold, with a check beside them. So, I've completed all 7, but the summary shows 6/7.

Grimm13

PC with Keyboard/ mouse
Very easy to find and use.

On suggestion to toggle on/off. Maybe have it collapse to be a tab on the side of the map. That it leaves it easy to find and reopen but allows for a more normal view for those that do not want the list all the time.
Or have the Guide show/close toggle on the map.

Enodoc

Grahtwood
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• Unsafe Haven
• Trouble at the Tree
• The Honor of the Queen
• Fit to Rule
• The Grip of Madness
• Lost in Study
• Heart of the Matter
• A Lasting Winter
• The Orrery of Elden Root

Issues

1. As mentioned already, Trouble at the Tree is missable, and therefore cannot be included in the Zone Guide. You are unable to start this quest if you have already accepted its mutually-exclusive partner "The Great Tree" from Ayrenn in Firsthold, or if you have already started "The Honor of the Queen" in Elden Root.

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• Unsafe Haven
• The Honor of the Queen
• Fit to Rule
• The Grip of Madness
• Lost in Study
• Heart of the Matter
• A Lasting Winter
• The Orrery of Elden Root

DarkPicture

Imo u should unlock for each zone a starting wayshrine like summerset have and morrowind, because with new system quest tracker some people who aren't in guilds because they want playing solo, doesnt have access to teleport there. I saw many questions in guilds from people who just started playing a game didnt know how to get to some specific zone because they didnt have access to any wayshrines.

IronWooshu

Need to be added:

- Side Quests
- Skyshards*
- Lore Books*

* I get you want to leave some fun to the explorer to find these things so make it so they become visible once you complete all quests in the zone or once one character finds them they become account wide for other characters.

As a completionist on my main character, tracking side quests would he very helpful allowing me to see if I missed any and helping me out in the future.

Enodoc

Browart wrote: »

Imo u should unlock for each zone a starting wayshrine like summerset have and morrowind, because with new system quest tracker some people who aren't in guilds because they want playing solo, doesnt have access to teleport there. I saw many questions in guilds from people who just started playing a game didnt know how to get to some specific zone because they didnt have access to any wayshrines.

I don't think that in itself is necessary - you just need the marker to point to the Navigator NPCs. Wayshrines are supposed to be a reward for exploration, not an immediate unlock.

Enodoc

Malabal Tor
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• House and Home
• One Fell Swoop
• The Drublog of Dra'bul
• Reap What Is Sown
• The Hound's Plan
• The Prisoner of Jathsogur
• A Wedding to Attend
• Restore the Silvenar

Issues

1. There are no technical issues here, but there are continuity issues. The Hound's Plan sends you to Jathsogur to search for the Silvenar, but is still available even after you've rescued him, and A Wedding to Attend has you going to Silvenar for the wedding even if it's already happened. In most other locations, quests like these which only exist to take you to the next location are made unavailable once you have started the next quest, so that continuity is not broken like this. These quests either need to be rendered unavailable if the next quest has been started, and thus removed from the Zone Guide, or they need to be set as prerequisites for the next quest so they can't be bypassed, like The Drublog of Dra'bul.

There are also two story-relevant quests that aren't part of the quest chain (The Hound's Men in Deepwoods, and A Tale Forever Told in Valeguard), but that issue is covered in another thread as it does not directly relate to the Zone Guide.

Enodoc

Reaper's March
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• Grim Situation
• Grimmer Still
• The Colovian Occupation
• Stonefire Machinations
• A Door Into Moonlight
• The First Step
• Motes in the Moonlight
• The Fires of Dune

Complete "The Fires of Dune" to unlock more quests.

Issues

1. The Guide shows x/10 completed quests for this zone, but there are only 8 listed, as it says you need to Complete "The Fires of Dune" to unlock more quests. There is no reason to hide the final two quests of this zone - The Moonlit Path and The Den of Lorkhaj - behind The Fires of Dune. No other zone hides its final quests behind an earlier one, and there are many other zones where you need to complete one quest to unlock more. Six quests already listed here require a quest higher up in the list to be completed before they are unlocked, but none of those are hidden. For Betnikh, this sort of note makes sense, as you can't even start the zone story there before finishing the story in Stros M'kai; but in Reaper's March, there is no restriction like this, as the start of the story is always available. There is therefore no reason to hide part of the list behind completion of an earlier quest. (Unless you hide every unavailable quest until it becomes available, but that would mean editing the setup for every Zone Guide list, and reducing the initial list here to just Grim Situation and The Colovian Occupation.)

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• Grim Situation
• Grimmer Still
• The Colovian Occupation
• Stonefire Machinations
• A Door Into Moonlight
• The First Step
• Motes in the Moonlight
• The Fires of Dune
• The Moonlit Path
• The Den of Lorkhaj

Enodoc

Bal Foyen
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• If By Sea
• Crossroads

Complete "Crossroads" to unlock another quest.

Issues

1. This is an issue that reappears in Deshaan and Coldharbour as well, and it is probably more relevant there, as there are more quests that it affects. The final quest in Bal Foyen is hidden behind completion of Crossroads because completing Crossroads determines what the final quest will be - Breaking the Tide or Zeren in Peril. However I think it would be more useful for players if they could see that choice in advance. Such quests could be listed in the Zone Guide as
   Complete One:
   • Quest A
   • Quest B
   or just listed directly, with the one that is made unavailable as a result of the choice either removed or crossed out afterwards. The Map Completion counter already shows how many quests need to be completed, so a list that is longer than that initially, from which a quest is removed, would not be a major issue.
   Removing or adding quests from the list later on is clearly possible - it happens already with Stros M'Kai, where The Broken Spearhead is replaced with The Spearhead's Captain depending on quests completed.

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• If By Sea
• Crossroads
• Breaking the Tide
• Zeren in Peril

Enodoc

Deshaan
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• Bad Medicine
• Proprietary Formula
• Quest for the Cure
• For Their Own Protection
• Unwanted Guests
• Fighting Back

Issues

1. The Zone Guide says there are 18 quests to complete, but it only shows 6. There are at least 10 story quests in Deshaan which can be completed without even starting any of those six, and none of them show up when you have completed them until you complete Fighting Back. As with Bal Foyen and Reaper's March, there is no reason to hide the rest of the quests behind a particular one, especially if that quest is not a prerequisite to starting the others. For the specific choice between Ratting Them Out and A Timely Matter, which does depend on Fighting Back, both can be shown, with the one you don't take being removed once the choice has been made.
2. A Timely Matter has the Story Quest marker in the journal, but is missing it on the quest pins (map, compass and floating markers).
3. Restless Spirits and Rescue and Revenge are both marked in-game as "part of the zone story", and are part of the quest chain after The Seal of Three and before A Saint Asunder, but they are missing from the Zone Guide.

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• Bad Medicine
• Proprietary Formula
• Quest for the Cure
• For Their Own Protection
• Unwanted Guests
• Fighting Back
• Ratting Them Out
• A Timely Matter
• Hiding in Plain Sight
• Death Trap
• Payback
• Plague Bringer
• A Favor Returned
• The Mournhold Underground
• The Seal of Three
• Restless Spirits
• Rescue and Revenge
• A Saint Asunder
• Into the Mouth of Madness
• Motive for Heresy
• The Judgment of Veloth

Enodoc

The Rift
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• Beneath the Stone
• Unearthed
• Storming the Hall
• To Vernim Woods
• Dangerous Union
• Gift of the Worm
• Through the Shroud
• To Nimalten
• Concealed Weapons
• Pinepeak Caverns
• Tomb Beneath the Mountain
• The Shackled Guardian
• Shatterd Hopes
• A Giant in Smokefrost Peaks
• In His Wake
• Pulled Under
• Securing the Pass
• Stomping Sinmur

Issues

1. There are no technical issues here, but there are inconsistencies with other zones. To Vernim Woods, To Nimalten, Pinepeak Caverns, and A Giant in Smokefrost Peaks are all pointer quests which send you to the next location to continue the story, but are all available even if you have already completed the story quest they lead to. To Vernim Woods and Pinepeak Caverns are directly relevant to the quests at the locations they are pointing to, and it makes no sense for these quest givers to ask for your help after you have already solved the problems there. In most other locations, quests like these which only exist to take you to the next location are made unavailable once you have started the next quest. These quests should be rendered unavailable if the next quest has been started, and thus removed from the Zone Guide.

General story continuity issues also exist in The Rift, including being able to defeat Sinmur and Thallik at Trolhetta before they merge at Arcwind Point, collecting the Shards of Wuuthrad before it's been shattered at Arcwind Point, and seeing Wuuthrad shatter before it is stolen from Fallowstone. You can also go through everything else involving Sinmur's rampage across the zone before he's even been raised by the Reachmen in Shor's Stone. These issues however are not directly related to the Zone Guide, and are covered in that other thread mentioned previously.

Enodoc

Coldharbour
Current Zone Guide Story Quests

• The Hollow City
• The Army of Meridia
• Vanus Unleashed
• Breaking the Shackle
• Into the Woods

Complete "Into the Woods" to unlock more quests.

Issues

1. The Guide shows 11 quests to be completed for this zone, but there are only 5 listed, due to the rest being hidden behind Into the Woods. An Unusual Curcumstance and The Shadow's Embrace are the two quests that are chosen between during Into the Woods, and could both be shown until one is chosen. Once the choice is made, the other one would be removed.
2. The quests in the guide are technically in the wrong order, as the Groundskeeper recommends finding King Dynar before Vanus Galerion, which also matches the original level progression of Coldharbour. This means that Vanus Unleashed and Breaking the Shackle should be listed after Light from the Darkness, rather than before Into the Woods.

Corrected Zone Guide Story Quests

• The Hollow City
• The Army of Meridia
• Into the Woods
• Complete One:
  • The Shadow's Embrace
  • An Unusual Circumstance
• Light from the Darkness
• Vanus Unleashed
• Breaking the Shackle
• Crossing the Chasm
• The Harvest Heart
• The Citadel Must Fall
• The Final Assault

Enodoc

Other Story Quest Inconsistencies

Craglorn

• The quests The Corrupted Stone and The Shattered and the Lost were originally part of the story quests for Craglorn, before the zone was relaunched with One Tamriel. These quests are still important to the overall story, as they explain the relevance of Apex Stones which are encountered later on, and they are still required for the story achievement Celestial Investigator. By that measure, these quests should be included as part of the Zone Guide's story quests. However, they are still marked as Group Quests, even though the rest of the story quests had that definition removed.

Gold Coast / Hew's Bane

• The Dark Brotherhood quest Contract: Kvatch is included in the Zone Story Quests for the Gold Coast and is a prerequisite for A Lesson in Silence, but the equivalent quest for the Thieves Guild - The Cutpuse's Craft - is not included in the Zone Story Quests for Hew's Bane and is not a prerequisite for Cleaning House.

Enodoc

Points of Interest
Craglorn
Craglorn is missing 5 Points of Interest:

• Belkarth
• Dragonstar
• Skyreach Catacombs
• Skyreach Hold
• Skyreach Pinnacle

Imperial City
Imperial City is missing 9 Points of Interest in the Sewers, and 12 in the Districts:

• Aldmeri Dominion Base
• Daggerfall Covenant Base
• Ebonheart Pact Base
• Ladder to Arboretum
• Ladder to Arena District
• Ladder to Elven Gardens
• Ladder to Memorial District
• Ladder to Nobles District
• Ladder to Temple District
• Bone Shard Trophy Vault
• Clawed Trophy Vault
• Ethereal Trophy Vault
• Legionary Trophy Vault
• Monstrous Tooth Trophy Vault
• Planar Armor Trophy Vault
• Sewer Entrance
• Sewer Entrance
• Sewer Entrance
• Sewer Entrance
• Sewer Entrance
• Sewer Entrance

I would also recommend renaming the six "Sewer Entrances" so they are all unique:

• Arboretum Sewer Entrance
• Arena Sewer Entrance
• Elven Gardens Sewer Entrance
• Memorial Sewer Entrance
• Nobles Sewer Entrance
• Temple Sewer Entrance

Enodoc

Whoever was Insightful-ing all of my posts didn't Insightful my Betnikh post on Page 1

That's all of the bugs/issues I can find; in terms of other feedback:

• Others have already mentioned Side Quests, so I don't need to repeat that.
• There is currently no record of Group Dungeons or Arenas in the Zone Guide; aside from the missing POIs that I called out above, I think they are the only discoverable locations in zones that are not accounted for. These could be added in the same manner as the Public Dungeons.
• The Zone Guide is very good for measuring story progression within a zone, and helping you do the quests in the right order, but its existence now highlights the lack of an overall "Story Guide", which would help you do the zone stories collectively in the right order. A Story Guide would list all the zone stories relevant to a larger overarching story in one place - currently, those would be the Planemeld (covering the Alliance Zones, the Main Quest, and the Imperial City), the Daedric War (covering Vvardenfell, Clockwork City, and Summerset), the new Season of the Dragon, and "Other" (Craglorn, Wrothgar, Hew's Bane, Gold Coast, Murkmire).
• It would be good to add the Prologue Quests in somewhere, as they are by definition relevant to the story of the zone that they precede. They could be directly added to the Zone Story of the zone itself, or with a Story Guide, they could be listed separately.

heaven13

Just came to check the feedback regarding the new zone guide. I didn't have a chance to test on PTS but couldn't figure out where the side quests were (which was what I was most excited about). I see it's a pretty unanimous point of feedback that went unaddressed. Is there any chance of getting this at some point in the future?