Why would you choose Bosmer for a necromancer?
Cundu_Ertur wrote: »After reading ProbablePaul's improbable assertion that Bosmer are still somehow a stealthy race, I started to think: what if he (assuming a gender here) actually is referring to stealth as the specialization or set of skills as was the case in Oblivion and Morrowind? That led to two trains of thought. However, before we get there, some definitions. In this post I will use the word 'sneak' exclusively to refer to the act of hiding or moving in hiding. The word 'stealth' will at all times in this post refer only to the set of skills not related to magic or combat. A 'stealthy' race will be one that has most of its bonuses to skills not in the sets of combat or magic skills. A 'sneaky' race will be one that has bonuses to sneaking. Hopefully this will remove or reduce the ambiguity of the discussion.
The first thought is the easy refutation: counter-sneak is not necessarily a stealth skill. We can't know what it would be because skill specializations do not and have not existed in ESO, and there is no comparable skill that has ever existed in any TES game before. Of the classic stealth skills, only sneak and pickpocket have any racial bonus in ESO. That's it. Bosmer now have no bonus at all to either. So the assertion that Bosmer are still a stealthy race is entirely false. As has been noted, Imperials are now better at sneaking around now, and so they are arguable the second most stealthy race at this point; Bosmer are tied for last.
Which brings me to the second thought I had: we have constantly asserted that Bosmer have always been a stealthy and sneaky race, but never have we shown this in a comprehensive data-driven way. So what I did was create a stealthiness index using the racial skill bonuses and attribute bonuses/weaknesses in Oblivion. Bonuses are always in multiples of five, so for every 5 point value I used an index value of 1.
For Skyrim, this was easy, just add up the index values for all of the racial skill bonuses for each specialization: warrior, mage, theif. The result was that Bosmer was at the top, with an index of 7 (all bonuses were for stealth skills); Khajiit second with 6; Argonian 5; and Dunmer 3. Pretty much what everyone would expect.SpoilerFull table of stealth index values in Skyrim, sorted from high to low:
Bosmer 7
Khajiit 6
Argonian 5
Dunmer 3
Breton 2
Nord 2
Redguard 1
Altmer 0
Orc 0
Imperial 0
Calculating the Oblivion index was much, much harder. Since there were attributes with racial attribute bonuses AND different attributes governed different skills AND there were different bonuses based on gender, there was a lot more to do. I abandoned the idea of making a comprehensive list for both Oblivion and Morrowind, and instead focused on a comprehensive list for just Oblivion and limited Morrowind to comparing Bosmer and Khajiit. In Oblivion Bosmer females were top dog with a stealthiness index of 16, Bosmer males 12, Khajiit of both genders 11, Argonian males 8 (Argonian females were the 3rd best mages, BTW), and Dunmer females 6. Orc females, on the other hand, are at -13 -- just one off from the theoretical minimum.SpoilerExplanation for how values were derived.
Each attribute has a bonus of +/- 5 or 10, so the index is still 1 for each 5 points. Each attribute governs 3 skills, which will be of one or two different specializations: for example speed governs combat and stealth skills. So the index for each attribute is multiplied by how many stealth skills are governed by that attribute. Negative values are possible (and very common it turns out). The racial skill bonus is still 1 point for every 5 bonus points; there are 9 points in total for each race across the 3 specializations. This data will be shown as: race, gender, total index value (attribute bonus + skill bonus).
Bosmer female 16 (+10+6)
Bosmer male 12 (+6+6)
Khajiit both 11 (+6+5)
Argonian male 8 (+6+2)
Dunmer female 6 (+4+2)
Imperial male 2 (-2+4)
Dunmer male 2 (0+2)
Redguard female 1 (0+1)
Altmer female 0 (0+0)
Redguard male -1 (-2+1)
Imperial female -2 (-6+4)
Argonian female -2 (-4+2)
Nord both -4 (-4+0)
Altmer male -4 (-4+0)
Breton female -6 (-6+0)
Breton male -8 (-8+0)
Orc male -11 (-11 +0)
Orc female -13 (-13+0)
I'm not surprised by the values for Orcs. If an Orc wants to hide from you he'll just rip your eyes out.
Using the Oblivion values as a baseline, I can analyze what happens with Khajiit and Bosmer in Morrowind. Strength and intelligence each add an additional skill (one for each) while the remaining attributes' index values are unchanged. This results in Bosmer of both genders and Khajiit females losing 2 index points. Khajiit racial bonuses gain 1 index point. So the final effect is Bosmer females are still on top with 14 points, Khajiit males are second with 12, Bosmer males and Khajiit females are tied for third at 10.
The results are clear. Bosmer and Khajiit have always been consistently the two most stealthy races since racial bonuses existed. However, it is equally clear that Bosmer have always held a slight edge between the two races. The current situation, where Khajiit are the ONLY race to have a meaningful advantage in stealthiness (keep in mind this is across all stealth skills not just sneak, though that certainly is a part) is both unique and wrong.
Kalle_Demos wrote: »
An excellent breakdown and presentation of data that highlights the absurdity of this situation. Anyone that claims that the Bosmer were never the stealthy race or that they are still stealthy are objectively wrong on multiple fronts. With the implementation of these racials and the negative affect they have had on Bosmer players, ZOS continues to display the fact that they are not serious when it comes Lore and communication despite claiming so.
Their goals for the racials included Lore accuracy, uniqueness, equalization and universal applicability. In regards to Bosmer and I would argue a few other races this endeavor was an absolute failure. Bosmer lost their place as race skilled in stealth gameplay and this was replaced with nothing. Stealth detect has very limited applications and usefulness in PVP and in completely null in PVE while in comparison other races received and maintained bonuses that are applicable to every style of play. This leaves the Bosmer at a disadvantage and the Lore aspect speaks for itself.
Give Bosmer their stealth back.
Cundu_Ertur wrote: »
ZoS left themselves open to this line of attack by repeatedly claiming a lore basis for these changes and patting themselves on the back for the most lore-friendly changes in the history of ever, so we have every right to call them on their … uhmmmm, I'm supposed to keep this civil so how can I say "BS" without actually saying "BS?" … um, let's go with inaccuracies. So we can call them on their inaccuracies.
However, by all means that doesn't mean we should ignore the practical aspects and you are correct, too, to note that what we have instead is uselessness scraped from the bottom of the barrel labelled "crap."
The whole stealth/counter-stealth gameplay thing could be interesting IF WE WEREN'T IN THE SAME ALLIANCE. Putting the stealth and counter-stealth races in the same alliance was just … ugh damn to the depths whatever mutton-head came up with civility! … I have no words available to me to describe the foolishness of it.
"Civility" is going to give me an aneurysm.
Bosmer. The smallest race in the game. Known for their stealthiness. For some reason gets a stealth detection bonus and not the Khajit bonus of a smaller stealth radius.
Stealth detection is also useless in PVE. Why not just give Khajit and Bosmer the same bonus!
Today on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/bv56fz/the_smallest_race_in_the_game_doesnt_get_a/
It kills me that people are still using that "Meh, stealth radius is useless too" argument in response to the uselessness of Stealth Detection. *headdesk*
Edit: I had to comment. Prepping for downvotes.
Cundu_Ertur wrote: »I would give that comment a gazillion upvotes. We should have the Khajiit bonus, and stealth detection is completely useless. I wasn't sure what you are upset with until I saw the comment you were actually referring to. So, yeah, downvote that other guy.
Cundu_Ertur wrote: »
Oooo ooo ooo math! Sweet, lemme pull up my scientific Windows calculator, grab a slide rule, and get some graph paper! Ok, let's see.... carry the one... take the integral... apply a fourier transform... let's just throw a pi in there because everything is better with pi... hit the equals button and:
ZERO.
So there's your answer.
barney2525 wrote: »
You for got to multiply in the 4.5209 throrium schemus principal... which always, except on Tuesdays with a full moon, carries a negative 38.062945 raction factor ... and then divide one third of the result by Pi X squared.
Actual final result - 0.00
Also, I can't believe this thread is Still going on
Cundu_Ertur wrote: »My highly intermittent OCD kicked in, and I couldn't leave my number crunching incomplete. So here's some more numbers:
Morrowind stealth index (see my comment above in the Oblivion spoiler for how it was calculated):
Bosmer female 16 (+8+8)
Khajiit male 14 (+6+8)
Bosmer male 12 (+4+8)
Khajiit female 12 (+4+8)
Dunmer female 8 (+4+4)
Argonian male 6 (+6+0)
Imperial male 4 (-2+6)
Dunmer male 4 (0+4)
Imperial female 0 (-6+6)
Altmer female 0 (0+0)
Redguard female -1 (-2+1)
Argonian female -2 (-2+0)
Redguard male -3 (-4+1)
Nord both -4 (-4+0)
Altmer male -4 (-4+0)
Breton female -6 (-6+0)
Breton male -8 (-8+0)
Orc both -12 (-12 +0)
Each race gender averaged (Morrowind):
Bosmer 14
Khajiit 13
Dunmer 6
Argonian 2
Imperial 2
Altmer -2
Redguard -2
Nord -4
Breton -7
Orc -12
Each race gender averaged (Oblivion):
Bosmer 14
Khajiit 11
Dunmer 4
Argonian 3
Imperial 0
Redguard -1
Altmer -2
Nord -4
Breton -8
Orc -12
Each race stealth index averaged for all 3 games (rounded to nearest integer):
Bosmer 12
Khajiit 10
Dunmer 4
Argonian 3
Imperial 1
Redguard -1
Altmer -1
Nord -2
Breton -4
Orc -8
Full disclosure: Bosmer was exactly 11.666666666666666666666666666666666666666666... which rounds to 12.
MLGProPlayer wrote: »
ZOS threw lore out the window as soon as Lawrence left.
The change was made while he was still the loremaster.
The change was made while he was still the loremaster.
Could be why he left.
I'd be mad too, if the beautiful tale your storytellers had crafted over two decades of time was all unceremoniously flushed and replaced with something totally contrary to universal knowledge and conjured out of a trash decon armor set.
Would you want to be the guy who had to tell his people all those quest dialogues they worked overtime to perfect would from here on out read as nonsense for years to come? Me either.
I'd quit, too!
MLGProPlayer wrote: »
Sure, with one foot out the door. Nobody gives a *** about their job anymore after they tender their resignation.
The news that Lawrence was leaving came weeks into the PTS. ZOS knew about the changes way before that. If that was the reason he left he would have left earlier.
Besides, we know the reason he left was a family member moving away. You guys trying to spin this for your own agenda is absolutely disgusting.
Or they didn't know and you're blowing it out of proportion.
The news that Lawrence was leaving came weeks into the PTS. ZOS knew about the changes way before that. If that was the reason he left he would have left earlier.
Besides, we know the reason he left was a family member moving away. You guys trying to spin this for your own agenda is absolutely disgusting.
MLGProPlayer wrote: »
The only reason we found out about Lawrence leaving early is because someone who was in the same guild as someone who knew Lawrence leaked the information on the forums. ZOS then came out with a formal statement.
He very likely could have let them know much earlier than that.