Greymoor Chapter review. No Spoilers.

Moonsorrow

Okay so, did my testing and a lot of things felt good. Obviously the test server ping from EU is not the best since it is located at the US. Not much new things coming to PVP, that i play the most of my gaming time, with Veteran dungeons and stuff on the side for Undaunted and obviously for gear that can use at PVP, like monster sets and many really good PVP gear comes from DLC dungeons. Some of this i have said on PTS already, some are new additions after some more testing, gonna try to keep it "short" and to the point! (nah, gonna end up a wall of text for sure)

+ I like many things, fixes to passives working for pets, some general fixes and QoL stuff.

+ I like the Mythic items and the hunt for them, the builds i can make with those will be fun. It feels challenging to get them, but i like challenges.

+ Generally liking the WW changes, Pack leader with Minor Courage is a fun & cool addition. Opens up fun options for a PVP wolfpack. And why not for dungeons too!

+ liking a lot of the Itemization changes, many monster sets 1p Health bonus replaced with something else was nice. Tormentor's set gets a special mention, new ways to taunt is fun and efficient on certain kind of content with a group of friends. Loving it! Many set changes feel good. Yes, i am a bit sad about Blood Spawn being "cut in half".. But i can adapt to that. In most cases was already running 3 damage sets (at pvp) and mitigating actively with other means. Still, couple of my characters will still use it, since hey - nothing else to replace it even in its nerfed state lol.

+ New zone looks amazing, beautiful details, atmosphere is nice and gothic, some Skyrim flashbacks can happen.. sounds, ambience, it is all great - immersive to just go around doing random things, going through a new big zone always feels good. Not doing spoilers about it, greatly done is enough to tell about it. Did not try the new Trial yet, wanna leave it for when it is on Live servers.

- Vampire revamp feels like it will need some adjustments when next DLC update comes at fall when ZOS sees most just cures their Vampire away since the new Kiss-Curse model of it has way more Curse than it has any Kisses going on.. so to say.

But even on the Vampire line i like some things, can make some imaginative combos.. and that it is just not a passive bonus line for most to squeeze in some percents of extra regen. But, for those who not using it for anything than RP looks, that 3% more costing skills if you do trials and stuff.. will probably make you cure it away, so.. yeah, revamping the vampire seems to mean pushing more people away from playing it. Other than playing some Goliath form #2 with it at PVP. Vampire needs work still with the % penalties imo.

Also, having not much at all Class skill changes this time was a good and welcomed break from those, we had already a year and a half of that roller coaster of big up and downs on tool tips and functions of old skills on the audit, so this felt good this time. Heh, funny that such can be a positive thing but for sure it is.

So yeah, lots of good things coming at Greymoor in my humble opinion, so put on some warm clothes and sharpen your blades for next tuesday - new adventures await! I bought the Chapter and am waiting anxiously to get to playing it for real.

PS: To be a typical pvp player.. i have to put something on the end, a wish that the performance fixes coming will be helping this time and not making things worse at Cyrodiil. By the way, about Cyrodiil.. since nothing really new comes to PVP, would be fun if Cyrodiil map was changed to a winter version of the map, where even the keeps would be covered in heavy snow, making it atleast look different even it would be the same under a paint job. We have looked the same Cyrodiil for years, making it look fresh atleast would be great. Also.. please, pretty please replace the Cyrodiil loadscreen already with some other picture(s), we have stared at that same picture for far, far too long. Please?

I thank the ZOS team for your effort, Greymoor looks and feels awesome to play and you done a lot of work at special conditions from home due to the world situation, for us to get entertainment while many of us are also still stuck at home on many countries most time of the day. I love getting new toys to play with. Cheers and see ya all at the new zone next week!

PPS: Please consider giving Bosmer it`s Stealthy Racial passive back soon(tm). Wish i could put this on so tiny text that people would have to zoom in to see it lol. But it had to be said, again.

-Moonsorrow

MartiniDaniels

Nice non-biased opinion.
No drama or controversy, nothing to add to such review

Moonsorrow

MartiniDaniels wrote: »

Nice non-biased opinion.
No drama or controversy, nothing to add to such review

Thanks!

Yeah, tried to keep it without biased views or anything typical like that. Funny thing is that being negative and creating drama means more Agree and Awesome farming at this forum haha.

Only small (haha) thing was the remark about Bosmer's Stealthy passive, that i got a small bias towards on since ever since the racial change been hoping there was TWO races to pick for Stealthy activities instead of one. Oh well.

Reviews are just that, opinions and this was surprisingly (even to myself) low on drama. Greymoor after testing felt like it has value to be bought and feels like a quality Update, with some things needing work/adjustments on later Updates, like the Vampire penalty values and so on.

I think there are plenty of people like me who feel after testing that Greymoor is a good buy all in all. But it is not fashionable to say such positive things here. This is ESO forums, where salt and angry rants are the most commented topics.

I know it has no new class or a new skill line (revamp comes to base game also for free), like Summerset had Jewelry crafting, it has no epic dragons hype like Elsweyr had, but.. it just feels epic for other reasons.

Lara Croft (or Indy Jones, whatever you prefer) RP intensifies when going after those Mythic items around Tamriel.

I think i am not the only one who actually bought Greymoor after testing it? But people not wanna say it out loud, it is like buying Crown Crates, guilty pleasures of life that one stays silent about but does it anyways. Also Pacrooti said i have a very lucky aura tonight. Not sure if serious or.. just saying that to get my Crowns..

MartiniDaniels

Well, last year I was holding on to pre-order Elsweyr, but eventually did it just few days before release, because Sunspire was too good to delay it and because my guildies were readying to farm it. But this year I'm not sure... all my guilds stopped raiding consistently and though I definitely need mythics for new builds, ZOS sends us to re-grind arena weapons first, so I maybe wait until U27..

Moonsorrow

MartiniDaniels wrote: »

Well, last year I was holding on to pre-order Elsweyr, but eventually did it just few days before release, because Sunspire was too good to delay it and because my guildies were readying to farm it. But this year I'm not sure... all my guilds stopped raiding consistently and though I definitely need mythics for new builds, ZOS sends us to re-grind arena weapons first, so I maybe wait until U27..

Yeah, the re-grind of arena weapons, especially vMA was not nicely done. With vDSA i can understand it since it makes oldies do it again, so new players can find groups to there also more easily.

But yeah, i also was disappointed about the Perfected vMA weapon decision to not get upgraded. Should have mentioned that on the review too now that you brought that up.

Parasaurolophus

Moonsorrow wrote: »

Also, having not much at all Class skill changes this time was a good and welcomed break from those, we had already a year and a half of that roller coaster of big up and downs on tool tips and functions of old skills on the audit, so this felt good this time. Heh, funny that such can be a positive thing but for sure it is.

Sorry, but you say that the game has reached the perfect balance. But this is far from the case. The balance is bad, especially in pvp. And yes, changes in class balance are needed.

idk

Moonsorrow wrote: »

- Vampire revamp feels like it will need some adjustments when next DLC update comes at fall when ZOS sees most just cures their Vampire away since the new Kiss-Curse model of it has way more Curse than it has any Kisses going on.. so to say.

I doubt Zos makes any major changes to the vampire line in the next DLC. If, and it is still an if, the vampire line is not very usable with the changes that go live they will likely put some time between this update and when they try to make any major change. We might see some tweaks in the meantime, maybe to the passive costs and cost reduction, but that will likely be about it.

Morrowind update is a good example of what I am saying. Zos heavily-reduced sustain to the point we have to heavily rely on heavy attacks but over time that was eased.

But good opinion piece you posed. Not arguing with it.

Moonsorrow

BrownChicken wrote: »

Moonsorrow wrote: »

Also, having not much at all Class skill changes this time was a good and welcomed break from those, we had already a year and a half of that roller coaster of big up and downs on tool tips and functions of old skills on the audit, so this felt good this time. Heh, funny that such can be a positive thing but for sure it is.

Sorry, but you say that the game has reached the perfect balance. But this is far from the case. The balance is bad, especially in pvp. And yes, changes in class balance are needed.

I did not say game has reached perfect balance, or can you find such a quote from that post?

What i said and meant was that this time we did not have big nerfs to class skills, to things that might need adjustments and on top of that there always comes nerfs that were not asked, needed or wanted, by pretty much by anyone who understands the game.

And thus.. no changes was better than the nuclear bombing approach of nerfs that usually happen.

I seriously not know anyone in the game from my friends atleast who has liked the nerf-buff-nerf-buff every 3 months that has been the last year and a half. Like the DoTs for example. People got tired of changing their whole playstyle and builds and many class/weapon/guild skills changed so many times to be either too good to not use or so bad that not even worth a skill slot anymore.

For your information, i bet they will do Class balance changes again after summer, unless something is seriously broken that needs fast action after a massive uproar (remember the first iteration of Sload's after Summerset launch).

ZOS had propably tight time schedule for this one, working from home and all that. So the Dungeon DLC after summer will have the things you want in it, aka balancing. You will most likely then wish you had not wanted it and it would not had happened. Since it never goes the way you think it will. Not only do they nerf possibly (might even not) the things you want, but they can and often will nerf the things you like and see as balanced already.

So, like.. yeah. *shrugs*

To me it was a good thing not much Class changes this time, because Moonsorrow, like the North, remembers..

*replace the word North with a Nord if you are about to raise a Lore fanatic finger in anger.

MerguezMan

That's rather a review of the Greymoor patch...

I expected more about the chapter itself, keeping updates to the base game as sidenotes.

Moonsorrow

idk wrote: »

Moonsorrow wrote: »

- Vampire revamp feels like it will need some adjustments when next DLC update comes at fall when ZOS sees most just cures their Vampire away since the new Kiss-Curse model of it has way more Curse than it has any Kisses going on.. so to say.

I doubt Zos makes any major changes to the vampire line in the next DLC. If, and it is still an if, the vampire line is not very usable with the changes that go live they will likely put some time between this update and when they try to make any major change. We might see some tweaks in the meantime, maybe to the passive costs and cost reduction, but that will likely be about it.

Morrowind update is a good example of what I am saying. Zos heavily-reduced sustain to the point we have to heavily rely on heavy attacks but over time that was eased.

But good opinion piece you posed. Not arguing with it.

Thanks, appreciate your feedback!

And i agree with you on that the adjustments at next DLC, or after it, will be most likely small, but i expect some. But i see from my crystal ball that their focus then will again be at the Class skill roulette.

Would be funny if like many expects Stamcro to be nerfed then (for pvp), but Magcro would be then one taking most of the actual nerfs and some other changes would end up indirectly just buffing Stamcro. Some are waiting for buffs to NB in general, would be funny to see NB being nerfed. And by funny i mean.. it is ZOS, it can happen. My Magblade endures, even if i occasionally cry a bit inside. But hey, i can still Cloak and escape! Who knows when Cloak gets removed.. So i stay silent and wish that part of class identity is not ripped away too eventually. It would hurt. Seriously.

So people who are asking for Class changes anxiously or any other big skill changes.. they must be new here or not learned their lesson yet.

Moonsorrow

MerguezMan wrote: »

That's rather a review of the Greymoor patch...

I expected more about the chapter itself, keeping updates to the base game as sidenotes.

Then would have had to go on a spoilery road i think..

I focused on the tech side of things perhaps due to keeping it as simple and to the point as mucs as i can, i get sidetracked way too easily haha.

But yes, the actual Chapter PVE content of things i felt it was good quality and sorta that was enough i wanted to say about it.

The adventuring feels fun in the new Zone and the Voice Acting is top level stuff again combined with the music and sound effects. Sound world is spectacular if wanna use a grand term like that.

Gothic dark adventure with vampires and werewolves, witches.. and unlimited power! And you, the Champion arriving to the troubled lands. My "hero" felt more like a villain, leaving dead bodies everywhere. People are my dinner.

Moonsorrow

Update after some time played Greymoor on Live server:

1. Live launch had troubles, plenty of maintenances, troubles and bugs. Many of them got fixed fast (enough), allthough mmo players patience is always short, since we are all addicted to this game and every maintenance feels like always happening at the wrong time. Problems were expected (well i did), since big launch and ZOS devs having to work from home, would have been a miracle if no problems at all. Now things play rather smooth, server strain on primetime obviously still feels in ping spikes and all that. But most time of the day i am getting a steady 100fps (is it capped to that btw?) and ping is 60-80. So rather smooth on my gaming rig.

2. Harrowstorms seems to get bugged on up and below (Blackreach) occasionally and then none of the others activate and that one storm is like activating but nothing happens, even if you would wait for hours on that storm, yeah i did wait lol.

3. Main story feels a bit short compared to Elsweyr imo, but the side quests are fun and cool to do, and always nice to get named gear to the zones overland sets from the side quests as end reward.

- Eternal Vigor set is really cool for no-cp pvp. Actually have found use for all sets from new zone, the crafted ones got some really good potential. Spell Parasite set after testing on a Frost Staff tank (as a tank that does also easily 30-40k dps on the side) had some hilarious results on sustain at dungeons. I do love a good sustain. Winter`s Respite is cool too, nice effect and nice heal amount, good for stationary fights on some just-for-fun-builds(tm), i prefer still Hiti`s over it, since it moves with you and has the sustain utility attached to it. Still, WR has that snowy Skyrim-like ground effect for RP intensifying feeling, Frostden Healers theme set for sure to use on casual content, enough heals to not need that much own ability ground HoTs running, easy times on the Easy Street. Nice to combo with certain other sets. And Stuhn`s.. not gonna explain it, one does not talk about Stuhn - one uses it (at pvp).

4. Antiquities.. many said before the Chapter that "its gonna be boring not gonna do them and no one else does also!" well, people are doing and digging them up all over Tamriel, many i know are really excited about them and for many it has been one of the most fun and addictive things to be introduced to this game. Really well done furnitures, adornments, markings, emotes and stuff can be found and obviously the Mythic gear are great, theory crafting and lots of fun doing builds with them. The scrying feels like a phone app minigame, and the colors and feel of it could have been made a bit more ESO-ish, it feels like your character is taking their iPhone from their pocket and playing with it.. maybe could have made the color theme and UI of it feel more Dwemerish on design. But, oh well - still liking the hunting of stuff myself too, so yeah.. well done ZOS, made us go all around the world, and when finding rare leads that take some effort, there really is a feeling of accomplishment and that mmo players "high". ZOS gave us free Skooma taste, and now we are running all over the world to get more of that feeling. Gotta get 'em all, i have never used Shovel so much in my life!

5. PVP, while some not like the healing nerf that was done to Battle Spirit (right way to do it i say again without messing up PVE), and it does not treat all classes/specs equally, still it has worked sorta as intended, people have to make sacrifices on their builds, and specialize more and not be a tank/healer/dps all in one, not at same efficiency atleast, especially on no-cp. Balance is not perfect, those with Defiles and good Shields (and Streak..) are a bit stronger than those without built-in access to them, others have to sacrifice more to get to near that level of universal (solo) playability atleast. Burst damage is high and TTK feels good imo, if only all classes/specs felt more balanced on this situation i would consider this one of the best patches for PVP, well that and if a miracle happened and the Cyro primetime lag would disappear.

-If i get zerged and die, i do not have a fragile ego that would need to complain about it and that i should survive pretty much anything. I accept the occasional deaths.. if and when they manage to catch me first lol. Movement & positioning is more important than ever. As it should be. Still can do troll tank builds, but now they do not have even the small damage they did have before.

- New Lancer siege weapons are cool, i have all 3 of them and fun to use, cool looks and sound effects. Loving them. Damage is nothing op though, i can do more damage with a Treb or 2 on peeps at a keep wall and so on. Fun to use still and if hits some really stacked group and others shoot with Coldharbor ballista to same targets, some nice AP can happen.

Did i miss anything? Hmm.. oh the way they changed on how to get the Paintings was nice, easier now to go hunt some valuable Paintings by just picking the right zone. Need that sweet gold.. to upgrade pvp gear to golden and all shiny. Already made some nice Painting sales. Thank you good customers - come again!

All in all, even i am often salty about so many things.. i am loving playing the Greymoor Chapter for many reasons. PVP balance on classes needs some looking into (please not make it affect pve though), and please no overkill changes (nerfs) that just makes other class(es) the top dogs instead of current ones. Small fine-tuning.. Major Defile on BB, that hits like a truck also.. on a patch with less healing, needs some attention.. "little" things like that. I play Stamcro also (all classes and specs), Blighted Blastbones needs some of your famous "Kiss-Curse" on it, or atleast make it just Minor Defile. It feels dirty to use when playing with it. I like fresh and clean things and kills haha.

I know a lot of forum people are salty grumpycats that always focus on even the smallest negative things, anyone saying anything positive is some "whiteknight" and/or ZOS devs 2nd account or something lol.. so risking being marked as such i still say i love playing this Chapter. Lots of things to do and on many days i have played over 12 hours, yeah thats a lot.. so well done ZOS! Please remember to fix old bugs too, even you are busy with the next DLC and probably doing already next years Chapter. Pretty please.

@ZOS_RichLambert

Some constructive and mainly positive feedback for you, hope you got time to check it out while enjoying morning coffee, tea or whiskey (idk, could be possible, big bosses always have a bottle of whiskey hidden in the office). Jokes aside, atleast unleash the Wheels & Rogue team to do tiny Kiss-Curses at the needed thing(s) for next balance Update. So that it does not mess with PVE and not start a new up & down audit from the beginning. I know i am a demanding customer..

What does everyone else feel about Greymoor now that get to play it for some time?
On PC most of the first weeks problems are solved and things play smooth, do not know how it is for the consoles?

tl/dr: Yes, above you see a juicy wall of text. Reading it is like eating a cool strawberry ice cream on a hot summer day - you know you want to.