There is no better time to Completely Overhaul PVP than now

Emmagoldman · March 2021

I do feel that ZOS desires to fix cyro and they have tried narrowing down the problem. So this isn't a diss Zos thread. However, With 2020 being the year of Performance, and a myriad of test in Cyro, it's obvious that the problems are deeper than changing group sizes, heals, procs, dots, ect. Instead of continually manipulating a broken car, maybe it's time to admit, the car is just broke. The time testing, instead of redesigning isn't well spent. Without a doubt, eso will have a long life cycle. More than ever, this is the perfect time to completely rethink what does a war, stretching across Tameriel look like and redesign pvp toward global control, in which gaining territory matters.

Good/Bad/the Ugly

Without a doubt, ESO has a unique, fast pace fighting system. There is such an incredibly high skill ceiling
Playing in groups is a blast, especially when well coordinated
Cyro is massive in scale.
Yet maybe being such a large massive map, with players being able to converge is a design flaw. Three factions at one location is bound to shut down performance
It's beautiful, yet monotonous. Same territory, similar castle designs, same predictable environment.
It's been the same pvp zone, with no expansion since 2013. The addition of rewards, mechanics, ect is a good step, but not enough

Change from "crown the emp" to "Global Control or influence Model"
Change the entire focus and objective of the three faction war.

Objective is to hold territory for long periods of time. There would be a timer for the zone, that is impacted by time held and strength of keep
GDC can contribute towards small bonuses in zones and a larger for the entire faction, with cyro giving the most points.
The focus would be smaller pvp environments (around 3 to 4 keeps or flags), but also pvp/pve zones, and pve in the form of settlements.
Keeps in pvp zones can be upgraded using resources for stronger walls, gates, and guards. Mills, Farms and Mines can also generate nodes. This acts as a resource dump in game but gives meaning towards protecting your investment. Building up contributes to longer timers
Cities in cyro become part of PVE areas, as settlements and part of the GDC environment. They are to be upgraded and face waves of advancing enemies. The strength of the town and player participation increases the wave strength. Stronger strength means better drops. Stables can be upgraded and have a quicker timer along with npc guards which have recipes and upgraded at keep/bar. There would be other pve objectives added that contribute to gdc
This also cuts cyro "down in size" as some of the rarely traveled space would now be pve
Expand outside of Cyro. Tameriel is MASSIVE in scale and even in base game, the war is everywhere. Create smaller pvp zones or instances, using the current map. This wouldn't interfere with the normal pve environment. So there would be smaller pvp objectives in more unique zones.

What does this do?

First and foremost it allows content to be added instead of just being stuck in cyro.
Massive change and addition to environments that are already in game. In BGs, we have Mor Khazgur and without a doubt, it's a unique experience to fight when the blizzard kicks in. Why not the dust storms of Alkir Desert, ash and lava from stonefalls, Giant trees from Grahtwood, the realm of Nocturna or fighting in the rain in Murkmire? Guilds may seek to make zones "home" and worth defending.
Hopefully, being smaller instances and requiring people to go point to point, along with holding over flipping and moving on, the player base would be split over the map. Adding more zones, will add variety and keep the population in more instances.
Pvp, pvp/pve, and pve events could give everyone something to do to contribute towards global influence. Whether fighting for flags or keeps, running missions, or working on a settlement. It could be made increasingly creative
Finally, the current direction for a lot of new upcoming mmos is centered around the concept of influencing zones and having territory matter. Why not examine new possibilities while the car is broke?