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My problem with the new system is the lies told.
Thorley23_ESO
✭✭✭
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidjagneaux/2021/03/08/flames-of-ambition-dungeon-dlc-and-update-29-now-live-for-elder-scrolls-online-on-pc-mac-and-stadia/?sh=3208d087e360
My problem with the new CP system is that according to the game developers the idea here was to make it so that under the new system nobody was going to lose anything statistically. A player who could solo dungeons, or complete veteran Maelstorm Arena easily will still be able to do those things under the new system. From what I am seeing this is an outright lie that is being told to the media like Forbes as everyone is undergoing a "stat crunch" without the rest of the world being similarly nerfed in accordance with the new realities. Simply put someone with 810 CPs is now weaker than they were before this patch went live as they simply do not have enough points to be able to do all the things they could before at the same level. What's more those running the game are telling news outlets like Forbes that the opposite is the case. According to their press releases nobody should be losing any power or status due to the change, there is supposed to simply now be more room to grow and make choices.
Strictly speaking I'm all for more room to grow my character and make choices, as presented to Forbes this sounds like a fairly decent situation, and the press is such that it's likely to attract new players. I'll also admit freely I was not playing as much as I once was because once I hit 810 I felt there was little left to do in the game, I pushed on to like level 903, and made a bunch of alternate characters, but it just wasn't the same. What they needed to do was ensure with the "squish" that everyone could do everything they could before, and then expand the power level of the game further and consider that for upcoming content like the new oblivion expansion (which could be designed for those with a minimum power level of what 810 characters could reach). I don't know, maybe next year they could open the solar system to pan dimensional space yachts or something if they wanted to have further room to advance.... the point is there were options here and the designers did not follow through on them and what's more have been telling bald faced lies to the media in order to promote the game. I was crunching the numbers and even 90 levels over the cap (I'm a small potatoes casual compared to many) I can't even come close to getting the stats I had before this update, so I have no freaking idea how I, and other players, are supposed to be able to do any content the way we were before and not lose out on anything..... and read that Forbes article and what it relays the developers are saying about the update.
If your going to stab your most dedicated players in the back, at least be honest about it. Don't go around to the media pretending the update is sane, rational, and reasonable, when it's hardly anything like that in practice.
What's more for those who have read this far, I will point out that not requiring new players to pay the full amount for pre-patch CPs is also unfair. Players like me have long ago seen every bit of content ESO has to deliver, we look forward to the new expansions (I already pre-ordered Gates Of Oblivion) and we descend on them like locusts and consume them in a matter of days. Newer players are going to sort of get more of a bang for their buck out of this as they will have things to do in order to earn exps, and will be gaining useful CPS much faster from their quests and adventuring.
The way I see things is right now ESO is being re-tooled into an asian grind fest. The content doesn't exist to sustain this new system, especially for older players. Sites like Alcast HQ used to be about how to efficiently build characters using your 810 champion points and existing skills and gear combinations. Right now it's about power grinding as opposed to strategy, how to build an AOE exps reaping monster and where to go if you want to simply sit there and mindlessly pull groups of mobs to try and throw yourself against the new CP cap in hopes of regaining your past glory. This is literally what the game is now for those of us who did it all.... I feel so rewarded for my dedication, don't you? At the very least make the newer and less dedicated players grind and grasp for every single experience point..... in "ESO Dev Speak" think of it as a strategy for customer retention, by giving them a leg up you reduce the amount of time they are going to play.
Now I'm not the sort to recommend boycotts or anything, but I don't think I have to here. I think your looking at ESO turning into a giant darwinesque schoolyard that is going to be full of people killstealing each other over the most efficient grind points.... and of course those with no interest in this kind of garbage are just going to stop playing. I mean I've been a loyal subscriber even when I wasn't playing since I liked the game, but really I am not likely to continue to pay for an AOE zombie slaughter simulation, with the actual challenge coming from competing with other players for kills. Maybe I'm wrong.... but for those who read this far, that's where I see this game going after this update. We already see the signs now.
It NEVER happens, but if the Devs want to do what's best for the game they would roll back the servers to before the latest patch, and then keep these ideas in mind if they ever have the chance to release something like a super-expansion that actually adds enough new content all at once to support the ecosystem. ESO always had grinding (don't get me wrong) but nothing like what these changes are encouraging..... and what's more for many (perhaps even most) it's grinding to simply try and regain what we already had, not to truly gain anything.
Who knows, maybe it will work out (the odds are about as good as your average user reading this whole post), but I'll be shocked if I find ESO worth paying for much longer since there are simply other games to play that are going to be a heck of a lot more satisfying than repetitive AOE exps grinding on a treadmill.... and if your going to have a grinding treadmill, at least be fair about it and make everyone grind the same amount.
My problem with the new CP system is that according to the game developers the idea here was to make it so that under the new system nobody was going to lose anything statistically. A player who could solo dungeons, or complete veteran Maelstorm Arena easily will still be able to do those things under the new system. From what I am seeing this is an outright lie that is being told to the media like Forbes as everyone is undergoing a "stat crunch" without the rest of the world being similarly nerfed in accordance with the new realities. Simply put someone with 810 CPs is now weaker than they were before this patch went live as they simply do not have enough points to be able to do all the things they could before at the same level. What's more those running the game are telling news outlets like Forbes that the opposite is the case. According to their press releases nobody should be losing any power or status due to the change, there is supposed to simply now be more room to grow and make choices.
Strictly speaking I'm all for more room to grow my character and make choices, as presented to Forbes this sounds like a fairly decent situation, and the press is such that it's likely to attract new players. I'll also admit freely I was not playing as much as I once was because once I hit 810 I felt there was little left to do in the game, I pushed on to like level 903, and made a bunch of alternate characters, but it just wasn't the same. What they needed to do was ensure with the "squish" that everyone could do everything they could before, and then expand the power level of the game further and consider that for upcoming content like the new oblivion expansion (which could be designed for those with a minimum power level of what 810 characters could reach). I don't know, maybe next year they could open the solar system to pan dimensional space yachts or something if they wanted to have further room to advance.... the point is there were options here and the designers did not follow through on them and what's more have been telling bald faced lies to the media in order to promote the game. I was crunching the numbers and even 90 levels over the cap (I'm a small potatoes casual compared to many) I can't even come close to getting the stats I had before this update, so I have no freaking idea how I, and other players, are supposed to be able to do any content the way we were before and not lose out on anything..... and read that Forbes article and what it relays the developers are saying about the update.
If your going to stab your most dedicated players in the back, at least be honest about it. Don't go around to the media pretending the update is sane, rational, and reasonable, when it's hardly anything like that in practice.
What's more for those who have read this far, I will point out that not requiring new players to pay the full amount for pre-patch CPs is also unfair. Players like me have long ago seen every bit of content ESO has to deliver, we look forward to the new expansions (I already pre-ordered Gates Of Oblivion) and we descend on them like locusts and consume them in a matter of days. Newer players are going to sort of get more of a bang for their buck out of this as they will have things to do in order to earn exps, and will be gaining useful CPS much faster from their quests and adventuring.
The way I see things is right now ESO is being re-tooled into an asian grind fest. The content doesn't exist to sustain this new system, especially for older players. Sites like Alcast HQ used to be about how to efficiently build characters using your 810 champion points and existing skills and gear combinations. Right now it's about power grinding as opposed to strategy, how to build an AOE exps reaping monster and where to go if you want to simply sit there and mindlessly pull groups of mobs to try and throw yourself against the new CP cap in hopes of regaining your past glory. This is literally what the game is now for those of us who did it all.... I feel so rewarded for my dedication, don't you? At the very least make the newer and less dedicated players grind and grasp for every single experience point..... in "ESO Dev Speak" think of it as a strategy for customer retention, by giving them a leg up you reduce the amount of time they are going to play.
Now I'm not the sort to recommend boycotts or anything, but I don't think I have to here. I think your looking at ESO turning into a giant darwinesque schoolyard that is going to be full of people killstealing each other over the most efficient grind points.... and of course those with no interest in this kind of garbage are just going to stop playing. I mean I've been a loyal subscriber even when I wasn't playing since I liked the game, but really I am not likely to continue to pay for an AOE zombie slaughter simulation, with the actual challenge coming from competing with other players for kills. Maybe I'm wrong.... but for those who read this far, that's where I see this game going after this update. We already see the signs now.
It NEVER happens, but if the Devs want to do what's best for the game they would roll back the servers to before the latest patch, and then keep these ideas in mind if they ever have the chance to release something like a super-expansion that actually adds enough new content all at once to support the ecosystem. ESO always had grinding (don't get me wrong) but nothing like what these changes are encouraging..... and what's more for many (perhaps even most) it's grinding to simply try and regain what we already had, not to truly gain anything.
Who knows, maybe it will work out (the odds are about as good as your average user reading this whole post), but I'll be shocked if I find ESO worth paying for much longer since there are simply other games to play that are going to be a heck of a lot more satisfying than repetitive AOE exps grinding on a treadmill.... and if your going to have a grinding treadmill, at least be fair about it and make everyone grind the same amount.
3