Overland Content Feedback Thread

Lysorris

Unfortunately, there is a lot of people that "engineer" their ESO experience just to prove the point that does not exist.
The fact is that game is too easy. But still there are some people claiming that it is not, it is impossible to die to anything in open world but world bosses, and even then - right now with subclassing you have all of the survivability and damage that is possible. Game should be scaled to reflect the power creep over the years.

Honestly, I am disgusted over disability claims that often make appearance on forums or reddit etc. Using someone's state to prove some kind of point is ridiculous and it happens so, so, so often. One thing that ZoS really did great and we have to applaud them form is accessibility, not only with game options but with game mechanics. Ring of the Pale Order is a gameplay "mechanic" that allowed playing without much focusing juggling skillbars which could be hard for someone with hand mobility issues, same with heavy attack builds. There are ways make content accesible over making it easy.

The thing is game must be accessible, especially MMOs - because the community is in heart of every MMO. But games should not be created to appeal just to lowest common denominator because that way you can drove back other side of the community. I started playing ESO in 2021, and then there were big portions of community that focused on trifectas, raids, vet content, PvP, endgame theory crafting etc., as all we can see over the years these communities are almost dead. Some may call them elitist but these are also players, and often these players were reposibile for amazing content that we and new players could refer to, Twtich had more streamers, YouTube had more guides and general videos. Game and commnity felt more exciting than what we have now, and I feel like to blame is for sure diluted gameplay.

People often claim to do x, y and z if I want a challange. But have you ever seen someone telling someone to do x, y and z if they want things EASY? I don't think so. Let's respect one another.

We must also remember that nobody want's to make game HARD, they want to put gameplay back to more element of the game that currently feels like a visual novel. Nobody wants to make open world take too much time as with the amount of quest and zones it would take hours upon hours to finish, that would also drove players back - especially new ones. I feel like open world should feel like a place that game mechanics have a real place in. Why in tutorial we learn to dodge, bash, block, heavy attack and stun when we never use it? Enemies should be more dynamic, it takes them too much to for any reaction, and when they react they're dead. They should stand more than 2-3 skills, and should do more damage than.... nothing. World bosses should be also less of punching bags. Story enemies shouldn't die before finishing their grand monologue about overtaking the Tamriel.

Dunegeons, raids and hard modes of them also should be revisited. I believe normal modes should be enjoyed by everyone or even soloed for fun and easy story! But having so much of vet modes being also very easy is just not good. Once again, vet claims to be for "better" players but it often feel like once again it was made in my for the skill floor and not the ceiling.

shadoza

Broccolix wrote: »

shadoza wrote: »

I do not think the game is too easy for the average player.

I started a new character. I did not apply CP to boost his power or combat abilities. I did not create the 'perfect' gear for him with my master crafter. I did not speed level him with guild mates or paid services. When you really play as if a new player, then the game is, indeed, challenging. I would put forth a challenge to those who are saying the game is too easy to try this as well; however, I think they will not do it.
.

I am playing characters with no CP and no optimized gear or build and the game is laughably easy. I don't want to come across bad faith, but I actually don't believe you. The game is so easy that it leads me to believe that you've engineered your post such as to support not increasing the difficulty. I actually struggle to imagine anyone finding the game challenging bar disabled or people of old age. If non of these apply to you, I wonder what standard of "challenging" you are applying and what other games you play if I may ask.

You are being rude. There is no reason for you to call me a liar.

shadoza

Lysorris wrote: »

People often claim to do x, y and z if I want a challange. But have you ever seen someone telling someone to do x, y and z if they want things EASY? I don't think so. Let's respect one another.

You say let us respect one another after suggesting that I manufactured my experience?
I really do not understand the toxicity of players these days.

AlexanderDeLarge

Crazy that there's all this talk about 'engineering the experience' to make the game easier when there's literally a video in my signature that shows a naked, statless, CP-less lvl 3 character standing in front of a bear attacking him for a minute and a half before it manages to kill him.

That's the default, intended experience of TESO's overland I guess.
https://youtu.be/CLYwxXFqEZk

Broccolix

I really don't say this to be condescending, but I am shook to my very core that anyone could see the difficulty in this game as anything else than a major flaw in game design, let alone describe it as challenging.

I started a new character and played it up to lvl 6 in Stros M'Kai, and I could simply walk past/through huge groups of enemies with no consenquence, walk through all traps and simpy light attack the few enemies I had to kill to complete the quests. I never equipped gear either. Again, what is the point of having enemies, traps ect if they have no possible chance of ever killing you? It's as if enemies and traps in this game are just scenery.

I play a lot of Nintendo games, which are games known for being very accessible even to a much more casual audience. If Nintendo had designed a game this easy it would be a major failure on their part. It's absolutely ridiculous thinking that the current balance does anything to good for newer players, all it does is push them away.

spartaxoxo

Lysorris wrote: »

Unfortunately, there is a lot of people that "engineer" their ESO experience just to prove the point that does not exist.
The fact is that game is too easy.

Your opinion is not a fact.

Lysorris wrote: »

Honestly, I am disgusted over disability claims that often make appearance on forums or reddit etc. Using someone's state to prove some kind of point is ridiculous and it happens so, so, so often.

The actual fact is that difficulty is subjective. And that people who struggle with disabilities and their loved ones are not wrong or "disgusting" for raising awareness of their experiences with the game. Many of the various accessibility options that video games utilize come from people discussing those experiences. It is ableism to treat their commentary as somehow exempt from the same sharing as everyone else.

I am glad they are making increased difficulty optional. And that others won't be forced into a harder overland.

colossalvoids

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Lysorris wrote: »

Honestly, I am disgusted over disability claims that often make appearance on forums or reddit etc. Using someone's state to prove some kind of point is ridiculous and it happens so, so, so often.

This is wildly ableist.

The actual fact is that difficulty is subjective. And that people who struggle with disabilities and their loved ones are not wrong or "disgusting" for raising awareness of their experiences with the game. Many of the various accessibility options that video games utilize come from people discussing those experiences.

The only "ableist" thing there is claiming disability dictates your ability to perform, which is not always the case. I've played enough with quite a few people with different conditions and saw enough claims on forums that the game is impossible with those, which isn't the case and depends on other factors rather than their disability alone being the crucial factor. The person stated pretty clearly they're against using other's conditions as form of proof, not disabled people's experiences, so there's no need for an attack.

AlexanderDeLarge

Broccolix wrote: »

This whole thread is essentially anecdotes against anecdotes, but I would love to see the official stats, because I have a feeling most people quit during the first 10 levels, or shortly after engaging a bit with the dungeon finder.

Saying this game is easy is a massive understatement, I have played games for a long time and never have I played a game where the lack of difficulty was such an obvious issue. I would be willing to bet my life savings that this game has lost at the least tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of potential players, because the game insists that you don't have to engage with it's mechanics in any way. Expecting the average player to have to slog through 100 hours of content before being presented with a challenge or having to engage with CORE mechanics is NOT reasonable, and I think many here vastly underrate the skill level of the average gamer if they think this is a good introduction to the game.

There are entire solar systems between the difficulty of this game and Dark Souls, so fearing that the game will suddenly become too hardcore I find disingenuous. Even other TES games like Skyrim or Oblivion are 10 times harder than this game. The fear that it will simply take longer to get rewards, I also find odd. You don't judge the quality of video game by the frequency and ease of which a player receives rewards, it's not a slot machine, it's a video game and video games are supposed to be engaging.

The point made by the opposers I sympathise the most with is the accessibility issue, I really do understand that if you already find the game difficult because of age or disabilities that a difficulty increase is concerning, but unfortunately I also think that if a game has skills, blocks, dodges ect. it is reasonable that the game is balanced around utilizing these, I know it sounds harsh, but at the end of the day it is an ARPG. Luckily it seems vet overland is going to be opt in as to not make things more difficult for these players.

I would love to get back into this game, and buy it for my friends so we could play it together, but as it stands this game is so mind numbingly easy making core mechanics of the game irrelevant, and making progression feel unrewarding as you basically steamroll everything by level 1, so you never feel any need to get stronger. All of it becomes meaningless, it essentially makes all the core content of the game wasted content, because many of the bosses ect have abilities that never end up mattering which makes one wonder why they were implemented in the first place. I would love for ZoS to make a vet server, with difficulty more appropriate for the average gamer, because I can say confidently that the way this game is balanced currently is not for us.

I 100% agree with everything in this post and I appreciate you taking the time to register on a forum for a game you quit to express your grievance here. I see it often outside these forums whenever TESO is discussed. A lot of people here need to understand that the forums itself are a barrier to entry, and also have quite a bad reputation, so you're not getting the full picture if you're only engaging with it here.

I've been posting in this thread for approaching 4 years... And this whole time the naysayers of increased overland difficulty have claimed 'the data' doesn't support the demand for overland difficulty. Meanwhile I've asserted that there's a silent majority of lapsed players who quit the game without expressing their frustrations. One of the primary complaints being a lack of overland difficulty.

The solution? Let's see the data. Until that happens, it is infuriating to see it cited in the opposing argument because none of you know any better than we do and only one side of this debate is advocating for any transparency on the matter.
How awfully convenient that we have to argue against the unknowable.

This has been the most aggravating discussion I’ve ever been part of in over 25 years of online gaming. I completely understand why players silently quit rather than engaging in the discourse here. I honestly wish I didn't care as much as I do.

spartaxoxo wrote: »

This is wildly ableist.

The actual fact is that difficulty is subjective. And that people who struggle with disabilities and their loved ones are not wrong or "disgusting" for raising awareness of their experiences with the game. Many of the various accessibility options that video games utilize come from people discussing those experiences.

I think you're misunderstanding the point being made. I would agree that a lot of people here are using 'accessibility' in a completely disingenuous way to get what they want and maintain the status quo of (nonexistent) overland difficulty. I would also say it is quite ableist in itself to speak on the behalf of those with disabilities defending that same status quo, as if they all need a game where it takes a minute and a half for a bear to kill you on a completely naked, statless low level character straight out of the tutorial.

spartaxoxo

colossalvoids wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Lysorris wrote: »

Honestly, I am disgusted over disability claims that often make appearance on forums or reddit etc. Using someone's state to prove some kind of point is ridiculous and it happens so, so, so often.

This is wildly ableist.

The actual fact is that difficulty is subjective. And that people who struggle with disabilities and their loved ones are not wrong or "disgusting" for raising awareness of their experiences with the game. Many of the various accessibility options that video games utilize come from people discussing those experiences.

The only "ableist" thing there is claiming disability dictates your ability to perform, which is not always the case. I've played enough with quite a few people with different conditions and saw enough claims on forums that the game is impossible with those, which isn't the case and depends on other factors rather than their disability alone being the crucial factor. The person stated pretty clearly they're against using other's conditions as form of proof, not disabled people's experiences, so there's no need for an attack.

No. It is not "ableist" to claim disability impacts one's own ability to perform. Everyone experiences disability different. There are different levels of impairment. There are different experiences with the same impairment. This idea that because you met one disabled person that had no problem means another is lying when they say they do is actually ableism.

A disabled person's feedback is not "disgusting" because it goes against the popular opinion that something is easy for able bodied people.

Lysorris

spartaxoxo wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Lysorris wrote: »

Honestly, I am disgusted over disability claims that often make appearance on forums or reddit etc. Using someone's state to prove some kind of point is ridiculous and it happens so, so, so often.

This is wildly ableist.

The actual fact is that difficulty is subjective. And that people who struggle with disabilities and their loved ones are not wrong or "disgusting" for raising awareness of their experiences with the game. Many of the various accessibility options that video games utilize come from people discussing those experiences.

The only "ableist" thing there is claiming disability dictates your ability to perform, which is not always the case. I've played enough with quite a few people with different conditions and saw enough claims on forums that the game is impossible with those, which isn't the case and depends on other factors rather than their disability alone being the crucial factor. The person stated pretty clearly they're against using other's conditions as form of proof, not disabled people's experiences, so there's no need for an attack.

No. It is not "ableist" to claim disability impacts one's own ability to perform. Everyone experiences disability different. There are different levels of impairment. There are different experiences with the same impairment. This idea that because you met one disabled person that had no problem means another is lying when they say they do is actually ableism.

A disabled person's feedback is not "disgusting" because it goes against the popular opinion that something is easy for able bodied people.

Twisting my words to prove.... not existing point. Just like manufacturing game experience to gaslit people to believe that game is hard. Please read once again my statement without prejudice. Also it is nice to see you relfect on calling some "abelist" - as your original comment was edited.

My post touched upon accessibity options, making game for wide range of community etc. I feel like one side of this conversation cannot come up with actual well thought answers. Just one post form me and I ended up being gastlit, called disrespectful and abelist. Is this how conversation should go?

spartaxoxo

Lysorris wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Lysorris wrote: »

Honestly, I am disgusted over disability claims that often make appearance on forums or reddit etc. Using someone's state to prove some kind of point is ridiculous and it happens so, so, so often.

This is wildly ableist.

The actual fact is that difficulty is subjective. And that people who struggle with disabilities and their loved ones are not wrong or "disgusting" for raising awareness of their experiences with the game. Many of the various accessibility options that video games utilize come from people discussing those experiences.

The only "ableist" thing there is claiming disability dictates your ability to perform, which is not always the case. I've played enough with quite a few people with different conditions and saw enough claims on forums that the game is impossible with those, which isn't the case and depends on other factors rather than their disability alone being the crucial factor. The person stated pretty clearly they're against using other's conditions as form of proof, not disabled people's experiences, so there's no need for an attack.

No. It is not "ableist" to claim disability impacts one's own ability to perform. Everyone experiences disability different. There are different levels of impairment. There are different experiences with the same impairment. This idea that because you met one disabled person that had no problem means another is lying when they say they do is actually ableism.

A disabled person's feedback is not "disgusting" because it goes against the popular opinion that something is easy for able bodied people.

Twisting my words to prove.... not existing point. Just like manufacturing game experience to gaslit people to believe that game is hard. Please read once again my statement without prejudice. Also it is nice to see you relfect on calling some "abelist" - as your original comment was edited.

My post touched upon accessibity options, making game for wide range of community etc. I feel like one side of this conversation cannot come up with actual well thought answers. Just one post form me and I ended up being gastlit, called disrespectful and abelist. Is this how conversation should go?

My original comment was edited for clarity and still uses the word ableist. There is that "manufacturing," accusation again. It's the same one I was responding to with my post. People are not lying just because they don't have the same experience as you or anyone else. There are factually people who struggle with Overland. Some of those people struggle specifically due to things like age and disability. The devs have the play date to prove these people exist and have already hard confirmed that there are people already challenged by overland.

Their existence is an actual fact. False accusations that people are lying when they talk about the way disability impacts their ability to perform because it doesn't fit the experiences of able-bodied people is ableism. It is an awful argument. You can't claim people are "manufacturing," their experiences and call for civility in the same breath.

I'd much rather have a better conversation. But, I'm not going to sit back and let people I love have their experiences invalidated by others because it doesn't fit into the idea that overland is easy. There are disabled people in my family that struggled with video games in general, not just overland. I used to play this game with one of them. His disability harmed his performance. He no longer plays this game.

shadoza

Broccolix wrote: »

I really don't say this to be condescending, but I am shook to my very core that anyone could see the difficulty in this game as anything else than a major flaw in game design, let alone describe it as challenging.

I started a new character and played it up to lvl 6 in Stros M'Kai, and I could simply walk past/through huge groups of enemies with no consenquence, walk through all traps and simpy light attack the few enemies I had to kill to complete the quests. I never equipped gear either. Again, what is the point of having enemies, traps ect if they have no possible chance of ever killing you? It's as if enemies and traps in this game are just scenery.

I play a lot of Nintendo games, which are games known for being very accessible even to a much more casual audience. If Nintendo had designed a game this easy it would be a major failure on their part. It's absolutely ridiculous thinking that the current balance does anything to good for newer players, all it does is push them away.

Your opinion is not shared by everyone.

The truth is, the development team doesn't need to believe anyone's statement here. They can create a character and 'walk naked into the woods' and see for themselves what comes of it. They can listen to the chats (or read the dialogue files) to see what realtime players are saying and conversing about. Most games have the telemetry software engaged to provide the data they need to make thoughtful decision. The threads here are for the players to hold conversations. I think this thread could be better used discuss solutions rather than making announcements regarding who is right and who is wrong.

This day, I was in the Bad Man's dungeon with a level 22 character. It was not easy. Fighting the mobs took a little bit. I died once fighting a boss. Another boss, I was struggling with, a group of players ran by and killed it with AOE just as I was about to end it. It would have felt so good to win that battle myself rather than have someone come along at the end drop an AOE and run off. There were many CP players in that dungeon and many low levels (14 -24) levels in that dungeon as well. If dungeons and delves and guests zone fights were instances, we would have fewer conflicts of interests in those areas.

spartaxoxo

shadoza wrote: »

Broccolix wrote: »

I really don't say this to be condescending, but I am shook to my very core that anyone could see the difficulty in this game as anything else than a major flaw in game design, let alone describe it as challenging.

I started a new character and played it up to lvl 6 in Stros M'Kai, and I could simply walk past/through huge groups of enemies with no consenquence, walk through all traps and simpy light attack the few enemies I had to kill to complete the quests. I never equipped gear either. Again, what is the point of having enemies, traps ect if they have no possible chance of ever killing you? It's as if enemies and traps in this game are just scenery.

I play a lot of Nintendo games, which are games known for being very accessible even to a much more casual audience. If Nintendo had designed a game this easy it would be a major failure on their part. It's absolutely ridiculous thinking that the current balance does anything to good for newer players, all it does is push them away.

Your opinion is not shared by everyone.

The truth is, the development team doesn't need to believe anyone's statement here. They can create a character and 'walk naked into the woods' and see for themselves what comes of it. They can listen to the chats (or read the dialogue files) to see what realtime players are saying and conversing about. Most games have the telemetry software engaged to provide the data they need to make thoughtful decision. The threads here are for the players to hold conversations. I think this thread could be better used discuss solutions rather than making announcements regarding who is right and who is wrong.

This day, I was in the Bad Man's dungeon with a level 22 character. It was not easy. Fighting the mobs took a little bit. I died once fighting a boss. Another boss, I was struggling with, a group of players ran by and killed it with AOE just as I was about to end it. It would have felt so good to win that battle myself rather than have someone come along at the end drop an AOE and run off. There were many CP players in that dungeon and many low levels (14 -24) levels in that dungeon as well. If dungeons and delves and guests zone fights were instances, we would have fewer conflicts of interests in those areas.

They literally have play data that shows you're telling the truth. They have already discussed how some of their players find overland challenging. This is explicitly one of the reasons that they cited as to why they are looking into making it optional. So that vet players can have the experience that they are looking for without it making things too difficult for those who already find it challenging.

In my opinion, options are a good thing.

Kallykat

I concede that some players find overland extremely easy. What I don't get is how some people on this forum can claim that there is no one or only very few players who find it otherwise when many players in this very discussion thread have already shared their own or friends' experiences supporting the claim that overland is not too easy for everyone. Can we at least agree that difficulty in a video game is a subjective experience?

I won't reiterate all the reasons people might find overland challenging, but I do want to point out that there are also players who come to ESO for reasons other than challenging mechanics. Some people enjoy playing a game that is more story-focused than combat-focused or that allows for a more relaxed experience. While I'm sure there are some people who left because they were looking for a challenge they didn't find in overland, I'm equally sure there are other players who stayed because the current difficulty was what they were looking for. While a higher overland difficulty might retain some players, it might drive others away.

I also don't think it's fair to baselessly accuse people on one side of issue of advocating against transparency. I think we would all be interested to know the facts instead of being left to argue from anecdotes, but the fact is we don't have all the facts. Only ZOS knows the actual numbers at this time. They made the conscious choice to make overland their easiest content for a reason, and I can only assume that they have a reason for exploring increased difficulty now (even if I disagree).

The final point I want to make is in response to arguments such as this one from above: "People often claim to do x, y and z if I want a challenge. But have you ever seen someone telling someone to do x, y and z if they want things EASY?" People who want/need easy content are essentially told to do x all the time. Overland content is basically the only thing we can do if dungeons, trials, PvP, etc. are too difficult. Not to mention, players who attempt more challenging content without the skill/gear/build to be successful or competitive are literally told by some sweaty players to "git gud" (essentially this content is not for you as you are).

As I said some pages ago, the argument for essentially creating a veteran mode in overland would strike me as fairer and more justified only if we simultaneously create a story mode for all the content which currently has a higher difficulty threshold, making it so all players can enjoy all content at their desired difficulty. What some of you are arguing for is just to have all content at your desired difficulty while players on the other side (who are already relegated to only a portion of the game's content) gain nothing and potentially lose out on new rewards that might be added to vet overland.

Maybe you are someone who does think that others need to "git gud" or that all MMO content should be difficult or that challenging mechanics are required in order to enjoy a game. You are welcome to your opinion, just don't pretend that your opinion is fact. Not everyone agrees with you (and that's okay). Fortunately, in my opinion, ZOS created their game with a variety of players in mind, and they chose to express that by making some content easier and some content more difficult. If it had all been difficult from the start, some of us wouldn't still be here. This is the only MMO I play because, in addition to my love of the ES franchise, I can play overland my way on my timeline with assured success, and I like that. I just hope that as ZOS considers how to improve the game for one group, they don't forget about the rest of us.

Edited for grammar.

SilverBride

Some players find overland easy.
Some players find overland difficult.
Some players want to be challenged while questing.
Some players want a relaxing questing experience.

These are all well established facts.

They have a team working on overland difficulty, and are looking at ways to make any increase in difficulty optional so they don't make it harder for those that already find it challenging.

We have been given a win win solution and now we just have to wait until it's implemented.

colossalvoids

SilverBride wrote: »

Some players find overland easy.
Some players find overland difficult.
Some players want to be challenged while questing.
Some players want a relaxing questing experience.

Hopefully no one disagree with this here. But swiping groups of players into their rhetorics like "for the new players", "all ESO vets", "disabled people" etc. isn't helping as it's highly individual thing that can not be universal period. Some newbies quit because game isn't challenging and some vets would never turn up the difficulty no matter what. Would be lot better if people talked their exact experience or people's they do genuinely know instead of assuming the whole group is agreeing with their opinion and presenting it as a fact.

SilverBride

We have talked our experiences for almost 4 years now and have a good idea of the different things players are looking for. I wish they would close this thread and start a new thread for feedback AFTER the changes have been implemented.

shadoza

SilverBride wrote: »

We have talked our experiences for almost 4 years now and have a good idea of the different things players are looking for. I wish they would close this thread and start a new thread for feedback AFTER the changes have been implemented.

Why would you want this thread closed?
Regardless of future changes, players will want to discuss overland content.

SilverBride

shadoza wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

We have talked our experiences for almost 4 years now and have a good idea of the different things players are looking for. I wish they would close this thread and start a new thread for feedback AFTER the changes have been implemented.

Why would you want this thread closed?
Regardless of future changes, players will want to discuss overland content.

Because it has been nothing but the same things being said over and over for years now. And they have a team working on a solution so there is no need to prove that overland is too easy, or too hard.

I know the subject is Overland Content Feedback Thread but it actually started because of multiple threads specifically about overland difficulty. And that has been the main theme ever since.

colossalvoids

Without a frustration funnel like this you'd get lot more of it in the general section instead, it's tidier having it here in one place, also overland feedback overall is a thing, not just the difficulty of it that started the thread

ESO_player123

I mostly stayed away from this thread during the years it's been active. I posted only a handful of times to advocate for the harder difficulty being optional or disagree with rewards (leads and such) being removed from public places.

However, all this talk about playing on a new toon with no CP made me finally create one. I have not planned to create any more toons until new class/race is added, but I decided to get my own experience.

I created a new Breton sorc (if I keep this toon beyond testing purposes, it will be a zoo sorc). I did not assign any red/blue CP, only the green ones (because I'm not going to miss on potential mats/furnishing plans just because I'm starting a new toon), did not transfer the customary 100K from my main for starter expenses. I normally do not craft any gear for any new toon until they are about lvl 45, so that did not change. I also decided not to grab a companion right away even though they were created for the purpose of helping to clear mobs.

Went through the tutorial, landed on Stros M'kai, quickly collected 3 skyshards there and went to Glenumbra Harborage to do some more of the Main questline. Once I hit lvl 5, got certifications for crafting, joined the Mages/Fighter's guild for Persuade/Intimidate. At level 7 or 8 went to Glenumbra public dungeon (since it was mentioned recently in this thread). No one was there. I ate the roasted pig food that I created during the certification process then cleared the group event for the skill point, killed all the bosses, did both quests. It took more than the usual 5 min on a new toon with CP and was a bit sluggish, but I was there may be for 10 min. Rescued Lyris from Coldharbor, went to Cyrodiil at lvl 10 to do the tutorial to get Assault rank 3 for mount speed boost.

I stopped yesterday at lvl 11. Will do some guild dailies today.

Bottom line:
I'm not an end game player by any means (I do not do any content harder than some older normal trials with PUGs), but I can see how those player find questing not engaging. So, optional difficulty increase in overland is needed for them.

Personally, I will wait and see what shape and form it will take. Probably will try it when it's released, but I will definitely keep my farming in the normal overland.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the most challenging thing that I encountered - remembering all the settings that I need to change so the controls/game experience are the same as on the older toons. Do we still not have an option to transfer those?

SilverBride

colossalvoids wrote: »

Without a frustration funnel like this you'd get lot more of it in the general section instead, it's tidier having it here in one place, also overland feedback overall is a thing, not just the difficulty of it that started the thread

I just hope they make their change, whatever it may be, and lock this thread.

disky

I'm curious - how many people actually expect to see anything regarding overland challenge this year? It's mid-August and nothing I've seen has even hinted at anything coming since Matt's letter, including the 2025 roadmap. "We're working on it" doesn't really give me much confidence, I'm sorry to say. I really wish we could see something more about this from ZOS in the very near future.

ESO_player123

disky wrote: »

I'm curious - how many people actually expect to see anything regarding overland challenge this year? It's mid-August and nothing I've seen has even hinted at anything coming since Matt's letter, including the 2025 roadmap. "We're working on it" doesn't really give me much confidence, I'm sorry to say. I really wish we could see something more about this from ZOS in the very near future.

I do not expect to see anything anytime soon. Definitely not in 2025. May be something more definitive will be announced in Jan(?) 2026 when they reveal what we are having in 2026?

Vonnegut2506

disky wrote: »

I'm curious - how many people actually expect to see anything regarding overland challenge this year? It's mid-August and nothing I've seen has even hinted at anything coming since Matt's letter, including the 2025 roadmap. "We're working on it" doesn't really give me much confidence, I'm sorry to say. I really wish we could see something more about this from ZOS in the very near future.

The odds of harder overland content coming in 2025 is the same as anything in overland killing me in 2025 -- 0.001 percent.

spartaxoxo

disky wrote: »

I'm curious - how many people actually expect to see anything regarding overland challenge this year? It's mid-August and nothing I've seen has even hinted at anything coming since Matt's letter, including the 2025 roadmap. "We're working on it" doesn't really give me much confidence, I'm sorry to say. I really wish we could see something more about this from ZOS in the very near future.

They said it was still the plan to release it this year with the content pass. And Q4 is the normal time for something like that to drop. Q3 is for QOL+ Bug Fixes. Usually they don't tease Q4 so early. It's unusual for something teased in the December later so explicitly not to be part of Q2 instead. But they did address they wanted to take their time and get it right during that same time, so I knew that meant Q4 at the earliest at that point.

It is very much still possible that this is our Q4 major feature, like Infinite Archive and Battlegrounds 2.0 before it.

spartaxoxo

Here's a reminder of the most recent statements on this matter.

December 2024 Studio Director letter for the general plan for 2025

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/670691/studio-director-s-letter-2025-beyond/p1

December 2024 statement from Kevin elaborating that we'd know more in 2025 about harder overland.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

So we should note that we haven't announced what overland changes are yet. We'll have more information to share next year. We wanted to just note that there will be changes to overland difficulty generally. What form that takes will be shared next year.

April 2025 statements about it still being planned to come out for this year's content pass timeline and why.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

As of right now, the goal is to still have this out during the content pass timeline. But if that changes, we will update once we have a clear picture if anything changes.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Totally get it. Understand where you are coming from. Just want to clarify here that we have a team dedicated to overland, so it is getting the focus and time needed. This is an important feature and we want to make sure this is done correctly. So there is a team dedicated to this. Some of the features that you are seeing today have been in the works for a bit. So that is why you are seeing them today. We hope to have more info in the future to share about overland.

And finally someone kindly linked where Rich they said they know some people already struggle so the plan is to make it optional during that April direct stream. So this is the part in the April 2025 Direct Livestream on Twitch where they said that.

Arunei wrote: »

I was gonna toss this in the other thread that just got nuked, didn't think to do it back on the day of the streams lol, but here's a link to where they touch on the harder Overland difficulty if anyone who hasn't seen the stream wants to hear/see for themselves:

Video will start at where they mention it

Broccolix

It's been stated many times now that difficulty is subjective, and while that is true, difficulty is also relative. I really do wonder what other games the people who find this game too difficult play/have played, because I cannot think of a single game within the RPG genre(and certainly not ARPG) that is easier than this one.

So when you people say this game is difficult, relative to what exactly? Certainly not other TES games, as all of these are much more difficult than ESO.

Uvi_AUT

I am itching to play again, I really am. But not without the difficulty-patch.
Last time I played about 1.5 years ago I could do every Overland Content (besides some DLC-Worldbosses) nude with only a staff and without switching bars. That was the point where I thought, why am I even playing when nothing matters? No Gear, not Championlevels, nothing....

shadoza

Last day, I created a new character in an attempt to discover how to get to that place where I could choose my starting point. I remember I was there once but cannot recall how that came to be. I thought it a great idea. If you already completed the tutorial, get the option to skip it and end in a room where there are several gates into the world. Pick one and start there. A skip took me directly to the map of a chosen alliance (couldn't start without choosing.) A play through took me to the same place after the tutorial. I cannot know if I am doing something wrong or if the feature was removed.

Since a few posters claim they can play the entire game without gear and CP points, I decided to mess around before deleting the test characters.
The tutorial character (who had to have a bow made because I couldn't find one in the cold harbor,) I assigned CP points. I only have 900+ so, not a lot of point since they are split between three sections, it didn't take long to go through them. I striped off weapons and gear from the tutorial, put on a costume for modesty, and jumped into a fight on the starter island. Punching was not too bad (about 3200 on an Alit.) A friend who was watching this test said, "Alits are stupid, try it on a group of human foes." I couldn't find a group of human foes on the island. In fact, it was very difficult to find a foe target other than alits on the entire island.
I said, 'let's try a tougher region. I went to the Reach and dropped a recover pot. I was able to kill things there, mostly the dogs but I fought a couple of humans. Took a while as my attacks were not very hard. I was killed by a troll after a short fight.

The skip character had nothing. No gear, no CP, no weapons, no pots. In the starter island, the Alit took 2100 damage per punch. The fight took longer and I could see my HP being depleted. Now, starter islands are an extension of the tutorials, really little more than an introduction to the story line.
So, like the previous test character, I went to the same location in the Reach. I fought the dogs, my life bar went down rather swiftly, but I didn't die. Looked for the troll or a human target. Didn't find a human target, but punched a rabbit and what might have been an elk. Both died; one gave meat. I jumped off a cliff near the water, almost died from fall damage, but was able to regen after standing around a while. Found a troll, I don't know if it were the same troll. I did not turn my show numbers on, so I cannot say what the total HP was. I can say, with a fair amount of confidence, that it looked like the troll healed itself by farting. I punched it and saw no damage being done. It hit me and did a fair amount of damage. I don't remember the number but it was about 20% of my health. I was dodging and moving and punching but each time that troll produced the green cloud, he was healing and I was still dying. I could not regen fast enough to survive the attacks. I died.

I find the game is not too easy. There are so many options that it is still entertaining after 10 years.
Wish I didn't have to waste so much game time waiting for resources or foes to spawn after a farming player and/or group cleans them out in overland and in overland dungeons. If the suggested difficulty overlay happens and the 'vet' levels are still allowed to farm the lower difficulty, nothing will change. The game will continue to be top heavy and the balance will shift to a point of no return (TSW.) Hope that doesn't happen here.