Dark Anchors

Easily_Lost

I would like to suggest to put a trigger of some kind at or near Dark Anchors.

I am trying to do a FG daily and it sent me the Dark Anchor in Greenshade, I waited about 20 minutes and it never spawned. I finally left.

I know nothing will come of this, but I can always hope.

FeedbackOnly

Dark Archors spawn every 10 mins unless someone is doing another one in the zone then it triggers after those are finished

proprio.meb16_ESO

Dark Anchors spawn circularly, when one has finished the next one will start... you can track the active one on the map.

If no one is doing anchors (in certain areas and on certain times you could be the only one doing them) you can wait forever and it wont spawn, because the active one is still open.

rauyran

Each zone has three anchors so you can try going to a different one. Since the last update the active dolmen is shown on the map with a pair of crossed swords.

AcadianPaladin

As a veteran of camping dolmen, they used to reliably spawn between 6-12 minute intervals. After the change that shows which is up on your map, the respawn time is all over the place. It is absolutely no longer a fixed, reasonable set interval. Since the change, I have camped at a dolmen with no spawn for more than 15 mins (then moved on) numerous times.

For FG dailies, I used to camp one dolmen - relaxing and reliable. That is gone so now I race from one to the next based on the pattern just like the crowds do in Alikr.

redlink1979

Easily_Lost wrote: »

(...) I am trying to do a FG daily and it sent me the Dark Anchor in Greenshade, I waited about 20 minutes and it never spawned. I finally left. (...)

You can check where the active anchor is by consulting your map as long you are in the same zone.
Anchors spawn according a rotation so, if an active one isn't completed another one in same zone will never become active.

markulrich1966

it has changed, they will not respawn after some time, only when the other dolmens in the region were finished.

I complained about it some weeks ago, because it destroyed the parties at the Dolmen near Vulkuhel Guard:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/593290/auridon-dolmens-now-cycle-block-like-harrowstorms-killing-parties

Stanx

I haven't struggled so much when referencing the map to see which dolmen is active. Even if I miss it, it will give me a clue about rotation so I can get to the next one quickly.

But Greenshade specifically is horrible for dolmens. Whenever I get it I sigh knowing it's going to take me so much longer as the dolmens are all over the place and not at all near any wayshrines.

ADarklore

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

As a veteran of camping dolmen, they used to reliably spawn between 6-12 minute intervals. After the change that shows which is up on your map, the respawn time is all over the place. It is absolutely no longer a fixed, reasonable set interval. Since the change, I have camped at a dolmen with no spawn for more than 15 mins (then moved on) numerous times.

For FG dailies, I used to camp one dolmen - relaxing and reliable. That is gone so now I race from one to the next based on the pattern just like the crowds do in Alikr.

I don't know how long ago you were doing this... but I've been playing since 2015 and it never worked like this. As others noted, they work in a rotation... so if another dolmen has been activated but not completed, the others will not activate until the open one is closed. Once closed, if anyone is near another dolmen, that one will activate. This was always a source of frustration, and I would always wait and wait for a dolmen to activate, get frustrated and go after one of the other two- only to find one of them open and nobody running it. So I'd finish it, and then go back to the other dolmen, and many times just before reaching it, someone else had activated and was just finishing it so I didn't get there in time! Now THAT is frustrating!

phaneub17_ESO

At least now they added the battle cross markers on the next active one, but it only shows up if you're already in the zone and not all the time... Sometimes all 3 show nothing so you gotta jump around still to find which one is next.

What they can do next is make Anchors waypoints like they do with the Harborage, group dungeons, trials, and homes; where you can port to them but not use them to port away. This would make getting to those hard to reach ones easier to deal with.

jaws343

markulrich1966 wrote: »

it has changed, they will not respawn after some time, only when the other dolmens in the region were finished.

I complained about it some weeks ago, because it destroyed the parties at the Dolmen near Vulkuhel Guard:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/593290/auridon-dolmens-now-cycle-block-like-harrowstorms-killing-parties

Dolmens have always cycled. It's why Auridon and Alikr are great for dolmen farming, dolmens are near wayshrines, and you can follow the cycle from one to another. This has been how it has always worked. The only reason waiting at one dolmen for a period of time for it to respawn has ever worked is because other players are completing the other 2 dolmens in the time you are waiting at the first one.

markulrich1966

jaws343 wrote: »

markulrich1966 wrote: »

it has changed, they will not respawn after some time, only when the other dolmens in the region were finished.

I complained about it some weeks ago, because it destroyed the parties at the Dolmen near Vulkuhel Guard:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/593290/auridon-dolmens-now-cycle-block-like-harrowstorms-killing-parties

Dolmens have always cycled. It's why Auridon and Alikr are great for dolmen farming, dolmens are near wayshrines, and you can follow the cycle from one to another. This has been how it has always worked. The only reason waiting at one dolmen for a period of time for it to respawn has ever worked is because other players are completing the other 2 dolmens in the time you are waiting at the first one.

as I wrote in that thread, I used a clock:
finish dolmen, go down to Maomer Camp to level up killing pirates, then after 4:45 minutes run back to the dolmen for the next cycle.
If it was the same in other regions I can't tell, but illuvamir HAD fixed 5 minutes respawn, verified using the clock (even late night/early morning with no other players around).

jaws343

markulrich1966 wrote: »

jaws343 wrote: »

markulrich1966 wrote: »

it has changed, they will not respawn after some time, only when the other dolmens in the region were finished.

I complained about it some weeks ago, because it destroyed the parties at the Dolmen near Vulkuhel Guard:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/593290/auridon-dolmens-now-cycle-block-like-harrowstorms-killing-parties

Dolmens have always cycled. It's why Auridon and Alikr are great for dolmen farming, dolmens are near wayshrines, and you can follow the cycle from one to another. This has been how it has always worked. The only reason waiting at one dolmen for a period of time for it to respawn has ever worked is because other players are completing the other 2 dolmens in the time you are waiting at the first one.

as I wrote in that thread, I used a clock:
finish dolmen, go down to Maomer Camp to level up killing pirates, then after 4:45 minutes run back to the dolmen for the next cycle.
If it was the same in other regions I can't tell, but illuvamir HAD fixed 5 minutes respawn, verified using the clock (even late night/early morning with no other players around).

It is more likely that other players completed the other dolmens during that time.

markulrich1966

jaws343 wrote: »

markulrich1966 wrote: »

jaws343 wrote: »

markulrich1966 wrote: »

it has changed, they will not respawn after some time, only when the other dolmens in the region were finished.

I complained about it some weeks ago, because it destroyed the parties at the Dolmen near Vulkuhel Guard:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/593290/auridon-dolmens-now-cycle-block-like-harrowstorms-killing-parties

Dolmens have always cycled. It's why Auridon and Alikr are great for dolmen farming, dolmens are near wayshrines, and you can follow the cycle from one to another. This has been how it has always worked. The only reason waiting at one dolmen for a period of time for it to respawn has ever worked is because other players are completing the other 2 dolmens in the time you are waiting at the first one.

as I wrote in that thread, I used a clock:
finish dolmen, go down to Maomer Camp to level up killing pirates, then after 4:45 minutes run back to the dolmen for the next cycle.
If it was the same in other regions I can't tell, but illuvamir HAD fixed 5 minutes respawn, verified using the clock (even late night/early morning with no other players around).

It is more likely that other players completed the other dolmens during that time.

not at 3:40 am (xbox EU is plain dead at that time).
And even if it would be the case, it would not have taken *exactly* 5 minutes.

Folkb

They cycle in an order now but only move forward in that order once the active one is finished.

Unfortunately you cannot see the active one unless you've already discovered it.

Its not a great system since dolmens can be finished so quickly by one person and some a far from wayshrines.

Mesite

If I was Molag Bal I would randomly spawn the dolmens without warning. No one would know if or when they would spawn. That would teach those guild members from the Fighters Guild that my minions follow chaos, not order.

Necrotech_Master

for dolmens i honestly dont know why they dont just give those individual timers and allow all 3 to be active potentially since they are easy

its not like the "tier 2 dolmen" (abyssal geysers) or "tier 3 dolmen" (harrowstorms) that actually can be difficult to do solo
(technically speaking i think dragons are considered the same but i would probably rate them at "tier 4 dolmen" since they are a bit harder than a harrowstorm to solo)

Arunei

markulrich1966 wrote: »

jaws343 wrote: »

markulrich1966 wrote: »

jaws343 wrote: »

markulrich1966 wrote: »

it has changed, they will not respawn after some time, only when the other dolmens in the region were finished.

I complained about it some weeks ago, because it destroyed the parties at the Dolmen near Vulkuhel Guard:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/593290/auridon-dolmens-now-cycle-block-like-harrowstorms-killing-parties

Dolmens have always cycled. It's why Auridon and Alikr are great for dolmen farming, dolmens are near wayshrines, and you can follow the cycle from one to another. This has been how it has always worked. The only reason waiting at one dolmen for a period of time for it to respawn has ever worked is because other players are completing the other 2 dolmens in the time you are waiting at the first one.

as I wrote in that thread, I used a clock:
finish dolmen, go down to Maomer Camp to level up killing pirates, then after 4:45 minutes run back to the dolmen for the next cycle.
If it was the same in other regions I can't tell, but illuvamir HAD fixed 5 minutes respawn, verified using the clock (even late night/early morning with no other players around).

It is more likely that other players completed the other dolmens during that time.

not at 3:40 am (xbox EU is plain dead at that time).
And even if it would be the case, it would not have taken *exactly* 5 minutes.

You can't take a single instance and say "this is proof it's like this". You'd need to run numerous tests across all hours of the day across every day to get that sort of data. And unless you were using a stopwatch, you can't claim it was "exactly" five minutes. And even so...why couldn't it take five minutes? If someone was hitting the pinions as soon as they were becoming active and soloing it they could have very well finished it that time, because there are far fewer mobs in every wave if you're the only person there.

Dolmens never worked on a timer either way, they activated based on whether either of the other two in the zone were active or not. If they worked on a timer then the Alik'r Dolmen grind would have never worked.

Zephiran23

I think you need to have discovered the dolmen for it to show up as active on your map screen.

Easily_Lost

Thank you all for your replies. I must have forgot about the the active Dolmen being added in the patch notes.

I just wish their was some way to make it stand out more ( poor eyesight ).

drsalvation

You can see in your map when a dark anchor is active in your area, you'll see crossed swords behind the icon (it doesn't mean it has spawned, it means it's the active one, you can arrive and see that the cultists haven't even appeared yet until you get close enough).
I only camp dolmens when I'm working on my own projects, but at this point there's no other reasons to camp on a single one when you can see which one is active.